After nearly twenty years of decay to a club that was top of the elites of football – the Glazer family have finally decided to sell a minority stake at Manchester United.
Off the field, United remain a commercial success with 2023 seeing United reach a staggering £648.4m in revenue. That being said, the last ten years have been nothing but a failure on the pitch as city neighbours Manchester City look to capture their fourth consecutive Premier League title. So what needs to change?
Clear vision must be set out
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS’ vow of ‘bringing Manchester United back to the top of English, European and World Football’ can only be fulfilled with a vision that everybody at the club can buy into and most importantly the fans can too. In the last decade, there has been a clear split between the club and the fans that has led to severe protests against the Glazer family.
Sir Jim and INEOS have the perfect opportunity to get the fans on their side – finally creating the harmony that has been lost in recent years.
Best in Class
The last decade has taught us that employing ex-players for serious jobs at the club doesn’t always work. It is crucial that Sir Jim and INEOS recruit the best candidates possible – that are fully behind their vision. Omar Berrada was appointed as United’s CEO, while a Director of Football is expected to be appointed in the coming weeks by INEOS. Appointing the best in class would give the club structure and of course a plan in all aspects of the club.
Make improvements in the Window
Spending money doesn’t guarantee success. Since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, the club have spent over £1bn on players with extremely poor results to show. There are stories of complete inadequacy by higher-ups at the club – which have set a precedent. In 2013, United were allegedly quoted £30m for a deal for Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines at the start of the window – United dragged their heels for the duration of the window and would eventually pay £27.5m just for Fellaini on Deadline Day.
In 2019, United were in talks for nearly two months with Leicester City over a potential deal for Harry Maguire. The Foxes wanted £80m for Maguire – who had starred for England at the FIFA World Cup in 2018. United would eventually pay the £80m fee for Maguire – however the then 26-year old was unable to complete a pre-season, instead they haggled with Leicester City for two months of the window to pay the fee that they wanted initially.
Time after time, United have had no plan in the window and have had panic on the last day to sign players such as Odion Ighalo, Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Renovations of Old Trafford and Carrington
Under the Glazers, Old Trafford and Carrington have been left to run-down and become ‘ancient’ in the world of modern football.
In his controversial interview with Piers Morgan in 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo commented on the state of Old Trafford and of Carrington claiming: ‘nothing has changed’.
For me personally, I would like to see Old Trafford renovated instead of rebuilt but one thing is for sure – the stadium is not good enough to compete with the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Anfield, the Emirates or the Etihad Stadium.
Carrington was built in 2002, replacing the Cliff Training Ground. At the time, Carrington was leading the way for science and facilities – but as time has gone on it has become a below-standard training centre that has not been upgraded at all.
Under INEOS, Old Trafford and Carrington need to be either revamped back to state-of-the-art facilities or rebuilt into modern stadia and complexes.
Run academy better
Manchester United has been built on its academy – stemming all the way back to the Busby Babes. In recent years, United have sold academy players for too little compared to Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool have done. Last summer, James Trafford signed for Burnley from Pep Guardiola’s team for £15m having only ever played at League One level. United however sold Anthony Elanga for £15m to Nottingham Forest – even though he made 55 appearances for the Red Devils and made his Sweden debut.
Under INEOS, it is important that United run the academy better financially and continue the excellent work of developing the current talent under the stewardship of Nick Cox. Under his leadership, Cox has overseen United’s FA Youth Cup victory in 2022, the arrivals of Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho, Willy Kambwala, Dan Gore and Omari Forson into the first-team squad.
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