The shocking Premier League table since Sir Jim Ratcliffe took over at Man Utd
Manchester United have accumulated fewer points than the likes of Bournemouth, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest since Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group took charge of football operations back in February.
The long-awaited deal promised to be a great new dawn for the underperforming club, but it’s safe to say that we’re still waiting for results to change. Describing Ratcliffe’s first 10 months at Old Trafford as turbulent would be an understatement.
“To become co-owner of Manchester United is a great honour and comes with great responsibility,” Ratcliffe said in a statement when the deal was completed in February.
“This marks the completion of the transaction, but just the beginning of our journey to take Manchester United back to the top of English, European and world football, with world-class facilities for our fans. Work to achieve those objectives will accelerate from today.”
The 72-year-old British chemicals magnate completed his acquisition back in February. The Glazer family still own the majority stake but Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group took immediate control of football operations, and swiftly set about installing a new hierarchy behind the scenes with a number of high-profile appointments.
Chief among the backroom staff was sporting director Dan Ashworth, poached from Newcastle United. After spending a period of time on gardening leave, he eventually joined the club at the start of July – but has only lasted five months in the role before leaving the club.
Other off-field matters that have drawn criticism have been a hike on ticket prices, pulling investment from the women’s team and mass redunancies. The decision to extend Erik ten Hag’s contract in the summer before sacking him in October has also proven costly.
On the pitch, Manchester United slumped to their lowest placing (eighth) of the Premier League era.
While Ratcliffe’s INEOS group could reasonably be defended for the poor form in the latter half of last season, given what they inherited, they’ve as yet struggled to steer the ship in the right direction.
United currently find themselves sitting 13th in the Premier League table – the lowest they’ve ever been this far into a campaign – while the appointment of Ruben Amorim has failed to yield the desired new manager bounce, with just seven points taken from his first six league matches at the helm.
The FA Cup victory over Manchester City stands as a glimmer of light in what’s otherwise been a dreadful year for the club – as their Premier League results since February demonstrate.
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Here’s how the Premier League table stacks up since the INEOS era began at Old Trafford:
Note: We’ve only included the 17 teams that have been in the Premier League throughout this time, excluding last season’s relegated sides and this year’s newly promoted trio.
1. Arsenal – 67pts, GD +44 (Played 30)
2. Man City – 65pts, GD +35 (Played 31)
3. Liverpool – 64pts, GD +31 (Played 29)
4. Chelsea – 63pts, GD +31 (Played 30)
5. Newcastle – 49pts, GD +17 (Played 30)
6. Bournemouth – 48pts, GD +6 (Played 31)
7. Aston Villa – 47pts, GD -4 (Played 30)
8. Fulham – 43pts, GD +pts, GD +3 (Played 30)
9. Nottingham Forest – 43pts, GD -2 (Played 30)
10. Tottenham – 42pts, GD +13 (Played 30)
11. Crystal Palace – 40pts, GD +7 (Played 30)
12. Man Utd – 38pts, GD -3 (Played 30)
13. Brentford – 37pts, GD -1 (Played 31)
14. West Ham – 36pts, GD -14 (Played 30)
15. Brighton – 35pts, GD -14 (Played 30)
16. Everton – 34pts, GD -12 (Played 29)
17. Wolves – 23pts, GD -27 (Played 30)