“Death by 1000 cuts” would be an apt way to describe the gradual disintegration of Manchester United’s season and even Ruben Amorim’s plan for the club’s revival, but if the placards around Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon captured the team’s malaise that’s only because, in football, on-field events always seems to symbolise the wider culture.
The signs waved by thousands of furious United supporters marching in protest against the club’s owners were a reference to the job cuts announced by Sir Jim Ratcliffe - the last straw in a long, long list of austerity measures implemented by the new regime – and 20 years of the Glazers’ parasitic ownership.
Man Utd have lost £300 million in the last three years. Ratcliffe’s response to decades of mismanagement from the Glazers - who have taken over one billion pounds out of the club in share sales and dividend payments since their controversial leverage buyout in 2005 - has been to slash and burn.
Concession tickets are gone, standard ticket prices are up. The club canteen has closed, taking away free lunch for employees. Redundancies have come thick and fast.
It’s a long list of grievances, and although it’s hardly the first time Man Utd supporters in yellow and green have protested this one is notable as the first since the partial sale by the Glazers to INEOS.
The underlying goal of the demonstration was to show Ratcliffe he is being “tainted by his association with the Glazer family,” in the words of Chris Haymes of the 1958 Group, in the hope it might inspire a full buyout.
But that plan is not forthcoming and feels unlikely to come to fruition while the Glazer family continue to turn large personal profits.
Ratcliffe’s recasting from saviour to villain is a huge moment. The honeymoon period is over.
Ratcliffe is indistinguishable now from the Glazers, who, incidentally, have got just what they wanted from the sale: the spotlight shone onto someone else.
And so United are back to square one: saddled with debt, under-performing in the league, and with no realistic prospect of a billionaire bringing the good times back.
It’s a terrible situation for the fans – and for Amorim, whose summer rebuild looks unlikely to succeed against the backdrop of unrest that extends from the pitch to the boardroom.
It’s a regression, a shrinking of hope, reflected neatly in the way Amorim’s team have retreated into a more defensive setup over the last few weeks.
“Sometimes we have to do things that are not popular,” was Amorim’s apologetic explanation to Sky Sports for the ultra-defensive stance he took in the 1-1 draw against Arsenal.
Abandoning tactical principles in favour of results is exactly what Amorim said he would never do, yet within a few months the new United manager has capitulated in the same way as Erik ten Hag and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Bruno Fernandes, that is beautiful 😍 pic.twitter.com/7pAau1Aqjz
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 9, 2025
Presumably Amorim’s thinking is to stagger through to the end of the season by any means necessary before of a major clear out in the summer, but as we know – as the fans have reminded us all in their pre-game protest – there just isn’t the money to take the club back to the top.
Just four months ago, when Amorim arrived, a bright future was visible under a new part-owner looking to turn the ship around.
Faith in the manager is perhaps already waning and certainly with Sunday’s protests Ratcliffe is no longer seen as capable of re-energising United.
Earlier in the season Amorim was criticised for calling his team “the worst in the club’s history.” That was an exaggeration.
But with no money and an unpopular new chairman, the club as a whole has never been in a worse state.
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
