Woodward (old thread)
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If I played for United, I'd be happy to hear it. If I wanted to play for United, I'd be happy to hear it. Being a United supporter I'm happy to hear it.
Bad comparison, mate. We're more like a Red Burgundy. Great wine overall, shit weather and soil led to a crap 2008, but back on track and a great 2009. The model you're talking about is clearly Miss Liverpool.
Oh really? I can't say the club looked in great shape when he took over but my bad if I misunderstood.
What an embarassing post. We've just signed the most expensive LB ever but no, we're pissing about over a few million here and there.
It was in a phenomenal state. 20 League Trophies, 3 European Cups, 11 FA Cups, exponential growth on the commercial side, the best training facilities in the country, the biggest stadium in the country and in the top two when it come to fans world wide.
You're not looking at the bigger picture. There was maintenance needed in certain areas but if you compare us when Woodward took over to every other club in the world, it would be impossible to say that we weren't in a good state.
A year of Moyes spoiled our league standing and lost us Champions League football but that's gone now and the squad is being sorted now under a world class coach. Onwards and upwards.
Yes but being left with a clueless manager who is on the way to dragging the club from Champions to 7th is a pretty tricky start for someone in Woodward's role. Combine that with the way we have been papering over the cracks in certain areas of the squad and he had a fairly large job on his hands. Look at how people in the last year have labelled him as some kind of clueless idiot. People wanted him out of the club yet he's clearly one of the most important and clever people we have behind the scenes. I doubt he will have a much harder year than his first. With one thing and another he's had to work pretty hard and I'm sure if he wasn't on the ball with many of the decisions he's had to make we could be in an even worse state. The only thing he has to prove now is whether he will actually be looking to keep bringing in top talents to the club but the early signs are positive and if we add a couple more (much needed) quality players he's delivering in that department as well.
Like I said, you're not looking at the bigger picture.
He was left the biggest club in the world to run, just because it didn't have a good manager and needed a couple of players doesn't change that fact.
I don't think I am. Taking over a big club doesn't mean it was necessarily in good shape?
You're completely missing the point.
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Sorry for starting this. On second thought, he certainly did mean "astonishing" in a good way.I've explained it to you already.
We had a poor manager and a squad that needed a bit of maintenance. Minor details in the big picture. The manager has already been fixed and the squad is being fixed already.
The club was handed over to him in great shape though, he had the biggest club in the world passed on to him. Revenues increasing year on year, a brand that in his own words "is doing direct business in more countries than McDonald's", a club that had just won it's 20th league title to add to all the other honours.
He was handed over a monster of a club in comparison to what it was 20 years ago and in comparison to every other club in world football and he plans to hand over an even bigger club to his successor.
"We need a midfielder and Chris Smalling isn't a right back" don't take anything away from that.
Extremely interesting and positive interview. I like Woodward, he's clearly a very intelligent and driven man.
Last year I think he was getting a feel for the job - and he's a bit of a muppet and wasn't keen on Moyes from the off IMO. He's beaming now that Van Gaal is here working with the squad.
Exciting times ahead. The negativity in here at the moment is ridiculous to be honest - he doesn't need to impress the fans, we've already sold out the season tickets.
Last year I think he was getting a feel for the job - and he's a bit of a muppet and wasn't keen on Moyes from the off IMO. He's beaming now that Van Gaal is here working with the squad.
Exciting times ahead. The negativity in here at the moment is ridiculous to be honest - he doesn't need to impress the fans, we've already sold out the season tickets.
Good post. Totally agree regarding negativity on here. Anything positive is frequently written off or treated with scepticism, while anything negative - even from some numpty on twitter or a journalist trying to rehash a story causes a meltdown.
The fact is he doesnt have to say these things and it seems very clear that the penny has dropped that the squad simply isnt good enough. Clearly Van Gaal feels the same and wants players in (despite his comments recently) or these deals would not be being pursued at this stage. Evidently plans may change slightly given what the manager sees from the players he has but given the performance most have put in recently (and Van Gaal will doubtless have seen United games last season - either at the time or since) he'll be well aware of who's likely to be moved on.
Its an exciting time and the club are clearly ambitious. The financial position and the new commercial deals mean we can compete with pretty much any club for any player and seem now to have the inclination to back the manager to get the players he wants to get us back to the top.
Liked what he said about trimming the squad.
Yeah Anderson has got to go.
I took LVG's stance as posturing to be honest. Our lack of depth and quality in midfield has been evident for some time, and frankly it is very fair and diplomatic not to dismiss the players he's got before he's even seen them train.
Good point. Woodward came out and said things are in motion (with regards to targets) so I'm pretty sure its happening in tandum.
He was already on the commercial side of things so that's all a bit irrelevant. Past success at the club was largely down to SAF who was no longer at the club when Woodward took over his new role so again it's not that relevant. My point is the footballing side of the club was not in great shape. The main reason for the success had gone and the squad had been neglected in terms of bringing in new talent.
Oh god it's like banging your head against a brick wall.
All. is. irrelevant.
He took over a massive club. The biggest in the world.
That is what he was talking about.
Agree he seems a very positive and clever man. He still has to back it up a bit I guess in terms of bringing in the best talents but I liked the interview a lot.
Where have I ever said he didn't take over a big club?
Mata, Herrera and Shaw is hardly a bad start. If we do get Vidal/Di Maria/Hummels will that appease you?.
yeh, thats what I'm hoping is happening. Still got that little niggle of worry that we are not going to be able to fix some of the issues before the season starts, which probably won't go away until we have finished our business.
Just watched the video, and Woody came off very good in that. Even besides the transfers, he seems to be really trying to win the fans over and get them on his side and is trying to please us (with the singing section and what not).
It seems that was one of the reasons that we were so open about everything to the media last time, as he wanted the fans to be kept informed. But he seems to have learned his lesson about transfer at least, and is keeping everything quiet on our side this time around.
It seems that was one of the reasons that we were so open about everything to the media last time, as he wanted the fans to be kept informed. But he seems to have learned his lesson about transfer at least, and is keeping everything quiet on our side this time around.
You have said the club wasn't in good state when Woodward took over.
I've been trying to explain to you that it was in a good state and that Woodward was referring to the club as a whole being in a strong position. The deficiencies of the team and manager were irrelevant because they are easily remedied by the fact we are such a massive club with such healthy books.
You're just struggling to understand that that is what he meant when he said the club was in great condition.
i think it also a question of working out which players would fit in if he brought them in.
for example everyone wants vidal, but is a maundering box box midfielder what we need? as it would still leave us short of an out and out mobile defensive midfielder who is happy just to protect the defense. Of course VIdal could play as a DM but them you are not using him to his full potential. But then if we went for an out an out defensive midfielder, like carvalho and and Van Gaal decides to play a 3 man midfiled, whose the third man, does he drop mata rooney or kagawa in their does Van gaal they can do the job. he also probably wants to see what formation suits the fowrads we have, as last seasons we really struggles to get any form out of them.
It's also a similar case in defense, are we going to play 3 Center backs or 2, what are the best combinations, do we need a world class CB or a is what we have good enough and we just need back up. Does he buy a player best suited to play with evans jones or smalling?
these are all questions the it would be clever for Van Gaal to know the answers too before we make any further moves in the market, so we sign the right players.
Of course that doesn't mean nothing is going on behind the seens, im sure potential targets are still been sounded out, ready for when Van Gaal has made his mind up about exactly what kind of players he needs to make us successful again.
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People are missing the point when they say that we need a DM and not Vidal.
We need a DM for maybe 10 games a year at most and in those games we would play tactics to suit that big game.
I'd rather have Vidal here to play box to box in the other 40 games and then be our defensive midfielder in the big games than have a specialist DM in place of someone else.
That's the beauty of signing someone who could play anywhere from a 10 right back to central defense.
We need a DM for maybe 10 games a year at most and in those games we would play tactics to suit that big game.
I'd rather have Vidal here to play box to box in the other 40 games and then be our defensive midfielder in the big games than have a specialist DM in place of someone else.
That's the beauty of signing someone who could play anywhere from a 10 right back to central defense.
That's two players gone right there.
I don't think we need a DM anyway if we get a partnership of Vidal and Herrera. Jones is flexible enough to be able to play DM and do it well in the games you mentioned. We can then address the DM role properly next summer when we're hopefully back in the CL.
I was talking more in terms of changing the team rather than having a DM for our squad.
I'd rather we have Herrera and Vidal as box to box midfielders for most games and then reshuffle and have Vidal playing a more conservative defensive midfielder role against the big teams than take out Vidal or Herrera for another player.
Agreed. But my point is that we don't need a DM atm as Jones and Carrick can be used for that role this season. Way I see it, if we want to trim down the squad and have a core group of players then using Jones as a DM is a sensible decision. I really don't think we'll be signing many more players this Summer. I'm expecting 2, perhaps 3 (if Van Gaal thinks our young LB's aren't up to it. That's what I think Ed meant about Van Gaal being able to change his plans.). I think we'll get in a CM and a CB, with a potential LB if our youngsters don't impress. Strootman seems nailed on to join us, might explain why Roma are spending so much cash now, knowing that Strootman will be joining us (probably in January, although I'd prefer him now tbh).
I expect next Summer to be when we make serious high profile signings when we're (hopefully) back in the CL and we can increase squad numbers again. That's how I see it unfolding anyway.
I really hope we stop moving Jones between roles. Make him a centerhalf, make him a midfielder, make him something, but not a utility player.
Yeah I agree, though I think what he said is true in attacking positions. Up front we have 4 wingers, 4 strikers and 2 number 10s, many of whom have big reputations & have impressed at some point in their Utd careers. I think he'll take his time to figure out what formation suits them, what players he can trust etc.
However in midfield and defence, there's not really much to think about.
In midfield we have Herrera who is presumably a starter and Carrick, who probably won't see first team action til November. Beyond that we have four players (Anderson, Clev, Fellaini, Fletch) with poor fitness records and/or poor stats and/or poor reputations. While I believe LVG will give them a chance to prove themselves, I doubt very much that he'll be waiting for that to happen before looking for new options.
In defence its even more pronounced, we have one left back, one right back and three centre backs, all of whom are young (or young-ish). Even if by some miracle every player we have has a great season, he's going to need back up. And he might already feel that some experience is needed.
Oh I agree he's made an excellent start. He's promised a few more before the end of the window and if he gets those deals done there will be little for anyone to complain about.
You seem to have an agenda. We bought Mata, so because we bought Fellani, mata couldn't gave been done by him, must have been 3rd party. Just because you see people talking on a pitch, i.e. fergie, gill and abromovich doesnt mean they were wheeler dealing.
If everyone believes it was purely Fergie who got Moyes, then the CEO & Co did a good job in getting rid of him when it was obvious he wasnt right on so many fronts.
If you listen to Woodward, it is very clear he is a fan as well as CEO. He is living the dream. There was no spin, no promises. Just simple truth that big stars do want to come and it is lvg who makes decisions on staff and players. we have bought in 2 areas we needed, more to do in our eyes, and I am sure in LVGs eyes.
I'm not struggling to understand anything. I didn't think we were even discussing what Woodward said I'm giving my opinion on the state of the footballing side of the club when he took over and the large amount of stuff he's had to deal with in his first year in charge. It all could have been handled a lot more smoothly and I doubt many would disagree. All you have been saying is that United are a big club and he has a great job. I haven't once disagreed with that nor have I struggled to understand your points. They have just been pretty irrelevant to what I was saying.Edit: perhaps I wasn't clear enough with some of my earlier posts but I haven't been disagreeing with a lot of what you have said.
Me likes. They are called MILFs
2008 was amazing!
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