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As the Glazer family sit pretty in their Florida glass house, out of the Manchester United line of fire, they feel emboldened to throw stones at the right-wing scapegoat they welcomed to the club with open arms in order to absorb some of the wholly negative attention they’ve been receiving for a well over a decade.
Michael Carrick is set for a ‘stay of execution’ at Old Trafford after a decision was reached to stick by him following a meeting between Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a couple of Glazers, CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox.
He’ll be in charge for Chelsea and – if that’s not a complete disaster – will likely stay on for the games against Roma and Aston Villa before an international break which will allow the poor sap who’s set to replace him a bit more time to get their feet under the table.
Carrick was cheered by the Man Utd faithful as he left the Old Trafford pitch following the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth, before a quite remarkable tone shift resulted in those very same fans vociferously booing their own players.
They know that Carrick’s not to blame, and short of Wilcox, Berrada, Ratcliffe and the Glazers breaking cover to take their medicine for systematically ruining their football club, the work-shy players were the next best thing at which to aim their wrath.
The fans know that the only possible way to fix Manchester United is through new ownership.
After saddling Man Utd with £600m worth of debt following their leveraged takeover 21 years ago, many of the problems the club has suffered since, on and off the field, can be attributed to the absentee Glazers.
Ratcliffe meanwhile, promised the “best in class” when he arrived in February 2024 and has done the exact opposite. No top football club would have Jason Wilcox and Michael Carrick as the pair responsible for carrying out their footballing vision.
A report earlier this week claimed Manchester City’s relegation from the Premier League and the completion of a new Old Trafford are two ‘triggers’ which could see the Glazers finally offload Manchester United, and reports of disagreements between the American family and Ratcliffe suggest they would have no qualms in forcing the British billionaire to give up his stake.
The Glazers hold a 72% stake in the club and also retain full control of any potential sale due to a so-called “drag-along clause” in their agreement with Ratcliffe which will means the petrochemicals chief will be required to dispense with his stake if they sell to a third party.
Ratcliffe has overseen a cost-cutting exercise since taking charge of Man Utd with over 500 jobs lost, while he has reduced the salary and transfer budgets too.
ESPN have been told ‘that the handling of the job cuts did not sit well with the Glazers, particularly co-chairmen Joel and Avram, with one source saying that Ratcliffe’s implementation of the program jarred with Joel’s “sense of decency and old-fashioned values.”‘
And now a source close to the Glazers has told the Daily Mail that the family have described Ratcliffe’s custodianship as “a travesty and not what they expected or were promised”.
“They have never run the club this way,” the source added.