Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is facing renewed criticism as the club appears set to change its manager mid-season for the third consecutive year, with supporters turning his own "best in class" slogan against him.
Almost everything Ratcliffe has said about the club since his investment was confirmed in February 2024 has come back to haunt him in the last 32 months, according to a Manchester Evening News report. Speaking from Ineos' Knightsbridge offices at the time, he talked confidently about what had gone wrong and how he intended to fix it.
However, the British billionaire has discovered that in football, identifying problems is the relatively simple part, while fixing them is considerably more difficult than in petrochemicals.
Supporters turn catchphrase into taunt
During a churn through managers since Sir Alex Ferguson left, Ratcliffe said the "only conclusion you can draw is the environment in which they were working in didn't work." Now, as he prepares to change managers again, questions are being asked about the environment he has created since taking control.
The 74-year-old was not at Old Trafford for the latest defeat against Bournemouth, but his executives Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada were present and faced criticism from the fanbase. After Bournemouth made it 3-0 at Old Trafford, the Stretford End chanted "Best in class, you're having a laugh" - a direct reference to Ratcliffe's own catchphrase.
Supporters have long since placed Ratcliffe in the same bracket as the Glazer family, with many believing he does not really know what he is doing when it comes to running United.
Questioning the '10 out of 10s'
In February 2024, Ratcliffe outlined his vision, saying: "What you need are the foundations to be in a good place for Manchester United to be successful, which means that, from our point of view anyway, you need the right organisational structure."
He added: "Then we need to populate all the key roles with people who are best in class, 10 out of 10s, and there's clearly a lot of interest in those roles in Manchester United, because it's one of the biggest, if not the biggest football club in the world."
Critics now question whether Wilcox or Berrada would rate their own work as 10 out of 10. Wilcox took on the director of football role after Ratcliffe appointed a football executive widely considered the best in the country, only to sack him four months later because he did not like him.
Dan Ashworth had suggested that appointing Ruben Amorim mid-season was a bad idea and that United might be better served going for a Premier League-proven head coach in Eddie Howe. That advice now appears prescient given the club's current predicament.
A club becoming a punchline
The only thing best in class at United, the report argues, is the ability to turn themselves into a punchline. However bad it gets at other big clubs, it always seems to be United who plumb the depths, with Tottenham - despite twice surviving Premier League relegation - now appearing to be on an upward trajectory.
For the modern Manchester United, owned by absentee Americans intent on maximizing revenue and run by a septuagenarian obsessed with building a new stadium that matchgoers do not want, the situation could still get worse before it improves.
