Since the start of the 2024-25 season, Manchester United have won just 32 Premier League games out of 84. Twelve of those wins came in a 17-game run after Michael Carrick took over last season. Those four months aside, they have been dreadful for two years. They have had two strong spells (one under Erik ten Hag in the middle period of 2022-23, one under Carrick in the second half of last season) in five years. Beyond that, under a succession of managers, there have been long periods of dysfunction, discord and disinterested performances that leave you wondering what on earth this team is meant to look like. And that is a reflection of the club’s ownership, a regime that has taken so much out of United — well over £1billion ($1.3bn) in interest payments, refinancing costs and bond buybacks to prop up the Glazer family’s ownership after their leveraged takeover 21 years ago. When fans wonder why a club with £677.6million revenue has been under pressure to bring down the wage bill, signing second-rate players and leaving gaps in their squad, it is partly because they are still paying a heavy price for years of mistakes in the transfer market and partly because the debt carries such a burden on the club’s finances. Then there is Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who arrived as a minority shareholder in early 2024 and spoke breezily about how he planned to restore Manchester United to greatness with a smart, strategic approach. How’s that going, Sir Jim? If anything, his decision-making has been even worse than that of the previous Glazer-led regime, which is really saying something. 📝 @OliverKay 🔗 nyti.ms/4Bs8GVG