Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a ruthless businessman - but I believe he is tearing Man United apart
Former Premier League manager Sam Allardyce believes the ruthless nature of Sir Jim Ratcliffe is causing a huge issue for Manchester United.
Since officially starting work at United in February, Ratcliffe has stated his ambition to make big changes at Old Trafford. Cost cutting has been at the top of the agenda with staff redundancies announced and Sir Alex Ferguson told he will be no longer required as an ambassador at the end of the campaign.
With the United staff base still reeling from that news, Ineos were left embarrassed last week when star purchase Dan Ashworth agreed to a 'mutual departure' from the club just five months after being appointed sporting director. With Ratcliffe's approval ratings at a low currently, Allardyce has suggested that his approach to turning around United is potentially scarring the club beyond repair.
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"The fabric of the club is being torn apart," Allardyce told Footy Accumulators' No Tippy Tappy Football podcast. "You are taking away the heart of Manchester United by going for people who have worked there for 15 years.
"You can understand the clearing out of what's called ‘deadwood’ when somebody takes over in any industry, where they find people to be coasting along. But there's a lot of people in that football club that have been totally dedicated to it for many years.
"When you look at those, and just get rid of them for financial reasons, and not for the culture of the club. They are people who have got their heart in the club because they love Manchester United so much and probably don't work for that much money."
Allardyce added: "Jim Ratcliffe is a ruthless businessman who makes money. But football is about compassion, it's about enjoying the work and the environment, it's about wanting to come to work.
"Most industries are like that now. The people who work in the industry are the ones who bring success, not the product that's made, not the product that you sell.
"It’s about feeling the worth of being at that football club and being able to talk about what you feel or what you might think might help the club or not, and allowing that expression. That has been cut in many ways.
"On the other side of it, whatever money is saved has long gone by paying Erik ten Hag and Dan Ashworth off. It’s all gone."
