If you want to see how much Sir Jim Ratcliffe's relationship with Manchester United supporters has deteriorated just one year into him buying a 27 percent stake in the club, contrast the polite reception he got when arriving at his first game at Old Trafford last year against Tottenham with the vitriolic treatment he received from a group of fans upon leaving Sunday's win at Fulham.
The subject of the expletive-laden tirade from the group was not the team's plummeting fortunes, even though they would have been well within their rights to complain about being 12th in the Premier League, on course for their worst season in 35 years or having a goal difference of minus four.
No, these supporters were fighting for their very right to be able to watch their team live and were taking aim at the man who is making that right a lot harder by pushing through extortionate ticket prices in the middle of the season and threatening to raise prices again next season. Chief among their complaints were the club making tickets for paid-up club members a minimum price of £66 ($82) and ending concessions for children and over-65s. Before the changes, which were introduced without any consultation, those tickets started at £40 ($50) for adults and £25 ($31) for children, increases of 65% and 164% respectively.
Ratcliffe, sitting in the back of a chauffeur-driven car in Fulham, had the luxury of closing the window and blocking out the noise from the livid fans. But he would do well to listen to legitimate concerns about the direction he is taking the club in...
