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

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I see some posters saying that if our future DoF fails at doing his job, then he will be sacked in due time. Genuine question, what exactly will the DoF job entail though?

For instance, if we sign a couple of players, and we go into the season and we struggle to win games, whose fault will that be and who will be sacked? Will it be the DoF's fault for signing the wrong players? Or does the buck truly stops with the manager aka Jose? Is the DoF job only to identify and sign players and the manager will do the rest? Plus behind the scenes stuff like we wouldn't know if the DoF and our manager genuinely agree on the same transfer targets. Just IMO, I can't really see the DoF job having much pressure as compared to the manager/head coach.
 
Don’t know if Sir Alex would be a good idea he would never see any value in the market, especially with today’s inflated prices
 
The DoF role is going to be one hell of an ask at United. Needs to bring in younger players on a budget, whilst also buying the players who would actually improve us in the short term, who's clubs do not wish to sell unless for a rediculous amount.
Then dictate a style of play to the manager, or get him sacked, then replace him with a manager who won't make his signings look bad.
Thank the heavens the club isn't run to appease the fans, as it's impossible.
 
As many other posters have said, VdS doesn't have the job at Ajax. As far as I know, he looks at the commercial side for Ajax so he's a non starter.
 
This entire thread is the worst example of the blind leading the blind I think I have ever seen on this forum. Very entertaining.
 
Velvet Revolver said:
DoF is not going to dictate how we play. That is up to manager and his tactics, A DoF is in place to ensure the club has continuity especially when there is transition. What makes you think VDS and Becks are qualified to be a DoF, just cos they played for SAF?
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Do you know he is the CEO of Ajax?
 
el3mel said:
He'll be sacked and replaced, like anyone.
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When Chelsea allowed Salah and KDB slipped through their hands, did any DOF get sacked? Salah has at least joined the 1st team so the Manager and DOF had to equally shared the blame, but KDB never really make it, who gets the sack? Likewise Shevchenko and Torres were expensive mistakes, anyone get the sack? It is ALWAYS the manager the are make accountable. DOF is sacked because he piss off the owner.
 
Time will tell but i reckon it most certainly works if you get the right person for the job. Brands needed to get rid of deadwood and target key positions (Most notably LB and pacey wide players) and that's exactly what happened. We now have a much more balanced side where we can choose a variety of formations and we did it without any real struggle this window. I'm not fussed about the transfer fees as they don't matter in the grand scheme of things anymore.

What they can also do however dependent on how the club utilises them is oversee the club from U-18 up to the senior team and give advice on how the teams should be set-up etc. Unsworth has commented on how Brands has already been a huge positive step forward for the club and in particular to the youth/U-23 set up.
 
Never been a fan of having a Director of Football in the past as I believe the manager should buy the players. However, I'm starting to warm to this now, especially after this transfer window.
 
Gopher Brown said:
This entire thread is the worst example of the blind leading the blind I think I have ever seen on this forum. Very entertaining.
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Very true. I dont think anyone could agree on what the DoF does and what success looks like so god knows how we can discuss names. Presumably it means different things to different clubs.

I like Bayern structure though. Lots of knowledgable ex players who love the club in key positions to ensure history, culture and ambition is always there no matter manager.

Lets face it anyone would be better than woodward who has no allegience to united from a fan perspective.
 
steffyr2 said:
I just keep getting the idea that we're going to get some complete neophyte for a DoF, but a utd-related one, so people will be thrilled. Won't make the team play better and won't help transfers, but it will look like the club is doing something. (and no money involved)
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Why?
 
Asian Sensation said:
Don’t know if Sir Alex would be a good idea he would never see any value in the market, especially with today’s inflated prices
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It is hard to find a worse choice than Sir Alex. Try hard, and you still probably cannot think of someone worse than him.
 
2cents said:
I'd be a bit wary of having any of the Co92 in on something like this.
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No way should we have someone from the Co92, I cant stand their "this is the United" way attitude. They live in the past and none of them has been really successful in another job. We need to move forward and start to modernize the club and its structures
 
Kick/buy (no I don’t know where the dosh comes from) most of the Glazer family members off the board. Get some football people on, some Manchester people, some brains. Let the club make some statements of priority and principle. Community, entertainment, engagement would be a start. Fire Woody. Then consider if a DoF is needed.
 
If implemented correctly a DOF is a god sent. It would mean that the manager can focus on tactics while delegating red tape to the DOF. The manager would still have a list. However that would be augmented by the DOF list with names coming from him, the scouts and the youth coaches

However i suspect our main issue is the vice ceo not the DOF. We take ages to get rid of players, we overpay for everything we want and we fail to bring the targets we need. A DOF can come with alternatives to those targets but he is not a miracle maker. We need someone who knows how football transfers work and has a good idea of what is realistic or whats not in terms of fees and salaries.
 
haram said:
I feel like Jose will leave at the end of the season. And he wont be sacked. I hope the manage we get in suits the director.
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A lot depends on who we bring. I also feel Mourinho won't have any say on who it is. If it's someone ideological (a lot of people have suggested Robert Fernandez), he will go.
 
Tincanalley said:
Kick/buy (no I don’t know where the dosh comes from) most of the Glazer family members off the board. Get some football people on, some Manchester people, some brains. Let the club make some statements of priority and principle. Community, entertainment, engagement would be a start. Fire Woody. Then consider if a DoF is needed.
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Then wake up. And yeah, grow up.
 
I'd like someone associated with the club ideally.

Edwin Van Der Sar wouldn't be a bad shout, and there's plenty of good things to be said about the Ajax way of developing talent.
Or as a dark horse, how about Giggsy..?!?!

I do get the gut feeling that Jose is standing on think ice with the board, and his time here is ticking down.
 
el3mel said:
I agree on the principle and will love having Monchi. My point is VDS will still be a very good choice too imo.
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I don't get this. Unless you know VDS professionally, you can't tell if he is a very good choice or not. A DOF needs to be competent in HR, negotiation, be personable, good at making plans and executing them even when everything goes wrong. The only way to determine whether someone that hasn't done that job before is suitable is by knowing them professionally, none of us do.
 
Ikon said:
I'd like someone associated with the club ideally.

Edwin Van Der Sar wouldn't be a bad shout, and there's plenty of good things to be said about the Ajax way of developing talent.
Or as a dark horse, how about Giggsy..?!?!

I do get the gut feeling that Jose is standing on think ice with the board, and his time here is ticking down.
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That would be worst possible thing club could do if they are going Dof route ,ideally we need experienced head who already have contacts and know what he is doing rather than giving it to somebody with no credentials and hoping they learn on the Job if that's the case we are better sticking with Woodward.
 
gajender said:
That would be worst possible thing club could do if they are going Dof route ,ideally we need experienced head who already have contacts and know what he is doing rather than giving it to somebody with no credentials and hoping they learn on the Job if that's the case we are better sticking with Woodward.
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irony1
ˈʌɪrəni/
noun
noun: irony
  1. the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
    "‘Don't go overboard with the gratitude,’ he rejoined with heavy irony"
:devil::devil:
 
Ikon said:
irony1
ˈʌɪrəni/
noun
noun: irony
  1. the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
    "‘Don't go overboard with the gratitude,’ he rejoined with heavy irony"
:devil::devil:
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So we made a mistake rather than learning from it you want us to commit same mistake again, if we want to involve ex players without experience of the role it would be better they come here and work with experienced Dof which we should appoint if situation arises in future they should be able to step in.
 
We need to get someone who is respected within the game and who has contacts in clubs around Europe. IMO it's important that we break the Manchester United transfer tax, which is in a large part cause by Woodward's bravado about our spending power. It needs to be made clear that we aren't willing to pay over-the-odds for talent and that's best done privately rather than through the media. We also need to foster good working relationships with other clubs to enable us to gain access to rising talent without creating the feeling that we're simply stealing players from smaller clubs.

The DoF also needs to be able to work with the manager to identify areas of the team that need improvement -- we don't want to end up with players that the manager doesn't want nor can handle being foisted on him. It might be that Mourinho's views on team makeup aren't compatible with the DoF's, and in turn that might mean that we need to look elsewhere for a new manager. For that an experienced DoF should be able to identify and access rising managerial talent rather than being limited to the high-profile but unavailable manager pool.
 
Who is Dortmund's DOF?

They hire good coaches I.e Tuchel and Klopp, have a good style of play and their transfer business is mostly shrewd I.e Dembele, Weigl, Pulisic.
 
FootyGirl88 said:
Who is Dortmund's DOF?

They hire good coaches I.e Tuchel and Klopp, have a good style of play and their transfer business is mostly shrewd I.e Dembele, Weigl, Pulisic.
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Michael Zorc I think.

EDIT: He is, seems he's looking at leaving when his current contract expires in 2021, I don't know what behind the scenes work he's done over the last 20 odd years but Dortmund in the 10s have had good coaches, enjoyable football, a few trophies and have relied on hidden gems/youth seems a match made in heaven.

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/boru...-zorc-to-leave-club-when-new-contract-expires
 
bonsaiboy said:
We need to get someone who is respected within the game and who has contacts in clubs around Europe. IMO it's important that we break the Manchester United transfer tax, which is in a large part cause by Woodward's bravado about our spending power. It needs to be made clear that we aren't willing to pay over-the-odds for talent and that's best done privately rather than through the media. We also need to foster good working relationships with other clubs to enable us to gain access to rising talent without creating the feeling that we're simply stealing players from smaller clubs.

The DoF also needs to be able to work with the manager to identify areas of the team that need improvement -- we don't want to end up with players that the manager doesn't want nor can handle being foisted on him. It might be that Mourinho's views on team makeup aren't compatible with the DoF's, and in turn that might mean that we need to look elsewhere for a new manager. For that an experienced DoF should be able to identify and access rising managerial talent rather than being limited to the high-profile but unavailable manager pool.
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we have saf. doesnt helps us getting the players we want. this idea that a player would want to come because you have a well respected dof is abit off I'd say.

players would come because of money and trophies. dof means little at the end of the day.

do you see players flocks to play with neville? keane? ole? bruce? hughes? nope.
 
AltiUn said:
Michael Zorc I think.

EDIT: He is, seems he's looking at leaving when his current contract expires in 2021, I don't know what behind the scenes work he's done over the last 20 odd years but Dortmund in the 10s have had good coaches, enjoyable football, a few trophies and have relied on hidden gems/youth seems a match made in heaven.

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/boru...-zorc-to-leave-club-when-new-contract-expires
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Thanks - I wonder if he would leave early

He's clearly got a lot of experience https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/michael-zorc/news/trainer/3295
 
Sky1981 said:
we have saf. doesnt helps us getting the players we want. this idea that a player would want to come because you have a well respected dof is abit off I'd say.

players would come because of money and trophies. dof means little at the end of the day.

do you see players flocks to play with neville? keane? ole? bruce? hughes? nope.
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It's not about the players wanting to come and play for us, it's about their clubs being open to approaches for those players. If we're seen as being adversarial in the transfer market (e.g. by throwing out statements that we can do things other clubs can only dream of) then there'll be an unwillingness to negotiate, and they'll certainly want to extract as much money from us as possible. By fostering good relationships with the management of other clubs, we should be able (with a little quid pro quo) to act a little more decisively by avoiding final day brinkmanship. Won't help with chairmen like Levy but honestly, if we're looking for building a young and talented team, we ought not to be trying to negotiate with the likes of him anyway.
 
I actually wonder if somebody like Gary Neville could be worth a shout. In terms of straddling the business world, football world and being a part of our clubs history he ticks most boxes.

- Class of 92. Understands the club philosophy at a deep level.
- Involved in a number of business deals in and around Manchester so experienced at handling admin.
- Has been involved in football at the highest level, briefly managed and coached and has contacts throughout the game.
- Has been involved in the Class of 92's project in Salford so has experience in football finances.

Some will say he's not been a scout or worked in that role but Eric Abidal just got made Barcelona Sporting Director. Zidane won three Champions League titles after only managing the Real B team. Sometimes it is more important to appoint people with an attachment to the club and the clubs best interests at heart. Nicky Butt, for example, has done a nice job of turning the academy around it seems.
 
Gary Neville would be the ideal candidate, very intelligent with a good eye for business and passionate about the club. Can't see him relinquishing his other responsibilities though.
 
So this is really happening. Can't say i was paying attention, but about time to.
 
Acole9 said:
Gary Neville would be the ideal candidate, very intelligent with a good eye for business and passionate about the club. Can't see him relinquishing his other responsibilities though.
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Very intelligent as in 'speak shit on TV'. People here also thought that he is gonna make an awesome manager. Apparently it is easier to criticise than manage, as he found out.

For what is worth, I think that the problem is that he is a newbie. Zero experience on that job, and to make him suddenly the equal (if not the boss) of a manager/Mourinho is a bit extreme. Personally, I am against this 'jobs for boys' mentality that a lot of posters seem to have (not Ed though) as in United owes them a top job. They should start like everyone else, get experience, and then if they do a good job, they might be considered here.

Yes, there are examples of Zidane and Pep who skipped the apprenticeship stage, but they are more like an exception. And well, their club found them intelligent I guess. So might do out club, but we have no idea about them. Doing some mediocre analysis on Sky doesn't make him more knowledgeable than some Caftards posters. @Invictus for DoF, he at least makes better analysis than Gary Neville.
 
Revan said:
Very intelligent as in 'speak shit on TV'. People here also thought that he is gonna make an awesome manager. Apparently it is easier to criticise than manage, as he found out.

For what is worth, I think that the problem is that he is a newbie. Zero experience on that job, and to make him suddenly the equal (if not the boss) of a manager/Mourinho is a bit extreme. Personally, I am against this 'jobs for boys' mentality that a lot of posters seem to have (not Ed though) as in United owes them a top job. They should start like everyone else, get experience, and then if they do a good job, they might be considered here.

Yes, there are examples of Zidane and Pep who skipped the apprenticeship stage, but they are more like an exception. And well, their club found them intelligent I guess. So might do out club, but we have no idea about them. Doing some mediocre analysis on Sky doesn't make him more knowledgeable than some Caftards posters. @Invictus for DoF, he at least makes better analysis than Gary Neville.
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As a manager Zidane skipped the apprenticeship but not in the back offices, he was in a management school and was at the end of it, he has also spent many years since his retirement in Real's offices.
 
Revan said:
Very intelligent as in 'speak shit on TV'. People here also thought that he is gonna make an awesome manager. Apparently it is easier to criticise than manage, as he found out.

For what is worth, I think that the problem is that he is a newbie. Zero experience on that job, and to make him suddenly the equal (if not the boss) of a manager/Mourinho is a bit extreme. Personally, I am against this 'jobs for boys' mentality that a lot of posters seem to have (not Ed though) as in United owes them a top job. They should start like everyone else, get experience, and then if they do a good job, they might be considered here.

Yes, there are examples of Zidane and Pep who skipped the apprenticeship stage, but they are more like an exception. And well, their club found them intelligent I guess. So might do out club, but we have no idea about them. Doing some mediocre analysis on Sky doesn't make him more knowledgeable than some Caftards posters. @Invictus for DoF, he at least makes better analysis than Gary Neville.
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He hasn't just done mediocre analysis on Sky though, has he. He has been a very successful player, a coach with England and briefly a manager so at least understands the challenge. Also, judging him for failing at Valencia where he didn't speak the language and took over a club on its 3rd/4th manager of the season is pretty unfair.

He has also been involved in numerous investments in property, hotels, city centre redevelopment in Manchester, Hotel Football and of course Salford City. Those things at least suggest he has a head for the business aspect of the DOF role while also being the right sort to understand conversations around Training Ground plans etc.

We are looking for a person who can help navigate the club back to the top level in the 'United' way. A random DOF is not going to help with the identity crisis the club seems to be going through.
 
Drifter said:
So this is really happening. Can't say i was paying attention, but about time to.
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I think it might be a knee jerk reaction, to take away focus from the disastrous transfer window we just had.
At present, Woodward is effectively the DoF and I do expect it to stay that way for a while (which is fair enough because it takes time to get the right person in).
Personally, I think that this time next year, we will be in exactly same position.

The main problem IMO, is the Glazers not wanting to spend money to take us to the next level. What will a DoF resolve, if we are not willing to spend money or claim that there is no value in the market.
The Glazers want a setup, such that they can spend minimal amounts of cash on players, while still growing revenue (ie. the situation we had under SAF).
 
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