It is an accepted truth that the club Ineos inherited from the Glazers was a mess on and off the field so fans had plenty of patience for the new ownership group.
However, to say that their tenure so far has been a “hit and a miss” would be extremely kind as they continue to plead poverty.
Pleading poverty is fine and understandable, it’s not even their fault that the club is in this state, but so far, their actions haven’t matched the words.
After the latest reports that the club will cut benefits provided to the Manchester United Foundation, their £21.4 million mistake looks downright unforgivable and sours the atmosphere around a club that is already reeling on the pitch.
Ineos’ £21.4 million mistake
Reports indicate that the cuts to the Manchester United Foundation will save the club around £1 million annually. It comes in a long line of cost-cutting measures like removing Sir Alex Ferguson’s ambassadorial role, clamping down on club cards, and so much more.
The mess they inherited has undoubtedly forced them to make such decisions and on a normal day, Man Utd fans would understand some of it too.
However, the holistic optics of what has happened off the pitch at the club while the Sir Jim Ratcliffe machinery continues to save pennies is what is hard to fathom.
It hasn’t even been six months since Erik ten Hag was sacked after being given a contract extension, a decision that cost the club £10.4 million.
The fact he would have left for free in the summer is a bigger cost-cutting measure than anything Ineos have done so far but they went a step further.
Ruben Amorim was given an ultimatum where he either joined United right away or the opportunity would leave him forever.
Amorim took the tough decision to leave Sporting and that decision cost United a further £11 million as they not only got the new Man Utd manager but refreshed two staffing structures, hiring and firing.
That’s £21.4 million spent to have the club in a worse position than it was in last year when the season finished with United setting their worst-ever Premier League finish.
At least £1 million will be saved by not sending money to the Man Utd Foundation!
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is concentrating his energies in the wrong place
The manager changed, the executive structure changed (and in Dan Ashworth’s case, changed again!), and the ownership changed, but one thing has remained constant.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe committed more than £200 million to a manager who wasn’t even here within four months of the season and because so many players don’t suit the new man in the dugout, expect more to come next summer.
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United have effectively wasted billions before Ineos, and millions under Ineos already but they’ve been effectively written off as cost of doing business, while minor cuts are made elsewhere.
Canceling a £50 bonus for the steward of the month is just not worth it to sour the mood around the club, especially in contrast to the money pumped into the first team.
The culture at the club and the atmosphere of the place where the players go to work daily is an underrated part of a successful operation.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has decimated that with ill-advised minor cuts while the first team bleeds money on account of his own bad decisions.
They inherited a mess but far from cleaning it, they’ve only added to it so far.
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