The whole thing feels like a nightmare doesn't it ?
Man Utd set to appoint Director of Football (when hell freezes over)
- Thread starter RedMachine03
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I'm going to answer your post point by point because i think its fundamentally incorrect, and you seem to be able to have a rational debate unlike 90% of people in this thread.
To start with, I really hope that you are not slating Woodward for having a high wage bill because the hypocrisy would be baffling. We have 5 first team CBs, and when he says hes its not financially prudent to buy another, no doubt would on inflated wages, he gets slated?
I dont accept his financial acumen is just down to people chucking money at him either. We actively upped the marketing efforts since he was incharge with the additional staff based in the newly set up Mayfair office. If its not that hard, then other clubs would have done it. You then ask can he do it long term whilst in a rebuilding phase, well we have been in transition for the last five years and he has held up the financial side.
I agree that more is being leaked to the press then should be such as the Fabregas bids (do we even know who leaked it?) but i have no issue with the actual bid itself. In terms of the watch this space comment, remember he is obliged to do a investor call each quarter targeted to 'money men', so yes 'football people' will see these comments from a different perspective.
I think the fans want it both way and arent willing to apply any logic to there thoughts. Overpaying, he gets slated, refuses to pay, he gets slated. Talking about his ego when we have the most narcissistic manager in footballing history.
With everything wrong at the club at this moment, if you look at it then 99% of them come from the footballing side, and things that the manger is in charge of. Lets break it down.
Moyes - Was fergies appointment. He was given a chance and sacked when failed
LVG - was know to play attacking football with youthful players. ticks the boxes on paper for what we needed. didnt live up to his reputation and was sacked at a reasonable time
Mourinho - Two attempts at building dynasties, so we went to as sure as a guarantee as you can get. It hasnt worked, and he closed to being sacked, as he should.
Two Woodward appointments which were logical and at the time could be justified. Yes they haven't worked, but 2 failed appointees isn't enough of a sample size for the blame to be Woodwards. The next is huge, and if he doesnt choose someone with a attacking philosophy then yes i will start to doubt him, but until then from all the evidence i see, the blame lays squarely with the manager. We're not doing well so were quick to take the easy option and blame the board and the owners, but can you provide a specific reason why?
On a final note, this thread became a lot more active since the defeat to west ham. We started with 3 at the back, one being a midfield youth payer, while an actual cb was sat on the bench. Then when he decides to change to 4 at the back, instead of taking of the midfielder, he takes off one the actual CBs. Leaves lukaku on and takes martial off. Doesnt even have sanchez/lingard on the bench. How anything other then the mourinho out thread is being bumped is beyond me.
I'm sure I'll get slated for this, but I'd love to see Gary Neville in some sort of capacity. I know his managerial stint wasn't great, and the whole 'Class of 92' thing can be tiresome, but if we talk about United DNA, he seems to fit the profile to a tee (much more than the personality-devoid Giggs or the combustible Keane. )I think he'd be more than attuned to what the fans wish to see, while articulating a philosophy based on what he grew up with. I just look at Bayern, with the likes of a Rummenigge, and there is a sense of a philosophical continuity that will run through inevitable managerial changes.
Watching that horrible City documentary, one thing that did strike me was the idea of a team of like-minded officials who regularly brainstorm and decide on which football related decisions need to be taken. I'm having a hard time imagining who currently comprises such a team at United. Woodward (who seems like the Khaldoon Mubarek figure - both equally insufferable...) and...?
Anyway, I'm rambling here, but if such a thing as United DNA exists, then Neville strikes me as the one most likely to be possessing it.
Watching that horrible City documentary, one thing that did strike me was the idea of a team of like-minded officials who regularly brainstorm and decide on which football related decisions need to be taken. I'm having a hard time imagining who currently comprises such a team at United. Woodward (who seems like the Khaldoon Mubarek figure - both equally insufferable...) and...?
Anyway, I'm rambling here, but if such a thing as United DNA exists, then Neville strikes me as the one most likely to be possessing it.
Yeah, Bayern are doing extremely well under Rummenigge, are they?
We need no giggs, no neville, no becks, we need a guy with experience and past results. We need to stop being romantic and trying to think we still have a "utd way". Going to take this to tanother level and say that the old "way" will not work anymore.
I agree, and in case for some reason disagreements pop up after some years, it happens what happened with Conte at Juventus: the DoF stays, the manager leaves
Doubt, but let's say he appoint a DOF. Will the DOF have strong say in the football matters? Or will Ed interfere so much?
"No, this defender is not worth the money. Your request is denied. Not going to spend a penny."
"This player must stay and play. Leaving is not an option."
"This player must stay and play. Leaving is not an option."
this
Well that's the reason to appoint one, so Ed feks of from footballing stuff hopefully.
This is time for cool heads and clear thinking and not just going for so called quick fixes.
Any appointment whether DOF or replacement for Jose has to be part of a well thought out plan for the future.
Having said that I do think that Gary Neville is wasted as a pundit and has United in his DNA.
When you look at Gerrard and Lampard being extremely brave and having a go at management I believe that Gary can make a real contribution to his club.
I am not advocating him as manager but in some suitable role assuming he forms part of such a plan.
We really really don't need to do this. If the board aren't aware that the fans are unhappy, they must be living on the moon.
With Marotta leaving Juve, I hope we appoint him - akin to a general manager and go with the Juve model. Get another younger person who will do the recruiting. Perhaps as head of recruitment cum sporting director and then hire a head coach. Won't be a bad idea imo.
Reporting sparingly to Ed, Marotta's experience would be vital as he head the sporting department, making negotiations, final sporting decisions whilst sticking to the vision of the sporting director.
The coach will just handle the in-game and training ground aspects while Woodward still get to sit almost at the top of the chain and less power for Marotta.
Glazers>Woodward.
Glazers>Woodward>Marotta>sporting director>head coach - for the sporting side.
Reporting sparingly to Ed, Marotta's experience would be vital as he head the sporting department, making negotiations, final sporting decisions whilst sticking to the vision of the sporting director.
The coach will just handle the in-game and training ground aspects while Woodward still get to sit almost at the top of the chain and less power for Marotta.
Glazers>Woodward.
Glazers>Woodward>Marotta>sporting director>head coach - for the sporting side.
Get in Paul Mitchell. Young, Mancunian and knows the league. Hopefully he'd have the pulse on a lot of the English talent something I believe we have lost at our club. We need a core of British players again with the few flair touches of the foreign boys.
100% agree
I don't agree. Why should just that thread be bumped. I mean, what, we sack him and suddenly all is great and we can smell the roses?
This one, Veratti and Frankie De Jong.
Veratti is just great at midfielder and Ed need to cash out big time. We need Marotta for another defender, and De Jong for playing midfielder, for future.
Veratti is just great at midfielder and Ed need to cash out big time. We need Marotta for another defender, and De Jong for playing midfielder, for future.
There is feck all wrong with our squad.
We are less than the sum of our parts because the manager has lost the plot big time.
When mourinho gets the Spanish archer and the new guy comes in we’ll be fine.
I think you're in for a nasty surprise.
No, we go again, and only when the dust settles will we appreciate how bloody lucky we are to have Ed Woodward and the Glazers at the club
We thought the same after Moyes and LVG got sacked I believe.
They're great, aren't they.
This guy has appointed the last 3 managers. He talks like a complete idiot and actually is a complete idiot. He should not be allowed to sack Jose or certainly not appoint his replacement.
Get an attacking manager who can actually motivate players and yes, all will be well.
I remember during Moyes season a part of our fan base were convincing themselves the squad was great because it had won the league the previous season and it's only Moyes. LVG got in and threw 80% of the squad out in one season. 
Whatever comes next I’ll embrace with open arms after this utter gash.
Squad wise we are good for 3rd or 4th.
With mourinho we are good for the bottom half.
We can blow every other club on the planet out of the water on transfer fees and wages for the first time in our history, so yeah
Fergie chose Moyes, not Woodward.
He does an investor call every quarter since we floated in 2012. That's over 25 calls. Even without context I'd wager you cant pick out more than a handful of quotes at best were he 'talks like a complete idiot'.
Who should be allowed to sack mourinho, or are you saying he should stay?
Jose should out live Ed. Without question. Woodward should be removed from all football decisions (including the sacking of Jose) forthwith.
Excellent post. Captures my thinking almost entirely.
Yeah, yeah. It's that simple.....
I thought you were kidding.
I’m willing to bet my mortgage that he isn’t an idiot.
Lets embrace it then. Until the next crisis.
Instead of hiring big names cause we're United and we're too big to fall maybe Ed should think about what he wants from this club in the future.
He isn't an idiot - we have regular meetings and he's never there.
He is in terms of football and that’s all that should matter here.
Woodward has a pretty thankless task tbh. Took over at the most difficult and volatile time in the last 30 years. When the entire power structure of the club had been eviscerated by the retirement of one man, and the previous board had given the reigns to David Moyes. Leaving him playing catch up from the beginning.
He’s funded the managers fully, and taken decisive action when required. His two appointments were widely seen as safe pairs of hands at the time. The fact they failed, I can’t see is on him. They were both backed to the hilt in terms of squad turnover. Hopefully he’ll be bolder with his next appointment.
Behind the scenes it seems the club are restructuring in the right way. His challenge is to establish the same operational excellence on the football side, as what already exists on the commercial side. Central to that is a coherent strategic intent in terms of playing style, philosophies, and recruitment. His appointment of a DoF will prove crucial to his success as a CEO I believe. It is far, far too early to judge him on his role, as his task is far more long term, and Herculean in nature.
He’s funded the managers fully, and taken decisive action when required. His two appointments were widely seen as safe pairs of hands at the time. The fact they failed, I can’t see is on him. They were both backed to the hilt in terms of squad turnover. Hopefully he’ll be bolder with his next appointment.
Behind the scenes it seems the club are restructuring in the right way. His challenge is to establish the same operational excellence on the football side, as what already exists on the commercial side. Central to that is a coherent strategic intent in terms of playing style, philosophies, and recruitment. His appointment of a DoF will prove crucial to his success as a CEO I believe. It is far, far too early to judge him on his role, as his task is far more long term, and Herculean in nature.
It's fully on him if the managers he's appointing are all contradicting each other in their style, and the transfer policy is all randomized with no plan or strategy behind them, leading to us wasting loads of money and still in his 6th looks like we need to enter the market again to spend more load.
Hiring the best name out of contract available doesn't mean you're good at your job. Almost any clueless CEO at any other club will think that if he's clueless. The point that Ed failed in is that after Moyes was sacked, he had zero clue how to start rebuilding the team for the upcoming years, and just on to panic appointing the out of contract managers available and sign random players in the marker and here we're after such great work from him.
He has failed to create a direction for the team and wasted 6 years of football from the club. He absolutely shouldn't be trusted with the next managerial appointment. We shouldn't wait for his 3rd failed appointment to start questioning him.
For someone that isn't an idiot, be doesn't half get a ton of things wrong on the football side of things
Go on then, list 'em
Delaying signing Fellaini for too long and then over paying for Fellaini
Appointing David Moyes
Waiting far too long to sack Moyes
Appointing LVG
Buying players LVG didn't want
Waiting too long to sack LVG
And then sacking LVG the day after he won a cup - with the news being leaked on Cup final day
Constantly being reported as wasting time pursuing unattainable players (Neymar and Varane spring to mind)
Buying players Jose doesn't want
Deciding he knows what represents what's best for the squad over Jose... But still keeping faith with Jose
Briefing the media against Jose, but still keeping faith in Jose
As of right now he hasn't sacked Jose
There's probably more in terms of player contracts and stuff too
And that is the most annoying part.
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