MANCHESTER UNITED’S new chief Sir Dave Brailsford was compared to David Brent following their 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Sunday.
The Red Devils’ incoming owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was in attendance at Old Trafford for the match as he prepares to assume control of 25 per cent of the club.
Sir Dave Brailsford is set to join the board of Manchester UnitedTimes Newspapers Ltd
Jamie Redknapp compared Brailsford to cringe comedy character David BrentHandout
Former British Cycling boss Brailsford, 59, is set to be Ratcliffe‘s right-hand man and will sit on the board.
But ex-Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp claimed the way he speaks reminds him of Ricky Gervais’ famously cringe comedy character Brent from The Office.
Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “I’ve met him before, he’s a lovely guy, an intelligent guy, obviously understands sport.
“There was a few David Brentisms in there when he talks about how you should do things and things like that.
“It’s easier said than done. The big thing is the culture has to change on the pitch, but the big thing is buy better players.
“The players that have been bought during this period, under this manager, haven’t been good enough. They’ve spent big money on players that haven’t been successful yet. That’s a big thing.
“When Sir Alex Ferguson was here, he bought the best players, so that’s why they ended up winning. It helped.
“[The winning mentality] was created by the players, the senior players, that created a culture. A lot of the stuff that goes on in the dressing room and in and around it comes from the players and the manager.
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“I just don’t feel that they’ve done that right now and the players haven’t been good enough that they’ve signed. That’s why they’ve had that period of not dominating like they were.”
Brailsford oversaw a huge period of success during his time at British Cycling.
He then took charge of Team Sky and helped Bradley Wiggins become Britain’s first winner of the Tour de France.
The team went on to win the race in seven of the next eight years.
Since then, Brailsford has become director of sport for Ratcliffe’s Ineos and has spent the last few years working with Ligue 1 club Nice – who sit second in the French top tier.
But his biggest challenge yet comes in the shape of Man Utd – with legendary player Gary Neville insisting his former side need a “big shock” because the club has “deteriorated enormously”.
He went on to add: “Obviously his background [Brailsford’s] isn’t football but his background has been in elite performance and he’ll know when he walks through that club and sees what’s going on on and off the pitch that it’s not an elite environment.
“They’ve not even got resource in positions at the moment like CEO and sporting director and a real prominent head of recruitment which other clubs have.
“So there’s a lot to do, but I think it needs a shock and it’s got a far better chance now with there being that disruption in the boardroom because going forward as it was before we would have seen more of the same.
“Spending £1.25bn, he’s an extremely successful businessman [Ratcliffe]. He’s not going to come in and idly watch by what’s been going on here for the last few years.
“He’s going to shock the system here and I think for a lot of people they’ll find it quite difficult.”
Asked about Brailsford, fellow Man Utd icon Roy Keane then said: “He’s been down that road before, he’s an experienced man.
“I think the club needed a change, but obviously it’s going to take time.
“He’s just come into the club, you’ve got to get the structure right, get the right people, go and get the best people in the world to come and work at Man Utd.
“And yeah, I’m hopeful that things will change.”
Man Utd sit seventh in the Premier League table, eight points adrift of the top four.
They were also eliminated in the Champions League group stage and are out of the Carabao Cup.
Erik ten Hag‘s men now have a two-week break before the fourth round of the FA Cup on January 28.
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