Has INEOS’ first year at Man United been a success?

Almost a year has passed since Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS purchased a 27.7% stake in Manchester United.

Excitement initially buzzed from ear to ear amongst fans, finally seeing an owner with serious intentions taking over the club.

But 12 months later, this enthusiasm has seemingly fizzled out.

A terrible start to the league, mixed with staff cuts and ticket price increases has damaged fans image of the new co-owners.

It’s not all been bad though, with FA Cup triumph, hierarchy transformation and a strong first transfer window.

So has INEOS first year been a success or a disappointment?

FA Cup Victory

Boyhood United fan Ratcliffe invested into the club to bring silverware back to Manchester.

He was there in 1999 when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored the winner to complete the miraculous turn around against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.

Ratcliffe knows what Manchester United means and where it needs to be.

Just three months into their reign, United lifted their first piece of silverware under the new co-owners, winning the FA Cup against local rivals Manchester City.

This was the perfect way to end a disappointing season.

But how much INEOS played a part in this is another matter.

They came in two thirds into the season unable to provide reinforcements as the January window had passed.

So while it’s an accomplishment in their era, it wasn’t really impacted by them.

Hierarchy Changes

hierarchy network wooden figures interlinked all pointing at one red important figure

Since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson and departure of chief executive David Gill, United have gone backwards.

The Glazer family began imposing more of their will onto the club, choosing to use those they trusted ahead of the best in class to run the club.

This created an inefficient and backwards footballing hierarchy.

Money became the priority ahead of football.

A dangerous precedent.

11 years later and United hadn’t come close to challenging for a league title since.

So one of INEOS’ first steps as new co-owners was to completely revolutionise the behind the scenes set up.

Omar Berrada was sniped from Manchester City and brought in as United’s chief executive officer (CEO).

Dan Ashworth was taken from Newcastle after many months of negotiation and gardening leave to become the sporting director.

Jason Wilcox was brought in from Southampton to be the technical director.

Christopher Vivell was acquired to be the director of recruitment.

This completed the overhaul of the key behind the scenes areas.

The Red Devils went from mediocracy to an elite set up in just a few months.

But only five months after his appointment, Dan Ashworth left the club.

They spent £2-3m to acquire him, whilst waiting four months for him on gardening leave.

There was an acceptance that it just wasn’t working well, so they made the decision to part ways.

While it may have been necessary, this was a public PR disaster for the club after spending so long trying to get him, to then remove him just five months later.

Not the outcome INEOS wanted.

But there’s no doubt Ratcliffe has come in and revolutionised United’s hierarchy. It’s been a major point of success having changed many of the problems that were there.

But the whole Ashworth situation from start to finish does slightly tarnish this.

The decision to keep Erik ten Hag

eric ten hag in interview post match close up

In the buildup to the FA Cup final, several sources were reporting that Ten Hag was expected to leave the club regardless of the outcome of the game.

United had just finished eighth in the league, their worst ever Premier League season.

They also finished bottom of their Champions League group and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the fourth round.

So the FA Cup was the only thing that could salvage a terrible season.

After the exceptional triumph, there was overwhelming fan support for Ten Hag.

INEOS had been ruthless in their decision making to this point but took several weeks to deliberate over whether they should sack the Dutch coach.

This was the first time their leadership showed cracks, as there wasn’t a swift and decisive decision that many expected.

Crucially they decided to stick by Ten Hag despite the poor season and wanted to give him a shot under a better leadership.

But such time taken illustrated that they weren’t in complete support of him.

Rene Hake and Ruud van Nistelrooy were brought in to strengthen the coaching staff.

But just a few months later and Ten Hag was sacked.

£200m had been spent on his players with United sat 14th in the table having won just three of their opening nine games.

This decision to keep him was costly.

A new manager would have to walk into this mess with none of his players or time to teach his style.

This was a huge failure for INEOS.

Ruben Amorim has been brought in but is struggling to impose his idea because the players don’t fit his system and it’s in the middle of the season.

Disaster.

Signings

With the team struggling massively despite spending £200m in the summer, you’d assume these transfers weren’t good, but this would be misleading.

Six players were brought in, some of which could have huge futures at the club.

INEOS’ first signing was Bologna’s Joshua Zirkzee for £36.54m.

French teenager Leny Yoro was the next to join the club in the statement signing of the summer. United snapped the highly regarded defender up ahead of Real Madrid for £52m.

Then Bayern Munich defensive pairing Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt soon followed.

Mazraoui joined for just £17.1m with add-ons, while De Ligt signed for £42.8m also including add-ons.

Deep into the window, one of Ruben Amorim’s former disciples at Sporting Lisbon also made the move to Old Trafford. Defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte signed for £50.5m.

18-year-old Sekou Kone completed United’s window as he joined for £1m from Guidars FC in Mali, as a future prospect.

It’s been over four months since the summer window slammed shut and that’s provided an early indication into the potential success of these signings.

How the signings have performed so far

Zirkzee immediately hit the ground running scoring on his competitive debut to give United a 1-0 win against Fulham.

Since then, he’s struggled with consistency and has been subject to a lot of criticism from fans, even being booed at Old Trafford.

Many disagreed with this reception and have since been chanting his name in support of their own.

But the doubts around him aren’t fading and he has work to do to earn his spot as a consistent starter. So currently, INEOS’ first signing hasn’t done great.

In pre-season, Yoro broke his foot against Arsenal which put him out for over four months.

Since returning from injury, the French youngster has impressed but it’s too early to make any judgement as he’s played just 338 minutes in the iconic red shirt.

Mazraoui has arguably been one of United’s standout players this season. With his troubling injury record and availability for so cheap, fans didn’t know what to expect from the Moroccan defender.

But he shined immediately, impressing on his debut against Fulham. In a turbulent season he’s been a consistent performer for United. For just £17.1m, he’s looking like a terrific bargain buy from INEOS.

When De Ligt left Ajax in 2019, he was arguably the best young centre back in the world. But six years later and there’s many question marks surrounding whether the Dutch defender can ever be truly world class. He did well at Juventus and Bayern Munich but not nearly as well as expected.

After four months at Old Trafford, opinions are divided, with some in high praise for the former Bayern Munich man, whereas others have been critical, expecting more of him. De Ligt looks like a decent signing from INEOS but not a fantastic one so far.

For £50m Ugarte seemed expensive for a player who hadn’t excelled at PSG, but after four months at United, he’s grown into a fan favourite. His tenacity and ball winning nature has been a breath of fresh air in the heart of this United team, covering the ground far better. He’s become a useful solution to the gaping hole midfield problem that had plagued the club for a while.

He’s looking like a fantastic signing for INEOS.

Kone hasn’t featured for United’s first team yet as he’s adapting to English football in the academy. Injuries have derailed his progress though as the young Mali midfielder has only played 107 minutes in the academy so far.  So it’s too early to judge, but he’s got high potential.

Ultimately, despite the poor league performances, INEOS’ first window was decent. Kone and Yoro provide huge potential in the future, while Mazraoui and Ugarte have been great additions. But De Ligt and Zirzkee have more to prove if this is deemed to be a great first window. An encouraging start for INEOS though.

Fan Support

Man United Fans

When the new co-owners arrived, the majority of fans were delighted with the early work they were doing to restructure the hierarchy. Some still held onto the disappointment that Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim didn’t purchase United but most were very pleased in the direction the club was moving.

But several ‘cost cutting’ measures have since taken place which has tarnished the reputation of the new co-owners.

The first came in April 2024 as INEOS removed the staff concessions for the FA Cup final. Previously the club had paid for the staff’s ticket and travel to the game as well as hotel accommodation in London, a pre match lunch and a post-game party.

They scrapped everything except the ticket.

Then in early July it was revealed that INEOS planned to cut 250 jobs in the club. This came after Ratcliffe already demanded staff come back to the office and no longer work remotely. These job cuts were for supposed ‘non-essential activities’.

Such a decision baffled many as it was perceived that regular people were losing their jobs because of the failures of top businessmen overspending on recruitment.

This lowered the mood inside the club dramatically.

Then in August more matchday concessions were removed for agency staff, as their previous free lunchbox with a sandwich, cereal bar and a packet of crisps were gone. But the club argued that staff were being given extra quantities of the food sold to fans.

The Daily Mail revealed that some workers claimed they had to eat in a toilet as United set up a dining table next to a cubicle.

While this isn’t a lifechanging cost cutting measure, it just lowers staff morale further.

Then in October, United ended Ferguson’s ambassadorial role and contract. Upon retiring he was given this position, earning £2m a year but it was scrapped by INEOS in another measure to reduce costs.

This was worrying. If even United’s greatest manager wasn’t safe from cost cutting, then who would be.

Then the club decided to scrap the annual Christmas party as well.

But it didn’t end there.

In November, United revealed that they would be rising the price of matchday tickets and removing concessions for children and old age pensioners (OAP’S).

Prices originally started at £40 for adults and £25 for kids (prices differed depending on seat) but rose to £66 for everyone regardless of where they were sat.

The club however, said it would only effect 3% of people as most tickets for the season had already been sold.

Protests occurred as a result

Even club legends were in complete disagreement with it.

Then in the final cost cutting measure of the year, it was reported by the Sun that the club had scrapped the £40,000 a year payment it made to the Association of Former Manchester United Players. This was a charity set up in 1985 to help ex United players who didn’t make the huge money players do now.

While cost cutting is a likely necessity for United, the extent of the measures they’ve taken has damaged morale inside and outside the club.

INEOS’ support is dwindling and they must get it right sooner rather than later after upsetting large majorities of the fanbase.

Stadium Developments

old trafford stretford end pitch under artificial lighting

More positively for INEOS, they’re making progress on the development of Old Trafford or building of a new stadium. When Ratcliffe arrived at the club, he spoke of building a ‘Wembley of the north’ but was also aware that it wasn’t up to him.

He created a taskforce involving Lord Sebastian Coe as chair (he was chair of the London 2012 Olympics organising committee), Andy Burnham (mayor of Greater Manchester), Gary Neville, Duncan Drasdo (CEO of Manchester United Supporters Trust) and others. This was to get a fair representation of what United should do with Old Trafford.

With the ‘theatre of dreams’ having been left to rot under Glazer rule, INEOS have got straight on it in their attempts to change this, which is a positive stance for the new co-owners.

Has INEOS’ first year been a success?

Yes and no.

The hierarchical transformation was a success besides the Ashworth drama and the transfer window was better than it has been in recent years. Then the development of a task force for the decision on the stadium has also been positive.

But keeping Erik ten Hag was a disaster and the cost cutting measures have depleted morale in and around the club.

INEOS’ support amongst fans has certainly dwindled.

Ultimately, it’s been a success in some ways and a failure in others.

Factors:

  • Signings
  • Hierarchy changes – Berrada & Wilcox etc – but also the failure of Ashworth
  • Fan support – ticket price increase – sacking staff – Christmas party – bonuses etc – but they intended to streamline…
  • Link to the decision not to sack Ten Hag – mistake – now hired Amorim half way
  • Progress on stadium
  • Trophies