Ratcliffe went one step further this week, saying he wanted to give Amorim three more years to prove himself. He explained that United are trying to learn lessons from Arsenal, who have stuck with Mikel Arteta since he took over in 2019.
“Football doesn’t happen overnight,” United’s leaders said in an interview with The Times. “That’s three years. You see with[Mikel]Arteta at Arsenal. He had a miserable first few years.
“We have to be patient. We have long-term plans. It’s not a light switch. You can’t run a club like Manchester United by just reacting instantly to some abusive journalist every week.”
The INEOS chief executive may have a point in giving his manager more time, but using Arteta as an example proves beyond any doubt that United are only a shadow of their former self.
Arsenal have not won a major trophy in the past five years, their last success coming in the FA Cup at the end of Arteta’s first season in charge.
Since then, the Gunners have been unremarkable apart from consistently finishing second in the Premier League. The idea that Ratcliffe thinks this is what United should be aiming for is a damning indictment of the current state of United.
In Sir Alex Ferguson’s time they would not have supported such mediocrity. Throughout his tenure, anything short of winning multiple trophies each season was considered a failure, which was to be expected at United’s storied club.
The Red Devils have been one of the Premier League’s biggest spenders in recent years, but they have little to show for it. They should be competing with the best teams given the money they’ve spent, but instead they’re relegating to middling teams.
It’s been clear for some time that United are far from the beasts they once were, and Ratcliffe’s latest comments suggest that won’t change any time soon. It’s a disappointing situation for English football’s biggest club.
