When it was announced that INEOS had completed the transaction to take a 25% stake in Manchester United, a wave of optimism was felt within the fan base as it felt that after 18 years of misdirection under the Glazers, footballing change was on the horizon.

At the time, there wasn’t the naïve belief among the supporters that United were suddenly going to rocket up the league table and win every piece of silverware on offer, but instead that there would be a clear focus on getting the footballing affairs of the club in order.

United fans had endured a difficult period of frustration with Ed Woodward as vice-chairman of the club in which decisions were made in terms of transfers by someone who lacked pedigree in football and had a personal background of business affairs.

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For the first time in a while, it appeared that football was the priority of those in control of the club with the appointment of Omar Berrada as CEO being a warmly welcomed move, especially as he had chosen to cross the city from the blue side of Manchester.

Berrada’s appointment was soon followed by the news that Dan Ashworth was to become sporting director with this head-hunting approach by INEOS making it appear as if they had a solid plan in terms of assembling a board structure that would help to create some degree of success on the pitch.

After a summer window that saw the club sign multiple targets favoured by then manager Erik Ten Hag, results on the field reflected poorly against the seemingly positive trajectory that was projected to occur when INEOS took control.

Ten Hag was soon sacked and replaced by Ruben Amorim, a young coach with a style of play which was an element of the Dutchman’s management that was evidently lacking.

However, one of the biggest shocks of the season was soon to come. After a poor defeat to Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford, which saw yet another sour atmosphere at a home game this season, the news broke that Dan Ashworth was to leave the club after less than six months in his role.

This was simply baffling for myself and for other fans included with it only adding to the mid-season slump that was occurring on the pitch. The last thing we needed was the circus to continue up in the boardroom, something that we hoped would stop under the new minority owners.

It was reported that it had cost the club around £3million to secure the services of Ashworth and that money had seemingly been washed down the drain in an instant. This was made even more frustrating as it came soon after the news that there would be no more concessionary tickets on offer for Premier League games this season with all single match tickets costing an extortionate £66.

Soon after, INEOS were explaining points of business fundamentals when asked as to how the rise in match day costs were impacting the fans. I personally found this a confusing line of rhetoric to take given that they had effectively just blown millions of pounds in the move to get Ashworth through the door, only to get rid of him almost as soon as he had got his feet under the desk.

So far, it really feels as if the new board take one step forward and two steps back as they continue to risk losing the support of those who matter most in football: the fans.