Ferguson’s legacy at Old Trafford is assured but revelations over his earnings for ambassadorial duties leave a sour taste

Wayne Rooney had stolen the show in a 2-0 Manchester United win. The visit of the Premier League champions to Aberdeen in the summer of 2008 provided the kind of carnival occasion always guaranteed after Alex Ferguson’s defining move from Pittodrie to Old Trafford. This particular friendly was to mark the 25th anniversary of Ferguson leading Aberdeen to Cup Winners’ Cup glory. Friendly it was … until post‑match media duties.

Frank Gilfeather, a household name in the north east, asked Ferguson about the potential impact of Carlos Queiroz’s recently announced exit from United to take over as the Portugal head coach. Ferguson, hitherto unaware Gilfeather was in the room, shot a glance so vengeful it made the four horsemen of the apocalypse look like cartoon characters. After a pause of three seconds – which felt like three months – Ferguson answered the question in perfectly articulate terms. As the press conference concluded a group of us dived towards Gilfeather, desperate to know the basis for Ferguson’s extraordinary reaction. Gilfeather had reported throughout Ferguson’s spell in Aberdeen and, it was always assumed, had a decent relationship with the managerial icon.

Aston Villa are grateful for their No 1, West Ham have problems and Eddie Howe is under the pump

Curtis Jones’s all-action display against Chelsea was all the more impressive, given that the Liverpool midfielder and his partner have a newborn daughter at home – and he slept in the spare room before Sunday’s game. Called in to cover for Alexis Mac Allister, who picked up a knock on Argentina duty, Jones brought energy to Arne Slot’s midfield in an outstanding box-to-box display. He kept Cole Palmer quiet, might have won two penalties with runs into the box (the second was overturned by VAR) – and was in the right place again to poke home a second-half winner. Jones’s form will be a big boost for Slot with a brutal run of fixtures set to test the depth of his squad. The 23-year-old is surely overdue an England senior debut, having been part of the recent Nations League squad. Jones is the kind of dynamic midfielder Thomas Tuchel may be looking for, and more game time for Liverpool could convince the interim manager, Lee Carsley, to bed in a player he called “one of the most talented I’ve worked with”. Niall McVeigh

Match report: Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea

Match report: Wolves 1-2 Manchester City

Match report: Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea

Match report: Bournemouth 2-0 Arsenal

Match report: Fulham 1-3 Aston Villa

Match report: Manchester United 2-1 Brentford

• Matthijs de Ligt was off the pitch when Brentford scored
• Erik ten Hag believes injustice helped United respond

Erik ten Hag said Manchester United harnessed the “madness and anger” at the injustice of Matthijs de Ligt being ordered off due to a head injury before Brentford’s controversial opening goal to fuel a 2-1 second-half comeback victory at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Ethan Pinnock’s strike from a corner in added-time came with De Ligt receiving treatment, the third occasion he needed to be patched up. While he was off the pitch, Pinnock headed home, sparking protest from the defender, Ten Hag and Ruud van Nistelrooy, with the manager and his assistant booked.

Rasmus Højlund’s winner was a strike of certifiable skill and will bring a calmer vibe to Erik ten Hag and his troubled Manchester United after they claimed three points for the first time since the defeat of Southampton in mid-September.

On 62 minutes Brentford were pinned back by their right corner flag. The ball was claimed, Christian Eriksen slid a pass to Bruno Fernandes, and his no-look flick to Højlund was as sweet as the striker’s deft dink over Mark Flekken as Brentford’s visiting goalkeeper went to ground.

• United down in 14th with eight points from seven games
• Ten Hag still confident he can turn team’s form around

Erik ten Hag has admitted that Manchester United’s board are “not happy” with a start that has left his side in 14th and with only three wins in 10 games in all competitions.

The form meant the manager’s job was under scrutiny again going into the international break. Ten Hag conceded before Saturday’s Premier League game at home to Brentford that the hierarchy, led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who controls football policy, Omar Berrada, the chief executive, and Dan Ashworth, the sporting director, were not content with his team’s performances.

The manager is under pressure after another poor start. Here is a statistical look at where things have gone wrong

Manchester United return to action against Brentford on Saturday afternoon and that means the spotlight once again falling on Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman is under scrutiny given his team’s unimpressive start to the season and, unfortunately for him, the data backs up the naked eye – United are performing incredibly poorly, and have been doing so for some time under their increasingly beleaguered manager.

Pressure builds on Ange Postecoglou and Oliver Glasner, while a showdown at Anfield awaits as Chelsea visit

If Ange Postecoglou refuses to change his style, and Tottenham simply cannot change their culture, where does that leave both parties? Spurs are still some way off a crisis, but it’s an impasse that could cause combustion. “I didn’t get here by doing what everyone else is doing,” Postecoglou told Australian media this week, admitting that “sitting” on the Brighton loss – in which Spurs completely collapsed in the second half – has made for an agonising international break. Despite winning five on the bounce before the trip to the south coast, anything less than victory against West Ham will put further strain on the relationship between Tottenham’s manager and their supporters, which can increasingly lurch from one extreme to the other. Dominic Booth

Tottenham v West Ham, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Fulham v Aston Villa, Saturday 3pm

Ipswich v Everton, Saturday 3pm

Manchester United v Brentford, Saturday 3pm

• Midfielder’s ban cut from four years to 18 months
• Juventus future uncertain despite contract to 2026

Paul Pogba has insisted he is not a cheater after his doping ban was reduced this month and says he is targeting a return to the France national team when his suspension expires in March.

The former Manchester United midfielder was banned for four years last February after being provisionally suspended since September last year after he tested positive for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). After a lengthy appeal process, the 31-year-old had his ban reduced to 18 months by the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) on 4 October.

• CEO worked at City from 2011 before United move in July
• No concerns over Jason Wilcox who also worked at City

Manchester United are confident there will be no repercussions for the club’s chief executive, Omar Berrada, if his former employers, Manchester City, are found guilty of charges brought against them by the Premier League.

Berrada worked at City from 2011, eventually becoming chief footballing operations officer, before moving to United in the summer, but there is no suggestion of wrongdoing against him during his time while employed by the English champions.

• Ex-manager reported to receive more than £2m a year
• Eric Cantona hits out at ‘scandalous’ decision

The latest victim of the Ineos-led economy drive at Manchester United is none other than Sir Alex Ferguson. Since his appointment as a club ambassador in 2013, after stepping down as manager, ­Ferguson has been the recipient of a lucrative stipend, with company accounts in 2014 showing he received £2.16m for that role.

Now, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe ­con­tinues the cost-saving begun soon after his purchase of 27.7% of United last December, the club’s most ­successful manager has fallen victim to the same cuts that removed 250 staff from the United payroll during the summer, as first reported by the Athletic. It is understood Ferguson reached an amicable agreement with the club to cease his ambassador duties when the current ­season ends. Aged 83 in December, and a ­widower after the death of his wife, Lady Cathy, in ­October 2023, the Scot is said to have been planning to step down from his duties in due course.

Ratcliffe has built an empire of assets across different sports but his teams have enjoyed varying degrees of success

Should Sir Ben Ainslie’s crew achieve the seemingly impossible and bring home the America’s Cup it will be the biggest sporting triumph yet for Ineos, whose tentacles now lie across the elite landscape in six disciplines. Despite heavy investment and the oversight of Sir Dave Brailsford it has been a mixed bag so far for Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s petrochemicals company; they have struggled to make their mark in Formula One and cycling, while it may take a superhuman effort to restore Manchester United to greatness.

They have encountered accusations of using sport to airbrush environmental concerns around their business. Ending Britain’s 136-year wait for sailing’s most vaunted prize would, in the short term at least, guarantee favourable headlines.

With almost a fifth of the campaign in the bag, we cast an eye over the top-rating players who moved in the off-season

By Ben McAleer for WhoScored

Right-back was an area Erik ten Hag sought to improve upon over the summer, and Noussair Mazraoui has made the starting spot his own at Manchester United. Indeed, the Morocco international ranks seventh for tackles (21) in the Premier League this season. While United’s summer signings have struggled, the former Bayern Munich man has slotted in well enough under Ten Hag at Old Trafford. They’ll miss Mazraoui during his time on the sidelines.

• Club insist minor corrective procedure is precautionary
• Defender expected to be available ‘in the next few weeks’

The Manchester United defender Noussair Mazraoui will be sidelined for several weeks having undergone a medical procedure after heart palpitations.

Club sources have played down the seriousness, insisting it is a precautionary, minor corrective procedure to rectify a relatively common condition.

• Executive committee met for regular meeting in London
• United could still take decision to remove manager

No clarity has been offered regarding Erik ten Hag’s future at Manchester United following a summit meeting of the club’s hierarchy on Tuesday during which the Dutchman’s position as manager was discussed.

The meeting, a regular diary appointment of the executive committee, took place in Knightsbridge, at the offices of Ineos. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the company’s owner and United’s largest single minority shareholder, led the talks with Omar Berrada, United’s chief executive, Dan Ashworth, the sporting director, and Jason Wilcox, the technical director.

As trouble continues at Old Trafford, our cartoonist takes a look at what the process behind the scenes might be

• You can get copies of David’s cartoons in our Print Shop

• Sir Jim Ratcliffe to meet senior colleagues in London
• Ruud van Nistelrooy seen as potential caretaker option

Erik ten Hag’s future as the Manchester United manager will be decided at an executive summit headed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe in London on Tuesday, with his assistant, Ruud van Nistelrooy, favoured as a caretaker replacement should a change be made.

The meeting, a regular diary appointment, is expected to be attended by Ratcliffe, who controls the football department, and include Omar Berrada, the chief executive, Dan Ashworth, the sporting director, and Jason Wilcox, the technical director.

Erik ten Hag is far from alone in finding Old Trafford degenerating into a swirl of confusion around him

On Sunday, Aston Villa, fifth in the table, perhaps drained after Wednesday’s euphoric win over Bayern Munich, drew 0-0 against a lower mid-table side. Under normal circumstances that wouldn’t get the pulses racing, particularly not on a day when Brighton came from 2-0 down to beat Tottenham and Chelsea against Nottingham Forest degenerated into a 15-man melee. But this is Manchester United we’re talking about.

At some point, perhaps, the fascination will fade, but more than 11 years since Sir Alex Ferguson left, the soap opera remains as compelling as ever. How can the most successful team in English league history, the club with the highest average attendances, have got things so badly, so consistently, wrong? The basic law of football is that money rises, that the rich eventually prevail: for United to defy that basic truth for so long represents a remarkable commitment to mismanagement.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Jonathan will answer your questions in next week’s edition: if you have a question for him, email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, or reply directly to this email, and he’ll answer the best.

Ederson is showing his worth to Manchester City and Everton’s Jordan Pickford silences the boo-boys

After Ederson made several vital saves to deny Fulham – and particularly Adama Traoré – Pep Guardiola revealed that summer interest from Saudi clubs for the Manchester City No 1 was never firmed up. “He knew from day one I didn’t want it, we didn’t want it,” said the City manager. “But the offer didn’t come – the real offer. Because they [Al-Nassr] made an offer, but for the keeper, for the team who won four Premier Leagues in a row, he has a value, a price. Otherwise, he cannot leave.” Guardiola praised the Brazilian for regaining his focus after the uncertainty. “Ederson is so strong: in one second, he says: ‘OK, I’m here, I’m going to do my best.’” Guardiola also believes the presence of Stefan Ortega has pushed his first-choice keeper. “Sometimes Ederson has to have the feeling that he has to perform well, otherwise Stefan can play. And this healthy competition, because they respect [each other] and have an incredible relationship, makes our team better.” Jamie Jackson

Match report: Manchester City 3-2 Fulham

Match report: Aston Villa 0-0 Manchester United

Match report: Arsenal 3-1 Southampton

Match report: Chelsea 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Match report: Brighton 3-2 Tottenham

Ghost ship will only right itself with painstaking progress – but that didn’t make 0-0 draw less torturous to watch

My favourite Benjamin Disraeli story – in a crowded if largely apocryphal field – comes from a dinner party the then prime minister attended in the late 1870s. War is raging in the Balkans, and with public opinion overwhelmingly in favour of a British intervention, the mood at the table is understandably tense. Eventually one guest, unable to bear the awkward silence any longer, bursts out: “Mr Disraeli, what are you waiting for?”

“At this moment, madam,” Disraeli replies, “the potatoes.”

• United endure worst start to Premier League season
• Ten Hag expects to speak to board in coming days

Erik ten Hag insisted he was on the same page as the Manchester United hierarchy and said he had received no indication from the owners that he does not retain their support.

On Friday United’s co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe swerved the chance to offer Ten Hag his backing and the Dutchman acknowledged there was pressure to “step up” after a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa, in front of United’s executives, meant the club registered their worst start to a Premier League season. Without a win in five matches in all competitions, United are 14th in the league, five points above the relegation zone after scoring only five goals in seven games.