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Sir Jim Ratcliffe slams two decisions under the Glazers before private relationship revelation
@Source: mirror.co.uk
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has slammed two pivotal decisions that were made at Manchester United under the Glazer family, before revealing what his private relationship is like with his fellow owners.
The Glazers have been United’s majority owners since taking full control of the club back in June 2005. Their decision to finance the purchase through loans secured against the club’s assets made the American billionaires immediately unpopular with fans. Their neglect of the club’s infrastructure and the team's decline on the pitch ever since has only increased that resentment.
Ratcliffe and his Ineos ownership group in February 2024 purchased a minority stake in the club, and were handed full control of football operations by the Glazers in a bid to return the Red Devils to their former glory.
But Sir Jim has now openly criticised calls made at the club while his colleagues were owners, stating that the decisions to hire David Moyes as the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor and appoint Ed Woodward as executive vice-chairman, were both wrong.
Both appointments are looked back upon by those associated with United as turning points for the club, leading to their plight over the past decade. “Look, I like David Moyes, and I think he's a really good manager, but to go from Sir Alex Ferguson to Moyes is not where I would have gone,” Ratcliffe candidly said in an interview with The Times.
“Moyes stepped into the shoes of Ferguson, who's won the Premier League 13 times, who won the Champions League twice and then you're handing over to a guy that has never managed big players and had never won anything.
“He's not necessarily got the personality to stand in front of them all. And I don't think Real Madrid would have made that choice as coach.
“If you look at coaches, a club can't always get it right, but they should have found the best chief executive in the world, and the best coach in the world, because Manchester United is the best club in the world. Instead they got both of those decisions wrong.”
Ferguson had just delivered United the perfect farewell present when he retired in 2013, having won them their 20th English league title, and his 13th, after 26 years at the helm. Moyes was handpicked by the Scot as his successor but lasted just 10 months in the role before being sacked by the Glazers before the end of the 2013/14 season.
Ratcliffe has already discovered for himself how difficult it is to get decisions right at a club where every call is highly-scrutinised and has major repercussions. The Brit admits that, in his short time as an owner, he has already made two big mistakes.
That includes persisting with the now-sacked Erik ten Hag into the current season, and wasting millions by appointing Dan Ashworth, also now departed, as sporting director. However, he maintains that his relationship with Avram and Joel Glazer remains unchanged, even going as far as to praise their character.
Ratcliffe added: “In my mind, we have a very professional partnership with the Glazer family. But have you met them? They're really honest, straightforward, not what you expect when you read about them in the press.
“And they're both [Avram and Joel] passionate about Manchester United. I like them as people – to be honest, they could have given us a bloody hard time, couldn't they, after we c***ed up with Dan Ashworth and Erik ten Hag? Could have, but didn't.”
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