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

Status
Not open for further replies.
Jibbs said:
Most probably the DoFO will be Luis Campos, who is currently at Lille and has worked at Real Madrid and Monaco. Campos was brought to the Bernabeu by Jose Mourinho and credits his rise at Monaco to things he learnt from Mou.

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/exclu...-build-footballs-exciting-team-111214429.html
Click to expand...

I am happy with that. Although I would wish we get someone from GB. Even if I am a Swede, I would like to keep things English.. yeah yeah I know our owners are America.. It's just my 2 cents.
 
Following the retirement of Ferguson the owners maybe thought we'd be able to get a Fergie mk2, someone who will stay for decades and obviate the need for a DoF.

The ensuing turbulence has proved this to be a pipe dream, hence the push for a DoF now. Suggests Mourinho won't be here for too long as well, doesn't it.

Personally I'd be interested to see what Ribalta did in the DoF role. He's credited as the brains behind Juve's recent ransfer coups after all.
 
JohnnyKills said:
Following the retirement of Ferguson the owners maybe thought we'd be able to get a Fergie mk2, someone who will stay for decades and obviate the need for a DoF.

The ensuing turbulence has proved this to be a pipe dream, hence the push for a DoF now. Suggests Mourinho won't be here for too long as well, doesn't it.

Personally I'd be interested to see what Ribalta did in the DoF role. He's credited as the brains behind Juve's recent ransfer coups after all.
Click to expand...

There's no push for a DoF.

Post #108 should really be in the OP :p
 
goin4glory said:
Awful decision if true, a manager should be allowed to target his own players and live/die on their success.
Click to expand...
Disagree tbh. Mourinho has made several monumental errors over the last few years - De Bruyne, Salah, Lukaku - so why shouldn't the board have a second opinion?

Mou will be gone within three years. But if he makes a similar cock-up at OT it could haunt us for the next decade.
 
SirAF said:
There's no push for a DoF.

Post #108 should really be in the OP :p
Click to expand...

He could have changed his mind since then but the actual article doesn't even describe a DOF, neither Luckhurst nor Mitten know a thing.
 
AltiUn said:
Wasn't he on our books at one point, to do with the academy?
Click to expand...

I don't think so, he was linked with United when Mourinho was announced and it continued a for few months though.
 
I’d imagine it’s a move for the future that when Jose moves on a system?idea is in place for us to continue on in a singular direction towards having an identity. Basically reset to the plan when LVG took over.

There are a lot of talented players in our ranks that can play in many different ways so anyone coming in should be able to work with what we have here but obviously every manager is going to tinker with stuff in some way so it’ll be a case of hiring someone that can work well with what we have.
 
Imagine if they'd made LvG Director of Football instead of manager. For ten years. For the continuity. There'd be United fans pouring over the cliffs like lemmings.
 
712 said:
Imagine if they'd made LvG Director of Football instead of manager. For ten years. For the continuity. There'd be United fans pouring over the cliffs like lemmings.
Click to expand...
Why would you make LvG DoF for ten years though? And why wouldn't you be able to fire a DoF who's clearly failing? This is such a straw man argumentation.
 
devilish said:
You lost me on football manager tbh. Its a very childish way to discuss things.
Click to expand...
I lost at you logic.
liamp said:
Sure, but there's a huge difference in being able to speak about tactics at a pundit level and being able to implement a successful and sustainable style of play at a football club. He has a good football mind compared to an average football watcher, but who's to say how he compares to other coaches, managers and DoFs. His limited time at Valencia is sort of relevant for that comparison.
Click to expand...
The people doing the hiring.

Dismissing his footballing knowledge based on his managerial record is ridiculous, and it betrays a misunderstanding of the roles involved.
 
712 said:
Well I certainly wouldn't, but others have said they want 'continuity' and 'direction' which indicates a longer term appointment than a manager's.
Click to expand...
It's only logical that a DoF should oversee 3 or 4 head coaches in his era in ideal circumstances, but then again if he's just as bad as a bad head coach, then that's probably even worse.
 
DomesticTadpole said:
Will Jose care, he will go off with a lovely big payoff. It is Manchester United and our reputation that will suffer if he gets it wrong. He has one season to get it right. Because if he doesn't he will be gone. As was said in another thread, Jose does not have a particular style, it is all about the oppostion and negating them. Making sure you stop them. United should be able to go toe-to-toe against anybody. Teams should be worrying about us. That is not the case we scare noone. We need somebody in the club to get us back on track. I was happy we won trophies last season, but presumed, foolishly, that the football would get better.
Click to expand...

Yes Jose will care since he (and every following manager) would rather get to have their own players instead of those a DOF thinks necessary, Mourinho already fell out with that clown at Chelsea who oversees transfers. Fans areound here are so fickle that when we have a bad window or two the answer must be to hire a DOF and completely ignore all the clubs with DOF who make horrenedous decisions.

Mourinho does have a particular style, he's just on record as saying when you play against a most talented team you need to be tactically superior. He's gained a reputation for being a defensive coach because of performances vs Barca who most people believe had the best team of all time, I'd much rather win the way he did with Chelsea/Inter than take them on like we did in 2 European cup finals and get embarrassed. Watch Porto in the champions league final vs Monaco, they weren't defensive and neither was Inter when they played Bayern in the final because they didn't have to be. Mourinho is absolutely correct in his assessment of our team/squad and how capable it is vs the elite sides in europe.

Just saying we're United we should go toe to toe with anybody doesn't make up for the shambles our transfer policy was for almost a decade.

JohnnyKills said:
Disagree tbh. Mourinho has made several monumental errors over the last few years - De Bruyne, Salah, Lukaku - so why shouldn't the board have a second opinion?

Mou will be gone within three years. But if he makes a similar cock-up at OT it could haunt us for the next decade.
Click to expand...

KDB was competing with Hazard/Willian/Oscar/Malouda/Sturridge/Schurrle/Mata for a place in that Chelsea team. No one was kicking down doors for him to be in the starting 11 at that point, no fans/media/pundits nothing and given Abramovich is going to sack any manager who falls beneath a certain standard why would any Chelsea manager bring through the youth?

Why ignore the excellent transfer business he's done? Fabregas/Costa/Willian/Matic all superb buys. It was Mourinho who brought in Salah at Chelsea as well as Modric for Madrid and I could go on.

Lindelof is the only transfer he's made which has been a disappointment, we got what we paid for in 30m for Miki. Everywhere else has been clear upgrades and we've gone from languishing in 5th/6th to 2nd so clear progress is being made.
 
Dante said:
I lost at you logic.

The people doing the hiring.

Dismissing his footballing knowledge based on his managerial record is ridiculous, and it betrays a misunderstanding of the roles involved.
Click to expand...

choosing someone as DOF based on how good he speaks on sky and how he taps the IPAD while flirting with Spitty is even more ridiculous. It betrays a misunderstanding of the roles involved.
 
goin4glory said:
Yes Jose will care since he (and every following manager) would rather get to have their own players instead of those a DOF thinks necessary, Mourinho already fell out with that clown at Chelsea who oversees transfers. Fans areound here are so fickle that when we have a bad window or two the answer must be to hire a DOF and completely ignore all the clubs with DOF who make horrenedous decisions.

Mourinho does have a particular style, he's just on record as saying when you play against a most talented team you need to be tactically superior. He's gained a reputation for being a defensive coach because of performances vs Barca who most people believe had the best team of all time, I'd much rather win the way he did with Chelsea/Inter than take them on like we did in 2 European cup finals and get embarrassed. Watch Porto in the champions league final vs Monaco, they weren't defensive and neither was Inter when they played Bayern in the final because they didn't have to be. Mourinho is absolutely correct in his assessment of our team/squad and how capable it is vs the elite sides in europe.

Just saying we're United we should go toe to toe with anybody doesn't make up for the shambles our transfer policy was for almost a decade.



KDB was competing with Hazard/Willian/Oscar/Malouda/Sturridge/Schurrle/Mata for a place in that Chelsea team. No one was kicking down doors for him to be in the starting 11 at that point, no fans/media/pundits nothing and given Abramovich is going to sack any manager who falls beneath a certain standard why would any Chelsea manager bring through the youth?

Why ignore the excellent transfer business he's done? Fabregas/Costa/Willian/Matic all superb buys. It was Mourinho who brought in Salah at Chelsea as well as Modric for Madrid and I could go on.

Lindelof is the only transfer he's made which has been a disappointment, we got what we paid for in 30m for Miki. Everywhere else has been clear upgrades and we've gone from languishing in 5th/6th to 2nd so clear progress is being made.
Click to expand...
So if we finish 2nd, what is an improvement? I hope we are going to sign the right players. If we don't improve both fullbacks and more in midfield, nothing will change. I am not sure I like the rumours about Vidal and Bale. They are not the age range we should be targeting. Although they are rumours that seem to crop up frequently. I want us to plan for the future, not just a conveyor belt of oldies year after year.
 
DomesticTadpole said:
So if we finish 2nd, what is an improvement? I hope we are going to sign the right players. If we don't improve both fullbacks and more in midfield, nothing will change. I am not sure I like the rumours about Vidal and Bale. They are not the age range we should be targeting. Although they are rumours that seem to crop up frequently. I want us to plan for the future, not just a conveyor belt of oldies year after year.
Click to expand...

I agree but if Mourinho really thinks he only has this season and then he's sacked why would he build for the future rather than sign Vidal/Bale? Can't have it both ways.
 
goin4glory said:
I agree but if Mourinho really thinks he only has this season and then he's sacked why would he build for the future rather than sign Vidal/Bale? Can't have it both ways.
Click to expand...

Because he works for the club, that's why clubs have DOFs in order to avoid this type of crazy logic that isn't taken for the club's benefits.
 
What happened with that Juventus chief scout we were supposed to sign, Ribelta, who we never actually ended up getting?
 
Last edited:
Mourinho is not at the level of SAF when it comes to player logistics, and I don't think that is his priority either. He has on numerous occations said that he has given his list of targets to the club (e.g. Woodward), and it is now up to the club to deliver and it is out of his hands. Same goes with contract renewals, where he has also publically critzied the club (again Woodward) for not acting on renewals.

This indicates that even though Mourinho wants the players he wants, he still leave it to the club to do the actual work needed. SAF I feel was much more hands on in this matter. But do we want a manager that is busy dealing with administrative tasks and handling the continous growing power of player agents and negotiations, or do we want him on the training field coaching his players?

The dynamics in the market has changed, where SAF could invite a potential great talent to a VIP box along with his parents, pay them a visit before the game, and then sign a deal, is not longer the case.

At the same time we can't expect Woodward, the CEO of a multi-million (half a billion that is) company to oversee all player logistics at the same time that he handles all the commercial activities (which he does brilliantly by the way).

United are a different beast now, compared to when SAF and Gill was at the helm. So I do think we need someone to fill the obvious gap that exists between Woodward and our manager.

Could it lead to power struggle issues, yes of course. But that has to be handled, and it will be down to Woodward, and ultimately down to the owners to handle this. It is not like this issue already exists between Woodward and Mourinho today.

I do however also think that the DoFO or whatever they call it, is a DoF "light" thing, which basically will not allow us to pick someone on tier-1 level. So then the chance is that this will fail. Unfortunately.
 
712 said:
Well I certainly wouldn't, but others have said they want 'continuity' and 'direction' which indicates a longer term appointment than a manager's.
Click to expand...
Yea that's what I don't get about the constant clamouring for a DoF. Its practically always based off the assumption that they are guaranteed to do a good job and last long term.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.