Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe at OId Trafford
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe at OId Trafford
It's going to be a bumpy road ahead for Manchester United under co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, according to journalist Andy Mitten.
It's been a turbulent year for the Red Devils as Ratcliffe acquired a 27.7% stake in the club back in February. They finished eighth in the Premier League standings in 2023/24, but won the FA Cup by beating bitter rivals Manchester City in May.
Despite uncertainty over Erik ten Hag's future, the new owner stuck with the Dutchman ahead of the new season, before eventually sacking him at the end of October and replacing him with Portuguese coach Ruben Amorim. Former Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth also joined the club over the summer, but was relieved of his duties earlier this week.
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Mitten, who is a writer for The Athletic and the founder of the United We Stand fanzine, believes the turbulence is far from over as he anticipates Ratcliffe will continue to make wholesale changes at the club. Citing a wide-ranging sit down interview he carried out with the businessman, Mitten explained what he thinks lies ahead for United.
"His stock has dipped from that point [when he joined the club]," Mitten told the BBC's Football Focus. "I, and many Manchester United fans, preferred his offer to the Qatari one.
"He's put his own money in and he's a Manchester lad. He was a United fan as a kid, but he's got a very complicated job to do and the fans have turned in recent weeks with some of the announcements.
"I spoke to him for 36 minutes and it was pretty full on. He doesn't do PR and was pretty blunt at times and we didn't agree on stuff, but did agree on other bits.
"It's going to be a bumpy road and it has been so far. He's made a lot of changes and he's putting his own money into Carrington, Old Trafford and a new stadium is on the cards.
"I think there's going to be loads more [changes]. These announcements are becoming the norm and look at the league table, there needs to be change."
United currently sit 13th in the Premier League standings with just five wins from their 15 games so far. They also face a difficult test against City at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon in a bid to close the gap on the top 10.