Sir Jim Ratcliffe: 4 Things Prospective Manchester United Owner Must Do to Appease Fans

• The withdrawal of Sheikh Jassim from the Manchester United takeover process has left Sir Jim Ratcliffe with a clear path
• If his bid is accepted, he will face a fanbase that is disgruntled by the ownership of the Glazer family
• We take a look at the measures he can take to appease the fans despite his expected minority acquisition

Manchester United fans were dealt a heavy blow last week after it emerged that Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani had pulled the plug on buying the club.

After failing to agree to a deal with the Glazer family, the Qatari national walked out of negotiations, leaving Sir Jim Ratcliffe with a clear path to purchase a minority stake.

It starkly contrasts what the Manchester United faithful had hoped for when the Glazers put out a statement last year that they would pursue 'all strategic alternatives including new investment and sale'.

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How Ratcliffe and Glazers will share Man United

Sheikh Jassim's 5 billion euro debt-free offer to buy the whole club presented a way of reviving a club that has been on a decline in the last decade. Contrastingly, Ratcliffe's offer is to acquire a minority stake of not more than 25%, with the Glazers set to retain majority ownership.

The club's board could approve the offer of the INEOS CEO as early as this Thursday. Considered one of Britain's richest men, Ratcliffe will walk into Old Trafford fully aware that he will find a fanbase screaming for total change.

His minority stake might prevent him from implementing major shakeups; however, there are some actions he could take. Sports Brief takes a look at some of the things he might do to win fans over.

1. Sign a marquee player and change recruitment policy

Manchester United have recently struggled to compete with its peers in attracting top talents. Sir Ratcliffe could follow up on Sheikh Jassim's proposal of signing at least three big names.

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Signing big names often indicates your willingness to pull out all stops to chase success, but it has to be done wisely.

Therefore, he will need to revise the club's recruitment policy. By his own admission in an interview with the Times in 2019, he is aware that the club has spent tons of money on signing below-par players since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club.

Back to the big-names conversation, he can take full advantage of the PSG-Kylian Mbappe-Real Madrid standoff. As far as big-name players in the current era go, Mbappe sits at the summit and it is a transfer that can hardly go wrong.

2. Attend matches and engage fans

Fans often want owners to respond to questions and show that they care about the club's well-being.

It is an aspect in which the Glazers have terribly underperformed, and Ratcliffe will need to improve on this. His approach at one of his clubs, Nice, has been termed as 'hands-off' by the Guardian, something he will need to change.

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He can start by attending games regularly and organising meetings with various supporter groups to hear their thoughts.

3. Upgrade Old Trafford

This might require more time than the first two, but Ratcliffe could spearhead plans of providing a major facelift to the Theatre of Dreams.

He has already indicated that he intends to improve its capacity to 90,000. The Carrington Training Complex will also come under sharp focus, especially after Cristiano Ronaldo's remarks on Piers Morgan Uncensored last year:

"Nothing has changed since I left. The pool, the jacuzzi, even the gym, even some technology. I thought I would see new technology and infrastructure. I saw things I saw when I was 20!"

4. Change the club's directors

The current brass of United's hierarchy have faced intense criticism over their handling of specific issues. CEO Richard Arnold was recently reportedly quizzed by staff on how he handled the Mason Greenwood situation, as quoted in the Athletic.

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Arnold had previously indicated that he was ready to reintegrate the disgraced teenager, only for him to make a U-turn following public backlash.

Director of Football, John Murtough has also overseen very suspicious big-money signings that have gone wrong; Jadon Sancho and Antony lead the bunch. The jury is still out on Andre Onana.

Ratcliffe will need to reign in on his executives to convince the fans that he is in charge and ready to take the club forward. It will, however, be interesting to see if the Glazer family will be willing to cede that much control.

How did Ratcliffe perform at Nice?

Sports Brief has also reported that Ratcliffe's track record at the French club OGC Nice may offer insights into how his influence could shape the Premier League club's future.

The words of a French football transfer expert about how Ratcliffe managed Ligue 1 club OGC Nice could be a worrying sign that the fans could keep a close watch on.