Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has insisted that Sir Jim Ratcliffe still needs time to turn things around at the club, as he warned against passing early judgment on his tenure.
Ratcliffe assumed operational control of United in February last year after pumping north of £1bn to acquire a minority stake from the Glazer family.
The British businessman has since implemented a number of controversial cost-cutting measures that have somewhat made him unpopular among a section of the fanbase. Ratcliffe has made hundreds of staff redundant, axed Sir Alex Ferguson’s ambassadorial contract and cancelled cup final perks for employees, just to mention a few policies.
Things have also got worse on the pitch. United finished eighth last season and they’re currently languishing in 16th position, with just one Premier League game left to play.
Ahead of Wednesday’s Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur, The Athletic sat down with Gary Neville and allowed the TV pundit to have his say on Ratcliffe.
Neville remarked, “There’s no doubt that in the first 12 months of his ownership, there are two or three things he would have done differently. The reality is it’s such a big club, there is such a lot to do and there was so much wrong with it when he came in, I think he has got to be given some time to be able to develop a successful football club again.”
“It hasn’t been successful at the levels that United would want, winning Premier League titles and Champions Leagues, for 10 years — so it is a transition period where the new ownership are building new foundations. I always say it takes three years, four years to be able to embed something and he’s only 12 months in, so we need to give him time.”
“They’re very much in the embryonic stages of a stadium project, a training ground project and building a new team on the pitch. To say 12 months in whether it’s going to be a failure or success is too difficult. There is two or three things that have not gone very well and been quite unpopular, but there are also massive changes that needed to occur.”
“When you’re going into a club that basically has had sustained failure for 10 years and has recruited badly, you’re going to upset things along the way. You might make some decisions that ultimately are with a blunt tool, but the reality is change was required. It definitely was required.”
Likewise, Neville insisted that Ruben Amorim also needs time to improve the situation at OId Trafford.
“What they need to do now is to create some stability. There has been a lot of instability off the pitch in respect of the non-playing staff and there has been a lot of instability on the pitch with the changes of manager and changes to the squad. That has got to stop at some point and they’ve got to embed in Ruben’s team, let them develop.”
“I think this time next year we’ll know a lot more, when we see whether Ruben can build a successful team. Christmas next year we’ll know a lot more, because I think Ruben needs to get that second transfer window.”
“He needs a proper pre-season with the team to embed this system and this style of play. We’ll know a lot more in October, November, December when I’m sure they’ll be winning more matches than they are now.”
“It needs a big overhaul in the summer. Five or six players minimum to be able to change the direction of how he wants to play. There’s at least two forwards, a central midfield player, definitely two wing backs and another centre-back. They need six players minimum.”
Neville added, “Ruben has been very good at identifying the players he wants out of the club; that’s really clear to everybody. The club’s job now is to get them out and get replacements in that he likes and wants in his team.”
On the Europa final, Neville told The Athletic, “That game is making my stomach churn with its level of importance, to both clubs.”
“Not just from a silverware perspective, not just from a manager’s perspective, but also from a finance perspective; what it gives both clubs in terms of attracting players and the money that it will put into the clubs.”
He revealed that the upcoming contest is making him a little bit sick.
Featured image by Justin Setterfield via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
