Carragher: It could not have gone worse for INEOS at Man Utd

Jamie Carragher has said Manchester United’s new part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has had a “poor start” to his tenure at Old Trafford.

Ratcliffe’s arrival was welcomed after he bought a minority stake in United in February, taking over football operations from the deeply unpopular Glazer family.

And while the Red Devils triumphed in the FA Cup final against rivals Manchester City last season, problems have continued to mount both on and off the pitch.

Sporting director Dan Ashworth left the club after five months in the role last week, the same length of time he spent on gardening leave amid a drawn-out attempt to prise him away from Newcastle United.

Erik ten Hag was also sacked and replaced by Ruben Amorim, despite the Dutchman only signing a contract extension months earlier and spending around £200million on improving the squad.

These decisions have occurred amid widespread staff redundancies and increasing ticket prices, with the team currently sitting 13th in the Premier League table after 15 games.

Dan Ashworth will be leaving his role as Sporting Director of Manchester United by mutual agreement.#MUFC

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 8, 2024

Their latest defeat came at the hands of Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford on Sunday, with Amorim losing a home league match for the first time since February 2023.

And Carragher believes that the last couple of months could not have gone much worse for the United hierarchy.

“The optics are awful,” Carragher told Sky Sports News. “Who knows, in the future we might look back and think [getting rid of Ashworth] was the right decision, but when you look at it from the outside, it doesn’t look good.

“Since INEOS came in, I’m not sure if it could have gone much worse. They won the FA Cup, but they kept the manager who they didn’t really want, and spent £200m in the transfer market.

“Right now they find themselves in the lowest position they’ve been at this stage of the season.

“They’ve had to sack a manager early in the season, and the sporting director who they chased from another Premier League club, and obviously paid big money for him in sporting director terms, now he’s gone a few months later.

“If you’re a Manchester United fan, that initial joy of someone else being in charge and it not being the Glazers, it was almost anyone but the Glazers…

“I don’t think it’s been a great start at all. It’s been really poor from Jim Ratcliffe and the INEOS team, and it needs to change really quickly.”