Manchester United have bigger problems than Ruben Amorim as baffling update revealed
Manchester United have been a team in drastic transition on and off the field in the last 18 months, following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover at the club.
Man United’s 2-0 win against Sunderland marked one of their most comfortable victories under Ruben Amorim.
The win kept the Portuguese head coach’s head above water, but Amorim is still getting heavily criticised in the media.
Amorim has been questioned over his press conference approach, often being very frank and blunt in his assessments of Man United’s performances since being appointed by Ratcliffe.
When Ratcliffe’s INEOS took over sporting operations at Man United, the arrivals of Sir Dave Brailsford, Omar Berrada, and Dan Ashworth filled the Old Trafford faithful with hope.
What had once been an incoherent mess behind the scenes was set to become a well-oiled machine that echoed the way INEOS and Brailsford had previously run their other sporting entities.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe poses a bigger problem at Man United than many realise
What has followed, though, has been anything but, and the club appears to still be lagging behind its elite counterparts in numerous areas.
Redundancies have come in their hundreds, and Ashworth was dismissed just six months into his role in peculiar circumstances.
Ratcliffe is embarrassing himself at Man United, with his cost-cutting regime creating a host of problems for everyone involved.
This was highlighted by The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell, who wrote: “Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting regime, designed to make United profitable again, epitomises that financial landscape. That approach has come with consequences, not least concerning the academy building, which dates back to 2002 and had a refurbishment in 2017.
“There are allegations toilets have been left uncleaned, bins unemptied, and pitch perimeters worn and littered, with complaints made that there are not enough maintenance staff employed to maintain standards. Exterior signs are fading, and machinery has been left around the site.
“All those who wear club tracksuits — including academy coaches and first-team analysts, but not players, Amorim and his coaches — now have to wash their own kit.
“While a shortage of staff is alleged to have played a factor in an embarrassing episode involving United’s U13s when Everton came to Carrington to play a match last month.
“United did not have enough socks and shorts, so they asked to borrow some. It meant United players wore kit bearing Everton’s crest.“
Man United’s woes don’t stop with the academy team either
While Whitwell reports that the humiliating blunder with Everton was a human error, the stark reality of staff numbers being reduced was present with the women’s team’s trip to Brann in the Women’s Champions League.
Whitewell said: “That came in the wake of several pairs of women’s players’ boots going missing in transit for their Champions League qualifier at SK Brann. Club officials had to go to a local sports shop in Bergen less than three hours before kick-off to buy 15 pairs of boots and 20 sets of shin pads.“
This revelation comes a week after Wayne Rooney made stark comments about how he fears the club has lost its culture, and is afraid of how that is impacting his children, who are in Man United’s academy.
While it’s understandable that Ratcliffe, a successful businessman, would want to make his investment as profitable as possible, there seems to be a lack of self-awareness about what Man United stands for as a club.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant coach, Rene Meulensteen, had harsh words for Ratcliffe, echoing Rooney’s comments, suggesting the culture has been stripped away at Man United due to Ratcliffe’s recent actions.
While performances stutter and questions are asked about Amorim on the pitch, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before Ratcliffe faces similar scrutiny.