Sir Jim Ratcliffe is still ringing the changes, and Manchester United employees will soon be prohibited from using the main canteen.
After acquiring a minority investment in United in December, Ratcliffe assumed leadership of the football department.
The INEOS CEO has pledged to “bring sporting success” back to Old Trafford, since the team has struggled since the retirement of famous manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada have already been chosen as the club’s new technical director and chief executive, respectively, by Ratcliffe. In an attempt, he has also directed all staff members to come back to the club’s headquarters.
The 71-year-old is certain that the change will “support our journey to return Manchester United to footballing success and bring substantial benefits for individuals, teams, and the wider club.” Additionally, Ratcliffe plans to impose a new rule prohibiting employees who do not directly support the first team from using the main canteen, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The report states that they will instead dine in a separate area following summer refurbishments, with the move ‘aimed at creating an elite environment for the first team squad with the focus on performance’.
However, Ratcliffe’s decision goes against Ferguson’s philosophy during his 26 years in charge, with the Scotsman keen to create a culture of togetherness around the club. In his 2000 autobiography, ‘Managing My Life, Ferguson explained: “I wanted to form a personal link with everybody around the place.
Not just the players, the coaches and the backroom staff but the office workers, the cooks and servers in the canteen and the laundry ladies. All had to believe that they were part of the club and that a resurgence was coming.”
In his 2015 book, ‘Leading’, Ferguson added: “I wanted the younger players to be able to mingle and eat lunch with the staff too, including people like the laundry team and groundsmen…
“I’d been influenced by what I had learned from Marks & Spencer which, decades ago in harder times, had given their staff free lunches because so many of them were skipping lunch so they could save every penny to help their families.
“It probably seems a strange thing for a manager to be getting involved in – the layout of a canteen at a new training ground – but when I think about the tone it set within the club and the way it encouraged the staff and players to interact I can’t overstate the importance of this tiny change.”
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