Man Utd set to appoint Director of Football (when hell freezes over)

Status
Not open for further replies.
Let's see how this works out.

Rio does tick a lot of boxes, with the personality and media prescence that reflects a current generation. He would attract players. But... he does lack experience, for sure. So... can't he get some help? Is that such a unlikely possibility? Let's build a backroom team that includes him. He would also benefit from this.

Rio would be great with the youngsters there, taking no sh**. And he would pile into those so called star players who need a 'reality check'.
 
KM said:
The Telegraph actually says that Jim Lawlor and Marcel Bout will be a part of the committee. I'm okay with that to be honest. Both of them are experienced scouts.
Click to expand...

Well, they are already part of the set up so no need to tear everything up. Use the assets we have to move the club forward, and experience is one thing we should be utilising
 
Jeffthered said:
Let's see how this works out.

Rio does tick a lot of boxes, with the personality and media prescence that reflects a current generation. He would attract players. But... he does lack experience, for sure. So... can't he get some help? Is that such a unlikely possibility? Let's build a backroom team that includes him. He would also benefit from this.

Rio would be great with the youngsters there, taking no sh**. And he would pile into those so called star players who need a 'reality check'.
Click to expand...

That's what the club is planning to do if you go by the James Ducker article.

"The plan is for a more collegiate approach, of the kind adopted by rivals Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, that involves manager Solskjaer and his immediate coaching staff in addition to an incoming technical director and existing figures such as chief scout Jim Lawlor and Marcel Bout, the head of global scouting."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...d-consider-rio-ferdinand-forsenior-role-club/
 
KM said:
That's what the club is planning to do if you go by the James Ducker article.

"The plan is for a more collegiate approach, of the kind adopted by rivals Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, that involves manager Solskjaer and his immediate coaching staff in addition to an incoming technical director and existing figures such as chief scout Jim Lawlor and Marcel Bout, the head of global scouting."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...d-consider-rio-ferdinand-forsenior-role-club/
Click to expand...
Good article and at least it appears positive
 
Ed must have been day dreaming again. He must have thought lets hire someone with absolutely no experience in a Director role, whether that be in a technical capacity or recruitment capacity. Why? Because he is a former player and he is a pundit it must work right. That's an absolutely normal situation in every day life. Dont forget this is a guy who was raving about Lingard earlier in the season. Why cant we do something right for once. Get Edwin in.
 
I prefer a committee to a single person (be it Ed, the manager or DOF) calling the shots so long as they are generally on the same page and don't delay decisions. I would have no issue with Rio or Fletcher being involved in that group either. I think its good to have long standing players who know the profile of players who succeed here and whats needed to compete.
 
The Ducker article is interesting and it seems like we'll have a structure in place before long. I would be happy to see Rio, Phelan and Fletcher work in tandem with Ole and our scouts. Guilleme Ballague also said that we're gonna sign up and coming players going forward and Ole doesn't want to sign the so called big stars.

I personally see us going for the likes of Sancho, De Ligt, Felix etc. Whether we sign them is a different matter.
 
A committee does sound good.

Hopefully it leads to better recruitment and more success with transfers.

A group of people working on the same page should only lead to positive results.
 
Jibbs said:
Until Ed is the final decision maker regarding footballing matters and transfers nothing will change. Ideally we should be appointing VDS as CEO and Paul Mitchell as Head of Recruitment, with Rio and Fletcher as his advisors / team members. Woodward should be sent back to the role of Director of Marketing.
Click to expand...

without doubt the most sensible suggestion I've seen so far.
 
Just head hunt ex-United player Edwin van der Sar. Give him much the same job, with better pay. Make him 'CEO of Football' with total control over football matters. Keep Woodward as CEO of Business.

The major problem at United is our executives thinking their Gods; namely the United board. They have far too much say in matters to don't know about; namely player contracts, player, and manager recruitment. United need a CEO of Football: a person who will have complete control over football matters such as recruitment of players, youth, coaches, scouts, and team manager. Edwin van der Sar is doing a nice job at Ajax on a fraction of United's resources. Head hunt him and give him a 'CEO of Football' job, with a pay rise.
 
Mark Pawelek said:
Just head hunt ex-United player Edwin van der Sar. Give him much the same job, with better pay. Make him 'CEO of Football' with total control over football matters. Keep Woodward as CEO of Business.

The major problem at United is our executives thinking their Gods; namely the United board. They have far too much say in matters to don't know about; namely player contracts, player, and manager recruitment. United need a CEO of Football: a person who will have complete control over football matters such as recruitment of players, youth, coaches, scouts, and team manager. Edwin van der Sar is doing a nice job at Ajax on a fraction of United's resources. Head hunt him and give him a 'CEO of Football' job, with a pay rise.
Click to expand...

To be fair, it’s highly unlikely you know who does what at United. Similarly unlikely you know the extents and limitations of Van der Saar’s Job at Ajax.
 
Mark Pawelek said:
Just head hunt ex-United player Edwin van der Sar. Give him much the same job, with better pay. Make him 'CEO of Football' with total control over football matters. Keep Woodward as CEO of Business.

The major problem at United is our executives thinking their Gods; namely the United board. They have far too much say in matters to don't know about; namely player contracts, player, and manager recruitment. United need a CEO of Football: a person who will have complete control over football matters such as recruitment of players, youth, coaches, scouts, and team manager. Edwin van der Sar is doing a nice job at Ajax on a fraction of United's resources. Head hunt him and give him a 'CEO of Football' job, with a pay rise.
Click to expand...

He’s not leaving. Let’s get our own Edwin and stop bloody moaning. We’re fixing the problem, what makes you and I more qualified at picking the candidates? All we know is what we see on tv, we don’t know these guys personally or the footballing world bar on the pitch. I wish half of us would shut up with our so called we know best. We flip flap like the media when it matters. The whole cafe wanted Ole once he signs and results go bad, it was the boards fault again for signing him too early. They can’t win. Whoever they sign just deal with it, they are not sitting in a board room picking names out of a hat FFS.

There doing exactly what we’ve been calling for and good luck to them. I don’t care if it’s VDS or Paul Mitchell, just get the best men for ‘this’ job not the ‘big name’ you’ve heard off. It’s abit ironic because all they get criticised for is trying to signing galacticos yet you what the Galaxtico DOF, with your point being let’s through money at it again. :lol:

You are part of the problem too.
 
Last edited:
Mark Pawelek said:
Just head hunt ex-United player Edwin van der Sar. Give him much the same job, with better pay. Make him 'CEO of Football' with total control over football matters. Keep Woodward as CEO of Business.

The major problem at United is our executives thinking their Gods; namely the United board. They have far too much say in matters to don't know about; namely player contracts, player, and manager recruitment. United need a CEO of Football: a person who will have complete control over football matters such as recruitment of players, youth, coaches, scouts, and team manager. Edwin van der Sar is doing a nice job at Ajax on a fraction of United's resources. Head hunt him and give him a 'CEO of Football' job, with a pay rise.
Click to expand...

At Ajax Van Der Sar is responsible for the business side while Overmars has control over the Football matters.
 
At first when I read Rio was in the frame I was thinking jesus what the hell, but the more I think about it he might just be what we need. He’s very much in touch with the modern mindset of a player and lifestyle, brands, music and so on. I mean he has his own brand, media/ channel and can maybe help modernise the club a bit more.

Like PSG have the Air Jordan logo and clothing and no other football team can have that on their merchandise I’d imagine things like this would appeal to the modern young footballer and the opportunities things like this could provide.

Then there is his status as a footballer and retiree. He has a presence in modern young footballers minds more so than say a Keane, Giggs, Scholes and that. Probably even Van De Sar, it might be a bit Hollywood but I kinda feel that is more of what the modern young footballer is about. Who would you rather speak to if you’re a 19 yr old about coming to a club. Rio Ferdinand or Nicky Butt. Probably be Rio.

I would just hope if this happens, as a committee they make the right appointments and realise it’s going to be a long process and they need to buy accordingly in age groups to peak at roughly the same time.

I never really understand the hate for Ed, under the circumstances I think he has done quite a good job with what seems like very little help and I don’t think he really makes all the football decisions and would think if a committee came in he’d quite happily bow to what they want if it makes sense and is doable.

Just think he when he first came in It was a massive learning curve and he fumbled along the way and was grasping for anything that might help. This year however is the big one and we’ll see what happens with directors and backing although you would have hoped it had been done already and they were already working on things.
 
Andersons Dietician said:
I never really understand the hate for Ed, under the circumstances I think he has done quite a good job with what seems like very little help and I don’t think he really makes all the football decisions and would think if a committee came in he’d quite happily bow to what they want if it makes sense and is doable.

Just think he when he first came in It was a massive learning curve and he fumbled along the way and was grasping for anything that might help. This year however is the big one and we’ll see what happens with directors and backing although you would have hoped it had been done already and they were already working on things.
Click to expand...
The bolded bit is spot on; the (apparent) lack of an orderly transition for both the manager and the chief exec is surely down to David Gill, who sat on his hands and then jumped ship.

That said, all that took place six years ago. There is absolutely no excuse for him to have only just realised that him and the manager trying to do the lot between them has led to disaster time and time again.
 
red4ever 79 said:
Ed must have been day dreaming again. He must have thought lets hire someone with absolutely no experience in a Director role, whether that be in a technical capacity or recruitment capacity. Why? Because he is a former player and he is a pundit it must work right. That's an absolutely normal situation in every day life. Dont forget this is a guy who was raving about Lingard earlier in the season. Why cant we do something right for once. Get Edwin in.
Click to expand...

You mean someone who Ajax hired despite him being someone with absolutely no experience in a Director role, whether that be in a technical capacity or recruitment capacity? Good one.
 
Not sure how I feel about Rio being in a technical director role. I feel he’s more suited to working as a coach. His personality fits working with the youngsters on the pitch rather than with the guys in suits.
 
beedoubleyou said:
You mean someone who Ajax hired despite him being someone with absolutely no experience in a Director role, whether that be in a technical capacity or recruitment capacity? Good one.
Click to expand...

He first got a master degree in international sports management. Then he spent 4 years as marketing director for Ajax to gain management experience. Then he went on to become their CEO. Very natural path IMO. Hardly the same as hiring a former player with no management education or experience like Rio for the role. Although I must say I don't get why everyone wants vd Sar as DoF when he isn't even DoF at Ajax. He's CEO. Marc Overmars is their DoF.
 
Most successful teams with consistency have a DOF and some kind of transfer committee. Bayern for example has this system and works very well since any new manager has to work within their system. City has followed through as well and look how much success they have been having. Looking specifically in our club case with all the erratic decisions and chaos going on I would say we need to implement this system more than other clubs at the moment.
 
f_to_z said:
Most successful teams with consistency have a DOF and some kind of transfer committee. Bayern for example has this system and works very well since any new manager has to work within their system. City has followed through as well and look how much success they have been having. Looking specifically in our club case with all the erratic decisions and chaos going on I would say we need to implement this system more than other clubs at the moment.
Click to expand...


We can all agree with this I'm sure - I'm just dubious Woodward will hand over any significant amount of control to make the post actually meaningful. Maybe I'm just being negative but Woodward is employed by the Glazers to count the pennies, so until their priority with the club changes from just taking money out of it then I worry a DOF will just be an extra person in an already confused system with no real influence.
 
Van der Sar did a Masters Sportmanagement for a year at the Cruijff Institute, after which he became Director of Marketing at Ajax so he could work alongside an experienced CEO who would teach him the ropes so Van der Sar could eventually take over, he did that for 4 years until he took over as the CEO. From the start that was the whole plan Cruijff intented for him. So he wasn't just appointed out of nowhere. But he isn't even Director of Football, Overmars is. So it's odd he's even mentioned here just because he's a former player. edit: My bad, I see now that ArjenIsm3 already posted this a few posts up.


Besides that, there's no chance Van der Sar is leaving Ajax right now. When asked earlier this month about becoming Director of Football at Manchester United he said: "Nah, I'm very happy in Amsterdam and our work isn't finished. We want to reach a highlight with this club, and that several years in a row. We want succes in the Champions League and become Dutch champions several times." Him and Overmars are committed long term, Overmars extended to 2024 last month. After years of reorganising, making cuts and saving money they're now finally in a spot where they can spend and reap the rewards.
 
Last edited:
Gentleman Jim said:
Replacing Ole is part of the next round of appointments that I referred to.
Most would agree that only blinkered stubbornness will keep him in the job beyond, say, the end of the year.
It may all right itself with a summer clear out and an injection of fresh players but few outside of United's fanbase expect that to happen.
The DoF whoever they may be would have to be prepared to axe Ole fairly quickly if necessary. Would Phelan or Rio be comfortable doing that?
Click to expand...
Are Phelan or Rio qualified to take on such a big role??I always thought that we would go for a top DOF,but hey,atleast having someone in that role is better than the archaic structure that’s been in place for the last few years....
 
red4ever 79 said:
Ed must have been day dreaming again. He must have thought lets hire someone with absolutely no experience in a Director role, whether that be in a technical capacity or recruitment capacity. Why? Because he is a former player and he is a pundit it must work right. That's an absolutely normal situation in every day life. Dont forget this is a guy who was raving about Lingard earlier in the season. Why cant we do something right for once. Get Edwin in.
Click to expand...
Edwin didn't have any experience before taking the job at Ajax. If Rio or any other former United player interviews well then why not him?
 
Tom Van Persie said:
Edwin didn't have any experience before taking the job at Ajax. If Rio or any other former United player interviews well then why not him?
Click to expand...
Edwin oversaw what? 20-30m pounds per year for transfers in a league where more or less Ajax are always top 2.

Rio will inherit a broken team with 200-300m budget. The scale is much bigger and this is what most people don't realize.

If you are comparing teams you should compare United to Barca, Real or Bayern, not Ajax...
 
Revaulx said:
The bolded bit is spot on; the (apparent) lack of an orderly transition for both the manager and the chief exec is surely down to David Gill, who sat on his hands and then jumped ship.

That said, all that took place six years ago. There is absolutely no excuse for him to have only just realised that him and the manager trying to do the lot between them has led to disaster time and time again.
Click to expand...

In fairness I think he somewhat intended to keep it as had been where SAF was the decision man and the manager was the be all and end all.
It’s just never worked and now it has to change and by reports coming out over the years lots of changes have been going on behind the curtain towards a directorship structure.
 
Tom Van Persie said:
Edwin didn't have any experience before taking the job at Ajax. If Rio or any other former United player interviews well then why not him?
Click to expand...

Enigma_87 said:
Edwin oversaw what? 20-30m pounds per year for transfers in a league where more or less Ajax are always top 2.

Rio will inherit a broken team with 200-300m budget. The scale is much bigger and this is what most people don't realize.

If you are comparing teams you should compare United to Barca, Real or Bayern, not Ajax...
Click to expand...

Read my post. Edwin vd Sar isn't in charge of transfers. That's Marc Overmars' job.

ArjenIsM3 said:
He first got a master degree in international sports management. Then he spent 4 years as marketing director for Ajax to gain management experience. Then he went on to become their CEO. Very natural path IMO. Hardly the same as hiring a former player with no management education or experience like Rio for the role. Although I must say I don't get why everyone wants vd Sar as DoF when he isn't even DoF at Ajax. He's CEO. Marc Overmars is their DoF.
Click to expand...
 
ArjenIsM3 said:
He first got a master degree in international sports management. Then he spent 4 years as marketing director for Ajax to gain management experience. Then he went on to become their CEO. Very natural path IMO. Hardly the same as hiring a former player with no management education or experience like Rio for the role. Although I must say I don't get why everyone wants vd Sar as DoF when he isn't even DoF at Ajax. He's CEO. Marc Overmars is their DoF.
Click to expand...

I don't doubt his credentials, though as you've point out, his job isn't the one he's being touted for here.
 
As a bridge between the Manager and Directors, Rio would fit the role well.

We are all in the dark as too what the new roles actually entail but from the bits we have heard recently it sounds more promising at least.

Anything that would make Ole’s life easier is a plus from me!
 
red4ever 79 said:
Ed must have been day dreaming again. He must have thought lets hire someone with absolutely no experience in a Director role, whether that be in a technical capacity or recruitment capacity. Why? Because he is a former player and he is a pundit it must work right. That's an absolutely normal situation in every day life. Dont forget this is a guy who was raving about Lingard earlier in the season. Why cant we do something right for once. Get Edwin in.
Click to expand...

Aggghjhjj!!!!
 
What do people have against appointing ex-players into this role? It’s mostly ex players who do the role across the world of football.
 
golden_blunder said:
What do people have against appointing ex-players into this role? It’s mostly ex players who do the role across the world of football.
Click to expand...

Nothing, people just need to vent while some are just moaning machines.
 
Enigma_87 said:
Rio most likely will though as we don't have Overmars on board.
Click to expand...

From what has been said Rio would have Overmars' role at United (DoF), while Woodward would remain in Van der Sar's role (CEO). Overmars and Rio also have a more similar background so it could work. Though Overmars was still more experienced in management when he took the job at Ajax than Rio is now. He had several years of experience in management / board positions already.
 
red4ever 79 said:
Ed must have been day dreaming again. He must have thought lets hire someone with absolutely no experience in a Director role, whether that be in a technical capacity or recruitment capacity. Why? Because he is a former player and he is a pundit it must work right. That's an absolutely normal situation in every day life. Dont forget this is a guy who was raving about Lingard earlier in the season. Why cant we do something right for once. Get Edwin in.
Click to expand...
Edwin, a guy who not that long ago was in the same position as Rio?
 
golden_blunder said:
What do people have against appointing ex-players into this role? It’s mostly ex players who do the role across the world of football.
Click to expand...
They are certain clubs where this has worked but the structure is already in place for that.

Putting a former player to work under Woodward just seems like playing to the gallery which Woodward loves to do. We need something like City did a few years ago. We,just like they did back then, have no discernable structure or playing style. We just jump from one manager to another without any signs of long term planning.

Bringing in a former player is just setting them up to fail. Woodward needs to do his actual job or walk.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.