Co-owner of Manchester United Sir Jim Ratcliffe has lifted the lid on what was just over a year of turbulence with Ineos who was in charge of Old Trafford.
In a revealing interview with the Times columnist Martin Samuel, the co-owner of United Ratcliffe discussed what it is like to deal with, his relationship with the Glazer family and the mistakes of the former CEO Ed Woodward.
'If abuse would reach Glazer levels, I would resign'
Ratcliffe said: “It [the abuse] Can be unpleasant. And I probably failed in having a nice front. I mean, I can tolerate it for a while. I don't mind being unpopular, because I get nobody likes to see Manchester United where they are, and nobody loves the decisions we have to make at the moment. If I draw a bit of the anger, I can tolerate that. But I am no different than the average person. It's not fun, especially for friends and family.
“So in the end, if it achieved the extent that the Glazer family has been abused, then I should say, watch, enough boys, let someone else do this. They can't really come to a competition, the glazers. They have now withdrawn into the shade, so I get the bloody stick.
“We have bought and I have not seen them since. It is,” Thank you, Jim, you are doing really well. ” At the moment I have no security, I don't have to walk around like that.
“The first thing Sir Alex Ferguson said to me was that the shirt can be too heavy, it really applies to everyone here, the coach, the owners – the owner. It is changing me in an old man. It is difficult to do the interviews. On camera, one cock -up and you are legendary for it.”
'I don't know why we bought man utd'
Asked why he decided to buy Man Utd, it was a question that Ratcliffe found difficult to answer.
He said: “I can't answer honestly why we did it. It is a fairly difficult question. With Nice, in the French competition, you can buy a club for £ 100 million. It is much cheaper access. But I don't really enjoy watching Nice because there are some good players, but the football level is not high enough for me to become enthusiastic.”
'The glazers are passionate by humans utd'
On the glazers, Ratcliffe said: “To be honest for the glazers, they are really good on the commercial side. The people who advise me say that the fans don't want to hear it. So I have to be careful. I get a lot of criticism when I support the Glazers, but the fact is that they are really decent people.
“They are the east coast, you know – that old East Coast America, they are very polite, they are very civilized, they are the nicest people on the planet. There is no bad bone in the body of Joel Glazer. Part of the problem is that there is no bad bone in his body.
“We have a very professional partnership with the Glazer family. They are really honest and clear, not what you expect when you read about it in the press. And they are both both [Avram and Joel – the most involved in the club] Passionate by Manchester United. I like them if people – to be honest, they could have given us a damn difficult time, couldn't they, after we got stuck with Dan Ashworth and Erik ten Hag? Could, but not. “
'Woodward did not have the references to lead Man Utd'
Ratcliffe, however, was critical of decisions from earlier management at Old Trafford.
“I would not have tolerated Ed Woodward or Richard Arnold. Richard was a rugby man, he didn't even understand football. Ed did not have the references to manage the club. He was a merchant banker and an accountant. He was not the Chief Executive.
“The way I look at it is that in the last 12 years you had two management teams at Manchester United who did badly because the owners were not like Steve Parish for example [Crystal Palace] and Daniel Levy [Tottenham Hotspur]They were not really in the details.
“The owners have just managed the club and left the football side alone and they have made many very bad decisions in 12 years, stupid things.
“They turned it into a complete cock-up, really shocking. They could not see where they were going. The first management group thought they understood and wanted to get involved in buying football players, but they didn't have the knowledge to buy football players, so they went on the market, spraying money and it was just random.”
Ratcliffe believes that the club is on the right track under the direction of Ineos, but does not think they will come “without more mistakes” but promised to “step off” if he fails, although he claimed, “I don't think I will fail.”
Fernandes on Ratcliffe: It's not nice to hear certain things
Prior to his interview in the Times, Ratcliffe suggested that some players “paid too much” in a series of interviews during the week in which he offered strong opinions about the club, including the standard of the team.
Captain Bruno Fernandes from Manchester United admitted: “It's not nice to hear certain things” from Ratcliffe.
In a series of interviews this week, Ratcliffe offered strong opinions about the club, including the standard of the team.
“Some are not good enough and some are probably paid too much, but for us to form the team we are fully responsible and responsible, will take time,” said Ratcliffe.
When asked about Ratcliffe's comments he made during the week, Fernandes said: “Of course it is not nice to hear certain things.
“I don't think a player likes to hear criticism or things that are being discussed; that you are not good enough or pay too much or whatever.
“Everyone has their own contract. The club agrees with the contracts the moment you come here, or the moment you do a new contract, and it is about proving that you can be important for the club.
“We can't relax in this club. There is a big standard, a great attention that you get from the media. You have to realize that you sometimes have to focus on your game, try to improve yourself.”
Comments