Good points. I would have expected Klopp to have been sacked by now at Liverpool for not winning anything but they finally learned about the managerial merry go round working and gave someone time to diligently build something. Similarly, Poch has done well at Tottenham but they need to back him financially to actually win anything.
Man Utd set to appoint Director of Football (when hell freezes over)
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Good points. I would have expected Klopp to have been sacked by now at Liverpool for not winning anything but they finally learned about the managerial merry go round working and gave someone time to diligently build something. Similarly, Poch has done well at Tottenham but they need to back him financially to actually win anything.
Verify it.
Actually it was known for quite a while after Pep left Barca that City were after him. There were serious rumours that they were trying to get him during his sabatical, but he chose Bayern instead. Nevertheless they continued to pursue him and eventually got him. The main reason Txiki was brought is because they wanted Pep and evidently it worked, eventually.
Sheikh Mansour. And the managers before Pep. Mancini and Pellegrini. City, driven by a botomless pit of money, have been building their team for the past 10 years non-stop and Txiki has zero responsibility in that department since nothing really relies with him. It's not like he has found and unearthed some amazing talents or that he has found some great bargains, or whatever, he just contacts the best players and says "how much?" then Mansour gives him the money. Simple as that. Same as PSG - again, they haven't become this monster of a team with world class players in every position because of their directors of football that they've had, they became so because they threw money around every player out there.
We can only ship out the dross if we bring in replacements. It's been 3 years and we still don't have a new LB or RB, all while we needed signings in other areas more urgently I.E CM and striker.
I was around 2 seasons ago and fully aware of what was being said about David Silva, no one was saying he was falling off a cliff and making that claim it nonsense, he won premier league player of the month twice in the season before Pep arrived.
No manager in the world could have stopped Rooney's decline, it's not as if he was awful for United and great for England, he was a disaster under Moyes/LVG/Mourinho and every manager since leaving United.
Yes it's not a given you will continue to be world class into your thirties but it's also a banal fact that when a player who has been world class for his entire career under basically every manager then continues to perform at a world class level in his early 30's it probably just because he has the ability to do so and not because the new guy putting down cones on a monday morning has solved football for 30+ year olds. Zidane had nothing to do with Ronaldo continuing to do what he did the same way Valderde isn't responsible for Messi. David Silva would be performing at a world class level regardless who was City manager because he's that good. Just like Ronaldo/Messi/Aguero etc
I do enjoy the irony in claiming that my stance on David Silva is somehow unfalsifiable but yours isn't.
Again your argument is resorting to "just go back and read what people said" when some basic logic would do. If KDB was such a hot property and highly sought after then how did Wolfsburg get him? They're not even a 2nd tier of European clubs and could easily be outspent by 20+ teams. Just utter nonsense.
You missed the point. It's not excuse or a talk about one game. These kind of defeats happens from time to time. At top level, the margin of error is very thin. A team with quality in bad shape is vulnerable as every other team. Madrid last season showed that despite in the end they had quality and class to win the third consecutive CL. People are free to blame Mourinho and the team. It's bit kneejerk to use money argument on just one game to make the point as I pointed out. Mata cost 40mil yet Mata never looks like an United player to begin with, let alone expect him to do his best for Mourinho who clearly prefers different profile of player. Put it this way, with all the non contributing players and players who had a shocker of performance, it's like playing with a man or two down. Can one always expect more expensive team to perform in that circumstances? Or because 2 of our player is worth more than their starting XI, we can use 2 players and win the game? Nobody would pay good fee for Mata, so it's a fast devaluing asset that you can't reinvest for other player. Just because some jerk approved to pay club record fee at the time for Mata, doesn't mean he is now worth that much.
The investment is to account for the whole season end goal, or several seasons', given the length of players' contract. There are times even overpaying for certain players is needed to meet end goal, especially when you already invest big in it. You can turn a to-be-failure around into a victory with further investment. If you don't believe that extra investment then cut loss ASAP and try to reinvest. What is happening is no trust in Mourinho yet there is no decisiveness to cut loss. Just to hope for the best when the people involve lack of belief when it's more likely going this way would mean the whole thing would burn down and the next guy would have mountain to climb. And this is quite familiar for the last few years under who know who reign.
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Woodward is a financial man not a football man, doubt he knows what shape a football is lol
All these fancy big pay contracts United have issued means it's nigh on impossible to get our money back when or if we can offload some of the dross.
How players like Smalling, Jones, Rojo, Darmian etc can continue to steal a living is unbelieveable, I'd not employ them in Asda.
You knew Smalling was shite when he got dropped from England so why didn't we shift him on?
All these fancy big pay contracts United have issued means it's nigh on impossible to get our money back when or if we can offload some of the dross.
How players like Smalling, Jones, Rojo, Darmian etc can continue to steal a living is unbelieveable, I'd not employ them in Asda.
You knew Smalling was shite when he got dropped from England so why didn't we shift him on?
I can say say i am in back him or sack him group.
I already explained my take on how awkward the decision maker at the club leave all of us (even the fans) in. Everyone seem to be a victim in a vicious cycle. Fan think the club need this, the manager think he needs to do this, the board wants that...
If you have other plan, then start the groundwork now. Sack the current manager because clearly he has his way and he wouldn't support a plan that see his work undone, however good or bad it is at the end of the day. The current manager is only heading to toward his vision. Stop him now is better than risking adding mountain of work for the next guy moving to different direction.
"Whether a technical director would be given the power to drive recruitment remains to be seen but he could provide a daily point of contact for the manager as well as more “football expertise” at the top end of the club, even if Woodward is unlikely to be willing to cede too much power."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...-director-improve-board-manager-relationship/
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And the reason for the appointment now is to appease the fans, as some fans are starting to point fingers at Woodward and the board(they are afraid the fans will revolt and the stock will plummet). The appointment of a technical director will happen, a new manager will come in, but in the end nothing will change. Same cycle again.
It's a halfway measure, just like 'we'll extend' JM's contract but not deliver the players he wants. Better owners would solve a lot of this, a better chief executive with footballing know how would solve a significant amount of this, a new manager would eradicate a portion of the rot and perhaps entertain.
Good point.
But all in all, it's just paper over the crack. The crack is there (whoever in the board doesn't support Mourinho fully and they ain't any more credible when it comes to football with a technical director)
At the football aspect yes, but there is no reason for why we can't compete for big trophies and at the same time pay dividends to the owners. It is not as easy as doing only one of them, but they are not mutually exclusive.
What a joke that would be. Seems that Woodward doesn't want to let go of the control he has, which is beyond worrying for me.
This is the truly baffling part!!! What was our plan on how to wrestle the title from City? No coherent strategy apart from signing Fred and Dalot while "hoping for the best" because that is exactly what it was in the transfer window . Even a blind bat knows we needed a RW, LB, RB( Dalot is the future in my eyes and no way Jose trusts him more than his beloved stalwart Valencia), RW and at least one CB. We did not do this because some feel Jose is a miracle worker and our team will transform by automation and the deadwoods will suddenly become world beaters despite Pep showing in his first season that he himself is not a miracle worker and needed another massive round of investments to conquer this league and before you bring up the "Hey we don't need new signings, we shold have beaten Brighton with that line- up" , my assesment is more on the quality of the team over the course of the season and not because of a single defeat( you can have off days where you lose games and still win the league) bt in our case, you just know our squad is truly deficient. It's annoying .Looks like the season is going to be a grind to the end in May and we are in week 2 ffs. How does one cope with this lurking feeling that thr season willl pan out exactly like last year? Smh...
van Djik MOTM tonight.
£75m, £25m more than the previous record for a defender, completely unproven from Southampton... now Gary Neville thinks he could go on to rival Varane/Ramos.
You get what you pay for.
£75m, £25m more than the previous record for a defender, completely unproven from Southampton... now Gary Neville thinks he could go on to rival Varane/Ramos.
You get what you pay for.
We have higher revenues than both Madrid and Barca. The Spanish league will lose it's dominance over world class players and that's seen with the moves for people Like Neymar and Mbappe.
Jose signings have been very good for the most part.
Liverpool paid over the odds for virtually all of their buys Kieta, Allision, Fabinho & VVD but they've managed to plug all the weak spots in their squad. They even have Shaquiri for depth on the wiings. We dont have ONE winger.
Even if Ed thought Willan was too much , wasnt there a plan B? Our transfer strategy makes zero sense, he is completely out of his depth from a footballing perspective. He and the Glazers will sink this club right into the ground. Its 3 managers in a row and still the football is terrible. The issue clearly isnt just a managerial one. This goes all the way to the top
This is yet another worrying decision by the club if true. We can’t seem to catch a break post Fergie at all. The owners and Ed are the ones with final say on everything and they are majorly fecking it up all while spending crazy money and consistently getting crap return on their investment! Surely they can see they need help? Their “plan” isn’t working. They don’t care because the club is growing in value every year either way. It’s pretty embarrassing the circus around the club nowadays, I’m not enjoying the football, nor caring very much for the current players, owners and ed or the manager. I think it’s fair to say the last five years have been an almost total shit show and Ed has to take a large slice of that blame.
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Woodward really needs to have zero say in footballing matters.
He's completely botched it post SAF.
He's completely botched it post SAF.
Agree, he should truly stick to marketing and sponsorship deals. When it comes to footballing decisions he is about as useful as Dr Evil's comb.
I get the impression Woodward really really wants to be involved in the football side.
He fancies himself as a bit of a DOF, and the commercial thing is just a side gig.
He fancies himself as a bit of a DOF, and the commercial thing is just a side gig.
What a mess. 
Why do we expect this guy to solve our issues. We need to have someone else in charge of footballing matters. He has been the only constant post Fergie. Keep him as the money man, but don’t expect anything from him footballing wise.
I can’t sit here and have anyone side with him over our Manager who is a football man through and through.
I can’t sit here and have anyone side with him over our Manager who is a football man through and through.
Very well said. Regarding Real Madrid, some cnuts wanted Zidane sacked from Real last season when they were dropping points left right and center in the league. Good thing he won the CL eh!
Ed is like a great marketing student who watches football down the student union and plays football manager too.
He is loving the fact he's involved in the football side of the club.
This is just more guesswork by the press.
And even more guesswork from the Caf. Assumptions are fine and reasonable enough to discuss on, but some on here are getting knickers in a twist over something they are not even sure about.
I don't think these briefings tell us much that we couldn't have guessed already. He wouldn't cede power but rather delegate it...that's what was expected all along. He's the Vice Chairman/CEO after all. The most interesting part to come from this was that they expected to make a hire before January. I imagine this would rule out a lot of the candidates already in a position at their clubs? I can't imagine it would be easy to pry a top-level sporting director or technical director away during mid-season.
I think the biggest sign as to whether this person is going to have any actual power is if they have control over managerial appointments. My guess is they will have some input but Woodward will still make the call. Ideally we would have a football person in total control with the only instruction given being the level of finances available for wages and transfers. I'm fearful we will end up appointing an ex player with little to know upper level management experience as more of a figurehead role, but hopefully I'm wrong. It would be nice if we had some cohesive style which would apply to the managers we appoint as well as how the youth teams play.
Exactly. There is no point in hiring a Director of Football if Ed Woodward continues to be involved in footballing decisions. He has to completely let go of this responsibility and give total trust to his new hire.
Of course a strategy should be agreed, with budgets and KPIs set, but he then needs to step back and allow the Director of Football and First Team Coach to execute the plan.
Meetings and involvement from Ed should be infrequent, but my fear is that he won't be able to keep his nose out of it, unless the Glazers tell him to, which they blatantly won't whilst the commercial side of the business is successful.
Hopefully I'm wrong.
Our club is so annoying. Just do it already. What are we waiting for? A DoF was needed long time ago.
What about Gary Neville as DoF understands the economical side with his involvement with Salford City and other businesses but importantly is passionate about the club and knows what the fans want in terms of playing style and this is likely to be reflected in the type of player recruitment. This is likely to act as a bridge between Jose and Ed and might smooth things out a bit.
It all depends on what the club classifies as DoF or Technical Director. It really comes down to how much power the board wants to hand over, not how the position is called. Something tells me DoF / TD won't be allowed too much anyway
Richard Arnold is the commercial director who is in charge of the brand partnership, not Ed Woodward. Woodward doesn't have anything to do with the commercial side. Woodward is the like for like replacement of David Gill. Gill was never linked with the commercial side when he was in charge.
From Wikipedia regarding Richard Arnold:
In 2007, Arnold joined Manchester United as Group Commercial Director. He was promoted Group Managing Director and Director of Manchester United PLC on 1 July 2013, assuming control of the club's business operations, after Chief Executive David Gillwas replaced by Executive Vice-Chairman Ed Woodward.[4] Arnold sits on the board of Manchester United Television (MUTV) and Manchester United Merchandising Limited. During his time at the club, he has been instrumental in growing the global appeal of the Manchester United brand, opening commercial offices in Mayfair (London), New York City and Hong Kong.[5][6][7] Arnold has overseen the signing of a number of lucrative sponsorship contracts, including a world record 7-year $600 million (USD) kit sponsor deal with General Motors/Chevrolet (2014), and a $1.3 billion sports equipment deal with Adidas over 10 years (2015), the most valuable in sporting history
From Wikipedia regarding Richard Arnold:
In 2007, Arnold joined Manchester United as Group Commercial Director. He was promoted Group Managing Director and Director of Manchester United PLC on 1 July 2013, assuming control of the club's business operations, after Chief Executive David Gillwas replaced by Executive Vice-Chairman Ed Woodward.[4] Arnold sits on the board of Manchester United Television (MUTV) and Manchester United Merchandising Limited. During his time at the club, he has been instrumental in growing the global appeal of the Manchester United brand, opening commercial offices in Mayfair (London), New York City and Hong Kong.[5][6][7] Arnold has overseen the signing of a number of lucrative sponsorship contracts, including a world record 7-year $600 million (USD) kit sponsor deal with General Motors/Chevrolet (2014), and a $1.3 billion sports equipment deal with Adidas over 10 years (2015), the most valuable in sporting history
of course, we all understand you can make a mistake and sign wrong DOF? And that it is mistake that needs even more time to fix as he will hide behind manager who will take a responsibility for results, so at least a couple of managers will need to fail to be able to remove DOF? And DOF will be chosen by Woodward, so mistake will happen.
As we are all playing a guessing game it could be that Woodward will hire someone, tell them how much they have to spend, tell them the criteria of player eg age group salary limit signing on fee etc and let them build the team with the head coach. That way he won't be disturbed over the summer nor catch any heat from it
3rd choice backup players to what he already has? He's like nahh let the other guys overpay for them since they are so eager to gazump my deals. Nevermind I'll find someone like you.
Then he got Mahrez in place of Alexis.
He still has enough backup in midfield provided Fernandinho holds up. You can bet they will go for the Jorginho replacement really soon especially if their midfield depth takes a dent.
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