New Delhi: At 21:15 on February 20th, 2024, the agreement between Manchester United and Sir Jim Ratcliffe was finalised for the latter to become part-owner of the club, securing a 25% stake in one of the biggest clubs in the world. While the deal only saw him secure a minority share in the club, the biggest up-side to this deal for him and the fans was that the deal saw him gain control over the club’s sporting operations.
This isn’t even the British billionaire’s first foray into the sport as he has been the owner of Swiss club Lausanne-Sport since 2017 and French club OGC Nice since 2019. He had been looking to expand his sporting ventures and tried to buy Chelsea when Roman Abramovich was forced to sell the club but his bid was rejected. He finally got the deal done for the Red Devils, of whom he’s been a lifelong fan.
When Ratcliffe was announced as Manchester United Co-owner, he said, “(This is) just the beginning of our journey to take Manchester United back to the top of English, European and world football, with world-class facilities for our fans. Work to achieve those objectives will accelerate from today.” Since then, he has shown that he meant what he said as the club seems to have been transformed under the Brit as he’s taken some much-needed measures to address the club’s problems.
Making the Right Backroom Appointments
Manchester United have poached significant officials from other Premier League rivals to help build the club with the right structure. Dan Ashworth, Omar Berrarda, and Christopher Vivell (L-R) are all coming from fellow Premier League clubs. (Credits: Getty Images)
The way Manchester United was being run under the Glazers Family was not how a top-level football club should be running. The club had no hierarchy or structure in place and key positions were missing in the club that helped it function smoothly. One of the first steps that Ratcliffe’s INEOS took was addressing this issue and they did so with well-thought-out appointments.
INEOS wasted no time in poaching Manchester City’s Chief Football Operations Officer, Omar Berrard, and appointing him as the new CEO of the club. Berrarda has over 18 years of experience in the Sports industry, including eight years at Manchester City, and another eight with Barcelona, and oversaw both the club’s most successful periods. In addition to him, United have also added former Newcastle Sporting director Dan Ashworth to the club.
🗣️ “I do think INEOS have helped, it has brought calmness”
Christian Eriksen says minority owners INEOS have made a difference at Manchester United 🔴 pic.twitter.com/G4aoXRwMle
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 26, 2024
Ashworth joined as the club’s first-ever sporting director to help the club make the right signings like he did previously with Brighton and Newcastle. Working under him is former Chelsea and RB Leipzig technical director Christopher Vivell, who also has a huge reputation. Vivell joins the club as interim director of recruitment and will work on a short-term basis at the club, overseeing the next two transfer windows. He will be the man who will be crucial in identifying the club’s transfer targets and also seeing which players exit the club.
While his role is only till the January 2025 transfer window, it could be extended further if it proves successful. Vivell was responsible for RB Salzburg signing players like Erling Haaland, Benjamin Sesko, and Dayot Upamecano. Southampton’s Jason Wilcox also joins as the technical director at the club and will also report to Dan Ashworth. He has worked as the Director of Football while at the Saints and was the academy director at Manchester City as well. His appointment will help the club develop better academy players.
And lastly, to rectify the 60-plus injuries the club faced last season, former Arsenal Head of Sports Medicine Gary O’Driscoll joins the club in the same role. He served as the chairman of the Premier League Doctors’ Group, was a member of the FA’s Medical Committee, and is one of the most experienced and respected people in the sports medicine field.
The arrival of these many people has given the club a proper internal structure and the club has hired some of the best candidates for the role, even poaching them from rival clubs, showcasing their intent.
Optimized Selection of Players and Coaches
Manchester United have made some brilliant moves in the off-season. (Credits: Getty Images)
As Erik Ten Hag prepares for the upcoming season, he has been given the right appointments to make his team function better, not only in terms of transfers but also in terms of the coaching staff that he has to help implement his ideas and strategies. Both of Ten Hag’s assistants from last season have left the club to pursue their managerial careers and they have been replaced by the Dutch duo of Rene Hake and club legend Ruud van Nistlerooy.
The most interesting thing about their appointments is that Hake was managing Go Ahead Eagles, the same Dutch club that gave Ten Hag his break, and Nistlerooy was in talks to become the next Burnley manager but both these managers turned down managerial roles to become assistant managers at the club. Apart from Hake’s relationship with Ten Hag and Nistlerooy’s love for his previous club, the INEOS group’s project and vision for the club surely helped bring these two to the club.
If Man Utd end up getting Andreas Georgson as set-piece coach, that would mean adding another managerial experience to the coaching staff:
• Andreas Georgson – Manager, Lillestrøm
• René Hake – Manager, GA Eagles
• Van Nistelrooy – Former Manager, PSV
Not a bad set-up 🧠🔴 pic.twitter.com/RDUEFruB7e
— UF (@UtdFaithfuls) July 26, 2024
The appointment fixes the two biggest problems United faced last season, a lack of goals and a leaky defense. They finished with the same goals for and goals against tally a Crystal Palace who finished two places behind them and conceded more goals than Everton, who finished seven places below the Red Devils. Hake is an excellent defensive coach and knows Ten Hag well from their time together at FC Twente where Hake was the U-19 coach and Ten Hag was the assistant manager.
Both of their defensive philosophy matches well and share the same vision which has helped them develop a close bond. As for Van Nistlerooy, he has been an excellent striker wherever he has gone and his involvement will help the team better their attacking output. Given that he’s a club legend who is eighth on the club’s all-time top-scorer list him pedigree with the players as well and he will be important in developing the club’s attackers who didn’t have a good 2023/24 campaign.
When it comes to the players at the club, one of the biggest news coming out of pre-season is the reintegration of Jadon Sancho into the team after he had a falling out with manager Erik Ten Hag. While the Englishman has struggled in his time in Manchester, he can be a lethal player for the club if used rightly. Even the arrival of talented youngsters like Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro shows that the club has a well-thought-out plan of bringing in young players who can become a part of the club for a longer duration.
Investment in the Carrington Complex
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 25: A general exterior view of the rear of the Manchester United Trafford Training Ground in Carrington on November 25, 2003, in Manchester, England. (Photo by /Manchester United via Getty Images)
To help the club improve overall, for all the players present, the INEOS group has also sanctioned a hefty investment of £50 million at the Carrington Training Academy. Sir Jim Ratcliffe had himself admitted that the standard of infrastructure had fallen under the Glazers. The renovation work has already started and will continue through the 2024/25 season and the initial focus will be on the complex’s gym, medical, nutrition, and recovery areas so that it’s functional when the season starts for the players.
Carrington Training Complex in the coming year 🥵😍 #MUFC pic.twitter.com/sttdQuYo09
— P-plug 𝕏 (@OfficialPplug) June 14, 2024
The renovation will be done by Foster+Partners, who were also responsible for the reshaping of the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, which hosted the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Sir Jim Ratcliffe said that he wants to ensure that he has created a world-class environment for his players and wants the training ground to be of the highest standards. After the renovation of the women’s team and the academy building, it is now the turn of the men’s team facilities to be upgraded to the highest possible standards.
Ever since Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group invested in Manchester United in February 2024, things have been improving for the Red Devils and they feel like the Manchester United of old. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
