Sir Jim Ratcliffe redundancy wave 'staggering' as Manchester United cuts bite

More job losses are expected at Manchester United as Sir Jim Ratcliffe continues his cost-cutting exercise amid a concerning financial position - and while some United fans in the Manchester Evening News comments section are angry and disappointed at the deep cuts, others trust that this will eventually drag the club out of a period of huge losses.

Ratcliffe has risked any goodwill he gained from taking over as the public figurehead from the Glazer family, by embarking on a mission to slash what the new ownership see as unnecessary spending, and take control of the club's finances. Ratcliffe's investment of £241 million from when he bought his minority share last year is understood not to have made a big dent in the long-term future of the club.

The burden has fallen on the staff, with a 250 redundancies last year and another 100 or more expected to leave this year. Many of the other cost-cutting measures at the club have happened behind the scenes too, from removing Sir Alex Ferguson from his £2 million-per-year ambassador role to the club being thought to cut Christmas bonuses for administrative staff.

Some say that the cuts will lower the mood off the pitch, adding to the hurt on it. Reader Soothsayer57 says: “His 12 months in charge have been a total disaster, and still no definitive decision on the new stadium. He's making the Glazers look like football geniuses by comparison.”

RedDevil20 writes: “The Glazers need to sell up and leave along with SJR. Only then will there be a sustainable improvement on and off the pitch.”

Redsince85 says: “How about some of the senior staff, including players and coaches, take pay cuts for the poor performances and results? The lack of PR awareness and not being bothered about