Paul Scholes has highlighted his displeasure with the first year of Ineos’ ownership of Manchester United and claimed he “can’t think of anything positive they’ve done for the football club”.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of Ineos, struck a deal with the Glazers last December to buy 27.7 percent of United with a promise to revitalize the club on and off the pitch.
Since then, however, there have been a series of unpopular decisions, including an efficiency drive that led to the sacking of a quarter of the club’s workforce – many of whom held low-paying jobs – while ticket prices for children soared.
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Things weren’t any better on the players’ side either, with the decision to sign former boss Erik ten Hague to a new contract in the summer backfiring. The Dutchman was subsequently sacked in October, and his replacement Ruben Amorim had a poor start at Old Trafford. United are currently 13th in the Premier League.
‘Things are getting worse on the pitch’
“[Ineos Group] were in charge [of Manchester United] almost a year now and everything is still negative. I can’t think of anything positive they’ve done for the football club,” former United and England midfielder Scholes told The Overlap Fan Debate.
“Things are getting worse on the football field so couldn’t they just say they’re going to offer cheaper tickets – couldn’t they give us something positive? How can you ask Manchester United fans to pay more money with what is on the football pitch?
“£66 for a ticket is ridiculous. If you think of Manchester, there are so many poor areas, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe himself is from Failsworth, which is a poor area. If you’re taking one child with you it’s £120, if you’re taking a family you’re looking at £300-400 – not right.
“Where did those owners get the money to raise ticket prices? In terms of value, we’re probably having the worst season in the Premier League and they have the nerve to raise prices.”
Nothing positive – Scholes
Scholes added: “Nothing positive is happening with that football club. The team looks average. They don’t do anything for the fans.
“If we have Sir Jim Ratcliffe, compared to all these American owners, who has been a United fan since he grew up in the Manchester area, he is still driving up the prices. It just shows they don’t care.”
Ratcliffe spoke of his willingness to make tough decisions and even claimed that this could boost his popularity with some supporters.
He told Bloomberg over the summer: “At Manchester United I have to do some things that are not popular.
“I mean, I think at the end of the day doing hard things, and you know, a degree of unpopularity, in a funny way, might make you more popular.
“Because someone sees you standing up and making tough decisions, not just blowing a little in the wind.”
