We’re pleased to report that today members of the MUST Board held our first bilateral meeting with Sir Jim Ratcliffe to discuss his plans for the club.
Sir Jim was accompanied by Sir Dave Brailsford, Jean-Claude Blanc and senior club officials, and we had more than an hour’s discussion about where the club is at and what needs to happen to restore United back to the top.
First things first, it was very refreshing that he was even willing to have the conversation at this early stage. Remember the ‘deal’ has yet to receive Premier League approval, and nor has he bought the non-Glazer-owned shares or invested the $300m in new shares. All of these things are expected in the next couple of months, and until then he is constrained by stock market rules on what he can say.
Nevertheless, we felt he was as open as he could be within those rules. His main message was that everything at United needs to be ruthlessly focussed on creating winning teams on the field – something we are sure all fans will agree on. He also expressed the view that he views our club as a ‘community asset’ and stressed that his purpose in taking a share in United is not to make money.
We were able to set out to Sir Jim what we think the key priorities are – a clear plan to get back to the top, putting in place a football structure with the right people in the right roles; an investment plan in both the teams and the stadium; and building a genuine and strong partnership with fans that supports success.
We hope today’s discussion is the start of an ongoing dialogue both with Sir Jim and his team. We all know the journey back for our Club is not a short one – and the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. But most fans agree that the signals INEOS has sent in the last few weeks are encouraging. Continuing that dialogue on your behalf, to promote supporters interests, is number one priority for MUST in the months and years ahead.
Leave a Reply