As an Irishman who has spent the majority of his life devoted to football and Manchester United, I fall into that famous plastic category I am regularly reminded about by various supporters on social media.
Regardless of this dated nonsense and its unnecessary attempts to belittle folk like myself, foreign influence on the English game has helped shape it into the monster it is today.
Jim Ratcliffe is obviously fortunate in many ways, not least being able to walk the famous halls at Old Trafford and claim minority ownership of the most beloved sporting institution in the world.
His personal decisions have shaped a wealthy passage through life, ranking the 73-year-old seventh on the Sunday Times Rich List, with their claims putting his net worth at around £17 billion.
Inevitably, he did not amass such a fortune by being your quintessential 9-5 bloke; he did so by making what many would deem as necessary decisions devoid of human emotion.
Much of the latter could be attributed to his comments regarding immigration when speaking with Sky News, and the rather absurd statement that “the UK has been colonised by immigrants”.
For a man with such a significant public status and Premier League standing to do so without flinching supplies another blow to the working-class human alongside a perennially disgruntled United fan base.
Make no mistake, despite the expected apology that followed, the mask slipped, and once more highlighted the necessity for a class-conscious thought process to be adopted universally.
There’s one law for the rich, one law for the poor
Having spent the majority of this week assisting my beautiful wife and her grieving family through the loss of a truly great man, I didn’t have the desire or energy to discuss this topic.
When looking back on conversations about his life, this was one of thousands of Irishmen and women who travelled across the water to work and help build the country that Ratcliffe has called into question.
Although I have family living in England, I remained at home. Therefore, it is not for me to discuss or debate the day-to-day workings of an economy I do not contribute to – ironic, considering the billionaire’s initial statement.
Furthermore, given that I breathe the air of a country that has suffered at the hands of another for quite some time, you’ll appreciate how infuriating I find his words.
My work is based on football, not politics, and although I have plenty of opinions on the matter, it’s a dangerous jar for me to open.
Still, I am heavily involved with Manchester United, and these comments are unacceptable from a club owner who has repeatedly attempted to convince the people about his humble background and his understanding of the city.
“You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in,” he stated.
“I mean, the UK has been colonised. It’s costing too much money. The UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn’t it?”
Call a spade a spade: if you have been to Manchester, you’ll understand that he couldn’t be further removed from the reality of life there.
As Jerry Kelleher recently wrote, there is an undeniable bond between the Irish and Mancunians, with a storied history of uprising and revolution shared.
Everything from Quays, trade and industry has played a crucial role for generations, with ship canals and dockyards forming a significant part of the landscape of a working-class environment.
But Ratcliffe’s comments simply reek of a man removed from reality, and this is very much the case.
We may look the same, but I don’t live on the same earth as Jim. A billionaire enjoys a way of life that few will ever comprehend, and his public comments likely mirror regular conversations he shares privately.
There is no justification for what he said, and his public apology offers little.
Our working-class game has long been stolen by corporations that value greed and fortunes over the well-being of an ordinary man or woman.
You need only look at the Glazer family and their reign of terror, which has led to over two decades of financial mismanagement and dividends in place of football success.
Upon Ineos’ arrival in Manchester, we saw an abundance of redundancies for hard-working individuals.
All the while, millions of pounds were paid out in compensation payments following ill-advised decisions by a ‘best-in-class’ sporting setup.
Truthfully, none of it makes sense, and yet, we are force-fed a nonsensical ideology about the reasoning behind a flawed economy and a failing football team.
As Christy Moore, an Irish singer and songwriter, famously sang, “the owners say he’s sad to see that things have got so bad, but the captains of industry won’t let him lose.
“He still smokes his cigar, and he drives a brand new car, and still he takes his family on a cruise, he’ll never lose.”
Ironically, these lyrics were composed by English songwriter Peter Hames and eventually released 41 years ago. The message remains the same today, folks.
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3 responses to “Ratcliffe apology means little to him or the class-conscious public”
Well said Shaun. Not impressed by him so far and these latest comments make it hard to change my stance on him as a human being, even if he turns it around on the pitch(which i don’t believe so).
How sad to be run by these people.
There is so much to be said for the Bundesliga’s 50+1 rule, George.
Couldn’t have said it better, Shaun