Is Jim Ratcliffe Delusional, or is Ruben Amorim a Genius in Disguise?
Let’s be honest, being a Manchester United fan lately feels like willingly signing up for a weekly emotional rollercoaster designed by a sadist. The highs are fleeting, the lows are Mariana Trench-deep, and the whiplash is constant. At the center of this recent vortex of mediocrity is one Ruben Amorim, a manager whose tenure has been… well, let’s just say it’s been a thing.
After a disastrous 15th-place finish last season—the club’s worst since before the internet was a twinkle in Al Gore’s eye—and a less-than-stellar start to this one, most managers would be packing their bags and dodging calls from their landlord. But not Amorim. Why? Because co-owner Jim Ratcliffe, in a move of either staggering genius or weapons-grade delusion, has decided to give him a full three years to sort this mess out. Yes, you read that right. Three. Whole. Years.
The Vote of Confidence We Didn’t See Coming
Speaking on a podcast, Sir Jim laid it all out. He’s tired of the “knee-jerk reactions” and the “light switch” mentality. He actually compared Amorim’s current struggles to the early, rocky days of Sir Alex Ferguson and Mikel Arteta at Arsenal. You have to admire the optimism, even if it feels a little like comparing a paper airplane to a Boeing 747.
“Ruben needs to demonstrate that he’s a great coach over three years,” Ratcliffe stated, essentially giving Amorim the kind of job security most of us can only dream of. Winning only 10 of his 34 Premier League matches doesn’t exactly scream “great coach in the making,” but hey, who are we to argue with a billionaire? Ratcliffe insists that patience is the name of the game. It’s a bold strategy, Cotton, let’s see if it pays off for ’em.
The message from the top is clear: stop panicking. But for fans who’ve watched their team get humbled by the likes of fourth-tier Grimsby in the League Cup, “patience” is starting to feel like a four-letter word.
Amorim’s Wild Ride So Far
Let’s rewind a bit. Amorim was Ratcliffe’s hand-picked successor to Erik ten Hag back in November 2024. The hope was that the Portuguese manager could inject some life, some tactical identity, anything into a team that looked lost. Instead, United lurched from one crisis to another.
Last season was a historic failure. Not only did they finish 15th, but they also fumbled their only shot at Champions League glory by losing the Europa League final to a Tottenham side that was also having a bit of a meltdown. It was the football equivalent of two people slipping on the same banana peel.
This season hasn’t offered much of a reprieve. Despite a summer spending spree of over €200 million, the team still looks disjointed. Amorim himself even admitted he considered quitting during the darkest moments. You know things are bad when the captain of the ship is eyeing the lifeboats.
Ratcliffe’s Grand (and Profitable) Plan
While the on-pitch product has been questionable, Ratcliffe is bullish about the club’s financial future. He’s been on a cost-cutting crusade, axing jobs and, most controversially, getting rid of subsidized staff lunches. “No-one’s ever given me a free lunch,” he quipped. Fair enough, but maybe the person serving your €200 million striker could get a discount on their sandwich?
Ratcliffe’s logic is that profitability is directly linked to success. “The more cash you have got, the better squad you can build,” he explained. He boldly predicts Manchester United will become “the most profitable football club in the world.” From that financial mountain, he hopes, a river of trophies will flow. It’s a very corporate way of looking at the beautiful game, but it’s the reality of modern football.
He also wants to revive the club’s academy, which once produced the legendary “Class of ’92.” Admitting it has “really slipped,” he’s hired a new director to hopefully churn out the next Beckham or Scholes.
So, here we are. Amorim has been given the keys to the kingdom for the foreseeable future, backed by a co-owner who is playing the longest of long games. Is this the beginning of a calculated, patient rebuild that will return United to glory? Or are we just watching a very, very expensive experiment go sideways in slow motion? Grab your popcorn, because either way, it’s going to be one hell of a show.
