Josh Thompson (left), sitting two rows behind Sir Dave Brailsford at Old Trafford
Josh Thompson (left), sitting two rows behind Sir Dave Brailsford at Old Trafford
The Ruben Amorim arrival video features a familiar cast: Dan Ashworth, Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox. And then the unfamiliar face of Josh Thompson.
Thompson is the youthful staff member whose Melitta coffee is conveniently timed with Amorim's entrance into the temporary canteen in the academy building. Unbeknownst to many Manchester United fans, Thompson is Ineos's eyes and ears at the club's Carrington training complex.
The Ineos sport project manager has been very visible since Sir Jim Ratcliffe agreed a 27.7% stake in United on Christmas Eve. Thompson was first clocked at Luton Town in February and is usually sat adjacent to Sir Dave Brailsford in directors' boxes. Someone at United has dismissively referred to him as Brailsford's "bag man".
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Before Ineos's approval ratings plummeted amid the ticket price hike, successive Premier League defeats and Ashworth's defenestration, there were murmurs of discontent about Thompson's presence at Carrington.
"Literally hanging around so he can meet the new manager," one source said. Thompson chaperoned the marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge around Carrington and Old Trafford in August. Kipchoge's sub-two hour record in 2019 was strategised by Ineos.
When asked for comment on Thompson's role, an Ineos spokesperson bristled at the query and declined. The spokesperson also declined to confirm if Thompson's father is the chief executive officer of one of Ineos's sister groups.
Thompson effectively acts as Brailsford's personal assistant and ensures everything is functioning operationally in relation to Brailsford's diary. For example, Thompson will book vehicles to chaperone officials to and from Carrington or Old Trafford. Since Ineos ran football operations, United have used the HR Carriages Mayfair firm.
A club source has described Thompson as a connector between the ownership and the club and a fixer. Coincidentally, Ed Woodward dubbed John Murtough a "fixer" upon appointing him as football director in March 2021.
One source said Thompson is personable and has made an effort to fit into a tricky role not dissimilar to the team that represented the Glazer family at the Carrington coalface.
They also accept that some staff are bound to be naturally suspicious of someone who is the embodiment of Ineos at Carrington. A separate source said Thompson is "going around acting the big shot".
It was Thompson whom Ratcliffe consulted on an alternative exit route from Wembley after the FA Cup final in May. Ratcliffe was doorstepped by a reporter en route to the dressing room via the mixed zone and wanted to avoid fielding more questions about Erik ten Hag's future. Thompson re-emerged, following the celebratory United players. Ratcliffe never did.
Thompson greets Ratcliffe in the Old Trafford tunnel (Image: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Thompson waited for Ratcliffe at the Stretford End entrance when he arrived for the Liverpool game in September and escorted him to the directors' lounge. When Ratcliffe presented Bruno Fernandes with a framed shirt to mark his 250th appearance for the club before kick-off against Leicester City last month, Thompson followed Ratcliffe out of the director' lounge, down the gangway of the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand, waited pitchside as Ratcliffe congratulated Fernandes, and then followed Ratcliffe back up to the lounge.
Given the close attachment to Ratcliffe, there have been predictable accusations that Thompson is a nepo baby. One embittered staff member complained that Thompson "brings his mates to Carrington and just stands there watching training", possibly a reference to Kipchoge's tour.
A colleague was unimpressed by Thompson's behaviour towards a lift attendant at Wembley before the FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City. A source at Carrington, however, assured he is a "nice guy".
Thompson at Luton in February
A senior figure at United is still unimpressed and has privately questioned Thompson's role yet is reluctant to raise it. An Ineos source clarified Thompson is a more junior member of the team and not part of the senior leadership team.
"There are so many cooks and egos at United," a source who has dealt with them said. "The structure felt like it was destined to have someone leave but wouldn’t have expected it to be Ashworth or so soon."
Thompson was educated at the International School of Geneva and Loughborough University, where he obtained bachelor of sciences and masters degrees in international business and sport business and leadership.
As the Ineos sport project manager, he says he works "closely supporting both Sir Dave Brailsford, Director of INEOS Sport, and Jean-Claude Blanc, CEO of INEOS Sport, to drive performance and synergies across our diverse portfolio of world-class teams."
Even Ratcliffe has admitted United are nowhere near world-class.