CHRISTMAS EVE marks exactly one year since Sir Jim Ratcliffe's arrival at Old Trafford.
And it's fair to say that it's been a pretty chaotic twelve months.
The British billionaire, 72, has raised more than £1 billion to take a 27.7 percent stake in his beloved Manchester United.
His minority stake was officially confirmed in February, but the Red Devils' announcement came late on Christmas Eve 2023.
Virtually every Manchester United fan was delighted by the news of the Ineos chief's arrival and received it as the best Christmas present imaginable.
With his successful business and sporting background – plus his pledge to invest heavily in Old Trafford's crumbling infrastructure – it felt like a major turning point for the club after years of decline under the Glazers and several managers since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 went.
However, the reality was very different from what United supporters had hoped.
The Glazers still own the club.
United suffered their worst ever Premier League result last season – and their lowest Christmas position in 35 years this season.
There have been many layoffs in the boardroom and dugout.
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Fans are unhappy thanks to several PR own goals.
And for the staff who still have their jobs, morale has sunk through the floor.
What has happened in this tumultuous first year for Ratcliffe?
Well, it all started on a very positive note, with CEO Richard Arnold resigning before news of Ratcliffe was even announced and United managing to poach Omar Berrada from rivals Manchester City in January.
In the same month, Ratcliffe and his right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford were pictured smiling as they met Erik ten Hag and other Carrington staff.
Arnold then left the board in February and left the club for good, adding Ineos pair John Rees and Rob Nevin as Ratcliffe continued to make his mark and influence.
But already in March there were the first signs that things were not going smoothly.
On the one hand, Ratcliffe gave fans a big boost by announcing his grand plans to replace the dated and leaky Old Trafford by building an epic new stadium dubbed a 'Wembley of the North'.
But on the other hand, United's stock price on the New York Stock Exchange fell to just $13.71, compared to $20.52 immediately after the acquisition was announced just three months earlier.
And in a slightly strange twist, it emerged that Ratcliffe had banned words such as 'great' and 'lukewarm cappuccino' as part of a very business-like use of language.
However, it was in April that the ruthless businessman began to wield his cost-cutting ax when he canceled company credit cards and private cars for senior staff.
Around the same time there were more changes upstairs as football director John Murtough followed Arnold out the exit door and Jason Wilcox arrived as technical director after a compensation package was agreed with Southampton.
At the same time, coveted former FA and Brighton chief Dan Ashworth was on gardening leave from Newcastle.
May proved to be a crucial month for United – and for Ratcliffe.
On the pitch, the club continued their nightmare Prem season, which saw them finish eighth by shocking City and winning the FA Cup final, making it two major trophies in two years for Ten Hag, who was on the brink of sacking .
Off the field it was a catalog of mistakes.
The extent of the leaking roof was exposed when heavy rain in Manchester caused waterfalls on the seats – before construction crews were seen finally getting to work on repairing them.
Elsewhere, Ratcliffe began to make himself not-so-Mr-Popular among the club's staff.
It started with a strongly worded email being sent to employees criticizing the 'disgraceful' lack of cleanliness around both the training ground and stadium, leading to a 'toxic' atmosphere around Carrington.
He then announced plans for layoffs, giving staff just a week to decide whether to accept packages to leave.
And to make matters worse, the new owner cut FA Cup final benefits, giving staff just one ticket per person and forcing them to pay for their own transport to Wembley.
The pre-match party and hotel for senior staff before the final were also axed, although an evening of celebrations continued in the capital following the goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
Ratcliffe doubled down on his ruthless approach in June when he introduced the 'back to work' policy, forcing all staff to be in the office every day – or face leaving for good.
He also announced plans for a £50 million Carrington upgrade, but scored an own goal with disparaging comments about the women's team.
Ashworth finally made his long-awaited arrival in his role as sporting director after four months of garden leave and a £3 million compensation package agreed with Newcastle.
Jobs have been cut
Ratcliffe took full advantage of the offseason to oversee a major overhaul of staff positions in July.
He began by reducing the number of staff traveling on the US tour to 125 and then made plans to lay off 250 employees.
That included the departures of popular media man John Allen, historian Cliff Butler and kitman Alex Wylie in the following months as Ratcliffe showed he was at Old Trafford for business, not sentiment.
Jean-Claude Blanc joined the board and ex-Chelsea technical director Christopher Vivell took over as interim recruitment director at short notice.
This month also saw a merry-go-round in the coaching staff, but crucially one man kept his job.
Ten Hag was tipped to take the title regardless of the FA Cup final result, but the club made a major U-turn and offered him a contract extension until 2026, which he signed.
However, his backroom team underwent a major reshuffle.
Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake were appointed as assistant managers, Andreas Georgson as first-team coach and Jelle ten Rouwelaar as goalkeeping coach.
Darren Fletcher – previously technical director – also joined the technical staff as first-team coach.
Steve McClaren, Mitchell van der Gaag and Benni McCarthy all left; the former took over as head coach of Jamaica.
By the end of August, the new-look board had given the green light to £199m worth of transfer signings in the summer window.
But that coincided with Ratcliffe leaving out lunch boxes for matchday staff – with reports that some were even forced to eat leftovers from the catering suites next to the toilets.
Fergie stopped
Ratcliffe again demonstrated his ruthless nature by stopping payment of Ferguson's £2 million-a-year salary as United ambassador in October.
He also canceled the staff Christmas party, in yet another move that angered those working behind the scenes for the club.
But all those savings were offset by the £15m payout for Ten Hag, who was sacked with the club 14th in the Premier League just three months after putting pen to paper on his new contract.
And it turned out that the 'back to work' policy actually cost United a fortune – as there weren't enough desks at Old Trafford, so hospitality suites were temporarily converted into offices between home games.
In November, Ruben Amorim arrived as Ten Hag's successor on a contract until 2027, but only after United were forced to fork over £10 million to activate his release clause.
Amorim axed legend Van Nistelrooy, who oversaw three wins and a draw from his four games as interim leader, to bring in his own coaching staff.
But despite the excitement of a new manager, friction remained under the former regime, with Manchester United's directors and chiefs locked in a bitter blame battle over the summer mess, including transfer signings and the Ten Hag saga with his new contract and the subsequent dismissal.
And while most of Ratcliffe's policies had had major consequences for the staff and playing team, towards the end of his first twelve months at Old Trafford his actions began to directly impact the fans.
Reports emerged that he plans to halve the £40,000 budget paid to the Manchester United Disabled Supporters Association.
Then in December, supporters marched and protested against Ratcliffe after he scrapped OAP and child discount tickets for home matches while also raising the minimum price of a home ticket to a whopping £66.
And he showed his Scrooge side by cutting the staff's traditional £100 Christmas bonus and replacing it with a measly £40 M&S voucher.
Then, in a shocking twist, Ashworth, a £3million man, was suddenly sacked after just five months as sporting director.
In the last game before the first anniversary of Ratcliffe's arrival, it was somewhat fitting that United lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth, one of their summer signings gave away a penalty and the ceiling leaked during Amorim's press conference.
Ratcliffe ended the year by investing an additional £79 million and increasing his stake in the club to 28.94 percent.
But both he and those who watched know that this first year has not gone as he hoped or imagined.
Gary Lineker branded Ashworth's nonsense as 'bloody embarrassing', 'laughable' and a 'terrible look', while Michael Owen insisted that the way Ratcliffe has 'ripped out' the core of the football club is 'heartbreaking'.
And Ratcliffe himself admitted that “mediocre” Manchester United are “still in the last century”.
Will he be able to turn things around on and off the field in his second year at the helm?
Everyone associated with the Red Devils will certainly hope so…
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