Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a part-owner of Manchester United, has been vocal about the errors made in the club’s history.
Since joining, the Ineos owner has expressed his dissatisfaction with the football-related decisions taken prior to his tenure at Old Trafford.
As a result, Sir Jim Ratcliffe swiftly established a completely revamped footballing framework at the club, led by Omar Berrada.
The recruitment efforts are overseen by Jason Wilcox and Christopher Vivell, marking a level of organization that surpasses that of any manager since Sir Alex Ferguson.
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe – Chairman and part-owner
- Joel and Avram Glazer – Owners
- Sir Dave Brailsford – INEOS Head of Sport
- Jean-Claude Blanc – Board member
- Omar Berrada – CEO
- Jason Wilcox – Technical Director
- Christopher Vivell – Head of Recruitment
Sir Jim ultimately intends to execute a complete acquisition of United, with the objective of managing the club effectively and restoring it to the heights of football excellence.
This process, however, will require time. He has recently been addressing some of the significant errors committed by the Glazer family over the last ten years, which he is now working to rectify.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe slams prior management of Manchester United
Last week, Sir Jim disclosed the extent of the financial difficulties facing United, attributing them to a decade of severe mismanagement.
He stated that the club is obligated to pay £89 million this summer in transfer fee installments, primarily for players who have underperformed. This situation highlights the poor choices made by United during the tenures of Ed Woodward and Richard Arnold.
In a recent interview with The Times, Sir Jim shared his views on the Glazers’ decision to appoint these two individuals.
“I mean, I wouldn’t have tolerated Ed Woodward or Richard Arnold. Richard was a rugby man, he didn’t even understand football. Ed didn’t have the credentials to manage the club. He was a merchant banker and an accountant. He wasn’t the chief executive.”
He then continued to explain that the club management was shocking with the money wasted.
“The management of Manchester United have been given a huge amount of rope. The owners just managed the club and left the football side alone and they’ve made a lot of very poor decisions over 12 years, stupid things.
“They made a complete —- up of it, shocking really. They couldn’t see where they were headed. The first management group, they thought they understood and wanted to get involved in buying footballers but they didn’t have the knowledge to buy footballers, you know, so they went in the marketplace, spraying money around and it was just random, wasn’t it?”
Sir Jim is spot on, with United’s biggest problem under the Glazers not so much money, but that hundreds of millions were spent recklessly by people with no footballing acumen.
Ineos have already shown Manchester United how it’s done
Despite having only two transfer windows, the success rate of United’s signings has significantly improved compared to the previous management era.
Ineos has effectively mitigated the risks associated with acquisitions by securing promising young talents at very reasonable prices.
For instance, Ayden Heaven appears to be a future star for United, having been signed for merely £1.5 million in January. Similarly, Patrick Dorgu, acquired for £25 million, shows the potential to become one of the top wing-backs in the world, already demonstrating his capabilities.
This positive shift can be attributed to the involvement of knowledgeable football professionals in key decision-making roles, resulting in every Ineos signing currently appearing to be a wise investment.
If this trend continues, United could swiftly recover from its financial difficulties, and by focusing on developing a youthful squad, Amorim may soon have a team that can compete for the league title.
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