Gary Lineker has launched a scathing attack on Sir Jim Ratcliffe, labelling his tenure at Manchester United as "shambolic". The Red Devils' season plunged to a new low following their disappointing 3-2 loss to Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford.
This result was swiftly followed by the unexpected exit of sporting director Dan Ashworth, who had only been in post for five months. United now sit uncomfortably in 13th place in the Premier League table, a mere 10 points clear of the relegation zone, with issues escalating both on and off the pitch.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker gave a bleak evaluation of the club's current state and listed four significant mistakes made by Ratcliffe, 72, during his 10-month stint as United owner. "Ratcliffe came in and everyone thought that all was going to be well, but it's actually been more shambolic in many ways," said the former England striker, 64.
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"We've seen the whole Erik ten Hag situation over the summer when they were interviewing other managers. They ended up going back to Ten Hag and giving him a contract, and then a few months later they fire him and there's loads of compensation for that."
"They brought Dan Ashworth in and now he's out the door. They've put the ticket prices up and lots of fans are not happy about that. They've made big changes at the football club, they've moved out the women's football team. It's been a shambles."
Alan Shearer didn't mince words, expressing his dismay by saying: "Not only are they poor on the pitch, what on earth is going on off the pitch? I mean, it's embarrassing to go out and get a guy [Ashworth] and for him to be on gardening leave for six months, he spent longer on gardening leave than he did in his position at Man United."
Sir Jim Ratcliffe walks out of the tunnel at Old Trafford
Sir Jim Ratcliffe walks out of the tunnel at Old Trafford (Image: Getty Images)
The mood has definitely taken a turn for the worse at Old Trafford with Ruben Amorim, who stepped in after Ten Hag as manager last November, initially kicking off his stint with promise - netting two wins and a draw from his first three. Yet, following losses to Arsenal and Forest, the atmosphere has turned sour, not helped by the daunting upcoming clashes against Manchester City and Tottenham.
The sense of unease is accentuated by the eye-watering expenditure on the squad over recent seasons. Under Ten Hag's leadership, which lasted just over two years, a jaw-dropping $765m (£600m) was splashed out on fresh talent.
Amorim's preference for a three-at-the-back system at United suggests that new additions are likely in the January transfer window. However, it's believed that before Amorim's appointment, Ratcliffe wanted the new manager to maximize the potential of the existing squad before approving another spending spree.
Yet, with mounting problems both on and off the field, the pressure to invest might be too strong to ignore.