The beginning of the end... (the original board vetoed Mourinho's transfer wish list thread)

A concept that is very hard to grasp it seems.

The defensive manager Mourinho that had the following attack record over the years:



But yeah, let's talk about him always playing negative football and being a dull coach.
LVG was pretty exciting, his team scored a lot of goals and played positive football. While he was the manager of Ajax.

Let's get him back!
 
Well if we're to trust the caf Matic was 8 times chosen as MoTM and has the highest average rating after DDG.

I'm lost here... Matic was clearly of United's best players last season? Him, Lukaku and De Gea were probably the top three.
 
Well they did go along with it for 2 years and we are no closer to winning the title. Year 3 is traditionally very close to the end of the Jose experience, so I dont blame the club for not being excited about investing even more heavily in what hasnt worked for the last 2 years

We are closer. Not only have we won trophies but we've just finished higher than we have since 2013. That's just a fact. Not to mention the person you're replying to is alluding to the myth that Jose is buying in pensioners and nothing more. It's simply untrue.
 
Very unwise for Woodward to brief the press about the board's reasoning. Opens up a rift between club and manager and will pile the pressure on the manager which can not be good for Utd.
 
Unless you are Simeone, or Allegri, or Conte, or Jardim, or Zidane. Or up to this summer, Klopp.
What did Klopp win? Simeone has made his fair share of signings, and a number of great players. Conte who's currently jobless? Zidane who walked into an all-time great squad? Some shite examples you've picked there pal. Jardim is a decent shout, but it's a shit league.
 
So Woodward and the board didn't back any of the managers targets but then also didn't bring in anybody based on, presumably, their own views. That's the problem.

If Ed and the board want to have a say in the transfer dealinga of the club that's fine, reasonable even. My issue is they didn't then do anything to address the existing issues with the squad either. They just half heartedly chased Jose's targets and wasted months without filling the very real holes at LB and RW.

Regardless of your thoughts on Jose, Ed and the board have been a complete joke this summer. They even failed to rid the squad of deadwood like Rojo, who they foolishly handed an extension too months ago.
 
Unless you are Simeone, or Allegri, or Conte, or Jardim, or Zidane. Or up to this summer, Klopp.
Come on mate. Conte spent £370m for the two seasons at charge.

Zidane had the best team in the world in his disposal. The only name on the list who is also a winner not just mounting a serious challenge at a top league is Simeone. Good luck trying to obtain him tho.
 
I'm lost here... Matic was clearly of United's best players last season? Him, Lukaku and De Gea were probably the top three.
FlawlessThaw challenged that one, because I mentioned that the 29/30 years old we last signed for big money turned out to be our best and most consistent outfield player.
 
Cannot believe some people are falling for the Glazer's PR move. It's astonishing that they prefer the leeches to get larger drinking the club's blood rather than the team getting some new players that the manager (and all the fans) think we need. Whatever damage Mourinho may do in his tenure here (and i don't believe he will), it will be a tiny slither of the damage that "the board" has done to the club. 100% behind Mourinho.

This.
 
Come on mate. Conte spent £370m for the two seasons at charge.

Zidane had the best team in the world in his disposal. The only name on the list who is also a winner not just mounting a serious challenge at a top league is Simeone. Good luck trying to obtain him tho.

What did Klopp win? Simeone has made his fair share of signings, and a number of great players. Conte who's currently jobless? Zidane who walked into an all-time great squad? Some shite examples you've picked there pal. Jardim is a decent shout, but it's a shit league.

Conte also won a league title, I think. He also won 3 (or was it 4) Serie A with Juve with little to no spent, after having finished 7th (I believe) before he got them.

Real Madrid were in shambles under Benitez, until Zidane joined.

Allegri reached 2 UCL finals (and won the title in his country each year for Juve) despite spending much less than us.

Jardim won the title against the monster PSG. Then sold literally half the team, and finished 'just' 11 points below them (compare it to us finishing 19 points below City).

Klopp at BVB won 2 league titles and the cup. Klopp reached UCL final, twice.

Mourinho has underperformed for us so far, no question there.
 
Our club openly told the media that Toby Alderweireld would be our fifth best CB if we bought him last night.

Can we please stop giving Woodward and the board any kind of credit that they know anything about players, or "making jose work for it". This is nothing more than a power move because they no longer back the manager.

They don't want to buy his targets, and they refused to sell those he didn't see worthy of the team. My only hope now is Jose doesn't walk by DEC.
 
I can see into the future. Mou will either walk before the Leicester game, get fired before Christmas, or deal with it and stay on as manager.

Either way it's fecking annoying that for the third time since Fergie left our behind-the-scenes drama is more exciting than watching us play.
 
We have 5 first team CBs. Smalling is the only one who is not a current international and even he has 31 appearances for England. We should be able to find a suitable partnership between the 5 of them. And all of this focus on getting an "experienced" CB there is few CBs on the market who are as experienced as Smalling hell few are as experienced as Rojo.
 
So...

We shouldn't buy older players this year, because that's not in keeping with what Woodward wants. Ed believes he's knowledgable enough about football to make his vetos in accordance with his ideas.

That means we'll have to buy younger players next year (a RW, LB and CB) to fill the gaps in the squad that already exist.

Well, if Woodward has such a keen sense of a good/bad purchase, why doesn't he buy those younger players now before they raise in price? Or at the very least, ask Mourinho and the scouting team to come up with new targets that fit his desired profile?

At best, this is a failing at the board level to communicate with management what they expect on the transfer wish list.

I'm sure Mourinho could have come up with a list of younger targets if he'd been asked to. Instead, he's been left in the lurch. I'm pretty sure nobody would wanted have wanted that. It's bad for everyone concerned.
 
I can see into the future. Mou will either walk before the Leicester game, get fired before Christmas, or deal with it and stay on as manager.

Either way it's fecking annoying that for the third time since Fergie left our behind-the-scenes drama is more exciting than watching us play.

Well there is a lot of behind the scenes drama at Real,Barca,Bayern,PSG we just need to combine the off the pitch drama with exciting play.
 
In the United States, less than 20 days ago, it became apparent Mourinho was willing to let Martial leave.

The decision was based around the comments of Martial's agent, Philippe Lamboley, who in a TV interview in June said that "after considering all the factors and possibilities" his client wanted out.

In truth, the position suited Mourinho, who concluded a long time ago that Martial, who has a maximum two years left on his contract, goes missing at big moments.

Evidently, that view is not shared by others at Old Trafford.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/45133827

So a bunch of ex-bankers and sponsorship merchants can now just decide whose got the right opinion of player performance?
 
If Ed thinks he's only going to splash for superstars like Varane, he's delusional. Im getting flashbacks of us chasing Bale and Kroos and Thiago some season back and ended up with Fellaini.
 
Conte also won a league title, I think. He also won 3 (or was it 4) Serie A with Juve with little to no spent, after having finished 7th (I believe) before he got them.

Real Madrid were in shambles under Benitez, until Zidane joined.

Allegri reached 2 UCL finals (and won the title in his country each year for Juve) despite spending much less than us.

Jardim won the title against the monster PSG. Then sold literally half the team, and finished 'just' 11 points below them (compare it to us finishing 19 points below City).

Klopp at Bayern. Klopp reaching UCL final.

Mourinho has underperformed for us so far, no question there.

As I said Conte spent 370m pounds so if you are using the same yardstick he's a checkbook manager. Seria A is in shambles really so his and Allegri's feats are pretty much not comparable here.

Allegri spent 57m EUR, 126m EUR, 162m EUR, 150m EUR or total of 495m EUR for the four seasons he has been at Juve for a team that was already walking the league.

Conte spent 100m EUR in his first season and bought amazingly around 20 players to get to that 1st place. Compare to how much Napoli and Roma, who were the main contenders spent over the years.

Jardim had so far 1 successful season at top level.

Klopp was sacked by Dortmund for being in the relegation zone and won sweet nothing so far at Pool, including finishing behind Mourinho last year.

Zidane inherited a great team that was near their peak and Barca was past theirs.

But carry on..
 
Excuse me but the beginning of the end happened a long time ago. Did you miss the Sevilla home game ? Or City winning the PL by a mile ? Or Mourinho's track-record concerning the length of time he stays in a job ?

No point backing Mourinho at this stage, especially with older players. We already have tons of 30+ players that will need replacing in the next few years.

Every manager has to deal with constraints. Our net spend was about £50m, that's more than several teams, while being less than a few others.
 
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I'm absolutely fine with Ed being prepared to break a world record fee for a centre-back like Varane but at the same time refusing to do so for Maguire or Alderweireld. And I wanted both the latter here too.
 
Did Woodward really need to so obviously brief the press? At any big club there's going to be some form of healthy tension between an ambitious manager wanting to win things now, and a board having to think about long term asset value... but it should be kept behind closed doors as much as possible!
Spot on post buddy
 
I'm fine with Ed and board blocking a buy if it is for the sake of a buy. All indications are that JM was not really in for a RW or LB (by his own comments). He however wanted a CB desperately. The board's backed him with 65m already for CBs. Neither of those 2 seem to be first choice CB yet for JM. What's strange about that is that Bailly who has been here for 2 seasons was sidelined by JM for no apparent reason really. Further, we've a plethora of CB's at the club and I find it fair that there was resistance to sign a CB for the sake of signing one, especially an overpriced older one. Maguire's nowhere near worth 65m and he's not that much better than our current lot.

I also take issue with JM so eagerly wanting to sell AM. Again, I can't fault the club for saying no, we won't just sell one our brightest talents like that. And it's disingenuous to suggest the board hasn't backed JM since his arrival. They have. Hell they've even bought older players for him. The only thing that baffles me is why would keep JM around still. Maybe because we can't find a suitable replacement right away? But it's strange to be honest. I'm not sure how Ed and co expect JM to change his behaviour or demands.
 
People with no background in or knowledge of football making the footballing decisions at the club. Herein lies the problem.

But we all want a DOF to overal a manager considering they have never been a top coach?
 
I guess if everything turns to shit with Mourinho this season there will be some money there for a new manager. If everything ends well or just ok, then we'll try again and i think our approach to this window might strengthen our hand, in negotiations later on. We will have to make a decision soon on quite a few players regarding contracts. Not sure why we haven't sold more players.
 
If Ed thinks he's only going to splash for superstars like Varane, he's delusional. Im getting flashbacks of us chasing Bale and Kroos and Thiago some season back and ended up with Fellaini.

Exactly. That whole Moyes summer we were hearing how the targets were Bale, Fabregas, and fecking Ronaldo, but we ended up with Fellaini on deadline day. I don't know who is responsible but this is a similar situation now under 2 different managers. Chasing shadows basically
 
But we really need better CB. And toby is good choice to add more experiences. Sigh... Whatever. Hopefully this season results can be pleasant surprise.
 
I think it comes down to the board expecting g more out of Moueinho with the players he has. And I wouldn't disagree with it....all this talk doesn't matter because he's a dead man walking...he's gone at the end of the season.
 
But we really need better CB. And toby is good choice to add more experiences. Sigh... Whatever. Hopefully this season results can be pleasant surprise.
 
I guess if everything turns to shit with Mourinho this season there will be some money there for a new manager. If everything ends well or just ok, then we'll try again and i think our approach to this window might strengthen our hand, in negotiations later on. We will have to make a decision soon on quite a few players regarding contracts. Not sure why we haven't sold more players.
So you're just writing this season off then. Which well-run team will you watch instead?
 
But we all want a DOF to overal a manager considering they have never been a top coach?
A DoF would at least recognize that someone like Toby is upgrade to what we have. Doing sweet feck all when the manager asks you for a CB and giving you 5-6 options is mental.
 
Excuse me but the beginning of the end happened a long time ago. Did you miss the Sevilla home game ? Or City winning the PL by a mile ? Or Mourinho's track-record concerning the length of time he stays in a job ?

No point backing Mourinho at this stage, especially with older players. We already have tons of 30+ players that will need replacing in the next few years.

Every manager has to deal with constraints. Our net spend was about £50m, that's more than several teams, while being less than a few others.

This is precisely where he lost me. His disgraceful post-elimination rant mocking the clubs 'football heritage' to shield himself is what finally got me thinking that he's not the right man in charge...

He's had a go at the fans, club, his own players and the board up to now yet still has steadfast backing from those who have somehow convinced themselves that he cares more about the club than his own massive ego :lol:

I'm glad that the board seem to be thinking long term at least
 
If you're heading a club that's serious about challenging for the league and you get a list of targets with names that don't fit your age and value profile, do you not go back to the manager in May and tell him 'this isn't going to work, give me some younger targets'?

People siding with EW either don't realize or don't want to admit how incompetent the player acquisition setup has been since Gill left. Even then, they were beginning to struggle in the newly emerging transfer market. You hire a manager who's all about the short term and now hesitate when his transfer proposals are all short term solutions. They both need to go.
 
Think the board did the right thing but of course they should have thought of the consequences before giving him a new contract. It makes no sense to fill your team with 30+ guys while your manager is driving out all the good young guys . If we gave Jose full power and it didn't work out we would be back to 2013 and with the current market the investment needed would be even bigger .
 
Agreed with everything in that article. Seems the board, and particularly Woodward, are better long term thinkers than they’ve been given credit for.

Glad to see he shares the same concerns as many of us over certain details of Mourinho’s management.
 
So...

We shouldn't buy older players this year, because that's not in keeping with what Woodward wants. Ed believes he's knowledgable enough about football to make his vetos in accordance with his ideas.

That means we'll have to buy younger players next year (a RW, LB and CB) to fill the gaps in the squad that already exist.

Well, if Woodward has such a keen sense of a good/bad purchase, why doesn't he buy those younger players now before they raise in price? Or at the very least, ask Mourinho and the scouting team to come up with new targets that fit his desired profile?

At best, this is a failing at the board level to communicate with management what they expect on the transfer wish list.

I'm sure Mourinho could have come up with a list of younger targets if he'd been asked to. Instead, he's been left in the lurch. I'm pretty sure nobody would wanted have wanted that. It's bad for everyone concerned.

I couldn't have said it better. I'm so dissapointed with the situation and that this had to come out the night before the season starts.

This feels like a battle for PR. There should never be a suggestion of "the board v the manager" battle; the team will be the ultimate loser. Man United cannot flourish if the manager and CEO/chief negotiator can't find a compromise or can't work together.

They have let down the team and the fans.
 
Haha, throwing Mou under the bus with a press campaign appealing to the fans emotions, using the "stop b*tching about signings and make our kids grow, that's Manchester United!" is pretty clever if that's Woodward scheming to save his face. To be honest, and watching United from the outside, this makes me recall the Barça "dark" years in the late 90's / early 2000's, when everything from top to bottom at the club was completely in shambles, winning a minor title here and there, with most of the signings never working and overpaying for them. I think both Mou and Ed are right, and I think both Mou and Ed are wrong. So, it's a clusterf*ck. Barça didn't recover fully till all the club structure was shaken off with a new president non related to the previous ones, and well, at least and prior to that, while those lost years were happening they made their kids grow (Valdés, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, ...).

I don't desire you anything bad, actually, I have already written here I personally expect United to be as ambitious as Real or Barça, fighting elbow to elbow with them and nothing less. Not because of the Forbes list or whatever of that sh*t, but because it's fricking Manchester United, and all this situation is, well, not as painful as watching the late AC Milan state, but still pretty... unworthy of your badge. The urine of the patient doesn't look good.