Man Utd schoolboys and parents 'bemused' by Sir Jim Ratcliffe outburst blaming academy for 'slipping'

In a recent podcast, British billionaire Ratcliffe had taken shots at United's famed academy as he accused the youth system of "slipping over the years". He told The Times’ The Business podcast: "The academy has really slipped at Manchester United. You need the academy to be producing talent all the time. It helps you financially. That’s not a light switch. You don’t solve the academy problem overnight. It takes time. We just recruited a new academy director."

Ratcliffe's comments on the club's youth system came just weeks after parents gave their approval to the academy. A poll was conducted during a player-parents' evening, where 80 per cent of parents were satisfied with their children's journey.

A parent told The Sun: "Sir Jim’s comments don’t represent what parents think of the club. All it has done is unsettle some of the boys and their parents. He might even find that what he’s said means some families start to wonder if their child’s future would be best served at another club. His comments aren’t helpful and are confusing as most are happy at United. They have access to great pitches, the changing rooms are fantastic. They have opened a new parents’ lounge, and the boys can use the state-of-the-art facilities that the first team use for gym and rehab.

"It’s quite the contrast from Sir Jim’s comments. The majority of the parents have said that Sir Jim seems to have his own agenda, which does not align with what is really happening. The coaches try to be upbeat and put a brave face on, but you can tell that Sir Jim’s comments have hurt them. They don’t understand what he’s talking about."

The Red Devils have recently appointed Stephen Torpey as head of United’s academy after Nick Cox joined Everton as their technical director. Under Cox's leadership, which lasted for nine years, 35 youth players made their debut for the senior team, including stars like Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay.

The academy graduates played 25 per cent of first-team minutes between 2019 and 2024 - only second to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich in the top five European leagues. United also ranked second in the Premier League for minutes given to teenagers in the 2024-25 campaign.

Torpey, who had previously worked with the club's current director of football Jason Wilcox at Manchester City, will now oversee things at the youth setup and would aim to further elevate the standard of the academy. 

At the start of the calendar year, United announced plans to cut an additional 200 jobs. This step followed the 250 job cuts made in the last year, all part of a broader effort to streamline operations under the ownership of Ratcliffe. The first wave of job cuts saw academy coaches face the axe. Seven academy staff members, including three of the club’s longest-serving employees, were the first to be informed that their positions were at risk. But it wasn’t just the staff who were affected. Some of the academy players were said to have broken down in response to seeing their mentors upset, while others attempted to offer support to the devastated staff. 

In response to the situation, Cox had sent an email to parents explaining that the redundancies were part of a larger effort to make the club “a more lean and agile organisation" and to ensure their future competitiveness.

After registering consecutive Premier League wins over Sunderland and Liverpool - something that has happened for the first time since Ruben Amorim took charge at Old Trafford - United will now aim to make it three wins in a row to further climb up the table as they host Brighton in a difficult league clash on Saturday.