Broken Promises At Old Trafford
Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought a 27.7 percent minority stake in Manchester United from the Glazer family in February 2024. When he took over football operations, he promised supporters that the club would challenge for Premier League and Champions League titles. He criticized the Glazers for twelve years of stupid decisions and poor player recruitment under former club leaders Ed Woodward and Richard Arnold.
Now, as the 74 year old approaches his third anniversary at Old Trafford, Manchester United are in their worst position for 40 years. The team currently sits inside the Premier League relegation zone. Manager Michael Carrick is set to stay in his role despite managing just one league win all season.
Inexperienced Leadership At The Top
Ratcliffe pointed out the mistakes of the previous owners, but he has placed inexperienced people in key positions at Old Trafford. Chief executive Omar Berrada is working as a football club CEO for the first time after leaving Manchester City, where he was fourth or fifth in command.
Director of football Jason Wilcox joined United after spending less than a year in a similar role at Southampton. Ratcliffe has also hired two first team managers, Ruben Amorim and Michael Carrick, who had no previous Premier League management experience. His ownership of French club Nice and Swiss side Lausanne also brought underwhelming results and fan discontent.
Internal Clashes And Firing Decisions
Experienced executives who disagreed with Ratcliffe were removed. Former director of football Dan Ashworth wanted to hire Eddie Howe or Marco Silva in November 2024 instead of bringing in Ruben Amorim from Sporting CP. Ashworth pushed back against the hiring of Amorim and was fired by Ratcliffe.
Amorim himself was dismissed within 24 hours after criticizing Wilcox last season. A former Premier League executive noted that it often takes owners five years to learn lessons and accept responsibility, and until then they tend to blame what they inherited. Manchester United fans now face a difficult season as their team tries to move away from the relegation zone.
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