Such ambition initially raised expectations of a brighter future at the club. But, as Ratcliffe has admitted, on-field results must improve and, now that the decision to retain Ten Hag in the summer has been exposed as a mistake, there will inevitably be renewed focus on Ineos’ record across their other sports teams.
French club Nice, which Ratcliffe bought in 2019, qualified for the Europa League last season. But in four full campaigns in charge, he is yet to see Nice finish higher than fifth in Ligue 1, and they have twice finished ninth. They are now on to their seventh manager under Ineos ownership.
Lausanne, meanwhile, bought by Ratcliffe in 2017, are eighth in the Swiss Super League, having been relegated twice during that period, before then gaining promotion on both occasions.
Despite one of the biggest budgets in cycling, Ineos Grenadiers have proved a shadow of the all-conquering Team Sky which Ratcliffe took over in 2019, with no major win for several years.
The billionaire has enjoyed more success in sailing where his Ineos Britannia boat reached the America’s Cup – the first time a British team has been in the final since 1964, but then lost a one sided-final to holders New Zealand.
But it is at United that Ratcliffe and his executives will ultimately be judged when it comes to their investments in sport.
Perhaps the patience Ineos displayed with their sailing team influenced the decision to give Ten Hag time. Maybe the cost of sacking the manager was also a factor.
To be fair to Ratcliffe, back in February, he tried to temper expectations by warning that it could take three years before United were a true force again. The task, he said, was “not just a simple short-term fix. We have to walk to the right solution, not run to the wrong one.”
Sadly for Ten Hag, there was a limit to the patience of his boss.
Reviving United and returning them to the top of English football has become one of sport’s greatest quests.
Less than a year into their attempt at doing so, it is way too early to judge Ineos’ record at Old Trafford, and to assess their strategy. Only time will tell if United eventually benefits from the petro-chemical company’s learnings from their other sports investments, as Brailsford has suggested.
It is too soon to know whether the decision-making structure at the club – with the Glazers now shielded from scrutiny – will prove successful, or if tensions may emerge.
But some of the goodwill Ratcliffe and his executives enjoyed in their early months has been lost, and they are now under intense pressure to get their first managerial appointment right.
For the first time perhaps, they now realise the truly daunting scale of the challenge that confronts them.
