GRAEME SOUNESS: I told Sir Jim Ratcliffe not to buy a football club. He ignored me and bought one with a mountain to climb in Manchester United
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe is on the verge of completing his investment at Man United
- But at Old Trafford he is buying into a club with a huge mountain to climb
- Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Coming Up!’
I met Sir Jim Ratcliffe through a friend four years ago when he was interested in buying Chelsea, and I was immediately impressed by one thing.
He came down to the reception of his office to meet me and I’m thinking, ‘He’s an important man, but he’s being respectful’. It was nothing to do with that. His office was on the eighth floor and he said, ‘Do you mind if we walk up the stairs? I like to do this a few times a day’. So it was all just part of his exercise regime!
I walked with him, stair for stair, and that dedication to his fitness left an impression on me. Now, he has a mountain to climb at Manchester United.
The club in which he is about to take a 25 per cent stake are so far behind where they want to be, and where they should be. They are one of, if not the biggest club in world. Yet, they have a modest group of players. I said in June ahead of the FA Cup final, a composite team of the Manchester clubs would have 11 names from City. Nothing has changed.
Because of that, there is one area Ratcliffe must address with urgency. Recruitment. This is the most important thing you have to get right at any club. Man United, since Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill left in 2013, have given a masterclass in how not to do it, and they’ve spent over £1billion in the process.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is on the verge of securing a 25 per cent investment in Manchester United
Ratcliffe has a mountain to climb at United with the club so far behind where they want to be, and where they should be
The biggest thing the Glazers are guilty of is putting the wrong people in positions of power
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To emphasise this point, I have never worked with or witnessed a great coach. But I’ve worked with and witnessed great managers — from Jock Stein to Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Sir Alex.
There are no new ways of playing football. It was, is, and always will be about having fabulous players. Man United, with non-football people making football decisions, have got this horribly wrong for more than a decade.
Consider this — if you put every Man United player on the transfer market, would they get their money back on any of them? I don’t think so. Some people might claim I’m saying this because I’m wearing a Liverpool hat, it’s always the way when I’m critical of Man United.
No, it’s true! We need a strong Man United in the Premier League, but there is no overnight fix. They aren’t going from where they are now to winning the Premier League and Champions League in a couple of transfer windows. They have to be patient, smart and they have to get lucky, because they are miles behind.
I read in this newspaper a couple of days ago that Erik ten Hag has welcomed the arrival of Ratcliffe because he is frustrated with recruitment. I’m sorry, but the manager doesn’t get a free pass. His three former Ajax players he has signed at a cost of £170million — Antony, Lisandro Martinez and Andre Onana — were his picks, and I’m sure Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord would also have been.
I don’t think any them have massively improved the team, so Ten Hag cannot absolve himself from recruitment issues. Ratcliffe will know all of these challenges that lie ahead. When I met him, he ended up buying Nice. I’m not sure Nice have improved under his stewardship, but the experience will serve him well.
He was very impressive, a man of few words. He asked me if it was a good idea buying a club. At the time, he was not in the press every day. I told him overnight he would become a household name, and I asked if he wanted that. He said no. I said, ‘Don’t buy a football club then!’.
But he is not the first super-rich businessman who thinks he can crack football. Todd Boehly, Farhad Moshiri, Ellis Short, Mel Morris — all very smart in their own field, but football is a unique business. You can also put Man United’s former chief executive Ed Woodward in that bracket.
United need to sort out their recruitment and Erik ten Hag’s signings of Antony (right) and Lisandro Martinez (left) haven’t massively improved the team
Ratcliffe taking charge of football operations is good news for Man United, but he has to get the right people in the right places
Ten Hag cannot absolve himself from the recruitment issues Man United have struggled with
Part of Fergie’s brilliance was he could delegate very well. He picked the right people to be around him. That is the biggest thing the Glazers are guilty of. It’s not taking dividends and it’s not the fact they don’t have the best stadium or training ground in the country any more, it’s putting the wrong people in positions of power.
Ratcliffe taking charge of football operations, then, is good news for Man United. But he has to get the right people in the right places, and that will keep him busy in the coming months. So much so, he may no longer have time for the stairs.
Ten Hag must follow Clarke’s lead
I was absolutely chuffed to see Scotland qualify for Euro 2024 this week. They’ve got a good bunch of players and will do themselves justice in Germany next summer. The challenge now is getting out of the group, something we’ve never done before.
But I felt for them during the 2-0 defeat in Spain last week. Seville is known as the ‘Frying pan of Europe’. I played there in the 1982 World Cup and we got off lightly in losing 4-1 to Brazil. It was a case of chasing shadows that day, against the best team never to win a World Cup.
Ten Hag must find out how to get the best out of Scotland international Scott McTominay
If I was Ten Hag, I would utilise McTominay in the same way Steve Clarke does for Scotland
Scott McTominay had a cracking free-kick disallowed with the game goalless after an hour last week and Scotland had competed well to that point. And this takes me back to Manchester United. If I was Erik ten Hag, I would utilise McTominay in the same way Steve Clarke does for Scotland.
He’s athletic, gets up and down and he has an eye for goal. He’s scoring for fun and what an asset he has been for our national team. For me, he has gone from someone Man United were trying to push out the door, to a player who should be a regular going forward.
Sorry Jordan, you’ve made your bed
When Jordan Henderson was booed by a section of England fans, a saying my mum used to tell me sprung to mind — ‘You’ve made your bed, son, lie in it’.
He has got himself in trouble because of his professed allegiance to LGBTQ+, Rainbow Laces and every other great cause he wanted to be associated with. Then, you go and take Saudi money. That, I’m afraid, is his problem. He is being viewed as not genuine. If you do that, you have to take the consequences.
The criticism of Jordan Henderson over his move to Saudi Arabia is his problem to deal with
Liverpool are the real deal
Liverpool are in a great place ahead of Saturday’s Merseyside derby. They are the real deal this year and, if you’re going to win the Premier League, you’ll have to finish in front of them.
But I hope, for the sake of the city, this is not the last derby at Anfield for a couple of seasons. Everton are — or at least they were — a great football club, and they have to be in the Premier League going into their new stadium.
Saying that, I can’t see anything other than a home win on Saturday lunchtime.
Liverpool are in a great place ahead of Saturday’s Merseyside derby, and look the real deal
Rangers is a simple task, finish first!
I was part of the process in appointing new Rangers boss Philippe Clement. He was very impressive at his interview and gave a great presentation.
All you can do is look at his CV, the colour of his eyes and the way he speaks about football, and everything would appear right about him.
The only question mark — and I’d be saying the same if Pep Guardiola was getting the job — is that managing one of the big two in Glasgow is a unique experience, and it’s how he deals with that.
The challenge ahead is simple — they’re seven points behind Celtic. He knows the score. You can’t have a good season without finishing first.
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