Former Manchester United chief executive David Gill is backing the changes Sir Jim Ratcliffe has brought about at the Premier League giants with Omar Berrada, Jean-Claude Blanc and Sir Dave Brailsford all joining the Red Devils ranks.
It is hard to believe it’s only six weeks or so since Manchester United confirmed INEOS’ 25 per cent takeover of the club.
Ratcliffe, to borrow a quote from the Daily Mail, is ‘a man in a hurry’. You can say that again. The speed and the decisiveness he has brought to United is simply a world away from the pointless pontificating of the Glazer era.
Alongside Sir Dave Brailsford, Ratcliffe’s trusted right-hand man and a master negotiator, Old Trafford is now also home to Jean-Claude Blanc and Omar Berrada, the former arriving after playing a huge role behind the scenes at Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, and the latter appointed CEO after swapping Man City for the red side of the city.
Ratcliffe rings the changes at Manchester United
And Gill, who spent a decade as the club’s chief executive during final stretch of the Sir Alex Ferguson era, believes that Ratcliffe is making the right moves sorting out United’s famously messy structure off the pitch before turning his attention to things on it.
A proven, top-level director of football is the next on Ratcliffe’s to-do list. Newcastle chief Dan Ashworth still appears to be the favourite.
“I don’t know Dave Brailsford much, I’ve met him a few times, but I know Jean-Claude Blanc,” Gill tells Rio Ferdinand on his Vibe with Five podcast. “I think he’s an experienced manager in the world of football and knows what works and what doesn’t work. It’s positive having them both.”
On Berrada, who’s appointment appears to have sent ripples throughout the Premier League and feels like a major early statement of intent from INEOS, Gill added;
“Firstly, I think appointing someone from outside is a good idea. Someone with new ideas and a new perspective coming from a very successful club (in Man City).
“(My advice to Berrada is to) really focus in with Dave Brailsford and those on the recruitment and negotiation side. Really understand that. Get the focus back on that. Get it working better to deliver the players.
“We have just negotiated an extension with Adidas, a great deal there, and we’ve got sponsors coming in all the time so that is working pretty well. But if you align that with a team performance you’re doing even better.”
Brailsford, Blanc and Berrada in already
While there can be no question of hte commercial success of the Glazer era, Ratcliffe has made no secret of his desire to put sporting success above all else.
An ambition which will be music to the ears of supporters who care little about how many Manchester United themed garden gnomes have been sold at the club store, and how many points Erik ten Hag’s team earn on the pitch.
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