Man Utd aren’t in Europe this season and their chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League are already hanging in the balance
There were no caveats presented when Sir Jim Ratcliffe stated in October that he wanted Ruben Amorim to have three years to prove himself at Manchester United. The statement didn’t come with a list of terms and conditions.
Everything Ratcliffe has said has pointed to his desire to give Amorim time. United have been through a succession of managers in recent years and none of them have managed to bring consistent success back to Old Trafford. In Ratcliffe’s view, the issues are as much structural as having the wrong man in the dugout.
But there will surely come a time when Amorim’s position comes under intense scrutiny once again. Perhaps we’re there after desperately disappointing results in the last two home fixtures. Monday’s trip to Wolves sticks out as a banana skin fraught with danger.
Lose to a team who have just two points from 14 Premier League games and the damage will be difficult to recover from. A win should be a given, but it might only be a matter of time until the next result that puts the Portuguese head coach back in the spotlight.
All eyes at Old Trafford will be on the league table. Amorim’s side are eighth at the moment, only two points off fourth but equally only three points off 14th. They need to be moving in the right direction.
United can spin the positives of one season out of Europe, which includes extra time on the training pitch for Amorim and a group of fresh players to target the Premier League every weekend. But right now, they are not making the most of those advantages.
A second campaign outside of the Champions League and the riches on offer in the expanded competition would be damaging. A second season outside of Europe would be disastrous entirely.
The difference between the Europa League and the Champions League is north of £100 million and missing out on that kind of cash is going to hurt. It will limit what United can do in the transfer market, damage their ability to attract players and impact revenues at a time when building a new stadium is a top priority.
We can’t be sure how much that will come into Ratcliffe’s thinking. As a businessman, he will clearly have an eye on the bottom line, but could he be willing to suck up the pain for another season in the interest of standing by his man? It would be a brave call.
However, one area of potential conflict is with the Glazer family, who remain the majority shareholders, even though it’s Ratcliffe who is currently running the show. The Glazers are all about the finances and they know how expensive not getting in the Champions League is.
They have been ruthless with managers before when Europe has slipped away, often dismissing them when qualification for the Champions League became impossible. United’s long-term ambitions can only be met with consistent entry into the Champions League.
The Premier League is likely to have a fifth spot again next season, giving United more room to bag themselves a seat at the top table. An encouraging run of fixtures in December might yet see them put themselves firmly into that race.
If that doesn’t happen, however, and the gap grows, that is when things could get nervy for Amorim. It is also when Ratcliffe’s desire to give him time and the Glazers’ focus on revenue could potentially rub up against each other.
For now, the Glazers are letting Ratcliffe and his team get on with running United. But you guarantee they are keeping a close eye on events at the club and they will be well aware of the consequences of missing out on the Champions League again.
