Sir Jim Ratcliffe has tunnel vision over his only goal at Manchester United, with the club losing sight of some of the values that have brought them success in the past
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been absolutely clear and unapologetic about the need for change at Manchester United since taking over in February 2024. The petrochemical billionaire’s pursuit of his only real goal has upset many, including former players and club legends, over the past 20 months.
More than a year has passed since Ratcliffe decided to take away Sir Alex Ferguson’s lucrative role as club ambassador. While Ferguson is just a drop in the ocean set in the midst of more than 450 job cuts, the legendary former manager is a huge step forward in terms of recognition.
This showed that Mr Ratcliffe and his Ineos management were not worried about negative PR. He is keen to save as much money as possible and the latest financial results point the way in that regard, with record financial revenues of £666.5m, commercial revenues of £333.3m and matchday revenues of £160.3m.
Ineos has hired consultants to make recommendations, and while these are likely to have led to redundancies, the eight-year early move of the London office, and reductions in staff benefits and freebies, they are unlikely to have had anything to do with the club’s damaged ties to its past.
This was hinted at by former manager David Moyes before Everton’s 1-0 win at Old Trafford on Monday. “Manchester United’s history hasn’t been one of those (changes),” he said.
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“Manchester United had a great culture. They stuck with their manager and brought in players through their academy. In fact, they had some of the best characteristics of what you want in a club: good values.”
While Moyes is addressing issues on the pitch, there is clearly something similar going on off the pitch as well, and there is definitely a culture change. Much has been made of improvements to the club’s Carrington training ground, but there have also been hints that United are moving away from their roots in other ways.
Club legend Norman Whiteside decided not to renew his season ticket in May after a series of issues including seat transfers, while Ferguson had to step in last year to ensure Sir Matt Busby’s family kept their seats.
Ticket prices are soaring, with modern club legends Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt struggling to get tickets. Scholes revealed on Monday that he had resorted to touts to get tickets, while Butt said he had been threatened with losing his season ticket after missing several games.
“It’s a completely different football club to the one we know,” Scholes said. “Nicky, I don’t know about you. You worked there not too long ago, and I don’t know anyone there.” Mr. Batt replied, “I don’t know anyone there.”
Individually, these incidents may not seem like much, but taken together they paint a picture of the kind of club Ineos is trying to create: modern, efficient and money-making. Links with the club’s highly successful past do not fit into its image.
Coach Ruben Amorim may also feel this is a problem. He reportedly wants to bring back legends like Eric Cantona to maintain a connection with the past and share experiences. But he certainly has bigger priorities at the moment, with United languishing in 10th place in the Premier League after failing to score for 81 minutes against 10-man Everton.
It is by no means certain that Amorim will get his way, and as manager of a struggling team, he could be fired quickly anyway. Ratcliffe and Ineos have shown that they are 100 percent focused on the future and ignore the importance of the past.
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