Big Sir Jim's massive folly
- Thread starter Beamrider
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Why did you look ! You ruined it. It was still 1-0 last time I checked. 😛
One of them is feeding something to the kids. The other is taking the food away.
At least we know who Ratcliffe fucked before he died
There’s something surreal about how fucked they are. It’s really difficult to fathom. If you tried to do what they’ve done. Spend all that money etc and reach this low point - it would actually be really difficult to do.
Like if I had been a billionaire secret Liverpool fan and bought them a decade ago with the intention of totally fucking them, I’m not sure I actually could have done this much damage without being found out. Actually I’m not sure I could have fucked then this bad even if I was trying to do it in the open.
Yeah, every single one of their marquee signings of the last 10-12 years with the exception of Bruno has been a giant flop - that’s really hard to do. They also employed some of the most sought-after managers in football and each one has made them progressively worse.
And when they turned to homegrown talents, one of their 2 big homegrown stars developed Mbappe’s attitude with half the talent and the other turned out to be a rapist. You couldn’t make this up.
And when they turned to homegrown talents, one of their 2 big homegrown stars developed Mbappe’s attitude with half the talent and the other turned out to be a rapist. You couldn’t make this up.
Replacing Ginsoak was always going to be a headache but losing David Gill from the boardroom hurt them equally badly IMO. He had a rare combo of business knowledge and football knowledge but they replaced him with a merchant banker (in every sense) in Ed Woodward, who kept the cash coming in but hadn't a scooby about the game. It all stems as much from that as from anything else IMO.
I've worked out how they get out of this mess.
Chelsea just paid them £5m so they wouldn't have to sign Jadon Sancho. If everyone who doesn't want to sign Jadon Sancho pays them £5m so they too don't have to sign him, then all their troubles will go away and they will be the world's richest club once more.
Like when Elon Musk thought he could sue everyone who didn't advertise on Twitter for not advertising on Twitter.
Simple.
Chelsea just paid them £5m so they wouldn't have to sign Jadon Sancho. If everyone who doesn't want to sign Jadon Sancho pays them £5m so they too don't have to sign him, then all their troubles will go away and they will be the world's richest club once more.
Like when Elon Musk thought he could sue everyone who didn't advertise on Twitter for not advertising on Twitter.
Simple.
We truly dodged the bullet with this one (Sancho).
And (Musk)
Yeah, but I don't believe he would have turned to shit quite so disastrously if we'd signed him. Right now, United is a graveyard for promising young players.
I think he would have blossomed under Klopp - but based on what we saw at Man U etc, it's harder to envision.
Disagree, I'm afraid. Sancho's talented right enough, but a featherhead who IMO would have ended up trying Klopp's patience too far too often. I don't believe he'll ever settle down well enough to make the most of his ability, whoever he plays for.
Sir Dave Brailsford to step back from Manchester United, Jason Wilcox named director of football
By Laurie Whitwell and Mark Critchley
9
June 4, 2025Updated 9:38 pm GMT+1
Sir Dave Brailsford is relinquishing his day-to-day role at Manchester United and returning to act as director of sport for INEOS, in a major recalibration of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Old Trafford executive.
The move coincides with Jason Wilcox being named United’s director of football, a position of increased seniority from the technical director title he initially arrived with in April 2024.
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Brailsford, 61, has been a significant figure at United since Ratcliffe’s stake was confirmed on Christmas Eve 2023, watching Aston Villa’s Boxing Day visit to Old Trafford from the directors’ box and continuing to attend games regularly.
He was appointed to United’s football club board upon completion of the deal, alongside former manager Sir Alex Ferguson and ex-chief executive David Gill.
He had been a consistent presence throughout the due diligence stage of the investment process and was prominent at Carrington once Ratcliffe had the keys to the club, basing himself in Manchester.
Brailsford was across the training ground refurbishment, involved in the decisions on Erik ten Hag, and had input on key appointments including Omar Berrada as chief executive and Ruben Amorim as head coach, as well as performance staff.
Brailsford led United’s ‘Mission 21’ drive targeting a 21st league title and ‘Mission 1’ to win first Women’s Super League, part of ‘Project 150’ programme to mark 150th anniversary in 2028.
He became less visible in recent weeks, although that can partly be attributed to him becoming a father last year and spending more time in Monaco. Brailsford was seen at the Europa League final in Bilbao, however.
Now, with a new executive team led by Berrada in place, and Wilcox assuming greater authority for United’s sporting department by being promoted to director of football, Brailsford is stepping back to give them space. He retains his place on the board and will still be on hand to advise on strategic performance matters. Assembling a revamped structure at United was his remit on joining, and this has now happened.
Brailsford is expected to increase his support to INEOS Grenadiers, the cycling team he was team principal of until January 2024, shortly after Ratcliffe agreed to purchase a minority stake in United, as they aim to return to Tour de France winning level, with the arrival of a new partner.
Ratcliffe wants Brailsford to help guide Geraint Thomas, who is set to be appointed to a senior management position at INEOS Grenadiers once he retires as a rider at the end of this season.
Brailsford can also revert back to Nice, where he was once influential, given United’s failure to qualify for Europe means the French club is free from the blind trust it was placed by UEFA to comply with ownership rules.
Brailsford is one of several INEOS figures to have joined United, including chief financial officer Roger Bell, directors John Reece and Rob Nevin, and project managers Gary Hemingway and Josh Thompson.
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Brailsford has been a big part of United under Ratcliffe, pictured attending Carrington alongside the British billionaire in January 2024 to meet players and staff, then being at the forefront of the undulations over Ten Hag’s position at the end of that campaign.Brailsford attended pre-season in Los Angeles last summer, and was seen chatting pitchside to Ten Hag, Wilcox, and then-sporting director Dan Ashworth.
Much has changed at United in those 11 months since, with Ten Hag relieved of his duties in October following an executive committee meeting where Brailsford left in the same car as Ratcliffe. Ashworth went in December, and now Brailsford is reducing his day-to-day involvement.
Doing so once a new football structure had been assembled was part of the plan, with Brailsford’s background coming in elite sporting performance, predominantly cycling, rather than football, which he confessed he was not an expert in.
United’s results this season have been the worst in Premier League history, with Amorim admitting to a “disaster” campaign that was even denied salvation by Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Berrada and Wilcox are now undoubtedly the key people in charge of the football operations at the club.
Did he mostly just get on with it at dortmund?
He was definitely doing very well over in Germany and was wanted by lots of fans.
United have gone through a really weird period where it was Pogba, Rashford, Anthony or who've else's fault.
Sancho didn't manage to recreate the Dortmund spark but Rashford has picked himself up at Villa.
& tbh I don't think Sancho will pick up that spark again. Probably done and ends up in some random league in a few years.
He’s a rich man’s Jordan Ibe.
It's quite true about his time at Dortmund but my impression was that he was breathing a sigh of relief for not being at ManU any more - or maybe not being in the hothouse of English football generally. Had his improvement been securely based I'd have expected him to build on it back at United, or mos def to have done so at Chelsea once they gave him yet another chance. Given that he also failed at Man.City to start with, it seems pretty clear to me that the common factor in all this is the player himself.
@Beamrider have you seen this, how mch does this help Man U when it comes to paying clubs the instalment in transfers they owe?
Ratcliffe's equity investment raises Manchester United's three-year PSR loss limit from £15m to £105m - The Athletic
Today, 5 June 2025, 09:00
7
Manchester United are unlikely to face any issues with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) this summer, despite previous speculation about potential restrictions, according to a detailed report from The Athletic.
The club’s PSR compliance is assessed using the financial results of Red Football Limited (RFL) - a subsidiary of Manchester United plc - rather than the broader plc entity. This distinction is crucial, as the two sets of accounts differ significantly. While Manchester United plc reported a pre-tax loss of £130.7 million for the 2023-24 season, RFL’s losses stood at a far lower £36.2 million.
UEFA’s own finance report supports this, listing United’s pre-tax losses as €22 million (£19m) in 2022-23 and €42 million (£36m) in 2023-24 - figures that align exactly with RFL’s reporting. The discrepancy arises partly because RFL does not include the costs associated with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of a minority stake in the club earlier this year, nor other plc-level expenses. Additionally, RFL’s accounts are boosted by interest income from intra-group loans and more favourable foreign exchange outcomes.
While some financial elements - such as intra-group interest and foreign exchange gains - are excluded from PSR calculations, United’s actual loss figures for PSR purposes remain significantly below the club’s limit. Thanks to Ratcliffe’s equity injections, United's allowable losses under PSR have increased from £15 million to £105 million over a three-year cycle.
RFL reported a combined pre-tax loss of £55.1 million over the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, meaning that even with necessary adjustments, United could lose up to £141 million in 2024-25 and still remain within the PSR threshold.
More on Tribuna.com:
Ratcliffe's equity investment raises Manchester United's three-year PSR loss limit from £15m to £105m - The Athletic
Today, 5 June 2025, 09:00
7
Manchester United are unlikely to face any issues with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) this summer, despite previous speculation about potential restrictions, according to a detailed report from The Athletic.
The club’s PSR compliance is assessed using the financial results of Red Football Limited (RFL) - a subsidiary of Manchester United plc - rather than the broader plc entity. This distinction is crucial, as the two sets of accounts differ significantly. While Manchester United plc reported a pre-tax loss of £130.7 million for the 2023-24 season, RFL’s losses stood at a far lower £36.2 million.
UEFA’s own finance report supports this, listing United’s pre-tax losses as €22 million (£19m) in 2022-23 and €42 million (£36m) in 2023-24 - figures that align exactly with RFL’s reporting. The discrepancy arises partly because RFL does not include the costs associated with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of a minority stake in the club earlier this year, nor other plc-level expenses. Additionally, RFL’s accounts are boosted by interest income from intra-group loans and more favourable foreign exchange outcomes.
While some financial elements - such as intra-group interest and foreign exchange gains - are excluded from PSR calculations, United’s actual loss figures for PSR purposes remain significantly below the club’s limit. Thanks to Ratcliffe’s equity injections, United's allowable losses under PSR have increased from £15 million to £105 million over a three-year cycle.
RFL reported a combined pre-tax loss of £55.1 million over the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, meaning that even with necessary adjustments, United could lose up to £141 million in 2024-25 and still remain within the PSR threshold.
More on Tribuna.com:
Sancho is on 300k a week though. 4 x the wage of the highest earner at Brentford.
They won’t go for that type of profiled player but will want to spend the money on finding the next Mbuemo.
They’ll probably sell at 60 mill + add ons I reckon.
But if United want to try and make Mbuemo happen, they could say offer to let Brentford pay only 100k of that, in exchange for a lower fee for Mbuemo
Just don't think that fits with the Brentford ways of working though. They want to sign the next Mbuemo not some expensive loanee that will move on after 1 year.
They probably have some gem in place already.
Cunha and Mbuemo are decent pick-ups, but it scratches the surface of their issues really. They'll score a few more goals, win a couple more games.
And have a few more red cards.
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