Cliffe fallen
Sir Jim Ratcliffe suffers ultimate football humiliation… and this time not with Man Utd
It is the worst defeat for the club this century
SIR JIM RATCLIFFE's torrid year operating in football has hit a new low after he suffered a fresh humiliation... but this one didn't come at Manchester United.
A year ago this month, the stake in Manchester United.
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Despite initial optimism at a move away from the much-maligned Glazer-ownership and control of the club, Ratcliffe has not made many friends over the last 12 months.
Ineos chiefs bottled the decision to sack Erik ten Hag following the FA Cup final before eventually putting the club £21m out of pocket to sack him and replace him with Ruben Amorim and his staff.
Ticket prices have skyrocketed following the decision to remove concession prices for all games for the rest of the season, which also followed the sacking of nearly a quarter of all staff at the club.
And all of this has happened with United having their worst season in Premier League history, underlined by them being in the bottom half of the table at Christmas for the first time.
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include United conceding a staggering 17 goals from set pieces across the calendar year of 2024.
A seventh home defeat of the season against Crystal Palace saw them equal their worst home record since 1894 - when the club formerly named as Newton Heath was relegated from England's top flight.
But Ratcliffe and Ineos have now hit an embarrassing bump since taking ownership of Ligue 1 side Nice.
Last night, Nice were KO'd from the Coupe de France by fourth-tier side Stade Briochin.
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Nice were ahead through Tom Louchet in the 54th minute, but came undone by a late brace from Hugo Boudin which prompted a pitch invasion as jubilant fans celebrated the huge cup upset.
The shock result - described as beyond his "wildest dreams" by the minnows coach, Guillaume Allanou - was the second time Nice have been knocked out by a club outside of Ligue 1 since Ineos took over in 2019.
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The other occasion came in 2022/23 against then third-tier club Le Puy Foot, with the side relegated to the fourth tier at the end of the season.
The last time Nice were knocked out of the Coupe de France by a club so low in the French league system was in 1999, when they lost to sixth-tier club AS Lyon-Duchère.
Prior to the Man Utd takeover last season, Nice had been looking like they were in a title race against Paris Saint-Germain.
But they eventual fell to fifth and outside of the Champions League places by the season's end, a position they currently reside in now.
The French side have had seven bosses in the space of six years, with their latest coach - Franck Haise - being appointed in the summer of 2024.
Ineos have also been the subject of fan protests which took place in 2023, with club captain Dante telling : "I think at some point you have to be clear in what you’re saying.
"To maintain a project, maybe you need to speak less about objectives and work in silence to create an environment of competitors.
"Because the expectation is even bigger, and then after, people are frustrated."
Things have not been much better at Swiss club, Lausanne-Sport, where Ineos took over in 2017.
Lausanne have been relegated twice despite investment, finishing bottom of the Swiss Super League in 2018 and in 2022.
After returning to the top flight they finished eighth in the regular season before securing their place in the league by coming fourth in the relegation play-off league.
The club's prospects have been brighter this year as they sit in fifth place and only six points off league leaders Lugano in a shock title charge.
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Ratcliffe and his lieutenants at Man Utd have said it will take time before the club can return to its old heights.
Yesterday it was reported how Ineos chiefs had outlined the new "Mission 21" and "Mission 1" under "Project 150" to get the club winning both the men's and women's titles by 2028.
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