Inside Man Utd crisis: X-rated chants, sackings and pointed comments from ex-players

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s first year as Manchester United part-owner has been full of drama on and off the pitch, with head coach Ruben Amorim tasked with fixing the former

Manchester United’s struggles on the pitch aren’t the only problems faced by the Red Devils during the first 12 months of the Jim Ratcliffe era.

Ratcliffe officially took charge of football affairs in February 2024 and has overseen two transfer windows, a new managerial appointment and plenty of drama behind the scenes. New head coach Ruben Amorim has shown he’ll need more than three months to turn things around, with his United side taking on Spurs in a bottom-half scrap on Sunday, but all is not right in a number of areas.

The on-field struggles led Amorim to dub the team the worst in United’s history after a defeat at home to Brighton. Despite a steady supply of wins in cup competitions, the former Sporting boss has been unable to turn things around in the league.

Not that fans need to focus on results when it comes to things to be frustrated by. Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting measures have been met with a mixed response, while off-field drama has extended to the behaviour of former players – both recent and not-so-recent – over the course of the season.

Since taking the reins, Amorim has overseen a significant redundancy push. The reduction in staff numbers has been significant, while morale was said to be low over the summer as the club prepared for a pre-season tour of the United States.

More redundancy news has followed, and Amorim was asked about the matter in his press confernce ahead of United’s Premier League trip to Tottenham. The latest round of cuts could see more than 100 people out of work, though the total number is expected to be below 200.

“I have to understand all these problems but that problem of our club is not new,” said Amorim, who took over in November. “We already knew all the rules of Financial Fair Play but that cannot change the way I coach the team.”

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The Financial Fair Play restrictions have also impacted the club’s transfer business. In January, it emerged that no squad member was immune to being sold for the right price, and academy graduate Marcus Rashford was a high-profile departure when he joined Aston Villa on loan.

“What I say is I couldn’t get Marcus to see the way you’re supposed to play football and to train the way I see it,” Amorim told reporters once the exit was confirmed, several weeks after Rashford indicated he was looking for a new challenge. “Sometimes you have one player who is really good with one coach and the same player with another coach is different.

“I just wish the best to Rashford and Unai Emery and hope they can connect, because he’s a very good player. Thankfully, Marcus is in Birmingham now with Unai, so you can take these questions to another coach. We’re just focused on our players.”

There has been discontent off the pitch as well as on it. The decision to remove concession pricing on tickets was an upopular one, and fans of United, Manchester City, Everton and Liverpool coming together in a joint protest in early December.

Those fans optimistic Ratcliffe might offer a breath of fresh air after frustration at the Glazer family’s ownership were left disappointed. As reported by The Mail, chants of “Just like the Glazers, Jim Ratcliffe’s a c**t” rang out during United’s win at Fulham, which the billionaire watched in person.

“Sponsors depend on a passionate and engaged fanbase; alienating supporters risks damaging these critical partnerships,” the Manchester United Supporters Trust wrote in a letter to Ratcliffe. “By freezing prices and avoiding major disruptive policy changes now, you have the opportunity to signal that you value the unique role of fans in Manchester United’s success.”

Back to the on-field issues, and United have yet to record back-to-back league wins this season.-They have lost 11 games under a combination of Amorim and Erik ten Hag – already more than in any of their Premier League seasons under Sir Alex Ferguson – and there are still 14 games to go.

A number of recent signings have come in for criticism over the last few years, with former United favourite Paul Scholes recently taking aim at Lisandro Martinez. “Even when he is fit, he’s not good enough to win the Premier League with,” Scholes said of the Argentine on The Overlap Fan Debate, via Sky Bet.

Martinez will now miss the remainder of the season through injury, but that hasn’t stopped him firing back at Scholes. “This jinx guy is really hurting….You put him in Argentina, and he wouldn’t survive,” he said on social media.

While questions have been asked of United’s recruitment, their sales have also come under scrutiny. Scott McTominay has thrived since leaving United for Napoli, while Antony has made a flying start at Real Betis and Jadon Sancho – frozen out by Ten Hag – has shown flashes of quality on loan at Chelsea.

The summer arrival of Dan Ashworth as sporting director was intended to signal a new direction after years of questionable transfer window decisions. However, Ashworth was gone before the January window opener, brutally dismissed after just 159 days in the job.

Financial issues limited United’s transfer business in January 2024, and it was a similar story this time around. Patrick Dorgu did arrive from Lecce, but the lack of attacking reinforcements was felt in the recent home league defeat to Crystal Palace.

All this has left Amorim fielding questions about potential relegation. With a 12-point cushion over the bottom three, they should be safe, but they’re closer to the bottom three than they are to the top four.

“If you see the table it is impossible to feel any type of comfort,” Amorim told reporters. “We just want to win, to improve our performance because we are Man Utd. There is no comfort in any situation in this club.”

United can begin climbing the table with victory in North London on Sunday, gaining revenge for their Carabao Cup elimination in the process. Even if they do that, though, it feels as though it’s just one of a number of issues that needs fixing.

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