Back him or sack him - Sir Jim Ratcliffe must make his biggest Manchester United decision public

The social media memes for those taking delight in another year of misery for Manchester United were all too easy. After Sir Jim Ratcliffe had told staff to return to the offices to work and slammed tidiness levels in some departments as a "disgrace", the real issue preventing this football club from achieving its potential was on show to a worldwide audience.

For all Ratcliffe's tinkering around the edges, staff throwing their sandwich wrappers in the bin and spending a bit more time in the office isn't going to improve the quality of football being put out on the pitch week after week, game after game. The 71-year-old billionaire knows plenty about the world of business and he is right that standards must be right across the board, but the most pressing problem is unavoidable.

After a drawn-out strategic review, Ineos have received a hospital pass, but their dithering is helping nobody now. For much of that process, Ratcliffe would have hoped Erik ten Hag was the right man. It's looking increasingly likely that isn't going to be the case.

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He looks out of ideas to fix the tactical problems that have left United looking like "one of the most poorly coached teams in the Premier League," to quote Jamie Carragher. It's certainly difficult to argue that the players are still fighting for him after they laid down tools so meekly at Selhurst Park.

The end of this season is now being used as a game of brinksmanship with Bayern Munich. United won't want to pay Ten Hag off when their position within the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR) is so precarious. The total absence of European football will be another blow to the balance sheet.

Bayern might be interested in bringing Ten Hag back to Munich for a shot at the top job, but they are unlikely to pay any compensation given how badly this season has gone. So it's an impasse and in the short-term, it's the results of Manchester United that are suffering.

After the pitiful defeat at Palace does anybody expect this United side to beat Arsenal or Newcastle? Two years ago they lost 4-0 at Brighton in May. The last day of the season brings another trip to the Amex and the sun won't be shining on the visitors.

As grim as things have been of late, there are signs of hope under Ineos. They have rebuilt the football structure and have either recruited or are recruiting good people in Omar Berrada, Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox. The demand for standards to rise is also worthy.

As one United staffer said of Ratcliffe's messaging last week, "It's showing standards have to rise in everything we do, from the passes on the pitch to the cleanliness of the offices."

That is a fair mission statement and Ratcliffe is sending out a message that he is in charge now, even if he only owns a fraction over a quarter of the football club. The biggest decision, however, will always be the position of the manager and making a call on that is now unavoidable. This current situation cannot go on. It's time to either declare that Ten Hag will still be in charge next season or that he is going.

The Dutchman will have raised his mitigation with Ratcliffe, Sir Dave Brailsford and Wilcox. An injury list that has never relented and what he feels is misfortune with refereeing decisions have become a regular refrain for a manager feeling the heat.

He still managed to field 10 internationals at Selhurst Park on Monday, including five players signed for £47million or more, all of them on Ten Hag's watch. Seven of the XI were recruited in his two years and the team cost more than £400m to put together. This level of mediocrity cannot go on and the season is rapidly turning from a disappointment to a downright embarrassment.

There is a theory the FA Cup final could yet salvage it, but it could also be the final humiliation. On current form, Manchester City will run riot at Wembley. For reference, Bury beating Derby County 6-0 in 1903 and City's 6-0 win against Watford in 2019 are the record wins in FA Cup finals.

Maybe that is a doomsday scenario, but City have won this season's league derbies by a combined score of six goals to one and the shot count stands at 47 to 10. Beyond pointing to the fact it's a derby and a cup final, it's impossible to make a case for United winning the game when they are producing performances as collectively atrocious as that one on Monday night.

What United really need right now is stability. The speculation around Ten Hag's future is partly a result of Ineos' silence on the matter. They shouldn't need four more games to decide on the future of a manager who has already overseen 110 fixtures. It is a case of back him or sack him and if Ratcliffe revealed where he stands it might bring a sense of clarity to the final weeks of the season.