Its going to be a real shock to some when Jose ultimately leaves and the next manager encounters many of the same problems.
Man Utd set to appoint Director of Football (when hell freezes over)
- Thread starter RedMachine03
- Start date
- Status
Its going to be a real shock to some when Jose ultimately leaves and the next manager encounters many of the same problems.
I think I would usually agree with you but in this instance maybe not. I don’t think anybody believes the board will lose any members but perhaps the spotlight finally being on them rather than manager after manager might cause a little bit of refocus on the footballing side. They’re doing an incredible job for themselves financially. Even if you think mourinho should go, even if he does go, even if he was replaced by sir pep Ferguson, the bigger picture of the club needs some direction and clarity, which in 5 years the current men in suits haven’t provided.
Yep. We’ve improved our players, arguably had three different elevens under three different managers with largely the same results. Could hire pochettino tomorrow and little would change. There’s an apathy at all levels it seems and everybody happy to blame the other with nobody pulling in the same direction.
Not really mate. I asked on this thread what happens if Poch fails and more than one person is on record saying they don’t care they’ll just find someone else. Which means they are willing to go through as many managers as possible to find this “attacking football” and whatever else they are looking for.
Never mind the rubbish in the squad, just get a magician who can turn shit to gold seems to be the thinking amongst many here! Bit childish and naive if you ask me. But what do I know, I’m just a “newb” right?
I've been critical of Woodward in the past and I still think we need someone else in to run the football side of things and liaise with the manager, but, that said I think there's more to this than meets the eye.
Mourinho has the look of a man who's short on ideas and who might not stay the course. He looks unhappy, he's getting progressively more toxic and worse, things look turgid on the pitch. I can therefore see why the board would be reluctant to throw wads of cash at players he wants if there's a chance he's going to throw his toys out of the pram and walk in 6 months.
The board need to back managers - but not blindly.
This kind of thing always cuts both ways. Anyone expecting the board of a major business like United to let managers do what they like and spend what they want are mad. That's just how it is. Any manager here needs to work within some boundaries. Mourinho has had large sums of money to spend - perhaps he needs more, but that's something which easily gets out of hand.
Mourinho has the look of a man who's short on ideas and who might not stay the course. He looks unhappy, he's getting progressively more toxic and worse, things look turgid on the pitch. I can therefore see why the board would be reluctant to throw wads of cash at players he wants if there's a chance he's going to throw his toys out of the pram and walk in 6 months.
The board need to back managers - but not blindly.
This kind of thing always cuts both ways. Anyone expecting the board of a major business like United to let managers do what they like and spend what they want are mad. That's just how it is. Any manager here needs to work within some boundaries. Mourinho has had large sums of money to spend - perhaps he needs more, but that's something which easily gets out of hand.
Last edited:
The new hiring will likely be a voluntary delegation of duties. Not quite the same as Woodward having his powers taken away because he'll still dictate the scope of the Director's duties and employment and they'll revert to him should he remove the Director. Board aren't hiring a technical director to be Woody's peer.
Sad to say but as far as club matters go, Woodward is probably the most clued-in person about football in our topmost hierarchy. The guys flying banners are wasting their money.
Tbf, going by past standards and incidents, Mourinho has been at his least toxic here*
*So far
First off, we're 2 games in to the season.
Secondly, I say Jose is handling having his legs cut out from under him transfer wise pretty well, plus he seems to have remained quiet while Woodward briefs the entire pl press corps regularly.
In your mind what exactly does "back the manager mean"? Get 1st place or you're out? Lose 2 games and you're out?
If you are going to start asking for links every time somebody states something that happened in the past, you will get annoying real quick. Just my opinion.
Yeah, probably. It's personal opinion but he's looking ever more disillusioned and he has had his moments.
That's a matter of opinion. In respect of the lack of quality at Centre-back, is it not reasonable for the board to ask why the two centre-backs he's previously signed at significant expense aren't the answer?
In terms of backing a manager, they should provide funds for squad strengthening, within reason but not with an open chequebook year on year. My opinion (and it is only my opinion) is that whatever is going on behind the scenes (be it concerns over performances on the pitch, relationships with players or whatever) the board may be concerned as to where this is heading with Mourinho who has history in terms of making his own life difficult and engineering a way out of clubs and picking fights.
My personal opinion - if all was rosy and the board where happy that the Mourinho situation wasn't going to implode imminently then he'd have had more money to spend in the summer.
Completely agree with all the above.
It's an all too familiar story. Mourinho has had a face like a slapped arse for over 12 months now, he has managed to alienate at least 3 of the first team players and is continually negative both on and off the pitch. My own impression is that he no longer wants to be here and is currently working towards making his position untenable so the board have to push him rather than him walking (protecting his settlement money)
If I were the board I would be showing a little caution in the transfer market as well. I mean Jerome Boateng, seriously!?! I think it shows good footballing knowledge resisting the request to sign him.
Seems like a board weighing in on player selections wouldn't need to be told what the issues were at present with the current defenders. They'd already know that and would be discussing how to fix it.... except that Utd doesn't fix short term problems anymore (at least ones that cost money).
My personal opinion is they didn't want to spend money and have engineered this train wreck to try and cover that fact. Since they were perfectly happy with Mourinho 6 months ago.
Significant expense? City bought Stones and Laporte for £50m and £60m each. Looked at like that should we expect Bailly and Lindelof to be any more than half the players? Not even going to bring Van Dijk into this either.
But the real issue is that by not backing Mourinho the board has sent a message to the dressing room that it can start looking to life after Jose.
When Man City did that to Pellegrini the team's performances fell off a cliff. If the players think Jose's a dead man walking we aren't going to see them perform for him. Expecting him to coach something more out of the side in those circumstances is extremely optimistic.
Even if the board has given up on Mourinho it would've been better to say nothing, rather than to throw the cat among the pidgeons on the eve of the season.
Call King Eric, the obvious choice.
Tell him he can even set up his own film studio at MUTV offices!
Tell him he can even set up his own film studio at MUTV offices!
Can talk about Woodward until the cows come home but the reality is he's a Glazer man and is going nowhere. Biggest concern, for me, is the dreadful football. Ah, it all feels a bit pointless nowadays anyway, City won't stop spending.
Indeed. The "scattergun" approach which seemed to come about on the last day of the window (if initiated by the club, rather than being pure press speculation, which is possible) is a real concern.
I don't agree. If Lindelof was the answer last year, why isn't he now? If the manager wanted him that's a fair question to ask, regardless of your position on this. If he now wants to ditch that player (and Bailly, who to be fair has suffered with injury) then what makes the new targets the answer? If not will they be binned next year and another £100 million requested?
As above, its my view there's probably fault on both sides, but Mourinho doesn't help himself with his overall demeanour. Its happened at other clubs whereby over a period of time he goes from outwardly happy to progressively more sarcastic and troubled and eventually, creates such a toxic scenario it all comes to a head. It looks to me that it's a distinct possibility.
Overall, anyone coming in to United has to accept that taking on the board will result in a painful exit. United is a business, they know that when they take the job. The board should (again, as said above) provide the manager with resources he needs to do the job, but frankly, I don't think its unreasonable for the board to expect better on the pitch from what's been spent.
Since when Mata was a right winger in Chelsea when we signed him ? We spent 40m on AMF to play him as a RW, exactly like the rest of our big signings, sign them then think where we will play them later.
In the mea time, enjoy watching Mata stinking the place on right winger because it's better than signing Willian or Perisic for sure.
City bought two centre-backs. Both are fixtures under the new manager. He's getting plenty out of them, especially Stones who's come through a tough time.
It highlights the point for me: two players, signed for big money, first team regulars. Bailley and Lindelof both signed before the Neymar transfer sent fees rocketing again and were expensive transfers by anyone's standards - certainly enough to expect them to make a significant contribution to the first team and for me, they must have been intended to be regular starters.
All in all the situation is seemingly getting worse. Mourinho's ego has caused him to come unstuck regularly in his career and it seems to be happening again. Its all about him - even recently when discussing the new City documentary. Seems its all about protecting his own brand. Its tiresome given the fayre being served up on the pitch. As a fan of United I want to see some decent football and frankly, I'm sick of hearing from him pointing the finger anywhere but at himself.
This is Woodward showing that he's in charge. Maybe the board are sick of the drama, although it's not unexpected given how things have ended for him everywhere else.
Bailly was signed in the same summer Stones was bought for 50m.
Also, 2 summers earlier, PSG set the standard with their 50m move for Luiz.
Spot on
Laporte and Stones are arguably higher quality because they cost basically double what Lindelof and Bailly did, so you'd expect them to become fixtures.
Laporte and Stones also have the advantage of playing alongside Kompany and Otamendi, experienced centre halves who can guide them through games. That's exactly what Jose wanted to give Bailly and Lindelof. Nowhere has it been suggested that Mourinho wanted to sell Bailly or Lindelof. All the talk was actually of Rojo going. What he was looking for is an older head to guide two centre backs in their early 20s so that, by time they get to their mid to late 20s, they've been brought along to the point they can be leaders in their own right.
I don't understand what benefit it is to the team to avoid bringing in an experienced top level centre back. We've seen with Smalling and Jones' development that, without an experienced figure around, it can be hard to bring players along.
Why does Woodward need to show he's in charge? We know he's in charge. I'm honestly baffled by your point of view that he needed to do something to prove that. However, we clearly aren't going to agree so let's end this here.
Each of the City defenders was bought for the combined total we paid for Bailly and Lindelof. We know from accounts inside the club that Lindelof for sure was a "value purchase" to avoid paying the required fee for the finished article. Like so many purchases since the Glazers took over, United have tried to find quality players on the cheap without the required investment. And this has led to the current problems under Mourinho. How anyone can blame Mourinho for our lack of investment in quality defenders since 2011 is beyond me. Each time we've gone to the market in recent years, we've tried to find a player who can be bought for a low fee or who can be sold for a high value later. Players like VVD, Laporte, Maguire, Godin, don't meet these standards despite being what the club requires in the defence.
This isn't quite true though is it? Laporte and Stones were 120million pounds worth of backup defenders to Kompany and Otamendi last season. We have Bailly and Lindelof as 60million pounds worth of backup defenders to Smalling and Jones. The difference in quality in the first choice defenders is stark enough without getting into how much was spent on young reserve defenders. It's the same for the fullback positions as well.
In telling me the obvious you’ve completely ignored my actual point! We aren’t spending big on 30 year olds. Get over it.
Lindelof looks like a long term purchase, and Mourinho asked for a seasoned player to help him and the other defenders along. Sounds not very difficult to understand.
Should the board have expected Mourinho to come in 1st last year? What better performance do you think the board was expecting?
We didn't spend big on 30 years old players to keep the money in Glazers pockets not to go and spend it on another player is the problem, can't you see ?
Your logic would have been flawless if the board kept this money and went and spent it elsewhere on a top player. They just washed their hands out of transfers, put the money into their bank accounts and said "Willian and Toby are too expensive and old, so we're not signing anyone at all, enjoy!".
How can any fan appreciate this ? If the board was doing this with another manager except the hated figure of Mourinho would it have been appreciated to leave the team in a complete nutshells ?
Don't want to spend big on 30 years old ? OK, go and tell the manager to give them other list of players that fit your criteria and spend on them, and if he's unwilling to change it, sack him and bring another manager that will be interested in the players you want to buy. Washing your hands completely of transfers because one player was old and expensive and leaving the manager and whole team in nutshells is absurd, no other words to describe it.
I don't know what it will be, some obscene amount, but it'll be a damn sight less than he'd receive if he were to be sacked.
We brought Fred for £57m. Yes £57m, you want to know how budgeting works go look at Spurs.
Your last paragraph is exactly what has happened except he’s still here. I’m telling you from now Pulisic and Leon Bailey aren’t getting Mourinho’s approval. So we didn’t leave the manager with no alternatives, he just didn’t have non. Chelsea tried to give him alternatives, let’s just say it didn’t work out well.
Ermmm 1st. I don’t see why us or the board didnt expect this. If he wanted a seasoned defender why not get one last season then? Sounds like backwards thinking to me.
Didn't know you were working at the club.
Well you talk like you do. Maybe I’ve passed you in the corridor before. Lunch tomorrow?
Jose won't walk. He should have walked at Chelsea second time. The team were 1 point off relegation and he still didn't walk.
If you want Jose out you will have to sack him. He will argue a lack of support and unfair dismissal. He will get his full contract (2 and half years?) paid up. That's about £37.5m.
It's a scandal.
Fully agree with your thoughts. I don't understand why our fans all of a sudden are moaning that we didn't overspend on players in a position we have the most bodies in. Imagine the meltdown if we spent 70m on Alderweireld when he's available for 25m next summer, all we'd see is "typical Ed" type posts. I swear everyone is losing their minds now that we've lost the security blanket that was Fergie. Welcome to the world of normal Football clubs fellas!
Pretty much how I feel.
Nobody is going to take a decision on Woodward bar the Glazers and frankly, he hasn't done much wrong as far they're concerned.
What we can do is play better fecking football. We don't need 11 world class players to do that.
I stated what happened in front of everyone and according to that briefing Ed made for the media after failure to deliver CB. You went on and talked like you were sitting with Mourinho and Ed while the former was giving him his transfers list.
"Pulisic and Bailey weren't getting Mourinho's approval" bring me the evidence you based this on.
I know, it's like blaming the Chelsea physio for his problems a few years ago.
Excuse me you go and re-read what you said. You told me that the board should have told Mourinho to go get so and so instead. Well if we want to debrief the brefing they did, they told him to get Varane. But I’m not stupid and I’m sure your not but that was obviously a clear example of what they believe is value for money. Which is young and established with room for improvement.
- Status