'He's Destroyed Staff' - Keith Wyness slaughters Ratcliffe after shock Man United move

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has claimed Man United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has “destroyed morale” at the club by forcing staff back to the office.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – claimed the billionaire is “not turning out to be as smart” as once thought after making “quite a few mistakes” since taking over at Old Trafford.

According to The Guardian (28 May), United have made it compulsory for staff to work from offices in Manchester or London from 1 June – rather than working from home.

It is claimed that anyone who does not wish to ­conform can quit by 5 June and claim their four-figure bonus early for this season.

Ratcliffe took charge of football operations at Man United in February after his 25% takeover was ratified.

He has been criticised for his handling of the future of manager Erik ten Hag, who faced leaks about a potential sacking on the eve of the FA Cup final last month – in which he emerged victorious.

Ratcliffe ‘not as smart as I thought’ after Man United latest, says Wyness

Wyness claimed the staffing changes are “pretty needless” and claimed they will see the “best staff leave” Man United.

He told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “When I talked to some people in the industry about this, they were very surprised.

“When you decide on bringing everyone back to the office, it means all your best staff leave.

“Some of your best staff will go because it’s not how they work any more. Particularly in the social media and IT areas.

“Those areas are key in terms of revenue.

“It was surprising to see Ratcliffe go back to old management styles of a few years ago, before lockdown and try and try and impose that.

“I’m seeing Ratcliffe make quite a few mistakes as he’s moving forward.

“He’s not turning out to be as smart as I thought he would be.

“I don’t think he’s gone about it the right way. He’s destroyed morale at Man United.

“It’s a rude awakening, which sometimes you need if you’re making change – but he’s gone about it all the wrong way.

“I’m watching him very closely and I think he’s got off on the wrong foot in a number of areas.

“There’s a lot of moving parts – the manager, the players, the executive level, the Dan Ashworth issue, the Old Trafford issue.

“To add another level of stress by making this big noise with the staff, it seems pretty needless.

“We’ll have to see how it works.”

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