Big Jim has spent big on higher perches... so Erik must start flying
IF nothing else, at least Manchester United fans know Sir Jim Ratcliffe does a belting line in irony.
“Where’s the national stadium for football? It’s in the south,” he raged. “Where’s the national stadium for rugby? It’s in the south. Where’s the national stadium for tennis. It’s in the south. Where’s the… etc, etc.”
And where was the new co-owner of Manchester United when he said this? In his office in Knightsbridge, London, of course.
Talking of belting lines in irony, Ratcliffe also went back to the idea that the British taxpayer might help fund a Monaco tax exile’s scheme to build a new stadium for his club.
Yep, we are all up for that, Sir Jim. You keep your billions in the bank of Monte Carlo, let the Glazers keep their dividends in their pockets and we’ll sort it. Sounds fair.
But, aside from these forays into the grand levelling-up discussion and the age-old debate about the north-south divide, Ratcliffe’s introductory words are the most positive messages to come out of United’s ownership structure for an age.
Sure, there were ideas that should raise supporters’ eyebrows, such as the one that INEOS will now be United’s master tacticians, Ratcliffe saying: “We’ll decide that style, plus the CEO, sporting director, probably the recruitment guys, what the style of football is and that will be the United style of football, and the coach will have to play that style.” As he referenced Manchester City on about a dozen occasions, Ratcliffe should know that there is only one person who decides the style of play at the Etihad – Pep Guardiola.
No doubt, Erik ten Hag will be interested in Ratcliffe’s comments about style and there is no escaping the fact that the man in charge of football operations has a major decision to make at the end of the season.
Having given
United
athree-year time frame to knock City and Liverpool off their perches, Ratcliffe cannot hang around.
Regardless of where United finish at the end of this Premier League season – even if they sneak into a Champions League slot – Ratcliffe will have to decide if Dutchman Ten Hag is the man he wants to lead his revolution.
But there is no doubt Ratcliffe will be decisive on that score, because the big take from his media engagements on day one of his co-ownership was that he is genuine when saying the reason he wanted to be involved was because he wants to see United be successful again.
That is probably why he has overpaid for the size of his stake.
This is a 71-year-old billionaire who does not need to multiply his fortune – instead, this smacks of being an investment driven by ego.
And that will be no bad thing for the club. Far from it.
From all he said on Wednesday, Ratcliffe wants to be seen – and go down in history – as the man who restored glory and honour to an iconic team and institution.
And after the years of silence and greedy indifference from the Glazers, that can only be a good thing for United.