Ratcliffe could end up buying a stake in United and being granted power within the Old Trafford hierarchy. Express Sport looks at five of his biggest problems.
Fan protests
Supporter unrest will not simply disappear once Ratcliffe is in place. The many fans who want a clean break from the Glazer family will remain uncomfortable with the siblings’ presence.
Ratcliffe, a United fan himself, will need to reach out an olive branch to the Old Trafford faithful. Better communication with the supporters must be No 1 on his to-do list if he is in charge of the club’s football operation.
The Glazers have been accused of communicating with fans as a box-ticking exercise. Ratcliffe must approach supporters with warmth and genuine interest to see what the hierarchy can do to improve relations.
A disjointed squad
United’s squad has been pieced together under several managers who have all played different styles – and that has been evidenced this season. Some stars are still not entirely comfortable with Erik ten Hag’s style of play.
That dilemma appears to be holding United back. Ratcliffe must design a unique club culture, including a specific playing style and a recruitment focus that identifies players for that system. For too long United have adopted a scattergun, square-peg-in-round-holes approach to transfers.
Behind-the-scenes unrest
Leaks in recent weeks have hinted at apparent splits behind the scenes. According to The Athletic, staff took Richard Arnold to task over the club’s handling of the situations surrounding Mason Greenwood and Antony.
Meanwhile, talkSPORT claimed that players are not convinced by Ten Hag’s style of management. There is allegedly a difference in opinion over the Dutchman’s treatment of Jadon Sancho, who finds himself banished from the first-team environment.
Ten Hag has repeatedly insisted the club is “united”. Ratcliffe must ensure that is truly the case.
Challenging for the Premier League
Despite two second-place finishes behind runaway champions Manchester City in 2017-18 and 2020-21, United have not challenged for the Premier League title since winning it under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2012-13.
A decade of stagnation at Old Trafford coupled with a swiftly changing landscape for England football has seen United fall well behind the likes of City, Liverpool and now Arsenal. Ratcliffe should channel his inner Ferguson and insist on knocking United’s rivals off their perch.
Jadon Sancho’s future
Sancho is far too good a player to be discarded by United. The £70m signing from Borussia Dortmund in 2021 has too much talent to waste.
It would be a shame if Sancho can only kickstart his United career subject to making an apology to Ten Hag. It would be yet another expensive transfer misused and ultimately wasted by the Red Devils.
