Rumoured new loan manager - Michael Appleton (former Utd academy player)

[Bastian]

Currently Les Parry is the club's loan manager, he's been at the club since 2013 though I can't find information about when he actually became the de facto Loan Manager. I'd be surprised if loans for young players are solely the responsibility of a loan manager, but I'd say we've had an absolute mare with them in recent years. Pellistri and Mejbri are the highlights in that aspect, the development of both players has been held back by the club's mismanagement of their loans and, at times, reluctance to loan them out (Erik with Pellistri) despite not playing them.

I loathe the multi-club ownership thing in this sport and I'd prefer it to be completely banned, but if we are already there at least the best talents can get some assurances if they go to associated clubs in France/Switzerland about where they'll play and in what sort of style.

From the Mail:

Appleton returns as loan manager

Michael Appleton is returning to Manchester United to assume the role of loans manager.

Confidential understands that Appleton, who was on United's books as a kid, is ready to become the latest off-field hire as part of a wider reshuffle by Ineos.

Dan Ashworth, who made the move to Manchester United this summer to be their sporting director, has a close relationship with Appleton from the pair's time together at West Brom.

Former Tranmere physio Les Parry is the current loans manager but Appleton has been earmarked to replace him.

Loan moves for players are paramount to development and last year United saw a number of players suffer setbacks when away from the club, not least Dan Gore getting injured after one game with Port Vale and Maxi Oyedele being frozen out at Forest Green Rovers following the sacking of Troy Deeney.

Once Appleton takes on the job he will be tasked with monitoring the progress of rising stars such as striker Joe Hugill, who has joined Wigan Athletic on loan, and goalkeeper Radek Vitek, who is set for another spell away after impressing at Accrington Stanley last season.

We're likely looking to find loans for Vitek, Oyedele, Gore (if he recovers from the shoulder surgery soon enough), Fish, Ennis, and Wheatley (especially if another attacking player is brought in). I'm sure there'll be half a dozen more sent out on loan.

Quite an important job. I'm glad they're making changes.

 

[trevor newnham]

It's s waste of time sending the kids out on loan if they aren't getting playing time. This will be the most important part of Appletons job

 

[Paddymcc]

If we can't use the multi club approach, i much prefer the model of selling a player for a fee with a buy back or sell on clause that incentivises the clubs to continue the development of said player.

Too many loans are an absolute waste of time for young players if we take a look at Hannibal's, Pellistri's or Van De Beek's in recent seasons as an example.

Im sure there's an element of messing around on both the club and players sides as they both know if things don't work out they're still going back to United in a few months.

 

[ThanksBoss26]

Yep needs a change on this front. Appleton knows the EFL well having managed in it for years so hopefully a change for the better.

 

[Pexbo]

Our dismal handling of our academy talent’s loans has long been a bone of contention for me. I’ve lost count of how many of our young players that have clearly outgrown the academy and are ready to step up into the men’s game before they get a loan and end up sitting on the bench for 3 months before being recalled.

If a team can’t promise them minutes they are the wrong team to send them to and it has often killed any momentum they have gained and seen them stagnate. If we can get this role sorted properly and improve our loan success rate we should have even more academy players making a path to the first team and failing that we should get much better fees for the ones that don’t.

 

[IRN-BRUno]

This would be an excellent decision. I don't want to be overly critical of Les Parry without knowing too much about him but he was a physio at Tranmere before becoming their manager for a couple of years, that's it until he joined United. Whereas Appleton has played, coached, managed throughout the EFL and more recently as well so he'll understand those leagues, have good contacts and hopefully be more aware of what clubs would make positive loans.

If we look at a few examples from recent years, good and bad:
Radek Vitek - perfect move. Accrington's first choice had been injured since September, their previous loan GK had gone back to Norwich so there was a clear spot open for him. They were also pretty safe from relegation so not too much pressure on someone playing their first senior games.

Rhys Bennett - was clearly a poor move. Stockport were challenging for promotion from League 2 and had an experienced set of defenders so it wasn't likely he'd be starting. In the first half of the season they had another young CB on loan from Wolves who played 111 minutes and so was recalled. Bennett was merely his replacement as a back-up squad player, he ended up playing 1 game in a 4-0 defeat.

Maxi Oyedele - stupid move. Forest Green were relegated the previous season and now battling to stay up in League 2. On top of that, Troy Deeney had just been appointed manager and had already made headlines for publicly criticising the team and singling out players. It was rather obvious that this wasn't a good environment to be sending a young player. He made a handful of sub appearances before the new manager decided to cut him from the squad.

Joe Hugill - okay/promising! He joined Burton in January on the very same day they appointed their new manager so was clearly a club signing. Got a decent amount of minutes but they were another club in a relegation fight and mostly set up in a rather negative way, struggling to create chances. This season he has gone to a Wigan side who play decent football and basically had a clear-out of strikers from last year. And we also completed the deal early in the window which rarely happens in our case. This has enabled him to settle into their squad, get a pre-season with them and as a result he has started both games so far.

Overall I think we should be targeting clubs who are relatively stable, as simple as that sounds. So a manager in place who's in a solid position, not someone just appointed or on the verge of being sacked. Expectations maybe more mid-table, not a side with large-ish budget desperate to go up or scrapping for survival. And build a relationship with them, if they treat the player well and the loan is successful then they should be at the front of the queue for the next loanee.