Jim Ratcliffe and Manchester United

When I first went to work, before university, a new CEO came in, one of, I was told, Britain’s leading industrialists.  Shortly after his installation he held what might nowadays be called a ‘Town Hall’ meeting at which he outlined his plan to cut costs.  The proposals were, to me, pretty underwhelming with one of the most memorable being that notepads (the A4 size ones) would no longer be ordered with the company’s logo at the top right hand corner.  This didn’t appear, over the next few years, to have made much difference to the company’s finances and the inevitable layoffs and sell offs followed.

Jim Ratcliffe’s approach to Manchester United’s financial situation has been a little more aggressive than just buying cheaper stationery, but cutting back of low cost perks and demanding higher prices for spare seats at Old Trafford aren’t going to save or generate megabucks when his administration is reportedly having to shell out £21.5 million to pay off and replace Eric Ten Hag with Amorin.  The figure may be slightly different, but that’s a lot of perks/stadium seats.

When working in South Korea for a major shipbuilders a few years ago, a new management was brought in to help in a financial squeeze.  Literally overnight all the large limousines driven by the middle and upper management were replaced by Kia Picantos, the smallest car in that manufacturer’s range.  The effect on the entire company was electric.  This was seen as a direct challenge to management to demonstrate that they could reduce their costs the way that their superior had cut theirs.

If Jim Ratcliffe focused on some of the higher management or more significant costs of the organisation he might be able to instil some sort of financial discipline on the whole of Old Trafford.  Otherwise does he really appreciate the nature of the tiger whose tail he has grasped?