Woodward (old thread)

[Blue always red]

If we don't sign anymore players this window to bridge the gap between us and the rest of the top clubs, has he failed a second summer window in a row? we are arguably weaker as a squad than last year, regardless of how good LVG is.

I don't think there is any arguing mate, we are without doubt weaker than we were last season. We've lost 3 first choice defenders and will be without our midfield maestro for a good few months. It either means LVG sees the ability in himself to produce the goods with what he's got, or Woodward has failed again.

Either way, it will be interesting to see what the reaction is on here toward LVG's role in the transfers given that people claimed last seasons summer failings were because of the manager who'd spent an insignificant 11 years buying players and not the CEO who had not yet dealt with player transfers.

 

[Drummer]

Ed answers to the Glazers, not Van Gaal. He'll know if his jobs in danger.

Like you say, the club is just there to make cash for the Glazers. They're not going to start throwing money around like other clubs. They've seen us be successful without doing that, and thats what they'll continue to do. Is it really a coincidence that the two managers they've hired are notorious for not splashing the cash?

From somebody who has already tried to educate some of the less informed on these forums, Believe me, your pissing against the wind on that one...

 

[RustyS]

From somebody who has already tried to educate some of the less informed on these forums, Believe me, your pissing against the wind on that one...

You've also had some howlers while trying to blindly defend Moyes so you're hardly in any position to "educate some of the less informed"

 

[Oo0AahCantona]

Its soul destroying seeing a club like Arsenal, a club who hasn't even looked like challenging for anything meaningful in 9 years snatch up an absolute worldie 2 windows in a row, whilst we seem completely unable to strengthen our squad in the necessary areas. You have to wonder what goes on in our transfer discussions. im half posting this to try and jinx it with news we sign somebody class tomorow

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

Ed answers to the Glazers, not Van Gaal. He'll know if his jobs in danger.

Like you say, the club is just there to make cash for the Glazers. They're not going to start throwing money around like other clubs. They've seen us be successful without doing that, and thats what they'll continue to do. Is it really a coincidence that the two managers they've hired are notorious for not splashing the cash?

You're right, it is only a matter of time before dividends are paid out, probably fairly substantial ones as well, with alot of the remainder money going towards reducing the debt further, transfer budget will be bare minimum whist Glazers are still here no doubt at all.

The only issue is why talk up this window so much, was it to sell season tickets, was it just keep fans on side during the real dark days towards the end of last season, for sponsors? I just don't understand it, because if things go wrong again this season then they certainly won't be able to pull that trick again unless something big happens very soon, the rate it is going it is not inconceivable we could nearly break even this window.

 

[Blue always red]

Its soul destroying seeing a club like Arsenal, a club who hasn't even looked like challenging for anything meaningful in 9 years snatch up an absolute worldie 2 windows in a row, whilst we seem completely unable to strengthen our squad in the necessary areas. You have to wonder what goes on in our transfer discussions. im half posting this to try and jinx it with news we sign somebody class tomorow

I'd argue we've strengthened very well already this summer, just not enough. Both Herrera and Shaw are top class players whilst having time on their side to become even better. We got Mata last season and RVP and Shinji before that so we've hardly been shown up by Arsenal finally spending on players they've needed.

Signing players just because their names are bandied about in the best in the world group doesn't mean they'll be good for you. Ozil, their record signing, paled in comparison to Ramsey whom people ridiculed the season before.

 

[Someone]

Although they push it too far, Madrid's galactico policy has been very successful in boosting the club.

In the early 2000s, Real and United were seen as co-equals on the world football stage, with United having perhaps a slight advantage, with bigger revenues, much higher profits and higher valuation. Since then United have won more trophies; but Real have signed the biggest stars in world football, while we pursued 'value' and signed Valencia, Young and Bebe. On the field: United 1 Real 0; in the transfer market: Real 6 United 0.

The consequences are clear. The relative perception of the two club's by football fans has changed. Real have acquired an aura of glamour and are seen as the gold standard of world football - the team every top player aspires to play for. Last summer United couldn't compete with Real for the services of a superstar who lived a hundred miles down the road. Their revenues have outstripped United's, and they are now the richer club. We are now seen as a lesser club by everyone except United fans; and even they routinely acknowledge Real's superior attractions for top players.

All this happened because Real had smart people in charge who understood how the game had changed and the supreme importance of image in modern sport. While we were stuck in the mindset of the previous century. Woody's encouraging talk of his desire to bring the best players to Old Trafford shows that the penny has at least dropped with him. It remains to be seen whether he can do the business.

I have to disagree here, as far as global appeal and trophies we've been up there with the best for so long, you may call it glamour but for me and many football fans real madrid have been mostly a circus in the past 10 years, changing managers even when they win, selling players even when they're good, paying incredible amounts of money even when they have some serious debt and that's without having blood sucking owners like we do here, that's not how i'd like to see my club.

Our recent troubles stems from our failure to address key problems within our squad for so long, that's what we need to take care of, sign quality where it's needed, leave the real madrid circus to real madrid.

 

[RustyS]

This thread is like stepping into an alternate reality in which we didn't sign an LB and CM for 60m+ this summer, we didn't spend over 120m+ in the last 12 months, and the current transfer window is over.

Thank goodness none of that is true in our reality here. The club clearly wants to spend money, has been spending money, and will continue to spend money as is needed/requested by the manager.

 

[Morpheus 7]

Well he won't get away with it after this summer if he doesn't deliver. If we fail on the pitch this season after he's been given specific transfer targets and a 'budget others clubs simply can't match' then he's got to go. I'm willing to wait until the window shuts before making a judgement, he could still deliver but he needs to fecking hurry up.

Spot on! Until the window shuts people need to calm down. Nobody knows what is going on behind the scenes and how close any deal is? If we signed Vidal and Hummels the opinion would change fast in here. I don't trust Woodward after last Summer, his premature MUTV interview hasn't helped him with the fans expectations either. Let's wait and see how it plays out before casting judgement.

 

[ravi2]

You've also had some howlers while trying to blindly defend Moyes so you're hardly in any position to "educate some of the less informed"

That is very true.
Anyone who was defending Moyes after that Fulham game needs to get their head checked.

 

[ravi2]

Spot on! Until the window shuts people need to calm down. Nobody knows what is going on behind the scenes and how close any deal is? If we signed Vidal and Hummels the opinion would change fast in here. I don't trust Woodward after last Summer, his premature MUTV interview hasn't helped him with the fans expectations either. Let's wait and see how it plays out before casting judgement.

Exactly, I think we should wait until the transfer window closes before slating ed. (Which I don't think we would have to do btw).

 

[Sphaero]

This thread is like stepping into an alternate reality in which we didn't sign an LB and CM for 60m+ this summer, we didn't spend over 120m+ in the last 12 months, and the current transfer window is over.

Thank goodness none of that is true in our reality here. The club clearly wants to spend money, has been spending money, and will continue to spend money as is needed/requested by the manager.

Some things are certainly exaggerated, but I can understand some of the worry on here.

Right now, you appearantly plan to play with three CBs in the back and have no real cover for them. I still don´t know who do you intend to play as back up for the full back/wing back positions. Herrera brought some much needed quality in the central midfield, but normally you would like to have one additional player there aswell.

Truth to be told you have still several positions to address and while there is still some time left it is also hardly optimal to bring in new players that late. The pressure to sign gets bigger the longer you guys wait and this just worsenes the negotation position.

People understandably look at other clubs for reference and see that they have more or less finished their activities and are right now in the process of integrating the new players in the systems.

Then there is of course Woodward´s habit to boast about the financial strength of United, which will just result in other clubs wanting a bigger slice of that cake and rising expectations among the supporters. It is no surprise that LvG comes out with statements about being happy about the squad to counteract such statements.

Woodward has made several blunder last summer, which played a significant part in the disaster last season. So far he has done little to prove that he has learned from these mistakes and with every passing day people will only get more restless. It is completely understandable.

 

[J-Stander]

"Watch this space"

 

[Invictus]

Some things are certainly exaggerated, but I can understand some of the worry on here.

Right now, you appearantly plan to play with three CBs in the back and have no real cover for them. I still don´t know who do you intend to play as back up for the full back/wing back positions. Herrera brought some much needed quality in the central midfield, but normally you would like to have one additional player there aswell.

Truth to be told you have still several positions to address and while there is still some time left it is also hardly optimal to bring in new players that late. The pressure to sign gets bigger the longer you guys wait and this just worsenes the negotation position.

People understandably look at other clubs for reference and see that they have more or less finished their activities and are right now in the process of integrating the new players in the systems.

Then there is of course Woodward´s habit to boast about the financial strength of United, which will just result in other clubs wanting a bigger slice of that cake and rising expectations among the supporters. It is no surprise that LvG comes out with statements about being happy about the squad to counteract such statements.

Woodward has made several blunder last summer, which played a significant part in the disaster last season. So far he has done little to prove that he has learned from these mistakes and with every passing day people will only get more restless. It is completely understandable.

This particular part is untrue mate.

 

[ravi2]

This particular part is untrue mate.

Agreed, by all,reports it was Moyes who dithered on targets....we had garay and tiago lined up.

 

[Invictus]

Agreed, by all,reports it was Moyes who dithered on targets....we had garay and tiago lined up.

Yes.

Also it was him driving the wild goose chase for Cesc.
And trying to package bid for Felaini and Baines.
And choosing not to sign Strootman who instead went to Roma.
And there were reports he didn't want Ozil but signed an almost similar player in January.
And deciding Ander wasn't worth the release clause.
And making a last resort loan move for Coentrao.

Can't fault Ed for those really. David really ballsed up last summer and the consequences are being felt now with no European football..

 

[Sam]

The only issue is why talk up this window so much, was it to sell season tickets, was it just keep fans on side during the real dark days towards the end of last season, for sponsors? I just don't understand it, because if things go wrong again this season then they certainly won't be able to pull that trick again unless something big happens very soon, the rate it is going it is not inconceivable we could nearly break even this window.

To keep the 'brand' going. And also because so many people still actually believe him, just look on here for evidence of that. The majority are convinced we're signing Vidal/Di Maria/Cuadrado etc etc based on him saying 'watch this space'.

 

[LoiusVanGaal]

seems those two big signings have burnt him out (I joke, but if he is working on deals, I hope he hurries up as it's only a week till the season starts!)

 

[Sphaero]

Yes.

Also it was him driving the wild goose chase for Cesc.
And trying to package bid for Felaini and Baines.
And choosing not to sign Strootman who instead went to Roma.
And there were reports he didn't want Ozil but signed an almost similar player in January.
And deciding Ander wasn't worth the release clause.
And making a last resort loan move for Coentrao.

Can't fault Ed for those really. David really ballsed up last summer and the consequences are being felt now with no European football..

So every failure came down to Moyes then? I mean I was hardly positive towards Moyes at his stint at United, but that does not sound really fair to me.

If Woodward as CEO does not have a say in the height of the bids (problem with the Everton bid) or how public negotiations are presented (the Fabregas saga), then what does he actually do in terms of activities on the transfer market and negotiations? I was under the impression that the manager identificates the targets and the CEO handles the signings itself for the most part. In the end he is the head executive and ulitmatively at least partly responsible for the performance on the transfer market.

Maybe I´m wrong there, though, because I´m far more familiar with the continental model which includes a designated person for scouting, signing and contract talks.

 

[Invictus]

So every failure came down to Moyes then? I mean I was hardly positive towards Moyes at his stint at United, but that does not sound really fair to me.

If Woodward as CEO does not have a say in the height of the bids (problem with the Everton bid) or how public negotiations are presented (the Fabregas saga), then what does he actually do in terms of activities on the transfer market and negotiations? I was under the impression that the manager identificates the targets and the CEO handles the signings itself for the most part. In the end he is the head executive and ulitmatively at least partly responsible for the performance on the transfer market.

Maybe I´m wrong there, though, because I´m far more familiar with the continental model which includes a designated person for scouting, signing and contract talks.

That's true for other clubs mate but United grant supreme power to the manager in terms of target identification, valuation and launching the bids. The CEO at United only works under the manager when it comes to transfer business and follows his guidance, not force issues on his own. Woodward can make bids and negotiate but only after getting the green light from the manager. In essence don't have a structure where the sporting director or club president interferes independently in transfer business, buys players and tells the manager for fit XYZ into his plans like Bayern or Barcelona. For the examples given before :

Fabregas : No one knows exactly what went down last summer. Maybe Barcelona wanted to get rid or maybe the agent was simply playing us around. Thing is we should've looked at an alternate players.

“I never said I knew we would get him,” said Moyes when asked about Fabregas as his side prepare to face FC Kitchee in Hong Kong today. “I just said we had made offers. They have been rejected. We will take stock of the situation and decide where we go from there.”

Asked if he was concerned at not having signed anyone by now, Moyes said: “No, not necessarily. We hoped we would, but what we’ve got here already is a really good squad of players. Undoubtedly, we’re hoping to add to it, and I’m confident we will do before the window shuts. We have other targets”

For Fellaini and Baines : I solely blame Moyes because being an ex-employee he should've known what the valuation of those two players were and putting in the first derisory bid only infuriated the Everton management further. Also to note is Fellaini's initial buyout clause that was 3 million lower. Baines has repeatedly come out and said he didn't want to move. David should've known that and moved to other targets instead of pursuing till the end of August and using a scatter gun approach.

"Those bids were rejected out of hand as derisory and insulting," said director of communications Alan Myers.

"Marouane had a buy-out clause where it was very straightforward. If someone met that valuation, the club had no say,” Martinez revealed.

“That finished on 31 July so you can imagine during that period everyone was a bit expectant about what would happen. Once that date went, you just focus on working for the next season."

Strootman : We know United was very close to him but David instead went for the "proven commodity" in Marouanne.

Garay : Like Strootman we also decided not to buy Garay for some reason :

“I believed I was going to join Manchester United in the summer,” the Argentine said. “The deal was nearly closed but finally Benfica did not accept the offer.

“I believe the exit of Ferguson has influenced the deal. Moyes did not believe in me as much but that's not a problem.

De Rossi : David should've known Garcia has set an ultimatum.

"David Moyes asked me for my opinion about De Rossi a few months ago and my opinion could only be positive," Capello told Fox Sports.

"If I were De Rossi, I would have gone to Manchester United and join a team where they have a lot of ambition."

I said to him that I couldn’t lose him at the last minute so we fixed a date after which he would not move.

The first league match came and a few days after Manchester United called the club, called him, but the date had passed and he didn’t move." - Garcia

“We certainly did think in the summer about bringing him here,” Moyes told.

“I don’t think it went as far as a bid, because I think there was something to do with a deadline on his contract.

“But yes, he was a player we thought was a good player.”

Ozil : The player was really interested in signing for United but was deemed surplus to our demands by the manager. But then we went ahead and bought an almost identical player 6 months later. This just smacks of indecision.

"We weren’t close to buying him but something was mooted a little bit before that," said Moyes. "We didn’t need that position at the time. I didn’t even say it was an interest, it was put to us and it was just something at the time we didn’t need.

"We we had Shinji Kagawa and Wayne Rooney and people of a similar ilk so it wasn’t quite what we required at that time. We were looking at different positions."

The job to decide whether we wanted to pay Ander's buyout clause was down to the manager and he thought otherwise.

Moyes insisted yesterday the pursuit of Herrera ended because he simply considered the £30.5million fee too high, saying: ‘I really liked the player and still do. We were trying to do a deal but I just thought the buy-out figure was the wrong valuation.’

When his quest for Baines fell through, David instead homed in on Coentrao which proved to be a bit too late since Ancelotti wouldn't loan him out without a replacement (Guilherme Siqueira). He should've known Baines wouldn't come having been his coach for so many years but still didn't think of backup plan in due time instead knocking on Madrid's door at the 11th hour.

There was also the Thiago deal but it's a bit uncertain because Pep was an influence in him going to Bayern. However Bayern's interest came late. We could've activated the cheap buyout clause anytime we wanted.

Guillem Balague ✔ @GuillemBalague
Follow
United were willing to pay clause 4 Thiago. But Pep believed in Thiago. Moyes not so much (will his football work in PL? Moyes wasnt sure)

 

[Rednotdead]

Despite all the talk, despite all the excuses made on here, despite all the statements about money being available and "watch this space", one unarguable fact remains. We haven't signed anyone since Shaw signed on 27th June while other clubs are getting their signings made. Even Arsenal.

Do we face obstacles other clubs don't? Of course not.

6 days to the first league game and 22 days to the end of the transfer window, and we're reportedly still scrambling around trying to get Hummels at a knock-down price.

 

[itso 7]

To keep the 'brand' going. And also because so many people still actually believe him, just look on here for evidence of that. The majority are convinced we're signing Vidal/Di Maria/Cuadrado etc etc based on him saying 'watch this space'.

Or maybe based o the fact that we have spent around £120m in the last twelve months ? Who that was spent on falls on the manager. Rather than blindly attacking/defending Woodward I think we need to define exactly what we expect him to do, is he our chief scout, our top negotiator or should he possess some magical wand to enable him to push deals through ? What do we want him to do? Sign players basing on the manager's needs or to override his manager's wishes and push deals through regardless ! Because there is a big chance that he has had to start afresh on the groundwork already done by season end the moment LvG walked in.
The way I see it is that the manager's part in transfers takes longer than the CEO's because it's him that has to decide whether the player fits in with his intended style and make an educated guess as to whether the player will step up i this league . Now LvG has had three weeks to do that plus introduce current players to his system whilst deciding who has to go.
In some instances what it takes could be too much re Arsenal's demand that Smalling goes the other way . When transfers fail it's not always our side's fault and sometimes our circumstances stop us from moving decisively like right now we are into our second successive summer with a new manager needing to see what he has first.

 

[Rednotdead]

Or maybe based o the fact that we have spent around £120m in the last twelve months ? Who that was spent on falls on the manager. Rather than blindly attacking/defending Woodward I think we need to define exactly what we expect him to do, is he our chief scout, our top negotiator or should he possess some magical wand to enable him to push deals through ? What do we want him to do? Sign players basing on the manager's needs or to override his manager's wishes and push deals through regardless ! Because there is a big chance that he has had to start afresh on the groundwork already done by season end the moment LvG walked in.
The way I see it is that the manager's part in transfers takes longer than the CEO's because it's him that has to decide whether the player fits in with his intended style and make an educated guess as to whether the player will step up i this league . Now LvG has had three weeks to do that plus introduce current players to his system whilst deciding who has to go.
In some instances what it takes could be too much re Arsenal's demand that Smalling goes the other way . When transfers fail it's not always our side's fault and sometimes our circumstances stop us from moving decisively like right now we are into our second successive summer with a new manager needing to see what he has first.

Van Gaal has had more than adequate time for an experienced manager to see what he's got. Also he has Giggs, who would no doubt have given him an assessment of the current squad and its deficiencies as soon as he took the job. Every man and his dog has known for a couple of years now where the most significant deficiency is and we've signed one player in that area but one isn't enough if we're to mount a credible challenge for the top 4. And that's not accounting for the other areas we need strengthened.

What obstacles do we face that other clubs don't when trying to sign players? None of course, yet other clubs are getting business done while we're not. That may change of course with an announcement out of the blue, but until or unless it does we've failed in the market and no amount of excuses will hide that.

 

[Ibi Dreams]

Ed answers to the Glazers, not Van Gaal. He'll know if his jobs in danger.

Like you say, the club is just there to make cash for the Glazers. They're not going to start throwing money around like other clubs. They've seen us be successful without doing that, and thats what they'll continue to do. Is it really a coincidence that the two managers they've hired are notorious for not splashing the cash?

I would say that it is a coincidence, yes. Moyes was hired for a few reasons, but most notably he was hired as an attempt to keep consistency at the club. He's only known for not splashing the cash because he was previously at a club where money was limited. Even then he still spent significant amounts, eg £15m for Fellaini, but that was the club's kind of spending power. Once at United he attempted a few big money signings and they all failed. We also did sign Mata for £37m. It's not the case that the money wasn't there, the issue has always been elsewhere.

 

[itso 7]

Van Gaal has had more than adequate time for an experienced manager to see what he's got. Also he has Giggs, who would no doubt have given him an assessment of the current squad and its deficiencies as soon as he took the job. Every man and his dog has known for a couple of years now where the most significant deficiency is and we've signed one player in that area but one isn't enough if we're to mount a credible challenge for the top 4. And that's not accounting for the other areas we need strengthened.

What obstacles do we face that other clubs don't when trying to sign players? None of course, yet other clubs are getting business done while we're not. That may change of course with an announcement out of the blue, but until or unless it does we've failed in the market and no amount of excuses will hide that.

Try thinking no CL football and a scouting team that ironically ''spots talent'' already owned by Juventus, Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona, teams that are as ambitious as us and in most cases can match what we are offering . If you go into the transfer window targeting players from these teams exclusively but with our handicap of lacking CL football then you should prepare to fail or spend crazy amounts of money. This window is looking like a failure but to me failing to buy Juventus' best player is not an unqualified failure nor is failing to convince a South American winger to forego a year of CL football to sign for us when he could choose Arsenal and get paid as much.
LvG has been with the team for how long ? Three weeks, yeah long enough nevermind the double sessions, flying out to the States, playing matches every two days and shifting camp whilst trying to decide, fairly, what he has. Van Gaal made a football decision to give the current players a chance and if we are to see any action it's likely yo be this week but then who is willing to lose a key player a fortnight before the close of the window ?
I can't nor do I wish to change your views on Woodward because you had already judged him before . LvG said he will only buy after completing his assessments so what do you want Woodward to do in the interim, force players on LvG and watch their value fall rapidly when Van Gaal freezes them out ?

 

[Sunny Jim]

That's true for other clubs mate but United grant supreme power to the manager in terms of target identification, valuation and launching the bids. The CEO at United only works under the manager when it comes to transfer business and follows his guidance, not force issues on his own. Woodward can make bids and negotiate but only after getting the green light from the manager. In essence don't have a structure where the sporting director or club president interferes independently in transfer business, buys players and tells the manager for fit XYZ into his plans like Bayern or Barcelona. For the examples given before :

Fabregas : No one knows exactly what went down last summer. Maybe Barcelona wanted to get rid or maybe the agent was simply playing us around. Thing is we should've looked at an alternate players.



For Fellaini and Baines : I solely blame Moyes because being an ex-employee he should've known what the valuation of those two players were and putting in the first derisory bid only infuriated the Everton management further. Also to note is Fellaini's initial buyout clause that was 3 million lower. Baines has repeatedly come out and said he didn't want to move. David should've known that and moved to other targets instead of pursuing till the end of August and using a scatter gun approach.





Strootman : We know United was very close to him but David instead went for the "proven commodity" in Marouanne.

Garay : Like Strootman we also decided not to buy Garay for some reason :



De Rossi : David should've known Garcia has set an ultimatum.







Ozil : The player was really interested in signing for United but was deemed surplus to our demands by the manager. But then we went ahead and bought an almost identical player 6 months later. This just smacks of indecision.



The job to decide whether we wanted to pay Ander's buyout clause was down to the manager and he thought otherwise.


When his quest for Baines fell through, David instead homed in on Coentrao which proved to be a bit too late since Ancelotti wouldn't loan him out without a replacement (Guilherme Siqueira). He should've known Baines wouldn't come having been his coach for so many years but still didn't think of backup plan in due time instead knocking on Madrid's door at the 11th hour.

There was also the Thiago deal but it's a bit uncertain because Pep was an influence in him going to Bayern. However Bayern's interest came late. We could've activated the cheap buyout clause anytime we wanted.

Guillem Balague ✔ @GuillemBalague
Follow
United were willing to pay clause 4 Thiago. But Pep believed in Thiago. Moyes not so much (will his football work in PL? Moyes wasnt sure)

Im sick reading this.

 

[Rednotdead]

Try thinking no CL football and a scouting team that ironically ''spots talent'' already owned by Juventus, Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona, teams that are as ambitious as us and in most cases can match what we are offering . If you go into the transfer window targeting players from these teams exclusively but with our handicap of lacking CL football then you should prepare to fail or spend crazy amounts of money. This window is looking like a failure but to me failing to buy Juventus' best player is not an unqualified failure nor is failing to convince a South American winger to forego a year of CL football to sign for us when he could choose Arsenal and get paid as much.
LvG has been with the team for how long ? Three weeks, yeah long enough nevermind the double sessions, flying out to the States, playing matches every two days and shifting camp whilst trying to decide, fairly, what he has. Van Gaal made a football decision to give the current players a chance and if we are to see any action it's likely yo be this week but then who is willing to lose a key player a fortnight before the close of the window ?
I can't nor do I wish to change your views on Woodward because you had already judged him before . LvG said he will only buy after completing his assessments so what do you want Woodward to do in the interim, force players on LvG and watch their value fall rapidly when Van Gaal freezes them out ?

So what you're basically saying is that there was never any chance of us signing players anyway. You're making every excuse under the sun as to why we haven't/won't.

My point is that 5 games and numerous training sessions is more than enough for an experienced manager to have assessed the capabilities of his squad. He knew the time constraints when he took the job on and would have tailored his thoughts to that timetable. I'd be amazed if Woodward hasn't had a list of preferred options and backups for a while now.

 

[Sad Chris]

I won't be judging him until September when/if LvG states his disappointment about not signing players he asked for. I'm absolutely certain that's what'll happen if Woody doesn't manage to sign targets LvG wanted. That's one of the best things about LvG, we're going to hear the unfiltered truth, if we like it or not.
So if LvG doesn't complain, I'm sure Woody did exactly as told and I won't be holding it against him. That's what he's there for, to please our manager, not us muppets.

I also don't get why some posters keep complaining how long it takes for us to finalize deals. When does the clock start in your opinion? When the first tweet pokes around in the dark or when the media start name dropping? We don't have a clue when or even if we're negotiating or not. I don't anyway. And for all I care Real can sign 10 players within a week. I don't think speed should be the primary indicator for successful deals, probably other factors should have more weight.

 

[Rednotdead]

I won't be judging him until September when/if LvG states his disappointment about not signing players he asked for. I'm absolutely certain that's what'll happen if Woody doesn't manage to sign targets LvG wanted. That's one of the best things about LvG, we're going to hear the unfiltered truth, if we like it or not.
So if LvG doesn't complain, I'm sure Woody did exactly as told and I won't be holding it against him. That's what he's there for, to please our manager, not us muppets.

I also don't get why some posters keep complaining how long it takes for us to finalize deals. When does the clock start in your opinion? When the first tweet pokes around in the dark or when the media start name dropping? We don't have a clue when or even if we're negotiating or not. I don't anyway. And for all I care Real can sign 10 players within a week. I don't think speed should be the primary indicator for successful deals, probably other factors should have more weight.

Agreed, the only indicator of a successful deal is when the player signs.

Still watching the space.

 

[Kill 'em all]

Despite all the talk, despite all the excuses made on here, despite all the statements about money being available and "watch this space", one unarguable fact remains. We haven't signed anyone since Shaw signed on 27th June while other clubs are getting their signings made. Even Arsenal.

Do we face obstacles other clubs don't? Of course not.

6 days to the first league game and 22 days to the end of the transfer window, and we're reportedly still scrambling around trying to get Hummels at a knock-down price.

That's the main worrying thing for me. With Shaw and Herrera there was an element of confidence in us making those signings after they were first reported. I mean, by May we were almost 100% sure we would be signing Shaw. It just feels like everything is in Woodward's hands and by everything I mean how successful we are next season. If a top club wants to improve a position by signing a top player, they usually succeed but this hasn't really been the case for us in many years now.

 

[itso 7]

So what you're basically saying is that there was never any chance of us signing players anyway. You're making every excuse under the sun as to why we haven't/won't.

My point is that 5 games and numerous training sessions is more than enough for an experienced manager to have assessed the capabilities of his squad. He knew the time constraints when he took the job on and would have tailored his thoughts to that timetable. I'd be amazed if Woodward hasn't had a list of preferred options and backups for a while now.

Look at it this way, suppose you've targeted;
Hummels,
Vidal and
Di Maria chances are high that even if you are in the Champions League you could fail to get even one signed let alone if you are not in any European competition . Those players are difficult to sign for anyone be it us or City/Chelsea/Pool. The root of the problem is having those particular players as your primary targets, why did Chelsea go for Matic not Schweinsteiger or did we never encounter yearly transfer sagas concerning Giggs, Ferdinand or Scholes ? Because football clubs recognise the futility of such endeavors, that's why ! Imo our is a football weakness, a weakness that forces us to focus on impossible targets or take punts on hopeless duds like Buttner, there is no longer a middle of the road option with United .
I still think we will sign players but not the eye catching big names but just enough to cover some glaring holes, workmen like signings like De Jong, Blind etc.

 

[ghagua]

Woody probably ran home from the tour to get some nookie at home, that's the "business" he had to attend to.

Really disappointed with the lack of power of persuasion from Woody. Kroos would have been an ideal signing along with Herrera, but Real just came in and snatched him up for peanuts. I know the official line is that United withdrew from signing him, but it's just to save face. Van Gaal is complaining about lack of quality wingers when Arsenal brought one of the best in Sanchez, with zero interest from United.

There will be a couple of signings this week, that i'm sure of, but we'll be buying scraps after the other teams have had their pick.

 

[FortBoyard]

Mata
Shaw
Herrera

Another few weeks to go. He has done fine.

 

[Browniee]

Mata
Shaw
Herrera

Another few weeks to go. He has done fine.

All great signings,but this window is different he has lost Rio, Vidic, Evra, Giggs, Buttner and possibly Hernandez, Fellaini and Nani. That's a lot of first team players, they need replacing fast. We don't seem any near replacing them

 

[J-Stander]

Mata
Shaw
Herrera

Another few weeks to go. He has done fine.

No he hasnt, at all. Areas of our squad are lacking badly. He has to deliver in these 3 weeks. There's less than a week till the season starts for fecks sake. It's a joke.

 

[psychdelicblues]

Mata
Shaw
Herrera

Another few weeks to go. He has done fine.

Mata was a panic buy and the other 2 signings were a year late. Bearing in mind last summers transfer fiasco, I wouldn't say he has done fine.

 

[Godfather]

Oh Woodie. One week until the season starts and you've yet to prove all this talk was not just hot air.

 

[Drummer]

@RustyS
@Invictus @ravi2

Before saying anything I actually do think that for the first time since owning the club that there will be an appropriate level of investment in the squad by the end of this August.. By that I mean there will be a few more top signings between now and august. Should be enough to get us a top 4 spot.


DM

DM in hindsight looked out of his depth but that doesn't mean you get to blame him for everything and anything that went wrong last season.

Woodward / glazers

Ireland used to have a Taoiseach knicknamed "Teflon Bertie". No matter what sh*t he did, he always seemed to get away with it and somebody else would somehow pay for his actions. I think we can put these guys in the same bracket.

Some of the people on this forum are happy to blame anybody but these guys (the owner and CEO) for the state the club finds itself.

They chose DM , they took advice from SAF but they made the decision. The fact that DM was a coach with an impressive net spending (negative) record with Everton would of helped them be convinced that he was the right man. The fact that LVG is also renowned for not being a big spender would of made him a more appropriate candidate for our penny pinching owners...

People keep saying "sure they spent 60mil" which means nothing. Chelsea, City , bayern, barca and Madrid are the benchmark that I presume the biggest club in huge world wants to surpass. Do we spend more then them?

This whole 'united doesn't build teams that way' crap is old at this stage. It's a pathetically lame reason that only serves to absolve the owners and Woodward of their responsibility to invest proportionatly in the squad. It's just not a coincidence that the biggest spenders in football are consistently challenging for honors. SAF was a genius and the owners exploited it with penny pinching precision.

United finished 7th last season and lost 4 of our most experienced players of the last 15 years. It would be fair to say that we need a huge investment just to buy the quality that's been lost, that's not even factoring in the investment required to get us back up anywhere near the supposed top teams we want to compete with. The top clubs have spent as much if not more then us, even though they were way ahead of us last season..

Keep deluding yourself all you want about Woodward and the owners. It's DM fault, it's SAF fault, it's LVG fault, it's mickey mouses fault.... It's everybody else's fault but theirs..right?!!!

 

[Drummer]

Mata
Shaw
Herrera

Another few weeks to go. He has done fine.

Lower the bar enough and everybody gets a medal....

 

[Amir]

All due respect, but we haven't got much to go on when it comes to Woodward's work this summer. Who did we want? Who did we try to get and miss out on, aside from Vermaelen? Why did we lose out on those players? How much and for how long have we been handicapped by having a new manager (again), who this time arrived late?