It seems obvious significant funds need to go into scouting and recruitment rather than big name/big contract signings.
Manchester United's Chief Scout and Head of Global Scouting have left the club
- Thread starter L1nk
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No one knew at that time about Greenwood. Martial wanted to go even before Ralf came.
The biggest issue is that at a club of the size of United the scouting department has to be full time. So in an emergency if the manager needs a player, the club should know who is available at least. We are talking about this happening in the transfer window.
I presume what happened is when Greenwood got into trouble Ralf told Murtough that he needs another striker as Martial has already gone. The club then asked the scouting and recruitment department who is available. They told that there is none. The club would have found out that these people didn't do their job properly in actually finding out if there was anyone that could have come.
Now the players available may not have been what eventually ETH wants but that's exactly why Murtough is the DOF.
I can't see any other reason why both of them would leave so suddenly.
That’s absolutely disgraceful. One of the biggest clubs in the world but our scouting department doesn’t even know anything about Nkunku, one of the most exciting players this season?
Shouldn’t be surprised tbh, our signings have been far for creative or surprising, I bet they just look up players on FM.
But we did know one of the strong candidates for role was Erik ten Hag. It was between ten Hag and Pochettino.
So it's better to wait and appoint a Head Coach before signing players imo. Because even Rangnick has said in the last month that he also never signed a player without the say so of the head coach, when it was reported that ten Hag wants to have influence on the comings/goings at the club.
Anyone at the Caf with the latest update on Football Manager would have a better overview of players/talents to buy than the scouting department at United.
Staggering response to RR by the club on Jan, especially if they consider him to be knowledgeable enough to be a consultant this summer. Yet they backed trash like Ole to the hilt.
Glad those two have gone. Seems like they were fecking clueless, and is reflected by our transfer activity. The “no value for money in the transfer market” simply won’t ride any more.
Glad those two have gone. Seems like they were fecking clueless, and is reflected by our transfer activity. The “no value for money in the transfer market” simply won’t ride any more.
Wait, so did the board agree with him but the heads of scouting said no one available or did the board veto his recommendation?
The board agreed with Ralf's assessment and were willing to invest, but the scouting department told the board that there's no-one available.
Just saw the comments from Ralf and it's pathetic how our Scouting department had been run.
No wonder they left / got the boot.
A huge club like this should have a network of people always looking providing reports and prepared to pounce should an opportunity or need arise.
Ferguson and his team were masters of this at one time.
To say oh we can't find a striker is mind boggling, but fitting for how Woodwood and Glazers run the club
Board probably gave them a budget of £5
No wonder they got booted the feck out 
What were we paying them for then? Do they just come in for the summer then have 9 months off?
We seem to have vastly overestimated our scouting system, if they were this off the ball especially in our current predicament. Did Woodward think he was some master player scout as well?
What were we paying them for then? Do they just come in for the summer then have 9 months off?We seem to have vastly overestimated our scouting system, if they were this off the ball especially in our current predicament. Did Woodward think he was some master player scout as well?
We can only go of what Rangnick has said and the scouts can't veto him. Only the board or John Murtough can do that. But there's no veto in this scenario because Rangnick is a place holder.
Tbh with you, Rangnick has done a very poor job coaching the team and his choice of coach couldn't have been anymore underwhelming (Chris Armas), even if I did give him the benefit of the doubt when he first arrived. I think even if we had signed a forward and midfielder, we'd still not have made top 4 due to how we deteriorated under Rangnick. And I was his biggest cheer leader when he first arrived.
It's best if Erik ten Hag arrives and provides the guiding principle because it was clear to me after the first 5 weeks of Rangnick's tenure that he wasn't going to get us top 4. And tbf to him, he did lose the aid of Kieran Mckenna but brought in a very underwhelming replacement.
This actually makes lot of sense. The club literally needs to invest in scouting department.
Everybody has a price, for the Million Dollar Man.
Basically, scouting team were on vacation and Glazers didn't want to pay what was required for a striker, thinking they would hold out to summer and Greenwood would come back perhaps and Martial would return and all good again.
Vlahovic- only had eyes on Juve, had previously rejected Arsenal last summer then reportedly again in Jan (could've been an agent tactic to get Juve to move). Finally got his dream move to Juve.
Diaz- Liverpool were set to wait until this summer to sign him, until Spurs sniffed around him and opened negotiations for him in January.
Alvarez- we were likely never interest and City ended up signing him off the back of his agent trying to drum up interest. I'd also be surprised if he plays more than 50% of games for City next season.
Was he specifically naming those 3 players as players we should go for or was he just using them as examples that good players can be signed in January?
This makes sense to me.
He specifically named the 3 players in question in relation to availability in the January window.
Okay, thanks. Read a few tweets from Luckhurst, who is obviously a shit-stirrer, that made it sound differently. Shame, that it is apparently in the embargoed part of the conference.
Surely we needed a dm more than a striker. This club and midfielders though..
Yeah, he really is a fool.This is exactly why a director of football is needed, we can't just keep hiring managers and giving them sole responsibility.
What happens if Ten Hag fails, will we go with Allegri next? A director of football or someone that can identify how we should play, then hire managers to play that style, then sign players based on that style.
And yet they could have sold Linguard, moved Jones and even Pogba on for a small fee to get of wage bill and done none of that.
Awful ownership
All of which would not have suited us. An £80m striker when we have Ronaldo, who is not going to be dropped. I doubt we had £80m to spend. Diaz is a LW and the Argentinian youngster is no different to signing Pellistri. Chances are he won’t ever play for City and get loaned to a Spanish club.
The owners are incompetent, there's no question about that. But what you're pointing out, is the failure of the board/manager structure.
This, this and this. The idea we can’t sign players because of thr next manager baffles me. We should have some form of plan in the first place. Know the system and then hire a manager and players to complement that. I know every manager has different ideas but you can get some continuity. Going from Van Gaal’s total football to Jose’s defensive wall is certainly not that.
The above tweet isn't saying the manager will get sole responsibility but rather it's normal for clubs to sign players with the football department and head coach being in-sync on the mid to long-term strategy.
Ralf complained about the inability to bring any top coaches with him due to the circumstances out of his control in his first press conference here. He was fully aware himself.
The first thing he tried to do was keep Carrick here, but his mind was already made up when his character was attacked prior to Ralf arriving. Then losing McKenna on top.
In an ideal world he wouldn't have chose Armas, but he was the only one willing to come here on such short notice/only 6 month contract. We were lucky to even get him tbf.
Yes the coaches were not ideal. But there's been zero excuses for how easily the players have given up since the Átletico defeat. They've shown they couldn't care less about top 4 as most will be trying to leave.
Looking back on it, I remember how the players were exhausted after one half playing Ralf's way vs. Palace in his first match. How they were physically unfit to play a pressing style. Also how they've had difficulties adapting to his instructions.
Then the reports of players complaining of extra training sessions and going home in the dark when we're at our lowest point in decades. All the infighting. In this regard the team has been almost uncoachable at times.
We desperately needed the clear out, so all of this is what it is imo. When Ten Hag arrives at least he will have the platform to be a success now. That to me will be Rangnick's job done.
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And that's completely fine, discuss things with the manager when he's here, but in January we had no idea who was going to be the next manager, what's needed is someone up top who can implement a style that can sign players that will fit that style.
I'm sure Ten Hag wouldn't have minded having someone that can play the way he wants to play, the only problems it would cause is if we're signing players who can play the way Ten Hag plays, but then hiring a manager like Mourinho or Simeone, as it is we've missed out on what seems to be a gem (Diaz) because we didn't want to make a decision without a managers input (but we're more than happy to give Fernandes a big new contract even though he was tied down for another 4 years anyway).
Who will lead negotiations this summer now this fool has left? (Unless we get a Mitchell in quick that is)
I don't totallly disagree with what you're saying about the hand he was dealt with regarding coaches. But imo, the coach he did bring in was way below the required level and his CV/resume reflected that. I was expecting him to bring in someone with a bigger pedigree.
And I'm the same poster who sang Rangnick's praises when he was appointed. But I don't have a problem calling a spade a spade. I don't have a horse in this race and my agenda is Man Utd.
I wonder if it's even significant funds that's needed. Just hiring the right people will make a big difference.
That makes sense. The board has normally not impeded managers making signings. It's the identification of the correct talents that has plagued us for over a decade now.
We did have a idea about who the next manager was going to be, because it was reported it was between ten Hag and Pochettino.
If you don't mind me saying, it's not really a big deal with playing style because whether you want to coach a style with heavy emphasis on counter pressing/verticality (Pochettino) or positional play/counter pressing/verticality (ten Hag). Then the concept is very simple and a few tweaks are required when identifying transfer targets for some of the roles in either approach.
A style of play is very simple to implement by a DoF if he/she wants to follow a uniformed approach or otherwise. But I don't think it's necessary and the two aforementioned approaches can work with just a few tweaks.
This is astonishing and quite frankly unforgivable. No wonder they were sacked!
I would have liked that to be the case too. Apparently we had difficulties due to Brexit:
By Mark Douglas: Ralf Rangnick is still aiming to add to his backroom staff at Manchester United, i understands.
But moves to bring in additional support staff to support his Old Trafford overhaul have been slowed by post-Brexit red tape in a move that may be a portent of problems to come for Premier League and EFL clubs as they grapple with relatively new rules since the UK left the EU.
Rangnick is not looking for additional coaching support but ideally wants to add a couple of trusted lieutenants who can help him analyse and support “football operations” during his initial spell until the end of the season. He has already added sports psychologist Sascha Lense and coach Chris Armas – who both had to apply for a visa before taking up their roles.
Automatic qualification for a work permit is part of Premier League rules if a manager or coach has held a high-profile role elsewhere, but for support staff the rules are more difficult to navigate.
Clubs are having to choose job titles carefully as they plead the case with authorities for work permits. Even Rangnick himself did not get automatic qualification for a permit under Premier League rules because he had been out of frontline management for a spell.
Premier League sources admitted it may be difficult to make a case, for example, that an inexperienced but talented analyst required exemption from work permit rules.
Solicitor John Kiely, an immigration expert at Fragomen, said: “It will be interesting to see if visa issues become a trend with European managers and coaches going forward. Clubs must get to grips with the new rules. This could become more of an issue for lower league clubs, whose managerial targets from the continent may find it more difficult to meet the FA’s criteria for endorsement.”
But moves to bring in additional support staff to support his Old Trafford overhaul have been slowed by post-Brexit red tape in a move that may be a portent of problems to come for Premier League and EFL clubs as they grapple with relatively new rules since the UK left the EU.
Rangnick is not looking for additional coaching support but ideally wants to add a couple of trusted lieutenants who can help him analyse and support “football operations” during his initial spell until the end of the season. He has already added sports psychologist Sascha Lense and coach Chris Armas – who both had to apply for a visa before taking up their roles.
Automatic qualification for a work permit is part of Premier League rules if a manager or coach has held a high-profile role elsewhere, but for support staff the rules are more difficult to navigate.
Clubs are having to choose job titles carefully as they plead the case with authorities for work permits. Even Rangnick himself did not get automatic qualification for a permit under Premier League rules because he had been out of frontline management for a spell.
Premier League sources admitted it may be difficult to make a case, for example, that an inexperienced but talented analyst required exemption from work permit rules.
Solicitor John Kiely, an immigration expert at Fragomen, said: “It will be interesting to see if visa issues become a trend with European managers and coaches going forward. Clubs must get to grips with the new rules. This could become more of an issue for lower league clubs, whose managerial targets from the continent may find it more difficult to meet the FA’s criteria for endorsement.”
We're seeing the same thing with Ten Hag also having difficulty bringing RVP with him due to Brexit.
Back to Rangnick. The problem was, all of the coaches we could attract were not of the required calibre. What's killed us is Carrick & McKenna leaving at the same time imo.
I feel like Ralf could have implemented more of his style on the squad especially if we were going to be getting results like this anyway.
It was like this when SAF was there though. The difference was he could convince players to come simply by his presence. We don’t have that anymore
Vlahovic was a 62.8m deal with add-ons. The fee is set to be paid in 3 years. That's not expensive