Search here...
Home Blog Page 885

Chelsea plot shock ‘sale’ with Man Utd star as replacement amid one ‘concern’ with ‘preference’ revealed

admin
-
0
Chelsea plot shock ‘sale’ with Man Utd star as replacement amid one ‘concern’ with ‘preference’ revealed

According to reports, Chelsea are ‘preparing to step up their efforts’ to sign Manchester United academy product Kobbie Mainoo.

The England international enjoyed a sensational breakout season for Man Utd during the 2023/24 campaign as he was a shining light for his boyhood club.

Mainoo grabbed five goals and three assists for the Red Devils before he shone for England at last summer’s European Championships.

The centre-midfielder has endured a stop-start season in 2024/25 as he’s only made 15 Premier League starts and he was heavily linked with a shock exit in January.

Man Utd – second in our Premier League net spend table – are strapped for cash and need to sell pricey assets to raise funds for a major squad rebuild under head coach Ruben Amorim. Their poor performances this season leave most of their squad at risk of being offloaded and Mainoo would be a pure profit sale.

READ: 16 Conclusions on Man United 1-1 Arsenal: Arteta’s obsession, Amorim’s compromise and Neville’s wall

The Red Devils reportedly asked for around £70m for their academy product in January, and Chelsea were in talks with their Premier League rivals over a move that did not end up going through.

Still, Mainoo could still leave Man Utd this summer and a report from Caught Offside claims Chelsea are ‘eyeing’ the midfielder as they considers ‘selling’ Romeo Lavia.

The Blues have reportedly ‘cast doubts’ over Lavia as they are ‘concerned’ about his injury record and they are ‘preparing to step up their pursuit’ of Mainoo.

‘Mainoo has been engaged in talks with the Red Devils over a contract renewal, but so far, the two parties have not been able to agree on terms. Despite his rapid rise, he remains one of the lowest-paid members of the squad, earning just £20,000 per week.

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Scholes still has no idea what ‘disappointing’ Man Utd star ‘brings to the team’
👉 Xavi ‘wants to take two’ Barcelona players on his ‘new adventure’ at Man Utd
👉 Premier League prize money calculated: Manchester United unfairly high in earnings table

‘His representatives are pushing for a significant pay rise to around £180,000 per week, which is an increase that could complicate Man United’s efforts to keep him, especially with Financial Fair Play restrictions looming.

‘Chelsea, meanwhile, are keeping a close eye on the situation, as they did over the summer – and particularly given their concerns over Lavia.’

The report has also commented on Mainoo’s transfer ‘preference’.

‘A move wouldn’t be straightforward. As has been reported elsewhere, his wage demands would put him in line with Cole Palmer in Chelsea’s pay structure.

‘Mainoo, who turns 20 in April, has two years remaining on his current contract. While Man United value the England international at around £75 million, they could be willing to cash in if the right offer arrives.

‘Negotiations over a new contract have been ongoing for some time, but no agreement has been reached.

‘Mainoo’s preference would be a move to Spain or Italy, rather than a Premier League club. But if Chelsea were to meet his wage demands, it’s thought a breakthrough could be reached.’

Ratcliffe delivers exciting United transfer news ahead of summer window, it’s music to Amorim’s ears

Diablo
-
0
Ratcliffe delivers exciting United transfer news ahead of summer window, it’s music to Amorim’s ears

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has strongly suggested Ruben Amorim will have money to spend on bolstering his squad during the upcoming summer transfer window.

Since his arrival in November last year as Erik ten Hag’s replacement, Amorim has struggled to get a good chunk of the players to get used to his preferred 3-4-3 formation.

There have been calls for Amorim to ditch his football philosophy in favour of an approach that suits the players at his current disposal but he has resisted so far, insisting on multiple occasions that he will not compromise on his principles.

There is a general acceptance both within the club and across the fanbase that Amorim requires players who are able to carry out his instructions fully.

However, with United in dire financial shape, there has been speculation that the Portuguese coach may not have the luxury of a substantial budget, unlike his predecessors at Old Trafford. Having lost £300m in the past three years, Ratcliffe has implemented a number of cost-cutting measures including making hundreds of staff redundant, slashing salaries for club ambassadors and cancelling free lunches, to name a few.

According to Ratcliffe – who sat down with The Times – these cuts are likely to translate into Amorim having enough money to reinforce his ranks ahead of next season.

Ratcliffe said, “This summer we will ‘buy’ Antony, Sancho, Casemiro, Martinez, Hojlund and Onana and they’re all about 17 million quid each. Because that’s what is outstanding. If we buy nobody else we’re buying those players.”

“But it will be a very profitable club. We believe that in three years’ time it will be the most profitable football club in the world. And it will be in a very, very different place. But we need to go through the change. Nobody likes change.”

“When you run out of cash in a business, you go and talk to the insolvency guys. In reality what you do is you go and raise some more money. You go and talk to the banks and try to renegotiate with the banks. Trust me, you don’t want to go there.”

“But that’s our job, isn’t it? You’ve got to look forward. You’re walking towards problems, so you get it sorted out. And we will sort it out.”

Asked whether United will be able to spend money while complying with financial regulations, Amorim answered, “The changes that we’ve made over this season, plus the ones that have been announced recently (more redundancies), will put us in a position to be able to do that.”

“At Ineos we run a lean organisation. As my mother said, you look after the pennies, the pounds look after themselves. We can sound flippant about free lunches but if you give all these perks, first class train fares, free taxis, it’s not coherent. It goes bust at Christmas.”

“We’ve made some really tough decisions and now we’re seeing staff understanding what we’re trying to do. There’s a clear vision of what we’re trying to achieve.”

Amorim and his players are back in action on Thursday when they face Real Sociedad in the second leg of their Europa League round of 16 fixture.

Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social

Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!

“It’s gone off the rails a long way”: Sir Jim Ratcliffe accuses Glazers of “losing control” amongst a “forest of numbers”

Diablo
-
0
“It’s gone off the rails a long way”: Sir Jim Ratcliffe accuses Glazers of “losing control” amongst a “forest of numbers”

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has seemingly taken a swipe at the Glazers, blaming them for the club’s current financial woes.

Ratcliffe purchased a minority stake in United last year and as part of the agreement with the Glazer family, the British businessman assumed operational control of the club.

Since then, Ratcliffe has gone about implementing a raft of cost-cutting measures in a bid to return the Red Devils to profitability – some of which have proven extremely unpopular.

Last summer, around 250 staff were made redundant and recently, the club announced hundreds more will be axed over the next few weeks. Ratcliffe also cancelled cup final perks for employees, slashed the salaries of club ambassadors, terminated Sir Alex Ferguson’s lucrative contract and ended free lunches for staff.

United reported a net loss of £113m in their latest accounts and they have lost more than £300m over the past three years.

A large part of United’s fanbase has consistently and rightly blamed the Glazers for the club’s dire financial shape after years of mismanagement and poor recruitment. Before the team’s meeting with Arsenal on Sunday, supporters staged a massive anti-Glazer protest, calling on them to permanently part ways with the 20-time English champions.

Ratcliffe sat down with The Times and addressed the financial challenges currently crippling United.

Asked whether his first year at Old Trafford has been difficult or challenging, he answered, “Both I suppose. I mean, I don’t think we thought it was going to be a walk in the park. Because obviously, it was after 12 difficult seasons. It takes a while to get your arms around what the scale of the problems are and what the actual problems are.”

On if the business task at hand is one of the toughest he has ever faced, he replied, “Yeah, I think it is. Manchester United is a lot more than a business. It’s also a very emotional entity.”

“But if you think about Manchester United as a business, it’s gone off the rails. It’s gone off the rails a long way, really.”

“If you look at the numbers, the numbers were fairly scary, really. Because they’d sort of lost control, I think, of where the ship was headed. And the costs had got out of control. If you think of it in really simple terms, you’ve got the operating costs, which are all the staff and the fixed costs of running the business. And then you’ve got all the squad costs, player salaries and player purchases.”

“In super simple terms, the club has been spending more money than it’s been earning now for the last seven years, and it ends in a very difficult place. And for Manchester United, that place ended at the end of this year, the end of 2025, with the club running out of cash.”

“I think it’s the first time we’ve probably said that in public, but that’s the fact of the matter.” Asked to clarify this, he continued, “There’s no money left in the club. And that is after my 300 million.”

On whether they couldn’t see these projections before buying their stake, Ratcliffe pointed out, “No, it wasn’t as crystal clear as that. There’s a sort of forest of numbers at Manchester United. And in football there are variables. If you get into the Champions League, it’s one thing. If you don’t get in the Champions League, you get in the Europa League, it’s a different thing.”

“If you get in the Conference League, it’s a different thing again. If you come fourth in the Premier League, it’s one thing. If you come 14th in the Premier League, it’s a very different thing. It is a forest of numbers that you have to walk through. And it takes time before you get absolute clarity.”

“You look at the period of time the club’s been losing money, and yet the head count increased by 250 people. So you’re going through this period where you’re losing lots of money and at the same time you’re recruiting heavily. It doesn’t make any sense really.”

“In that time the cost of running the club has gone up by 100 million. The cost of the players is up by 100 million. So the cost has gone up by 200 million but the revenue has gone up by 100 million. It’s lost 320 million pounds in cash in the last four to fiveyears. So that’s a third of a billion.”

“Eventually you run out of road. We have got a lot of criticism in the media for some of these difficult things that we’ve been doing but they are an absolute necessity at Manchester United.”

He added about the cost-cutting measures, “It needs to become a lean, efficient organisation that cuts its cloth according to its income.”

“And it isn’t there at the moment. So there are structural changes that need to happen at Manchester United to get it to a place where it’s stable financially. That’s sort of the first thing you have to do.”

“Then we can move on to the difficult things like recruiting. We’re in a period of change. It’s not fun, particularly making the changes. But when we come out the other side, we will be back on the rails.”

United are back in action on Thursday when they face Real Sociedad in the second leg of their Europa League round of 16 clash.

Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social

Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!

United ready to snub Amorim’s “dream” target and sign prolific 20-yo striker instead – report

Diablo
-
0
United ready to snub Amorim’s “dream” target and sign prolific 20-yo striker instead – report

Manchester United are reportedly keeping an eye on Samu Aghehowa ahead of the summer transfer window.

Bruno Fernandes had to step up and pull a rabbit out of the hat once again to avoid a disappointing result against Arsenal, as United forwards delivered another disappointing performance.

With both Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee failing to find their feet in the Premier League, the Red Devils are anticipated to explore the market for a new goalscorer this summer.

In recent weeks, Victor Osimhen has emerged as United’s priority target to spearhead their attack.

According to GIVEMESPORT, the Nigerian striker is Ruben Amorim’s “dream acquisition” on the back of his prolific stint in Turkey with Galatasaray.

Interestingly, the outlet claim that despite Amorim’s interest in securing Osimhen’s services from Napoli, United have refused to rule out the possibility of “turning their attentions” towards signing Aghehowa from FC Porto.

It is suggested that the Premier League giants are “eyeing” a move for the Spaniard instead of Osimhen.

Aghehowa is enjoying a goal-laden campaign in Portugal after joining Porto from Atletico Madrid last summer. Known for his pace and physicality, the Spain international has managed to score an impressive 20 goals for Porto in all competitions this term.

The exciting striker has a release clause worth in the region of £84 million in his contract. However, it is understood that United are confident that he could “prove to be a more attainable target” than other big-names on their wishlist.

The report further states: “There is an acknowledgement behind the scenes that priority target Osimhen’s price tag and wage demands will make a deal difficult.”

Further, with Porto unlikely to secure a place in the Champions League, United would have a better chance of convincing the young striker to join their project in the summer.

Having said that, after seeing how young stars like Hojlund and Zirkzee have struggled to meet the expectations and handle the pressure of leading United’s frontline, the Mancunians would be wise to sign a more experienced striker like Osimhen over Aghehowa.

Featured image Octavio Passos via Getty Images

Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social

Vishal has covered football for over five years. Currently a writer at The Peoples Person. Big fan of ball-playing center-backs!

Man Utd: Neville baffled by Ratcliffe’s Amorim assessment amid bizarre ‘salary bill’ claim

Diablo
-
0
Man Utd: Neville baffled by Ratcliffe’s Amorim assessment amid bizarre ‘salary bill’ claim

Gary Neville couldn’t believe Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s assessment of the job Ruben Amorim has done at Manchester United so far, as the co-owner engaged in some “salary bill” whataboutery.

Ratcliffe took control of football operations at United in February 2024 and his arrival has if anything seen a downturn in results, first under Erik ten Hag and now under Ruben Amorim, who has failed to lift his side from 14th in the Premier League table having taken charge in November.

In his most recent set of interviews, Ratcliffe named five United players in a “not good enough or overpaid” admission and revealed “a couple of errors” in his year at the helm while claiming the club would be “bust by Christmas” without his controversial cost-cutting strategies.

READ MORE: Ranking Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 17 Man Utd f***-ups: 3) Ruben Amorim, 4) Dan Ashworth, 8) Kath Phipps

And in an interview conducted by Gary Neville for Sky Sports, Ratcliffe admitted they made a mistake in sticking with Ten Hag.

“It was too early for us to make a big decision in reality,” Ratcliffe said.

“We hadn’t been together as a team for very long. It was just a matter of weeks and it’s quite a big decision, isn’t it? And also, it’s quite difficult. It was quite difficult to extract in that season when we arrived, Erik’s performance from the structure around him.

“Obviously the structure around [Amorim] now is completely different. There’s a really strong relationship and a really strong support culture for Ruben. Jason and Ruben talk to each other two or three times a day, Omar speaks to Ruben every day, every time I go to the match I speak to Ruben.

“But it was quite difficult to see what environment Erik was operating in. Was it, in other words, was the erratic performance a function of Erik, or was it a function of the organisation? And we couldn’t really get to the bottom of answering that question with certainty, I suppose, so we gave Erik the benefit of the doubt.”

Asked by Neville if he regrets that now, Ratcliffe said: “Yeah, it was the wrong decision. We made the wrong decision. It was an error. So yeah, I suppose in that sense I regret it.

“I think there was some extenuating or mitigating circumstances in having made that decision, but at the end of the day it was the wrong decision, so hands up, me of course on that one.”

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Ratcliffe names five Man Utd players in ‘not good enough or overpaid’ admission
👉 Man Utd star ‘will leave’ Old Trafford in summer and ‘already has a new team’ lined up
👉 Man Utd star ‘eyed’ by Chelsea to replace one star ‘concerning’ Maresca with ‘preference’ revealed

United’s only remaining chance of silverware is the Europa League, with that gong also granting entry into the Champions League next season.

The second leg of their last-16 tie with Real Sociedad is on Thursday at Old Trafford after the first leg finished 1-1.

But Amorim has been criticised for his lack of impact since his arrival at the club, with United rooted in the bottom half of the Premier League having been dumped out of both cup competitions.

Speaking the day after Man Utd’s 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal in the Premier League, Ratcliffe backed the work of Amorim so far.

“I think Ruben has done an excellent job,” said Ratcliffe.

“I really like Ruben. I think in the circumstances… I mean he arrived mid-season, he didn’t have time to train his players in the way in which he wants to play, he inherited a squad which he’s had no influence on, and the squad isn’t necessarily designed for the way in which he plays football, and English isn’t his natural language, and he’s never played in the Premier League before, and he’s managing the biggest club in the world, and it’s a tough place, and he’s a young guy.

“If you take all of that into consideration, I think he’s done a remarkably good job.”

When asked by Neville what parts of the job he is referring to, Ratcliffe said: “I think what he’s got out of the players that he’s got available, I think he’s done well with,”

Neville was taken aback. “Do you?!” he said.

“If I look at the salary bill of the squad that’s available to him, that salary bill is not the salary bill of Manchester City or Liverpool, it’s a fraction of it.

“If you look at the salary bill of the players that are available to him that are not injured, or not out on loan, because we’ve got, you know, we’ve got Antony out on loan, we’ve got [Jadon] Sancho out on loan, we’ve got [Marcus] Rashford out on loan, we’ve got Mason Mount who hasn’t really played in the last two seasons, we’ve got Luke Shaw who hasn’t played in the last two seasons.

“So if you modify our salary bill for the players that are not available to Ruben, then our salary bill ranks us about, you know, middling, second half of the table. We’re sort of level with the likes of a Nottingham Forest or Everton, not a Manchester City one.

“That salary bill, if you look at that salary bill, is probably about £130m, and we’re talking about Liverpool who’s got a salary bill of £200m, Manchester City have got a salary bill of £300m, so that’s the squad that Ruben’s playing with.”

Man Utd: Ratcliffe names five players in shocking ‘not good enough or overpaid’ admission

Diablo
-
0
Man Utd: Ratcliffe names five players in shocking ‘not good enough or overpaid’ admission

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe admits “some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid” at Old Trafford when asked about five under-performing stars.

Ratcliffe took control of football operations at United just over a year ago and his arrival has if anything seen a downturn in results, first under Erik ten Hag and now under Ruben Amorim, who has failed to lift his side from 14th in the Premier League table having taken charge in November.

The British billionaire has been heavily criticised for his cost-cutting strategies off the pitch, which have resulted in around 400 members of club staff losing their jobs amid rising ticket prices that have led to fan protests.

READ MORE: Ranking Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 17 Man Utd f***-ups: 3) Ruben Amorim, 4) Dan Ashworth, 8) Kath Phipps

But he insists that while many of the decisions are “unpopular”” they are necessary given the club’s financial woes, with Ratcliffe lamenting the fact that the club still has payments to make on players signed before he took control.

He cited the £17m they still need to make for Sancho, who was signed for £73m from Borussia Dortmund in 2021 but hasn’t kicked a ball for United (other than in the Community Shield) since August 2023, returning on loan to Dortmund before heading to Chelsea in the summer.

Ratcliffe told BBC Sport: “If you look at the players we are buying this summer, that we didn’t buy, we’re buying Antony, we’re buying Casemiro, we’re buying Onana, we’re buying Hojlund, we’re buying Sancho. These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we’ve inherited those things and have to sort that out.

“For Sancho, who now plays for Chelsea and we pay half his wages, we’re paying £17m to buy him in the summer.”

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Robbie Savage’s Winners & Losers: Liverpool seal Prem title as Arteta decision costs Arsenal again
👉 Man Utd star ‘will leave’ Old Trafford in summer and ‘already has a new team’ lined up
👉 Man Utd star ‘eyed’ by Chelsea to replace one star ‘concerning’ Maresca with ‘preference’ revealed

Antony is also out on loan and loving his time at Real Betis having joined for £81.5m from Ajax in the summer of 2022, when Casemiro also joined from Real Madrid for £70m, while Hojlund cost them £64m when he arrived with £47m Onana a year later.

“It takes time for us to move away from the past into a new place in the future,” Ratcliffe added.

When asked whether he was suggesting those players were not good enough for Manchester United, he said: “Some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid, but for us to mould the squad that we are fully responsible for, and accountable for, will take time.

“We’ve got this period of transformation where we move from the past to the future.

“There are some great players in the squad as we know, the captain is a fabulous footballer. We definitely need Bruno, he’s a fantastic footballer.”

“Yeah they were just mistakes”: Sir Jim Ratcliffe admits to two big blunders at United

admin
-
0
“Yeah they were just mistakes”: Sir Jim Ratcliffe admits to two big blunders at United

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has candidly admitted that keeping Erik ten Hag and appointing Dan Ashworth were both mistakes.

After an extremely difficult 2023/24 season in which United finished a lowly eighth in the Premier League, the expectation was that Ten Hag would be sacked at the end of the campaign.

However, the hierarchy decided to hand him an extended contract after he led United to an FA Cup final win over Manchester City.

The decision turned out to be the wrong one, as the Red Devils started the current campaign poorly, leading to Ten Hag’s sacking just nine games in.

Meanwhile, Ashworth was also dismissed from his role as sporting director just five months into the job. United spent several weeks trying to pry him from Newcastle’s hands but his transition to Old Trafford was not smooth.

It later emerged that Ashworth did not see eye to eye with a number of United’s executives including Ratcliffe himself.

Parting ways with Ten Hag and Ashworth cost United around £15m.

Ratcliffe spoke to The Times and reflected on this. The British businessman told the newspaper, “Yeah, they were just mistakes. I mean, the Erik thing is slightly mitigating. There was quite a lot of debate about that at time. It wasn’t just the FA Cup final. The fans were clearly of the view that we’d like to stick with him and all that sort of stuff. But yeah, they were both mistakes. I don’t think we can say much more than that.”

“It’s a journey and there’s a lot of decisions that we have to make over the course of that and we’re not going to get them all right. I don’t think in the future we’ll get them all right either because we’re not perfect.”

He didn’t speak too much about Ashworth, most likely because of legal reasons.

“If we’re talking about our industry, I think we just have to say chemistry. But, really, I don’t want to go down that road.”

“With Erik, I think there was an emotional response [post the cup final win against Manchester City]. We get criticised for being unemotional and yet there was a bit of emotion in that decision.”

Ratcliffe added, “Omar [Berrada], you’d only just arrived. Jason (Wilcox) hadn’t been with us very long. We didn’t have many experts in play. Really, I’m not an expert. And it was hard to extract him [Erik] from the former management set-up.”

Ten Hag is currently on a break away from football as he ponders the next step of his career. Meanwhile, Ashworth has been working with Warwickshire County Cricket Club, advising on performance strategy.

Ashworth has been linked to sporting director roles at Arsenal and more recently, West Ham United.

Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images

Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social

Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!

Club icon gives struggling United star “easy” game-changing trick to explode back to form

admin
-
0
Club icon gives struggling United star “easy” game-changing trick to explode back to form

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has advised struggling striker Rasmus Hojlund to simplify his game and focus on consistently making runs into the box, in order to get back to his best.

Arguably no United player embodied the club’s disastrous season more than Hojlund. Having managed 16 goals last season, he has come under increased scrutiny this term but has not managed to live up to expectations.

Hojlund has only managed two league goals and hasn’t found the back of the net since 12 December, when he scored against Viktoria Plzen in a Europa League game. He has now gone 20 matches without a goal.

The Dane was dropped for United’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Sunday after starting the last six games. He came on from the bench in the second half and was presented with two clear-cut opportunities, including one where the goal was at his mercy, but he couldn’t hit the target on either occasion.

Unsurprisingly, pressure is mounting on Hojlund but Rooney – who netted 253 times for United – has backed the former Atalanta man to turn things around and start firing once more.

Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Rooney said, “He needs that bit of luck as well, but once he gets a break then more goals will follow. As a striker for Manchester United, when you are not scoring goals there is a lot of pressure and a lot of people questioning if you can do it for United.”

“There was one chance [against Arsenal] where his shot was blocked after he had shown fantastic movement to get to the near post. He goes once, he checks back, goes again, got across Gabriel and got a good contact on his shot, so he had done everything right. It is only a great block that stops the goal.”

“The one that will be highlighted, though, is the one where Rice gets back and tackles him after the ball breaks for him in the area, and that was purely down to a lack of confidence. You see Hojlund take a touch and then he is looking up to see where he wants to put his shot when he doesn’t have the time for that.”

“That’s the kind of scenario where, as a striker, if you are scoring goals you don’t even have to look up…you know where the goal is. That really showed how much he needs a goal.”

Rooney explained that the best thing Hojlund can do is go back to basics and “simplify” his game.

“Making runs into the penalty box is as easy as it comes. Hojlund needs to have that desire to get in the box,” Rooney continued, “He goes to go, then for some reason he stops. If he carries on his run then he is in the right place around about the six-yard box to get a tap-in for the winner when Bruno Fernandes’ shot is saved.”

“When you are short of confidence you have got to make sure you make it into the penalty area and put yourself in a position where you can score. We are still waiting to see Hojlund find his feet for United, but it’s important to point out that the whole team have not been at their best.”

“I feel for him from that point of view because, nine times out of ten, forwards rely on their teammates for service. United have not been playing well or creating enough chances, so he has not been in a team dominating possession, sliding balls in behind the defence or putting balls into the box.”

United now turn their attention to the Europa League. They host Real Sociedad at the last-16 stage on Thursday after last week’s home leg in San Sebastian finished 1-1.

Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images

Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social

Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!

“He tells me to f— off! I like him”: Ratcliffe passionately backs Amorim in candid interview

admin
-
0
“He tells me to f— off! I like him”: Ratcliffe passionately backs Amorim in candid interview

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has publicly backed Ruben Amorim, insisting he’s doing an amazing job at the club under the current circumstances.

Amorim has endured a tough start to life since replacing Erik ten Hag in November last year, winning just five of his 17 Premier League games in charge.

United are currently languishing in 14th place in the Premier League table, with just 34 points gained from a possible 84.

Already, the Red Devils have been knocked out of the Carabao Cup, and FA Cup and at the moment, the Europa League represents their only realistic shot at gaining entry into Europe next season.

Amorim has come under pressure from some sections of the fanbase and the media, with many calling for him to abandon his 3-4-3 approach for a system that suits the current crop of players at his disposal.

There were even suggestions that Ratcliffe and INEOS could potentially make a change in the dugout as early as this summer, but this has now seemingly been dismissed by the British businessman.

Ratcliffe sat down with The Times and extended his support to Amorim, insisting that the Portuguese coach is not a miracle worker and is doing as best as he possibly can.

The INEOS billionaire told the newspaper, “I think he’s done a great job in the circumstances, frankly, with the squad that he’s had available. The fact he came in mid-season.”

“Everybody expects miracles overnight. It’s not the way, not real life in my view. I mean, you saw the performance yesterday (against Arsenal). It was, I thought, a really impressive performance. They could not have worked harder. They couldn’t have been more committed.”

“And if you looked at the names on the bench, there weren’t many you recognised, were there? Half the squad’s missing for Ruben. If you look at the top eight players in terms of salaries in Manchester United, 50 per cent of those are not available to Ruben. You’ve got Mason Mount, you’ve got Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford has gone, and Jadon Sancho (on loan at Chelsea).”

“And he’s got a bunch of other injuries as you know, so I think he’s done a fantastic job.”

Amorim previously branded the current United side as perhaps the worst in the club’s illustrious history. When reminded he sanctioned the signing of some of the players in the squad, Ratcliffe answered, “I think coaches are emotional and Ruben’s no exception to that. And he’s a young coach. And he’s not perfect. You know, he’s not a guy who … he’s got to be good on the stage, but we want him to be good on the grass. And part of that is life on the stage, isn’t it?”

“You know, you’re a young guy, you’ve come into the Premier League for the first time in your life, you’ve come in mid-season, it’s not your natural language.”

“You have to give the guy a bit of a break. I mean, give me a hard time, I have no problem with that. But give Ruben a break. I think he’s a good guy, he’s working hard, and I think he’s doing a great job.”

Asked whether he is sure Amorim is the right man to return United to where they belong, Ratcliffe replied, “Yeah I do, honestly.”

“I really, really like Ruben. He’s a very thoughtful guy. Every time I go to the training ground, I speak to Ruben. I sit down and have a cup of coffee with him and tell him where it’s going wrong, and he tells me to f**k off. I like him.”

Ratcliffe’s backing will certainly relieve some of the pressure on Amorim’s shoulders and will hopefully put an end to the rumours surrounding a potential managerial change.

United are back in action on Thursday when they face Real Sociedad in the second leg of their Europa League round of 16 clash.

Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images

Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social

Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!

Man Utd: Ratcliffe makes bombshell ‘bust by Christmas’ claim as Ashworth among ‘couple of errors’

admin
-
0
Man Utd: Ratcliffe makes bombshell ‘bust by Christmas’ claim as Ashworth among ‘couple of errors’

Sir Jim Ratcliffe insists Manchester United would “run out of money by Christmas” without his controversial cost-cutting strategies and revealed his “couple of errors” in his year at the helm.

Ratcliffe took control of football operations at United in February 2024 and his arrival has if anything seen a downturn in results, first under Erik ten Hag and now under Ruben Amorim, who has failed to lift his side from 14th in the Premier League table having taken charge in November.

The British billionaire has been heavily criticised for his cost-cutting strategies off the pitch, which have resulted in around 400 members of club staff losing their jobs amid rising ticket prices that have led to fan protests.

READ MORE: Ranking Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 17 Man Utd f***-ups: 3) Ruben Amorim, 4) Dan Ashworth, 8) Kath Phipps

In an interview with BBC Sport, Ratcliffe admitted he knew he would face challenges at the club “but the scale of it is probably slightly bigger” than he expected.

“I don’t enjoy reading the newspaper very much these days I have to say,” he added. “I know it’s unpopular, and this period of change is uncomfortable for people, and some of the decisions we have to make are unpleasant. But they are necessary to put Manchester United back on to a stable footing. If people want to see Manchester United winning trophies again then we have do all this stuff.

“I recognise I’m unpopular at the moment – but I am prepared to be, and I can deal with being unpopular for a period of time because I believe that what we’re doing is the right thing.

“Manchester United has come off the rails – we need to get it back on the rails, and I believe what we are doing will put it back on the rails and we’ll finish up being where Liverpool or Real Madrid are today in the future.

“When the going gets tough people need to show a bit of resilience, a bit of grit – don’t wilt – and come out the other side fighting and that’s what we will do.”

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Ratcliffe names five Man Utd players in ‘not good enough or overpaid’ admission
👉 Man Utd star ‘will leave’ Old Trafford in summer and ‘already has a new team’ lined up
👉 Man Utd star ‘eyed’ by Chelsea to replace one star ‘concerning’ Maresca with ‘preference’ revealed

And he revealed just how stark the financial situation at the club had been: “Manchester United would have run out of cash by the end of this year – by the end of 2025 – after having me put $300m (£232.72m) in and if we buy no new players in the summer.

“We are in the process of change and it’s an uncomfortable period and disruptive and I do feel sympathy with the fans.

“The simple answer is the club runs out of money at Christmas if we don’t do those things.”

It was suggested to Ratcliffe that the club’s level of debt and serving that debt – in the last financial year £37m was paid in interest – was a more pressing issue for fans.

“Interest is one of the costs but it isn’t the biggest cost in this club,” he said.

“And the club needs to get its house back into order so it’s on a good financial footing for the future.

“Most clubs in the UK – most companies – have debt of some form. But if the club is really profitable, which I think it will be in years to come, then you can do the reverse. You can start paying down the debt. That’s where I think Manchester United should be.

“Ultimately, if you look at running the club the size of Manchester United with an income of about £650m you spend a part of that £650m on operating the club and part of it on the squad.

“Where do you want to spend the money? Do you want to spend it on operating the club, or do you want to spend it on the squad? Because if you spend it on the squad you get better results. And at the end of the day what’s Manchester United here for if it’s not to win trophies and silverware? What we want to do is invest in the best players in the world if we can, rather than spend it on, I’m afraid, free lunches.

“My only interest here is returning Manchester United back to greatness again.”

Ratcliffe, at least on face value, appears to have made a number of mistakes at United, but admitted to just two, including hiring sporting director Dan Ashworth, who left the role after just five months, with the co-owner claiming the “chemistry” wasn’t right.

“We are not perfect, and we are on a journey, and there have been a couple of errors along the way, but I think in the main all the things we are doing are the right things for the club,” Ratcliffe said.

“I agree the Erik ten Tag and Dan Ashworth decisions were errors. I think there were some mitigating circumstances, but ultimately they were errors. I accept that and I apologise for that.

“If you look at the time we made the decision about Erik the management team hadn’t been in place more than five minutes,” he explained, adding that it was difficult to judge the Dutchman’s performance under the previous regime.

“It became clearer three months later and we got it wrong, but we’d moved on. I think we corrected it and we are in a very different place today,” he added.

A report this week claimed the Ratcliffe and his United bosses had already admitted defeat in their Project 150 goal, targeting the Premier League title in 2028, the club’s 150th anniversary.

“I don’t think it’s mission impossible. I think it’s good to have goals and objectives, Ratcliffe said.

“If you look at Arsenal, if you look at Liverpool, if you look at the period of time it took them to get the house in order and get back to winning ways, that’s probably slightly on the short end of the spectrum. But it’s not impossible.”

An announcement is expected on Tuesday that could see “the most iconic football stadium in the world” being built to replace the existing stadium, as part of a wider regeneration scheme.

“The club’s going to finish up in a very very different place in three years’ time to where its been in the past, in my view,” Ratcliffe added.

“I think it will become the most profitable club in the world. I think we may well finish up with the most iconic football stadium in the world, and I think we will finish up winning silverware again.”

1...884885886...1,435Page 885 of 1,435

About us

Manchester United - North America

Company

Must Read

© 2025 Manchester United North America. All Rights Reserved. Desigb by CODEUS.