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Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already done something at Manchester United which hasn’t been done for 20 years
Journalist Mark Ogden has shared what some of the staff at Manchester United told him after getting the opportunity to meet Sir Jim Ratcliffe a couple of weeks ago.
Manchester United fans will be hoping that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of a stake in the club, and INEOS taking charge of football operations will mark a new era for the side.
It has been a miserable decade for Manchester United. Their run without a Premier League title will reach 11 years later this year. And there have been few sniffs of that prize in that time.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already impressed Manchester United staff
Erik ten Hag has come in for a lot of criticism this season. Manchester United now sit eight points adrift of the top four in the Premier League. And of course, they finished bottom of their Champions League group.
Some may have expected ten Hag to be in big trouble. But there was reason for optimism with the club announcing Ratcliffe’s arrival in December. The 71-year-old was pictured sat alongside Sir Alex Ferguson on Sunday as Manchester United played out a 2-2 draw with Tottenham.
It was an underwhelming performance from the home side. However, it appears that those working behind the scenes are optimistic about the direction Ratcliffe can take the club in.
And Mark Ogden told the podcast that the new minority owner has already made a positive impression on the staff.
“A couple of hours before the game, he came into the media room at Old Trafford and it was arranged so he could, as United put it, meet the people who he feels are important to the club ie the media represent the voice of the fans, less so than they used to back in the day, but they still do,” he said.
“He came in and said, look I can’t answer any of your questions because of the ongoing situation with the ratification of the Premier League, but I’ll take questions. And he did. He confirmed that the investment will be signed off by mid-February.
“He had a presence, and I think that that is important. He’s got a charisma about him. Obviously, he’s a self-made multi-billionaire, so he’s obviously got something about him. You sense that in the room for five minutes.
“I’ve been speaking to people at the club, he basically spoke to staff about 10 days, two weeks ago, just to introduce himself. And they were basically saying that they came out there feeling 10 foot tall, the staff. Because for the last 20 years, they’ve had none of that. They’ve had absentee owners. And basically, they’ve been told just sweat the brand as much as you can, grow the brand as much as you can, and make this club make loads of money.
“And Ratcliffe came in and said I’ve made my money, I want to win. And they said it was brilliant to hear this guy saying he wants to win.”
Fans will be wary, but businessman off to an encouraging start
It is certainly not going to be difficult for Ratcliffe to be a lot more popular than the Glazer family. And with that, his arrival could possibly have a massive impact on the club’s fortunes in the coming years.
There is a huge amount of work to do to take Manchester United back towards the summit of the Premier League table. And the jury will largely be out amongst the fans for the time-being.
But it certainly appears that he is off to an encouraging start.