Sir Dave Brailsford has “unveiled” an ambitious new plan to Manchester United staff named “Mission 21”, with the aim of delivering the club’s twenty-first Premier League title.
The Ineos sport director, seen as Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s right-hand man in the British billionaire’s vast sporting empire, has taken on a “more central role in performance” at Old Trafford following the departure of Dan Ashworth in December, according to The Times.
The report describes Brailsford as Ratcliffe’s “principal advisor” with the former British Cycling chief famed for his ‘marginal gains’ approach to performance.
Brailsford has been a “constant presence” at United since Ratcliffe’s co-ownership bid for a minority stake of the club was accepted in December 2023, and later ratified by the Premier League the following February.
In this time, the Red Devils finished last season in a dismal 8th place after a campaign littered with inexcusable performances. Yet, this season has plumbed new depths with Ruben Amorim – appointed in November to replace Erik ten Hag – overseeing the “worst side in United’s history” to a position of 13th in the Premier League.
If ever there was a team crying out for ‘marginal gains’, it would be the one Brailsford has, ostensibly, been responsible for over the last 14 months.
The Times reports, “Amorim remains very much in charge of first-team matters, but Brailsford is now a central figure in driving what United hope is a transformation of the performance culture after years of decline.”
And part of this approach was formalised by the Ineos director to staff in the “Mission 21” plan – a “blueprint for United’s future” aimed at delivering the club’s next Premier League success, with the Reds currently on twenty titles.
However, The Times contends United’s current form, and difficulties with finances off the pitch, means this ambition looks “way beyond their reach” at present.
Brailsford drafted ‘Mission 21’ with the assistance of James Morton – “a professor of exercise metabolism at Liverpool John Moores University and the head of nutrition and physical performance lead at Team Sky”.
The pair presented the blueprint in a meeting with “senior performance staff” at Carrington last year. Alongside the plan for ‘Mission 21’, was a comparable model for the women’s team, titled ‘Mission 1’ as United Women await their first Super League title.
Ineos have been accused of a lack of focus and investment in the women’s team and this inclusion in the overarching plan for the club’s future “shows a level of commitment to Marc Skinner’s side,” The Times concludes.
Both ‘Mission 21’ and ‘Mission 1’ sit under the broad umbrella of United’s ‘Project 150’ initiative – a direct reference to the club’s 150th anniversary in 2028, with an ambition for United to be winning the Premier League title as a celebration and projected timeline.
The report reveals, “the key figures in that are [Omar] Berrada, [Jason] Wilcox, Collette Roche, who is the the chief operating officer, and Brailsford.”
Evidently, Brailsford’s influence at United remains considerable with the club’s co-owner backing his right-hand man to get it right at Old Trafford.
The Times concludes, “Brailsford’s “marginal gains” mantra was a central theme in the early Brailsford success story, as was something he called the “CORE Principle”, which is an acronym for commitment, ownership, responsibility and excellence and was designed to “achieve excellence in human beings”.
Whether this all translates successfully to top-flight football remains to be seen, but clearly Ratcliffe welcomes expertise beyond the boundaries of Amorim and his coaching staff.”
United fans would be forgiven for reacting to the idea of a blueprint titled ‘Mission 21’, encompassed within a broader ‘Project 150’ plan, with a suspicious scepticism given the dismal realities they are witnessing on the pitch every weekend.
But there has been an absence of any semblance of a plan at Old Trafford in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson malaise of the past eleven years. The fact that United are at least aiming at a target is an improvement; even if there are continued doubts over the people responsible for pulling the trigger.
Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
