Drawn out Ten Hag saga anything but dynamic start to Ratcliffe's United era

MANCHESTER, England : Erik ten Hag's sacking by Manchester United has been the biggest decision for club co-owner Jim Ratcliffe since he arrived in February but the fact that the club took so long to pull the trigger could go down as a major misstep in the INEOS era.

The British billionaire's acquisition of a 25 per cent stake in his boyhood club, which included taking charge of their soccer operations, had been hailed as a new dawn amid fan frustration over the team's inability to return to their glory days.

However, it has been anything but, with Ten Hag overseeing a wretched start to this season that has left United languishing 14th in the Premier League and 21st in the Europa League table.

That is despite over 200 million pounds ($259.68 million) spent on new players in the close season - and 600 million since the Dutchman took charge before the 2022-23 campaign.

"I look at INEOS ... did they back themselves into a corner with the way they handled stuff in the summer?" former United defender-turned pundit Rio Ferdinand said in a video clip on X.

"Retrospectively, I think they'll look back and go 'you know we could have handled it differently, handled it better.'"

Ferdinand echoed the feelings of many as the dust around Ten Hag's sacking on Monday settled, questioning how United failed to snap up former Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel last summer.

United reportedly held talks with the German, as well as Roberto De Zerbi, before deciding to retain Ten Hag, and earlier this month the FA appointed Tuchel as England's new boss.

"I think they missed a trick not getting Thomas Tuchel," Jamie Carragher, a former Liverpool player and now pundit, told Sky Sports. "One of the reasons I thought they kept Ten Hag was knowing there was a