SIR JIM Ratcliffe responded to the recent protests about the ownership of Manchester United with a little straight talking. While he blamed nobody, his comments suggested the club had been allowed to come off the rails and head towards the brink of disaster. Considering United are a club that earns so much money, something must have been very wrong. “We would have run out of cash by the end of 2025,” he admitted, a rather chilling forecast for a club so huge and systemic.
The fact the club’s owners were prepared to entertain the prospect of fresh investment implied that United had hidden problems. Some fans may have envisaged a new man coming in and providing the “silver bullet” that would instantly remedy the Glazer era, but Ratcliffe and his colleagues seem to be tackling the problem in the quickest way possible. He knows the measures they have taken have made him unpopular, but doubtless he has come across this sort of situation before in his business career. Job losses are never popular, especially when they involve long-standing salt-of-the-earth characters.
Calls for the ownership to “f\*\*\* off and get out of our club” are inappropriate, no matter who the fans are referring to. Firstly, it is not “our club” and secondly, the owners can, if they wish, do whatever they choose. It is their asset. This is not how the supporters interpret the relationship between themselves and “their” football club, but it is a fact. Some owners may not understand the emotional ties that fans have with clubs and that is somewhat irresponsible, but in almost all other aspects of the transaction, they do not have to listen.
Ultimately, owners like Sir Jim Ratcliffe want success from their investment, be it financial stability, top quality players and coaches and trophies for their club. But it has to acknowledged that when clubs change hands, the new owners have to deal with the problems and the resources that were there before they arrived. With managers coming and going, a squad can be the result of input from multiple coaches and player acquisition teams. Ratcliffe hinted United’s squad includes some overpaid players and some that are simply not good enough for the club. “We inherited players and it takes time to get away from the past,” he said.
If ever a club’s fans needed to believe in the process, it is United’s hordes at the moment. Laying in lower mid-table is not something most of them are accustomed to. But the bigger the problem child, the longer it takes to turn things around. It has been clear for some time that United’s transfer market activities have been flawed; too many players simply have not worked out and some of the fees paid by the club have smacked of desperation. Ratcliffe has been accused of making bad decisions and he admits that “we are not perfect but we are on a journey”.
The journey has been rocky so far and he understands the anger of the fans, but he firmly believes that in three years’ time, United will be the most profitable club in the world. He is also convinced they will be “where Liverpool and Real Madrid are today”.
Many United fans may find that a bold statement given where they are today, but Ratcliffe may have a trump card in the form of the proposed new stadium. Old Trafford was once considered a stately home among football grounds, but it has fallen behind so many new arenas. The new stadium which is being handled by Foster & Partners, will be a 100,000-capacity state-of-the-art mini-city. So spectacular will it be that its “trident”, three 200 foot columns, will be visible 40 kilometres away.
United’s fall from grace is a reminder that nothing lasts forever and even the strongest clubs can lose their way. Anyone who took over United would be having the problems the Ratcliffe administration is tacking at present. What did the fans expect? A middle-eastern oil investor who could instantly elevate the club and wipe away its considerable debt? Did they want their club to be just like the ones they dislike and dismiss as “plastic”? No club is entitled to success and United have endured barren spells, such as the period between 1911 and 1948 and 1968 to 1977. Since 2013 they have won five trophies, the previous 13 saw them lift 132 pieces of silverware. They have won the EFL Cup and FA Cup in the past two years, but it is very evident the club lost its _joie de vivre_ some time ago. If Ratcliffe gets it right, United will be back, but will he take the discontented support base with him on that journey?
**Manchester United’s trophies**
**Year**
**Trophy**
**Gap in years**
1902
Newton Heath became Manchester United
1908
Football League (1)
6
1909
FA Cup (1)
1
1911
Football League (2)
11
1948
FA Cup (2)
37
1952
Football League (3)
4
1956
Football League (4)
4
1957
Football League (5)
1
1963
FA Cup (3)
6
1965
Football League (6)
2
1967
Football League (7)
2
1968
European Cup (1)
1
1977
FA Cup (4)
9
1983
FA Cup (5)
6
1985
FA Cup (6)
2
1990
FA Cup (7)
5
1991
European Cup-Winners’ Cup (1)
1
1992
Football League Cup (1)
1
1993
Premier League (8)
1
1994
Premier League (9)
FA Cup (8)
2
1996
Premier League (10)
FA Cup (9)
2
Premier League (11)
1
1999
UEFA Champions League (2)Premier League (12)
FA Cup (10)
2
2000
Premier League (13)
1
2001
Premier League (14)
1
2003
Premier League (15)
2
2004
FA Cup (11)
1
2006
Football League Cup (2)
2
2007
Premier League (16)
1
2008
UEFA Champions League (3)Premier League (17)
1
2009
Premier League (18)Football League Cup (3)
1
2010
Football League Cup (4)
1
2011
Premier League (19)
1
2013
Premier League (20)
2
2016
FA Cup (12)
3
2017
UEFA Europa League (1)Football League Cup (5)
1
2023
Football League Cup (6)
6
2024
FA Cup (13)
1
Game of the People was founded in 2012 and is ranked among the 100 best football websites by various sources. The site consistently wins awards for its work, across a broad range of subjects. [View all posts by Neil Fredrik Jensen](https://gameofthepeople.com/author/georgefjord/)