Sir Jim has to make sure he meets the stars
THIS will be the last Manchester derby before a major change at United. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to buy 25 per cent of the world’s biggest club and have a leading say in signings and other on-pitch matters. Here’s what the billionaire must do quickly...
TALK TO PLAYERS
From day one, Ratcliffe must make it a priority to meet players and staff and build a rapport with them. It’s a bigger deal than people realise.
The best teams I played in had a close relationship with the chairman. At Liverpool, David Moores was warm and personable, travelling to the games, coming into the dressing room, always to encourage rather than undermine the manager.
As a result, the players wanted to do well for him. We could see his love for the club and it brought a togetherness that led to trophies. Mohamed Al Fayed at Fulham was different personality-wise, but also hands-on and energetic. Sometimes, a senior player like myself could speak to him directly with the manager’s blessing.
It’s something United have missed with the Glazers. Sir Jim, with his boyhood support for the club, can change that.
FIX TRANSFER CHAOS
Signing the right players is the bedrock of any successful team and United have failed. Jadon Sancho, Antony and Donny van de Beek cost almost £200million between them. I’m not a Harry Maguirebasher but at £80m, he wasn’t a gamechanger like Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool.
Ratcliffe must look into how United does business. Usually, there is more than one reason why things haven’t worked.
While I would never want a club to sign players the manager didn’t want, it might be that United have to take a more collegiate approach to bringing in players. Several of Erik ten Hag’s buys have come from the Dutch league and they haven’t cut it.
LIFE AFTER TEN HAG
It wouldn’t be correct to come in and get rid of Ten Hag. He has credit in the bank. If I were Ratcliffe, I’d give the manager the full season, see how things are and make a big decision decide in the summer whether to stick or twist.
The most important thing is that United are aware of which direction they want to go in the long-term and the managers who match their club philosophy so they have options.
When Brighton lost Graham Potter, they moved seamlessly to Roberto De Zerbi because they had done their homework. I bet Liverpool and Manchester City have thought about what happens after
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, but you don’t get that sense of forward planning at Old Trafford, where there’s been a revolving door of managers who are different to the previous one: David Moyes to Louis van Gaal to Jose Mourinho to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and now Ten Hag.
IMPROVE THE STADIUM
The Glazers have taken their eye off the ball and Old Trafford hasn’t even made the cut to host matches at Euro 2028.
Even if the stadium isn’t Ratcliffe’s responsibility, his taking a big role in the football side should remove any excuse the Glazers have not to improve the infrastructure. If Old Trafford becomes a better environment, both for ordinary fans and corporate types, the atmosphere gets better and the players benefit.