Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is confident Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS Group want to work with him and believes the incoming minority owners can help the club fulfil their lofty ambitions.
The Old Trafford giants announced on Christmas Eve that a long-awaited deal has been reached for boyhood fan Ratcliffe to buy a 25 per cent stake in the Premier League outfit.
INEOS is taking responsibility for United’s footballing operations under the terms of a deal that is expected to take four to six weeks to receive regulatory approval.
Sir Dave Brailsford, INEOS’ director of sport, was at Old Trafford on Boxing Day for the stunning 3-2 turnaround against Aston Villa, and Ten Hag says he will be speaking to the new minority owners soon.
“The schedule is so condensed so I didn’t have the time so far to speak with them, but it will come and I look forward (to it),” the United boss, who has been the subject of scrutiny and criticism this season, said.
“They want to work with me, I want to work with them. We will have the conversations, the meetings, so we will see.”
Asked if he is expecting INEOS to be a regular presence at United’s Carrington training base, Ten Hag said ahead of Saturday’s trip to Nottingham Forest: “I’m focused on the game so far.
“So, I said, no, in this moment I don’t want to have distractions but in the coming days, weeks, there will be time for this and then I know more.
“But I think it’s a good thing, it’s very positive and, as I said, we are looking really forward to working together.
“INEOS wants to work with me, in this structure, and I want to work with them.”
The fact Ten Hag repeated his belief that Ratcliffe’s team wanted to work with him seemed to suggest he has had some kind of assurances.
“From the start of the process I was kept informed,” the Dutchman said when that theory was put to him. “First by (departing chief executive) Richard Arnold, later on by (interim chief executive) Patrick Stewart.
“So I know everything, I know every detail, how the meetings and how the talks are, how the agreements are. Now it just has to settle down, give us some time.
“I have to talk with them and not with you about this and then we will see but I’m sure, I’m very positive about the messages I have been given.”
Under the terms of the agreement, INEOS will be consulted on football matters as they await ratification for a deal that Ten Hag believes can help awaken what have become stumbling giants.
Off the field, Ratcliffe has committed £236.7million to enable future investment into Old Trafford, while INEOS Sport’s widespread experience could prove beneficial on the pitch.
As well as interests varying from cycling to sailing and Formula One to rugby, Ratcliffe owns French football club Nice – currently second in Ligue 1 – and Swiss Super League team Lausanne-Sport.
“In other clubs, they have experience,” Ten Hag said. “In other sports, they have a lot of experience, a lot about performance, so they have a lot of knowledge.
“I’m really looking forward to (seeing) how they can contribute and I’m sure they can.
“We have to pick the things. Football is a very complicated sport, especially in the top, so I’m sure they will contribute, they will help us to achieve our high ambitions.”
Ten Hag has made it clear during his reign that United have to become regular trophy contenders once again, but FA Cup glory is all they can fight for this term.
Out of Europe, the Carabao Cup and Premier League title race, the Red Devils end of a topsy-turvy 2023 at rejuvenated Forest on Saturday evening.
Anthony Martial remains unwell and unavailable on a lengthy injury list that Ten Hag says will soon ease, with Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Mason Mount due back in mid-January.
“I think we are very optimistic,” he said looking ahead to the second half of the season.
“When the players return and now the luck is a little bit on our side now in the matter of injuries, then (it will be like) we have five or six new signings in January.”
Silva grateful Fulham's dominance was rewarded with late win
Marco Silva believes Fulham claimed a "deserved win" against Brentford, though admits they should have secured the three points much earlier in their 2-1 victory.
It looked like Vitaly Janelt's 24th-minute strike against the run of play was going to wrap up all three points for Brentford, but Harry Wilson proved the Cottagers' hero off the bench, scoring twice in stoppage time to snatch the three points.
Fulham had dominated from the first whistle and had 26 shots, 12 of which were on target, though they struggled to find a way past their opponents' staunch defence until the 92nd minute.
Wilson became just the sixth player to score an equalising and match-winning goal from the 90th minute onwards in the Premier League, while his second goal was Fulham's latest-ever Premier League winner at 96:46.
Silva was delighted with how his team pushed until the final seconds to ensure they came away with a win.
"It was definitely a deserved win. We started on the front foot and dominated all the game. In the first 20 minutes, we had two clear chances to score," Silva told BBC Sport.
"After they scored, we didn't lose the confidence and the trust in ourselves, we kept pushing them back, and we created enough to not be losing at half-time.
"I told the players this is football, it can happen, but we have to keep pushing, working hard and playing our way.
"It was late, it should've been much before, but that's football."
Brentford, meanwhile, have now dropped a league-high 14 points from winning positions in the Premier League as they suffered a fifth consecutive away defeat in the competition.
In fact, they are the first side in the competition's history to score the first goal in four consecutive away games and lose all four.
They had defended resolutely until their late lapse in concentration, and even had a chance to win it, only for Bernd Leno's impressive save to keep out Fabio Carvalho in the 95th minute.
Thomas Frank, though, admitted he was not yet ready to take the positives from the performance after the disappointment of their late defeat.
"It was tough. It is emotionally very tough right now," Frank told Sky Sports.
"When you are leading in the 92nd minute, and you lose, it is tough. I don't think we hit our highest level. I think on the day Fulham were better.
"There was a lot of good defending and effort, and I thought that would have given us the win. We could have won it with the chance for Fabio Carvalho and then we lost.
"When we look at the game back, and we are more cool-headed, we will probably be very happy with the defensive standard. I thought there were unbelievable blocks, and recovery runs and all that we did well. On the ball, we didn't do enough."
Returning fan favourite Alonso calls Liverpool 'one of Europe's best'
Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso hailed his former club Liverpool as "one of Europe's best" as he prepares for his Anfield return.
Alonso, who spent five successful years at Anfield and helped Liverpool win the Champions League in 2005, returns to his former stomping ground when Leverkusen take on the Reds on Tuesday.
Arne Slot has won 12 of his first 14 matches in charge of Liverpool, including all three in the Champions League so far.
Leverkusen have only won one of their 11 away major European matches in England (D3 L7), and have lost their last two visits to Anfield, and Alonso is under no illusion as to the scale of the task that awaits the reigning Bundesliga champions.
"For us, it is a big challenge," he said.
"Liverpool at the moment are one of the best, if not the best, in Europe, they are showing that in the Premier League and Champions League, a good squad, great coach. We're looking forward to it. Let's see what happens.
"You can play 70 minutes great but in 20 minutes it [the game] is gone, so it is mentally and emotionally we need to be ready.
"In all areas, they are really strong, so the process works really well. [Slot] has done a fantastic job in three months."
Alonso played 210 times across all competitions for Liverpool between 2004 and 2009, scoring 18 goals and providing 20 assists.
After winning the Champions League with the Reds in 2005, he helped them reach the final in 2007, though they lost to Milan on that occasion.
However, the Spaniard does not think he will have too much time for a trip down memory lane.
"Unfortunately, there is no time for tourism – maybe a little run or walk," he said.
"I know the city very well, I love it, but tomorrow I will focus on the game and only the game.
"It feels great to be back here after a few years. It's always special. You notice the development of the club; the new stand looks amazing.
"It is a big game against Liverpool, it cannot get much better than that."
The omens are not great for Leverkusen, though.
Liverpool have lost one of their last 21 European meetings with German opponents (W14 D6), albeit that one defeat came against Leverkusen in 2002.
“We want everyone involved”- Chung hoping for massive support for Reggae Boyz in Nations League Quarterfinal against USA
General Secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation, Dennis Chung, is hoping that Jamaicans come out in their numbers to support the Reggae Boyz during both legs of their CONCACAF Nations League Quarter-final at the National Stadium in Kingston on Thursday, November 14 and Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday, November 18.
The Reggae Boyz will be looking for revenge over their American counterparts after suffering defeat to them at the semi-final stage of last season’s Nations League 1-3 in extra time. The USA went on to win the whole thing with a 2-0 victory over Mexico in the final while the Reggae Boyz beat Panama 1-0 to claim third place.
If the Boyz are to get over the hump this time around, Chung understands that a massive part of it will be the energy they receive from the thousands of Jamaican fans in attendance.
“We are at the quarterfinal stage. We want to ensure that we are there in our numbers supporting the Boyz because we have to make it past the mighty USA which, after we finish with them, they won’t be so mighty,” Chung said in press conference on Monday.
As such, three support groups for Jamaican football-Reggae Boyz Supporters Club, Reggae Football Fans Club and Reggae Boyz Community, are all making it possible for fans from all over the diaspora to have an opportunity to cheer on the Reggae Boyz live and in person.
“We want to welcome this partnership because this is a way for us now to reach our fanbase. We want to ensure that everyone is involved. At the last two games we had over 17,000 people in attendance and that, for us, is very important. It’s not just about playing football. It’s about getting everybody involved,” Chung said on Monday.
Errol Walters and Louis Grant, members of the Reggae Football Fans Club, were also on hand on Monday and gave an overview of this initiative.
“It’s an honor and a pleasure to be serving our country in this way. What we’re trying to do is create an opportunity for fans in the diaspora that we use our collective bargaining power to negotiate to go to the games,” Walters said.
“There are times when I’m in London and want to go to a game and I have no one to travel with so it was always my dream to create a database to say listen, who’s going to the game from where,” Walters added.
Grant explained that this idea came about because of the desire of members of the diaspora to be a driving force behind the support of the team on their journey to the World Cup in 2026.
“This was birthed out a desire to be the proverbial 12th man for our football teams and more so for the second iteration of the historic trip to the World Cup. We, as members of the diaspora here in the United States, think it’s only right that we play our part in drumming up support as far as leveraging air travel, accommodation, and support,”
“For example, we’ve been in touch with US Soccer with regards to the game in St. Louis. We’ve gotten a section that we can have all or most of our supporters concentrated to create that ‘Office’ vibe,”
“In my experience, we’ve gone to games in my area and you’d see our supporters and our flag sparsely across the various stadiums and we are of the opinion that if we were more concentrated in one section, it bodes well or it is a better look and feel for our team,” he added.
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