Paul Scholes launched a stinging rebuke against Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s lordship over Manchester United, claiming that ‘nothing positive’ has happened since Ineos took over.
He aimed a particular attack on the ‘ridiculous’ ticket prices which alienate many fans.
United are on course for their worst-ever Premier League season, sitting 13th in the table, but raised base ticket prices without consultation to £66 in November, almost tripling the cost for children.
It appears to fall short of his promise to ‘work with fans’ to restore the club to the ‘very top of English, European, and world football’ when Ineos completed their £1.3bilion partial takeover in December 2023.
‘[Ineos Group] have been in charge [of Manchester United] for nearly a year now and everything is still negative. I can’t think of something positive that they’ve done for the football club,’ Scholes told The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet.
‘Things are getting worse on the football pitch so couldn’t they have just said that they’d do cheaper tickets – couldn’t they just give us something positive? How can you ask Manchester United fans to pay more money with what’s on the football pitch?
Paul Scholes has slammed Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s leadership of Manchester United, claiming Ineos ‘don’t care’ and that ‘nothing positive’ has happened since they took over
Hundreds of Manchester United fans staged a protest against ticket prices in December
Ratcliffe has made base ticket prices £66 and admitted he will make ‘unpopular decisions’
‘£66 for a ticket is ridiculous. If you think of Manchester, there are so many deprived areas and Sir Jim Ratcliffe himself is from Failsworth, which is a deprived area. If you take one kid with you, that’s £120, if you take a family, you’re looking at £300-400 – it’s not right.
‘Where do these owners get the front to put ticket prices up? For the value, we’re probably having our worst ever Premier League season and they’ve got the cheek to put the prices up.
‘There is nothing positive happening with that football club. The team look bang average. They’re not doing anything for fans.
‘If we’ve got Sir Jim Ratcliffe, compared to all these American owners, who’s been a United fan since growing up in an area in Manchester, he’s still hiking prices up. It just shows that they don’t care.’
United fans turned out in their hundreds outside Old Trafford before December’s game against Everton to protest against the ticket prices hike.
In front of the Trinity Statue, United fans held onto a ‘Stop Exploiting Loyalty’ banner, with chants against Ratcliffe and the Glazers, accusing them of being ‘touts’ and ‘taking the p***’. There were also protests at Anfield on Sunday as the Red Devils drew 2-2 with Liverpool.
Ratcliffe and Ineos pitched their takeover of football operations as one that would improve efficiency and maximise the spending on the squad.
And splashing the cash on players has been a big part of their regime – over the summer they forked out another £200million on signings, though their impact has been questionable.
Christmas Eve marked the anniversary of Ratcliffe’s (left) £1.3billion minority takeover
United spent around £200million on new signings over the summer and sacked Erik ten Hag expensively after renewing his deal
But the Failsworth-born petrochemicals billionaire has ground the gears of fans and staff with a series of morale-sinking decisions – something he admitted he would do.
Ineos have axed nearly a quarter of the club’s 1,100-strong workforce to save between £35-45m each year and cut their traditional perks such as covering their travel to the FA Cup final.
More senior employees had already lost their corporate credit cards and chauffeur-driven cars, and matchday staff at Old Trafford had their complimentary lunchboxes withdrawn in another blow to morale.
That came after he banned working from home, telling staff: ‘If you don’t like it, please seek alternative employment.’
In November it emerged that Ratcliffe was considering halving United’s £40,000-a-year payment to the club’s disabled supporters association. A month later, reports emerged suggesting that he had cut off two £10,000 instalments to the Association of Former Manchester United Players.
Other unpopular decisions have been taken such as releasing Sir Alex Ferguson from his £2.61m-per-year global ambassadorial role and telling him to stay away from the dressing room, breaking a tradition that stretches back to the days of Sir Matt Busby.
Senior boardroom figures Martin Edwards, David Gill and Mike Edelson were also told they would no longer be allowed to visit the dressing room after games, as they had done for years.
There was also been the treatment of the women’s team, which saw them moved into portable buildings to allow the men to train at their ground during planned £50m renovations to the facilities at their Carrington training centre.
Sir Alex Ferguson was cut from his £2.61m-per-year ambassadorial role in an unpopular move
There is a perception that Ratcliffe is not particularly interested in Man United’s women’s team
‘There’s only so much that you can do, and our focus has been on the men,’ he told fanzine United We Stand.
Over the summer, he told Bloomberg that he is at peace with making ‘unpopular’ calls.
‘At Manchester United, I’m having to do some things which are unpopular,’ he said.
‘I mean, I think at the end-of-the day doing difficult things, and you know, a degree of unpopularity, in a funny sort of way, might make you more popular.
‘Because somebody’s seeing that you’re standing up and making some difficult decisions rather than just sort of blowing with the wind a bit.’
Paul Scholes was speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet.
