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The Lord of The Rings is a great narrative for Man Utd. The ring is on the finger of Sir Jim Ratcliffe. No one in the football department has been having this ring since Sir Alex left the dugout. Sir Alex gave it over to Ed Woodward, and since he left Sir Jim is the one wearing it.
Gollum, originally a Stoorish hobbit named Sméagol, is as many knows a creature from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He was twisted and consumed by the One Ring, which he called his “precious.” This leads to a dual personality and physical distortion. It results in a life of addiction. He hides in caves and obsessively seeks the Ring. He earned his name from the horrible gurgling sound he made in his throat. Eventually, he became a wretched, frog-like being. He both loves and hates the Ring that defines him. Man Utd has in real been described in this words by journalists and fans in recent years.
Man Utd parted company with Ruben Amorim on the 5th of January. Darren Fletcher stepped in to take charge. In his two games Man Utd drew vs. Burnley (2-2) in Premier League and was defeated by Brighton (1-2) in the FA Cup.
Two wins in those two games could have given Darren Fletcher more games. However, unrest among supporters and bad results led to the change for an interim head coach coming sooner than expected.
Michael Carrick is the chosen one. He certainly has the chance to secure a permanent deal. This will happen if his ride out the season is seen as a success.
The appointment makes a return to the Man Utd dug out for the former club midfielder. He last led Man Utd for two games, both wins. This was back in 2021, stepping in for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer until Ralf Ragnick was appointed. Carrick left Man Utd when Ragnick took over. Carrick later took over at Middlesbrough. He was dismissed last summer, ending 10th in the Campionship.
At Man Utd, what we have experienced after Sir Alex stepped down is very typical. It happens when there is no plan for the next step. There is also no idea of how that should be done. Sir Alex was everything at this club, for good and bad.
The neighbour (Man City) are build on a different model. They have over years made great success with a very their approach. Txiki Begiristain played a crucial role in the foundations of Man City. He joined the club in October 2012. This was 4 years before Pep Guardiola arrived. Begiristain left last summer. However, Pep is still around, ensuring that successful people are in the building. You can run the engine effectively. Additionally, you can get the situation sorted without having power gaps to fill.
Man Utd have struggled heavily with major power gaps appearing and flying between the different blocks at this football club. The power engine at Man Utd at the moment is Sir Jim Ratcliffe. He runs the show. His style and presence is at the moment giving everyone trying to run a football team a massive headache. The model and the people running the show at Man Utd are ineffective. They will not be able to manage the club properly. It looks far from becoming a major powerhouse again.
Michael Carrick can never outpower Sir Jim. When Sir Alex was around, everyone knew what counted. He had the last say. At this point, no one really trusts the football environment to be that force. Sir Jim is the conductor, he has the last say and everyone else will listen.
This is the key to success in football long term. Man Utd can win a cup or have a good season in Premier League. However, they appear very fragile as a club in the long term. When they get that balance correctly they will be able to be a consistent winner again. So who will and could change the power balance at Man Utd. Jurgen Klopp, Zinedine Zidane, Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Diego Simeone or Luis Enrique are the names that comes to mind. Other candidates would need to achieve instant success very early. They must do this to equal or even come close to a change in power.
"There's a real balance of personalities, characters, knowledge and experience." 🧠🤝
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 14, 2026
Michael Carrick will hopefully give the board a chance to silence the fans. He is a fan favourite and his time at Man Utd is fondly remembered. Fans will be nice to him and the board knows that. This is a very much used model to get some silence in between major decision making.
The talk at the moment is very much on who will become the next manager at this football club. We do agree with Roy Keane that changes are needed to bring balance. However, we do not agree it is all down to The Glazer’s family.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have loved to again be given a few months in the chair. He loves this club more than anything. He is a legend. His time with the club was not far from perfect. He had a negative spiral in his work. He never impressed anyone with his transfer dealings. A huge mistake was made when he brought back Cristiano Ronaldo, mainly to stop Man City from taking him on. OGS was not really in charge as he should have, also struggling with the power balance. The CEO Ed Woodward had the main power at the club, he was the one listened to at that time. The power is now with Sir Jim.
We all know that Sir Jim must leave or step down from his position. If he does not leave, you will struggle to achieve the correct energy level and power balance. Ensuring a proper power balance between football and administration will be difficult.
Sir Jim can say what he wants. However, he will never get any respect at all at the football department if he interferes. He will interfere because that is his nature.
The Lord of The Rings is very much alive inside this football club. The ring is currently on Sir Jim. It will remain there as long as he possesses the power he has at the moment.
We also believe the current ownership at this football club will never be able to bring the success needed. The fanbase is very demanding. Fans of Man Utd only count Premier League and Champions League trophies. Anything else is failure.
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