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

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zizi said:
Great, so lets say they have a shortlist, and number one on that list is approached and an offer made.

"thank you for the offer, i'm going on holiday with my wife where we'll think about it"

And all it suggests is that the press have no idea what we are doing. You seem rather happy to believe a media who time and time again demonstrated they have little idea of what is actually happening.
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As opposed to trusting in an inept Ed Woodward who doesn’t seem to have a clue at the moment? Yes.

Look, you clearly have a problem with something I’ve speculated about, but I’d like to know what makes you think your opinion is worth more than mine.

Wishful thinking gets you nowhere.
 
do.ob said:
The only reason I can imagine for the supposed search lasting this long is that "no one" wants the job.
It's not like the club has to choose between hundreds of people, there is probably only a hand full of people out there who both have the CV for the job and are available.
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Most reports seem to suggest the issue is that we're not really sure what we're looking for. The so-called 'leading candidates' (in terms of CVs) haven't even been approached.

It appears we might be leaning more towards a committee set up, as opposed to the Monchi-style authoritarian 'transfer guru' model. An ex-player (or a group of ex-players) is perhaps more likely.
 
Infra-red said:
Most reports seem to suggest the issue is that we're not really sure what we're looking for. The so-called 'leading candidates' (in terms of CVs) haven't even been approached.

It appears we might be leaning more towards a committee set up, as opposed to the Monchi-style authoritarian 'transfer guru' model. An ex-player (or a group of ex-players) is perhaps more likely.
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Is that actually a thing? Even in the usual setup (which I wouldnt describe as authoritarian btw) you already have to find a compromise between coach, DoF and upper management.

I think it's one thing to have a couple of former players/coaches in some advisory role, but a bunch of them as deciders, running the daily business?
 
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Adnan said:
Cruyff and Solkjaer are best friends, so this could be a good move. The tweeter makes good points for Jordi Cruyff in his thread.
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Of former United men mentioned, Jordi has many things going for him. The son of Johann, he’s got Ajax and Barca in his brain and in his veins, clubs we have a lot in common with (at our best). He’s impressed me in interviews before as well. Then again, the feedback from his time at Maccabi seems a mixed bag.
 
As long as Woodward is around we won't appoint a DOF. All this talk of hiring one was nothing but a tactic to placate the fans.
 
JPRouve said:
That's the standard setup, the DOF alongside the board have the head coach fate in its hands.
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Fair enough, I thought he just had an input if they’re not fitting the “strategy” anymore, but I guess that’s the same thing.
 
Does anyone on here realistically believe Woodward will appoint a DOF?

I don't believe a word that comes out his mouth. Initially, a statement came out of Manutd in the lines of we are hiring a temp manager and will look to apppoint DOF before appointing a manager - didn't happen

Then he has come out saying we have the financial power to compete with anyone - watch this space - well there is not much he can do when players in their prime or looking for a suitable career move do not want manutd.

The club need to sort themselves out because the only people being affected is the fans. The players, CEO, and owners are happy to sit and fill their pockets.
 
Lash said:
Fair enough, I thought he just had an input if they’re not fitting the “strategy” anymore, but I guess that’s the same thing.
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That's the same thing, they are the ones making the judgement, call then of course money considerations will have an influence but from a footballing standpoint technical directors are supposed to be the ones evaluating head coaches. By the way that's why I have an issue with the rumours from day one, when the club leaks that the DOF will be at the same level than the manager then something is properly wrong, they basically describe a COO or a chief scout which are both very dififerent from each others but also different to a technical director/DOF.
 
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matherto said:
If we were going to appoint one we'd have done it by now I think.
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This really. A lot of negativity around the club at the moment given how last season fizzled out. Makes you wonder if it was just lip service about DoF. A transfer committee would be right up Woodwards street as he still maintains rule. Its baffling because surely as a businessman, he must know the key to making money off the pitch is about getting it right on the pitch. DoF / Technical director / sporting director should have been in place in May as the last ball was kicked. At this stage, as many pundits have pointed out, I don't think United know what they want.
 
He'll at least provide some objectivity.

Look for his last interview where he talked about us. Sounded pretty sensible to me. Would more than likely insist Ole has a philosophy and help him to implement it properly imho.
 
do.ob said:
The only reason I can imagine for the supposed search lasting this long is that "no one" wants the job.
It's not like the club has to choose between hundreds of people, there is probably only a hand full of people out there who both have the CV for the job and are available.
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:lol:
 
JPRouve said:
That's the standard setup, the DOF alongside the board have the head coach fate in its hands.
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It’s a collaborative process but the DoF is supposed to have the final say on hiring and firings, player acquisitions, aligning football philosophies from the youth teams to the senior team, scouting philosophies and targets, transfer kitty management and so forth.

The DoF hires people (experts) to worth with to put the processes in place and manage them and the DoF meets with heads of the departments to have discussions about what is happening, what needs to be changed, areas that need to be addressed.

DoF hires a technical director to address you guessed it technical aspects of the game. DoF hires a director of scouting, director of analytics, etc.

The point being that you have one person at the top who makes the final decision but the most successful DoFs hire great staffs and step in to make the tough decisions when there is no consensus. Bad DoFs try to make every decision and undermine their staffs.
 
AllezLesDiables said:
It’s a collaborative process but the DoF is supposed to have the final say on hiring and firings, player acquisitions, aligning football philosophies from the youth teams to the senior team, scouting philosophies and targets, transfer kitty management and so forth.

The DoF hires people (experts) to worth with to put the processes in place and manage them and the DoF meets with heads of the departments to have discussions about what is happening, what needs to be changed, areas that need to be addressed.

DoF hires a technical director to address you guessed it technical aspects of the game. DoF hires a director of scouting, director of analytics, etc.

The point being that you have one person at the top who makes the final decision but the most successful DoFs hire great staffs and step in to make the tough decisions when there is no consensus. Bad DoFs try to make every decision and undermine their staffs.
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Pretty much, the key point being that normally there is a hierarchy. The idea that the DOF is equal to the head coach borders on lunacy.
 
slightlylessgreatdane said:
Sorry, but I have not read all of the prior 274 pages so if this has been mentioned before I apologize.

I am no way near ready to give up on Ole as manager, and I'm thrilled to see what he can do with his own signings.

But if he should fall short, I'd be very happy to see him in a DoF role, as he clearly knows what to look for in an player - from what he says anyway.
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And so do you.
 
Surprise, surprise....not expected to appoint anyone this summer (according to the mail).

Telling you lads, nobody wants it cause the role on offer has no authority. Woodward has no intention of diluting his involvement.
 
“United feel the system works”
 
Why don’t we just let OGS have responsibility for reconciling the quarterly corporate balance sheet figures just to make it even stupider
 
Why is anyone surprised? Club is run by clowns, will only change with new owners.
 
I think the tweet is grossly misleading. The story says we're not close to appointing a director of football/technical director, so we'll maintain the current system where Woodward, Ole, Phelan, Lawlor, Mick Court, Murtough and Marcel Bout take part in transfer decisions.


"...Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and assistant Mike Phelan take an active part in deciding transfer targets, with chief scouts Jim Lawlor and Mick Court also contributing.
John Murtagh, youth development chief, and Marcel Bout, head of global scouting, are also influential.
Either Solskjaer and Phelan or the club, led by Woodward, can veto any signing.
United feel the system works and while Woodward has spoken to several people about becoming sporting or technical director, discussions are yet to progress to a meaningful stage..."
 
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