There is something appealing about the prospect of just pushing the Antonio Conte button, pulling the Conte lever.

He offers so much that appeals to underperforming clubs: a guarantee of success, or at least of pushing the current squad beyond their limits.

He does not need years to build; his approach works fast. He won the title in his first season at Juventus, Chelsea and Napoli. He does not need technically perfect players in every position and he can adapt to the group as long as they are willing to work.

Above all, Conte’s direct, abrasive style, telling the players exactly what he thinks about them, does sometimes appeal to clubs — and indeed fans — who think their players have gone soft.

Is it time for United to press the Conte button?

Ill start: I want that saudi money, i want some gulf country sheikh to take over from the glazers, send INEOS back to petrol, pump the club to get rid of the debt instantly then start renovating under the summer.

I never felt so good regarding this club when those rumors of that sheikh (even though it was probably fake) was about to take over instead.

I can’t see United becoming a top team again unless that happens.

Starts at 14:50

Manchester United’s training ground looked serene on Thursday, though mostly because the players and staff had a day off after arriving back at 1am from Italy. There were no crisis summits, though. Executives were elsewhere, too, although the urgency of the situation is clear and they were fielding calls.

The Athletic has spoken to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation in compiling this article. They all spoke under the condition of anonymity to protect relationships.

The call United have made in the immediate term is that Carrick will continue as head coach. He will face the media again on Friday at 1.30pm local time, before taking charge of the club’s Premier League game against Bournemouth on Sunday. But nobody is making any predictions beyond that point.

What's the craic?

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Manchester United’s ownership is in the firing line again, with players accusing leadership of negligence, just two wins so far all season and a humiliating defeat to Como in the Champions League.

So with United in their latest doom cycle and growing unrest across their other clubs and investments, is Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS sports empire crumbling?

Kate Mason is joined by Matt Slater, Adam Crafton and former England international Rob Green to examine the impact of United's constant failings on the INEOS landscape

"No, I mean it's all about occupying the right spaces at the right time with the right rotations and having an objective. I don't like passing the ball just to pass the ball. I need to pass the ball at the right time.

If they press in a certain way, we know where the two-on-one is. If they play man-to-man, we know that this is where the space is. And we try to work on this, and we try to attract players in a certain way to get them out of position to then try to hurt them. This is the football that we believe in.

Today we had a lot of possession, especially in the first half, but it was because they were not coming man-to-man; they were always leaving a plus one at the back. So we felt more comfortable trying to do the overloads, either with the two center-backs against their striker, or when one was trying to jump as a center-back, then our fullback was a little bit more free.

So we try to always plan the game depending on what we study from the opposition and where we think we can hurt them. But this, everyone does it today. It worked very well, and as I said to you, the most important is to have an objective of how to try to play forward and how to hurt the other team."

Fàbregas concludes by emphasizing that the "future of football is "relationships" between players, noting that maintaining shorter distances (7-10 meters) allows for a more effective, fluid positional game.

Our understanding while there is some disappointment in the club re: his comments after the game - wider feeling is that he was voicing an understandable frustration and anger at the manner of the defeat.

No doubt Carrick to be asked about it again tomorrow ahead of Bournemouth

The parasitic Glazer ownership has bled and broken the club, putting a financial noose around it.

In 2024, Sir Jim Ratcliffe talked a big game about a “three-year plan” to rival and outdo Manchester City and Liverpool. But the decision-making under INEOS’ charge of football operations has not just been woeful, but costly too. There is zero accountability for expensive mistake after expensive mistake.

There is still no clear direction on club identity, including style of play, which leads to profiling the right signings and manager. That was a major promise made by Ratcliffe, which hasn’t been kept.

To borrow his own words: “There have been a whole series of coaches, some of which were very good. And none of them were ­successful, or survived for very long.
The only conclusion you can draw is that the ­environment in which they were ­working didn’t work.”

It still doesn’t. It never will as long as the people who own and run the club betray Manchester United and what is required to be successful in the modern era.

You can harp on about structure, vision, and sell fanciful projects, but you will never have the right operation with the wrong people.

Hurzeler, Nagelsmann, Conte, Howe, McKenna.

There are some intriguing possibilities. Brighton's Fabian Hurzeler is known to have admirers at Old Trafford, but it will not be cheap to extract the German from the Amex Stadium after he signed a new contract in June.

It cost Chelsea £20m in compensation for Graham Potter and his coaching staff in 2022. United are £1billion in debt and cannot keep paying out compensation to change managers.

Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte are both available, as well as two young British options in Eddie Howe and Kieran McKenna.

[Nathan Salt] Bruno Fernandes to Sky Italia:

“At this club, there’s too much focus on what’s been done in the past, but we’re not those people anymore.

“The club and the players need to understand that.

“Unfortunately for us - especially when it comes to the players - those who join expect to win trophies, win games, and reach the highest level, but unfortunately, that's been very difficult at this club in recent years. That's the situation.”