Man Utd are openly trying to copy City – and that makes perfect sense

United may not have seen an improvement on the pitch since arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos, but fans now have something to believe in

When Sir Jim Ratcliffe addressed Manchester United staff at a meeting in early January, he drew applause from the assembled crowd for his straight-talking and candid assessment of the issues that have dogged the club for years.
Yet it was not until a popular and long-serving United employee of 20 years sidled up to him after the get-together and relayed why his words had resonated so much that the Ineos founder fully appreciated how badly staff had been longing for someone to lead and inspire them. “The last time I felt like that,” Ratcliffe was told, “was in 2008, right before we went off to Moscow for the Champions League final when Sir Alex [Ferguson] came in and talked to all the staff. Like then, I felt like ripping my shirt off and swinging it around my head. It was fantastic. Thank you.”
United, of course, overcame Chelsea on penalties in the Russian capital to claim their third European Cup, 10 days after pipping the same team to the Premier League title. By the end of that year, Ferguson’s side would be sitting on top of the world having also lifted the Club World Cup in Japan.
Little could they have known then that the seeds were already being sown for a power shift in Manchester so dramatic that Ratcliffe – the man to whom the Glazers have effectively outsourced the running of the club – has arrived at Old Trafford talking unashamedly about how United “have a lot to learn from our noisy neighbour” across the road.
Twelve months after Abu Dhabi’s takeover at Manchester City, Ferguson, sitting behind a desk in United’s academy building beneath pictures of the players who had helped build his empire, snorted with derision when asked whether City would ever come to dominate, whether his own club would face them as underdogs one day. “Not in my lifetime,” Ferguson replied, his face as straight as Deansgate.
But that is exactly what has happened and the difference now is that gulf has become so stark, so great that no one of a United persuasion is likely to demonstrate too loudly these days when people, like Ratcliffe, talk about the club aspiring to be more like City, and of City offering a “blueprint” of how to do things.
David Moyes, the former United manager, was taken apart for daring to suggest as much a decade ago after a bruising 3-0 defeat to their rivals at Old Trafford. But back then City were still relative upstarts and Ferguson’s shadow still loomed large over United.
Now City are the English, European and world champions with the best manager, best players and an aura Ferguson will recognise better than most. United are having to come to terms with the part they have played in facilitating one of the most extraordinary role reversals the modern game has witnessed.
And that is the thing here: as impressive as what City have built is – beyond the alleged financial breaches that they deny but which could yet assist Ratcliffe’s quest to put United back on top – their ascent has been aided by United’s staggering levels of self-sabotage.
Much like an alcoholic or drug addict cannot hope to stitch their life back together without first admitting they have a problem, it has taken Ratcliffe to come in and deliver a blunt appraisal of how bad things have got for United to truly begin the process of rebuilding after all those feckless claims of “resets” under previous regimes.
So is this the moment the empire starts to strike back? Well, it is not going to be a quick fix, that much is certain, just as it would surprise few if things again got ugly for United on the pitch at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. United lost 6-3 there last season and even that scoreline flattered them.
Only three Premier League teams – relegation threatened Sheffield United and Luton Town, and Moyes’ West Ham – have conceded more shots on average per game in all competitions this season than United. Whereas City have faced an average of just 7.1 shots per game this season, United’s average is a mammoth 15.2, more than twice as much, and if Erik ten Hag’s side remain as open as they were in their previous league outing, a 2-1 defeat to Fulham, they could be in for another very long afternoon.
The disconnect between the way United defend and attack – a low block meets high press with huge spaces for opponents to exploit in between – has been an issue all season and Ten Hag’s suggestion that defeat to City would not spell the end of United’s top-four hopes felt like quite the reach.
No Champions League football at Old Trafford next season would be an early blow for Ratcliffe and his Ineos team but not as damaging as existing structures remaining in place. Which is why Ratcliffe going out and poaching Omar Berrada from City to become United’s new chief executive – and also looking to recruit Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox, also once of City, on the recruitment side – feels such a step change after years of insular appointments and feeble fixes. “There has appeared to be that fear of the outside,” one source said of United’s persistent failure to recruit externally under the Glazers.
In many respects, Ineos have already had practice at mirroring City’s approach with their latter work at Nice, where only now with the appointment of the right chief executive, sporting director and head coach do they feel they are starting to crack it at the French club.
As one source put it: “Understanding that relationship between those three key jobs and the players in the dressing room has been absolutely critical.”
None of which guarantees United will end up knocking City off their perch in the years to come but for the first time in a long time there is something tangible for staff to get behind – and believe in.