Man Utd has spent years on the brink of disaster. A key meeting will decide if they reset… again

An executive summit chaired by Manchester United part owner Jim Ratcliffe is set to determine the future of Erik Ten Hag, which presently sits on a knife’s edge.

And while the meeting is regularly scheduled in the diaries of the clubs hierarchy and no different to one held last month in Barcelona, it will be attended by many prominent figures at the club, including Ratcliffe, chief executive Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox, as United are amidst their worst-ever Premier League start.

According to the Guardian there is no indication from within Old Trafford that Ten Hag will be sacked, United’s poor start to the season means the Dutchman’s job is under immense pressure.

Eight points in seven games, including two wins over Fulham and Southampton, and just five goals scored, means 2024-25 is the worst start United have made in three decades.

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Their next worst start? Last season, when they were one point better off than they currently are.

However, it’s just their abysmal league form that has Ten Hag teetering on the brink of unemployment, with the club’s two Europa League games this season creating cause for immense concern.

Against Ten Hag’s former side, FC Twente of the Eredivisie, United drew 1-1. A week later they let an early 2-0 lead slip against Porto to draw 3-3, with a late Harry Maguire header salvaging a point in Portugal.

After that draw Ratcliffe was quizzed about his manager’s future but insisted his opinion mattered very little when it came to ensuring the Dutchman remained at the helm after the upcoming international break.

“I don’t want to answer that question. I like Erik. I think he’s a very good coach but at the end of the day it’s not my call,” he said.

Instead, it’s down to Berrada and Ashworth, who publicly backed Ten Hag in a media briefing last month and could be placed in an uncomfortable position of ending the Dutchman’s tenure barely a month after supporting him.

A draw away at high-flying Aston Villa, who took three points from German giants Bayern Munich midweek, may have, for now, saved United’s powerbrokers from making a call on Ten Hag, according to club great Gary Neville.

Speaking on Sky Sports following the Villa game, Neville described the point as “ a small step forward.”

“Before the game if you’d offered any Manchester United fan, player and coach a draw they would have snapped your hand off.

“I think that’s where at the end (in) Erik Ten Hag’s interview there was probably a bit of relief because it keeps the wolves at bay for a couple of weeks, gives him a little more time.”

The season’s second international break means United don’t play until hosting Brentford on October 20 (AEST). Five days later it’s a trip to Turkey to clash with Fenerbahce, managed by former United top dog Jose Mourinho.

Neville feels United will afford Ten Hag more time to turn his side around and push for Champions League football come season’s end.

“No club wants to sack a manager during the season because it’s not only a reflection upon the manager, it’s a reflection upon them,” he said.

Ashworth made the notable caveat during his public backing of Ten Hag last month that the contract extension the 54-year-old signed during the European summer was “taken prior to both our arrivals.”

Despite this, Neville doubled down on his belief Ten Hag will remain United manager beyond the conclusion of this week’s meeting.

“The club did make the decision to keep Ten Hag in the summer and they don’t want to have to basically reverse that decision (after) six, seven games,” he said, adding how the international break may prove beneficial to the club’s situation.

“They’ve just got to hope in these next couple of weeks through maybe a reset, some thinking time, some planning,” he said.

“Manchester United fans, coaches and players have talked about this new structure that surrounds Erik Ten Hag, it needs to go to work quite quickly in these next few weeks.

“If the next international break (in mid-November) comes around and Manchester United are still 13th, 14th, there’s going to be pressure building.

“They can’t stay 14th without repercussions.”

Speaking following the Villa draw, Ten Hag showed minimal concern about his job, revealing he is in constant contact with those above him in the club’s structure.

“We communicate very openly and transparently. I speak continuously with them. Every week, I would say every day, we talk, so I expect I will speak with them,” he said.

United’s manager also feels his side’s form is largely due to their poor goalscoring abilities, which has seen them find the back of the net just five times this season, less than any other side in the English top flight.

In many ways, Ten Hag is correct with the club’s 17 big chances missed this season the second most of any side in the division.

“We know in this moment we have a lack of goals, in that perspective it’s not a good start, we have to step up,” Ten Hag said after the Villa game.

“That’s an area we have to improve. But we have four clean sheets. That’s good because we have to defend proper.”

However, several prominent football clubs believe a lack of goal threat is just one of the issues at United, with the likes of Jamie Carragher and Les Ferdinand believing the club have stagnated under Ten Hag.

“No we’re not (seeing any signs of improvement.) For him, he needs results right now,” Carragher told Sky Sports ahead of the weekend’s Villa draw.

Former Spurs and Newcastle striker Ferdinand agreed, telling that same broadcaster’s post-game coverage that United’s performances are flatlining.

“(Ten Hag) keeps talking about improvement, improvement, improvement (and) we’re struggling to see that improvement,” Ferdinand said.

“It’s easy to stand here and hammer Manchester United because during my playing career they were the benchmark. At the moment, they’re not the benchmark.”

Gary Lineker told the Rest Is Football podcast that he feels Ten Hag’s lack of consistent tactical approach has hindered United’s ability to maximise their output in the transfer market.

Over the summer window, United brought in six players for more than $328 million AUD, none of whom have set the world alight since moving to Old Trafford. Lineker believes Ten Hag is to blame for this reality.

“I think it’s very difficult to buy a player for Erik ten Hag because he plays a different system all the time. Sometimes they’re counter-attacking, sometimes they’ll play a little bit of a high press. Sometimes they won’t,” he said.

“We’ve said it many times on here. What is their style of football? What is their identity?”

The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell also questioned United’s transfer strategy following Ten Hag’s selection of Maguire and Jonny Evans as his centre backs against Villa.

Whitwell stated those decisions “somewhat undermines the club’s recruitment policy.”

United’s bench against Villa, which contained seven Ten Hag-era signings, acquiried for around £400 million, was described as “striking” by Whitwell, who commented how strange it was to see “several recruits brought in by Ten Hag considered only necessary for cameo appearances when the pressure dial is turned up.”

All these factors will likely be considered and assessed by the United hierarchy at their upcoming executive summit, with current assistant coach and legendary Manchester United striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy is reportedly the club’s preferred caretaker should they opt to sack Ten Hag.

But, one potential barrier to United parting with the Dutchman is the £17.5m ($34m) payout the club would need to fork out should they opt to venture down that path, which has been reported in several outlets including the Mirror.