Sir Jim Ratcliffe is known for being ruthless – as Michael Carrick may be about to find out – and it appears as though the Association of Former Manchester United Players has once again paid the price.
Two years ago, Ratcliffe made front-page news at Christmas after it emerged he was cutting a yearly £40,000 donation to the AFMUP charity, which has been helping ex-United players since 1985.
Last week organisers were informed at the last minute that the second of its two annual dinners couldn’t be staged as usual in the Manchester Suite at Old Trafford and would have to move elsewhere.
So while plans were being made for Sir Alex Ferguson’s glittering 40th anniversary bash in the Heritage Suite on Friday night, the AFMUP had to rely on Hotel Football – part-owned by Gary Neville and the Class of ’92 – coming to the rescue to host their event over the road 24 hours earlier. Ferguson, it has to be said, has been a big supporter of the charity over the years.
There are now concerns that AFMUP will never be allowed back to Old Trafford with United understood to be insisting on a total of 400 guests, which is double what the charity can provide.
Previously, the AFMUP gave half of the £40,000 donation back to the club to hire the suite in April and September, raising additional funds through ticket sales and auctions.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe (left) is known for being ruthless and it appears as though the Association of Former Manchester United Players has once again paid the price
When Neville challenged Ratcliffe over the ‘cruel decision’ to cut the donation in a one-on-one interview in March last year and said the club should consider organising the dinner itself and asking current players to attend, the minority owner replied: ‘Well nobody suggested that, I would have supported that.’
As a result, United chief executive Omar Berrada joined Ferguson and former CEO David Gill at the dinner the following month – when Neville, Andy Cole and Jonny Evans were also present – and donated a VIP package for the auction worth £20,000.
Director of football Jason Wilcox then appeared at the next event in September and gave a rare interview on stage. In April of this year, Bryan Robson and Steve Bruce formed a popular double act as the main attraction.
Thursday’s dinner, which had already been moved from September 24 due to a double booking, was a celebration of the life of Duncan Edwards, who would have been 90 on October 1. Former chairman Martin Edwards and Gill were both present along with former goalkeeper Alex Stepney.
The AFMUP’s official filmmaker and publicist John Gubba highlighted the latest setback on his Man Utd The Religion YouTube channel, saying: ‘While the red carpet is being rolled out for Fergie, the club have been brutally abandoning the former players’ association.
‘The latest cutbacks by Sir Jim Ratcliffe have resulted in another kick in the teeth for the AFMUP. Staging their big event at the Theatre of Dreams was always a status that made the former players and their guests feel part of the football club. Being turfed out at short notice leaves a bitter taste.’ You can watch the full video here.
United sources say the club helped to facilitate an alternative venue at Hotel Football due to unavailability in the stadium, and insist that the charity will be welcome back to Old Trafford in future.
Omar’s culture club
Berrada was present at Ferguson’s celebration dinner on Friday in which the United chief executive spoke about the importance of building a culture at Old Trafford.
He was one of 100 invited guests for the event to mark 40 years since Ferguson was appointed as United manager, moving from Aberdeen to replace Ron Atkinson in November 1986.
A number of Ferguson’s old players were present and posed for pictures with him including Michael Carrick, Brian McClair, Edwin van der Sar, Robin van Persie, David May, Wes Brown, Paul Parker, Dion Dublin, Denis Irwin, Jesper Blomqvist, Ryan Giggs, Gary Pallister, Javier Hernandez, Clayton Blackmore, Jonny Evans, John O’Shea, Darren Fletcher, Ronny Johnsen, Lee Martin, Nemanja Vidic and Quinton Fortune.
Ferguson’s former No2 Mike Phelan was also there along with Gill and kit man Albert Morgan.
There were 100 invited guests for the event to mark 40 years since Sir Alex Ferguson (third right) was appointed as United manager in November 1986
Shaw eyes Anfield return
Luke Shaw is targeting a return to action away at Liverpool a week on Sunday, Confidential understands.
The 31-year-old has not featured since October 10 when he played 90 minutes against Tottenham, missing seven games through to the current international break.
That absence badly exposed United’s lack of depth at left back, an area the hierarchy failed to address in the transfer window despite a clear need. Diogo Dalot, who was targeted by fans when he came off against Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday, has played poorly while filling in on his unfavoured side.
With Patrick Dorgu now back in the mix, too, Shaw is hoping to be in contention for the trip to Anfield in what would be a timely boost for a defence that has conceded the joint-most goals in all competitions of any team in Europe’s top five leagues this season.
Defenders on Reds’ radar
Nothing has undermined Carrick’s time as United head coach more than the defensive problems that have seen his team concede 15 goals in their last five games.
United chose to delay the overhaul of their defence until next year when they focused on rebuilding the midfield last summer, but it has proved to be a costly misjudgment with Matthijs de Ligt only just returning to action after a year out and a spate of injuries to Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui.
It may force United into the transfer market in January and Confidential understands Brentford centre back Nathan Collins and Fulham’s Calvin Bassey have joined Jarrad Branthwaite of Everton on the list of potential targets.
United also want a striker after failing to offload Joshua Zirkzee and sign cover for Benjamin Sesko in the summer, but a loan deal is more likely.
Brentford’s Nathan Collins and Fulham’s Nigeria star Calvin Bassey have both joined United’s list of centre-back targets
Relegation kit-astrophe
As if the prospect of relegation isn’t nightmarish enough for United after they dropped to 18th place in the table, the cost of going down would be astronomical.
Although parachute payments from the Premier League would cushion the fall in the unlikely event that United are relegated, kit sponsors adidas have the option to scrap their record £900million, 10-year deal which was announced in 2023 but only came into effect last year.
Under the terms of the contract, the German sportswear giant can cancel it if they give the club one year’s notice. Adidas can also halve their annual payment to £45m if United aren’t playing in the Premier League, and hit the club with a £10m annual penalty if they are not in the Champions League.
Banner clampdown
Two banners protesting against United’s owners were confiscated by stewards during Sunday’s 4-4 draw with Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
One that read ‘Jim Can’t Fix This’ was seized because its connection to Jimmy Savile was deemed to be inappropriate. Another declaring ‘We Don’t Want A New Stadium, We Want New Owners’ was taken down because it was blocking the view of some fans.
Club insiders say protests will always be allowed as long as they remain within the regulations. United kept a close eye on Sunday’s demonstration with a more visible police presence in the Stretford End and stewards asking fans as they entered that section of the stadium which group they were with.
The protest, which once again involved green and gold balloons being released before kick-off, was jointly organised by The Red Army, The 1958, Manchester United Youth Supporters Club, South Stand United and Retro Reds.
However, it seemed like a strange decision to confiscate the banners considering that United were in possession of them for more than 30 hours before kick-off since 10am on Saturday morning.
They are stored in the same place in the Stretford End before every game, so it was odd for United to demand that they be taken down when they could have refused for them to be handed out in the first place.
A banner protesting against United’s owners was confiscated during the 4-4 draw with Aston Villa
Onana’s word perfect
While goalkeeper Senne Lammens was giving his worst performance in a United shirt against Villa on Sunday, the man he replaced at Old Trafford was faring a little better in Turkey.
Andre Onana kept a clean sheet in Trabzonspor’s win over Alanyaspor as they moved into second place in the Super Lig table behind Galatasaray.
It came three days after a Europa League defeat by Freiburg when Onana couldn’t resist a little light ribbing of English reporters at the game.
Asked by journalists from Daily Mail Sport and the BBC for a quick word, the Cameroon international didn’t disappoint. ‘I don’t speak English, bro,’ Onana said, in perfect English. Classic.
