IT’S fair to say Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s relationship with the fans has crashed and burned during his first year at Manchester United.
But while the away end hurled C-bombs in his direction during United’s scrappy 1-0 win at Fulham last Sunday, there’s one thing Britain’s richest man can do to get them back on board.
The Red Devils seem even more of shambles on and off the pitch compared to when the Glazers were running the show alone pre-February 2024.
Fans are protesting the decision to scrap concessions and hike prices to a minimum of £66 per ticket for members.
Resentment grows each month and often coincides with Ratcliffe being compared to football’s version of Scrooge after announcing a brand new cost-cutting measure.
Things haven’t gone to plan, with United’s shock warning letter to The 1958 fan group over Profit and Sustainability Rules concerns the latest in a string of PR own goals.
Twelve months into Ratcliffe’s initial 27.7 minority takeover, the “new” United lurches from one horror show to another under his Ineos officers, who sacked sporting director Dan Ashworth just five months after fighting Newcastle to get him.
But manager Ruben Amorim’s right – fans must weather the storm and expect more heartbreak – including ANOTHER defeat at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Staff redundancies, replacing cash bonuses with M&S Christmas vouchers, cutting donations to player charities and a record low of 13th in the Prem have left many seething.
But the United faithful could soon be thanking Ratcliffe if he just clears the deadwood in the dressing room.
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It’s harsh to consider Marcus Rashford “deadwood” but the academy graduate’s relationship with his boyhood club has disintegrated.
The 27-year-old has joined Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season and said it was an “easy decision”.
And Unai Emery will have the option to BUY the England winger for around £40m in the summer.
The move helps cut United’s crazy wage bill with Villa reportedly paying the majority of Rashford’s salary, which is worth a whopping £325,000-a-week.
Any income from a sale of the academy graduate would also represent pure profit on United’s books with regard to FFP and PSR rulings.
However brutal, Sir Jim would argue his cuts are necessary as irresponsible spending over the last decade has left the club’s finances in a dire state.
United have been living a Champions League lifestyle on a Europa League income.
Former gaffer Erik ten Hag was, at an alarming rate, allowed to sign ex-Ajax players at will, for inflated fees, on extortionate salaries.
But Ratcliffe won’t be sucked into panic buys like the £200m splashed on transfers in the summer of 2022 by the Glazers under Ten Hag.
Amorim appears to back him up and warned fans that United wouldn’t repeat the “mistakes” of the past during this winter window.
Those days are gone. In fact, Ineos admitted they need FIVE windows to allow the club to compete when they arrived a year ago.
Before Ratcliffe arrived, Casemiro and Antony were brought in for a combined £152m after United were battered 4-0 by Brentford in Ten Hag’s first month in charge.
The pair were costing around £575,000-per-week largely to keep the bench warm this season.
However, Antony has joined Real Betis on loan and United have reportedly got the LaLiga side to pay 84 per cent of his £200,000 wages.
Better still, if the flop winger performs well over the next six months, like he did last night, a permanent move elsewhere could be on the cards.
Next up is United’s highest earner Casemiro.
The 32-year-old could leave Old Trafford before Monday’s transfer deadline, with Roma said to be interested.
The former Real Madrid man, who could also be lured to the riches of Saudi Arabia or back to his native Brazil, has failed to replicate the form he showed in his first season and has played 18 minutes in 2025.
Sky Italy claim Roma would like a six-month loan deal, which would see the Brazilian return to Manchester with one year left on his contract.
A permanent exit would get his ridiculous £375,000 weekly wages off the books. If that fails in this window, he could be out in the next.
Rashford’s permanent exit would mean Alejandro Garnacho, 20, who is one of the few shining lights in the Old Trafford abyss for the majority of fans, can stay amid United’s worries about PSR.
And transfer chiefs should do all they can to ensure that Garnacho doesn’t join a direct rival in Chelsea, who are ready to go right to Monday’s transfer deadline to grab the Argentine.
While Ratcliffe clears the dead-weight, like Arsenal did when Mikel Arteta arrived in 2019, his transfer moves are a lot more thoughtful now.
United unveiled Lecce wing-back Patrick Dorgu, 20, and Arsenal whizkid Ayden Heaven, 18, before their 2-0 loss to Palace at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Dorgu’s arrival frees up out-of-favour Tyrell Malacia to leave the club on loan, with several European suitors interested.
Injury-prone Luke Shaw returned to training last week, with his deal ending in 2027, but Ratcliffe must surely know the long-term future has to be planned without the hugely-talented England star.
Meanwhile, Victor Lindelof, Jonny Evans, Christian Eriksen and keeper Tom Heaton will not have their contracts renewed in the summer.
That will save a further £390,000-per-week, with Eriksen and Lindelof taking home £120,000 a week each.
If all goes well, that’s almost half the squad out of the door in the next six months.
It’s all the start of the long process that will see many more quite possibly leave, with Ineos claiming that everybody is up for sale to fund Amorim’s dream team.
Silver lining signings
Ratcliffe promised to buy young and NOT overspend – but fans think he might have got a few wrong, such as £36.5m signing Joshua Zirkzee.
However, Zirkzee is performing better than Rasmus Hojlund, who the Glazers paid Atalanta £72m for in the summer of 2023.
Ineos cleverly negotiated a combined deal worth £58.8m with Bayern for Noussair Mazraoui and Mathijis De Ligt, who both regularly start.
Mazraoui, 27, has started 22 out of 24 Prem games this season and Bayern fans wanted to keep 25-year-old De Ligt.
Meanwhile, United were shrewd enough to sign Arsenal’s rising bagsman Chido Obi-Martin as a 16-year-old during Ratcliffe’s first window.
And in keeping with Ratcliffe’s under-25 strategy, the club spent £1million on bringing in 17-year-old Sekou Kone from Mali in August.
With a return to Italy always an option for Zirkzee, the Red Devils have emerged as favourites to sign Amorim’s former striker Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon.
Other youngsters Harry Amass, Amir Ibragimov, Sam Mather, Ethan Ennis, Ruben Curley, and Habeeb Ogunneye have also been training with the first-team.
So a proper clear-out is Ratcliffe’s best bet.
Who knows, there’s even a small chance the fans might be singing his name in a brand new Old Trafford one day if he sticks around long enough.
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