Manchester United’s 1-3 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford was embarrassing for everyone involved but for Sir Jim Ratcliffe, that embarrassment was compounded.
Ruben Amorim tore into his team after the loss, deeming them the worst United side in history, so bad was the performance in the game.
United finished it with just a single shot on target, the penalty which was the solitary goal scored by Bruno Fernandes so the embarrassment was natural.
For Sir Jim Ratcliffe, however, the embarrassment didn’t end at that point. After this loss, a win by another team added to the same.
A tale of two Manchester Uniteds
Manchester United’s loss to Brighton will take all the headlines and rightly so, because even a loss to a bogey team like Brighton should have a semblance of competitiveness to it.
However, it can be argued that more than this loss, the win by Manchester United’s Women’s team was more embarrassing for Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
While the men’s team were getting themselves outplayed and dominated, the Women’s team solidified their third position in the league with a statement victory away at Manchester City.
Ella Toone scored a memorable hattrick to lead the team to a 4-2 win at the home of their city rivals.
To be fair to the men’s team, they also won away at Manchester City but the crux of the matter is in the league standings, with the Women’s team now third and level on points with Arsenal in second.
The men’s team are 13th, level on points with West Ham United who sacked their manager recently as there was a very real threat of getting relegated!
The Women’s team deserve their flowers and the tale of these two Manchester Uniteds reflect extremely badly on Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who hasn’t been shy about showing his indifference towards the women’s team.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s stance is ageing badly
“There’s only so much that you can do and our focus has been on the men’s team. If not, you get spread too thinly. We need to sort out the main issue – the men’s team. The women’s team is an opportunity.”
Those are the words of Sir Jim Ratcliffe in an interview with the United We Stand magazine last year and it’s not even the only statement he’s given to make sure everyone knows what he thinks of the women’s team.
It is worth taking his thoughts into account as well because where’s he’s coming from, the men’s team is clearly the money-maker but what shouldn’t happen is going out of your way to make the other team feel secondary.
Those words were questionable then, they are beginning to age like borderline embarrassment now as the two teams have taken opposite trajectories.
It’s not often that a win for your team embarrasses you more than a loss. That is, if Sir Jim Ratcliffe considers the women’s team “his” at all…
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
