Ineos dream of Manchester United’s succession plan, but they need luck to make it a reality

If you handed Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford a blank sheet of paper and asked them to come up with their perfect plan for Manchester United, you’d get some interesting answers.

Football club owners hardly have a free list to work with and that has been the case with Ratcliffe since his £1.25bn investment in United. He has made significant changes in personnel and structure since taking over, but cannot do much with the team or stadium he inherited.

The biggest decision facing Ineos remains Erik ten Hag and the delay in concluding the end-of-season review is an indication that the outcome is not a foregone conclusion. The Ten Hag has taken credit for the way he has been successful in the FA Cup Final and there is no outstanding candidate to come in to replace him.

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But if Ratcliffe and Brailsford could pick any manager they wanted right now, then chances are they’d go for Gareth Southgate. They admire him, he has a long-standing relationship with new sporting director Dan Ashworth and his work in developing a new culture around the England national team is seen as relevant to what Ineos wants at United.

The problems with this appointment are mainly twofold. Firstly, he is preparing for an international tour with England and will not consider his future until the end of Euro 2024. Secondly, United fans are disappointed with the idea and most still support Ten Hag.

So for now the Dutchman remains in the post while Ineos considers whether to throw all his support behind him or look for an alternative replacement. It is an unpleasant situation for Ratcliffe and Brailsford, and the merits of other available managers have not convinced them.

Nor did Ten Hag present a case that was impossible to ignore to stay. As good as the FA Cup final was, the league season has raised concerns that are hard to overlook. It’s time to stick or twist.

In their time in charge of United so far, they have shown an ability to be patient, to follow Ratcliffe’s maxim of going for the right solution rather than running for the wrong one. It’s hard to do in this situation.

For starters, if Ten Hag is to stay, he will certainly require support in the form of a new contract. It’s also impossible to wait until mid-July for Southgate when there are so many decisions to make ahead of next season.

The ideal solution for Ineos might be to stick with Ten Hag, give him the backing to carry on and hope that the FA Cup final is a sign of brighter days to come rather than a golden crash. This could also allow them to consider Southgate at a more convenient time.

If the Ten Hag can’t turn the ship around at Old Trafford and Southgate is coming off the back of a good European Championship, then a switch towards the end of this calendar year could be more attractive to supporters as well as easier to achieve. . Southgate’s contract with England expires in December and he will consider his future after the tournament.

For that possibility to be on the table for Ineos, Southgate needs to face England in Germany and reach at least the semi-finals. They have the squad to do it but, as always, part of tournament football comes down to luck. England were the best team at the last World Cup, but a missed penalty, a long-range screamer and a deflected header saw them beaten by France.

With a bit of luck on their side this summer, England are more than capable of winning Euro 2024. If they do, Southgate will look a lot more appealing.