Keith Wyness blames one Man United man in particular for Ten Hag failure
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has insisted he blames Sir Jim Ratcliffe for the handling of Erik ten Hag’s contract situation at Man United.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – suggested the billionaire minority owner at Old Trafford should have paid to install new sporting director Dan Ashworth at an earlier date.
Ten Hag was sacked by Man United last week having only signed a one-year contract extension in July.
The Dutchman extended his deal until June 2026 after winning the FA Cup against Man City in May.
Ashworth was eventually appointed by Ratcliffe and INEOS just days before the decision on Ten Hag’s contract was made – despite an agreement being in place several months earlier.
United chiefs have appointed Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim, who will start work at Old Trafford from next week.
Wyness blames Ratcliffe for Ten Hag’s Man United failure
Wyness told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “It’s turned out to be everything I had feared for Man United over the last few months.
“This is why it was so costly for Ratcliffe not to pay and get Ashworth out of Newcastle a lot quicker.
“They needed to make a more informed decision on Ten Hag in the summer, instead of handing him a new deal.
“It’s been a very costly exercise, but I suppose that if you’re Ratcliffe – you can afford to learn on the job.”
In other news, Man United scouts ‘closely watching’ midfield star ‘every week’.
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