Man Utd set to appoint Director of Football (when hell freezes over)

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minoo-utd

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Idiot. Has no clue about football. Chooses to keep the manager and not backing him. Fexking useless all of them.
 

bleedred

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Knew this thread was going to be bumped, Bailey and Lindelof are both 70m worth of Mourinho signings.

The blame for this loss is on the players and the manager. There has to be a point where something is done with the players that have brought in and not moan every window about not signing enough
Every transfer is a risk. Players may come good or not turn out as the scouts/managers thought it might be. So its irrelevant to say, we spent 70m on two CB's, we are not signing anyone else until they come good.

How many CB's did city and liverpool sign and they failed before they found a combination. same for every other positions. You can list many transfer failures have been had for any club, but that shouldn't stop them from going out signing better.

In that case, the board and Ed should have told Mourinho, "If you think these players are not enough, I will bring in someone who can make the most of them".

But they did absolutely nothing. Mind you, I am not defending Jose here at all. The board has the ultimate responsibility.

Players are not playing well because of the manager and the manager was appointed by the board along with two other previous failures, which clearly shows that Ed is not fit for the role and lacks any coherent stratergy.
 

Ban

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People who think Mourinho is our biggest problem are in for a big surprise with Woodward at the helm.
 

Castia

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Throwing money at it isn’t the problem.

Let’s give Jose more money so he can buy another defender to go with the 2 shit defenders he’s already bought.

We need a better system, if that involves signing a top DoF or just reworking our scouting system I don’t know but investing money in crap players isn’t the way to go.
 

goin4glory

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People who think Mourinho is our biggest problem are in for a big surprise with Woodward at the helm.
It's genuinely unbelievable to me that Woodward would leak to the press that only Varane would have been a significant upgrade on our CB options. He has no clue.
 

redzombie

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he's the common thread in our downturn since SAF/Gill, giving Jose a new contract to then not back him is completely ridiculous.
 

ti vu

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Football success is not something he can guarantee. Profits regardless of football success is. What he said is exactly right for business.
You twisted the Woodward's wording there to suit your argument. Woodward used the word performance, not success.

Challenging all front while not being too successful is still better performance than what we are since Woodward was installed in such prominence role at the club. The club financial prowness was built on history of success. Sure many club who perform underwhelming can also be in good financial position, but it's not what this club should go for. This club should strive to be among the top dogs (no guarantee of success) which Woodward try to downplay. Saying it to anyone, it's the same. You can't sustain a growth in commercial side forever if you go far from the root of the organization. Here is a football club.
 

Fluctuation0161

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Knew this thread was going to be bumped, Bailey and Lindelof are both 70m worth of Mourinho signings.

The blame for this loss is on the players and the manager. There has to be a point where something is done with the players that have brought in and not moan every window about not signing enough
Not all signings work immediately or at all. It is a numbers game. I think Jose has earnt the right to pick his own transfers. Especially considering his success rate. Woodward is clueless.
 

Carl

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Moyes. Van Gaal. Mourinho.

Train wreck.

All this bollocks about the "United way" but which of those managers would you associate with that?
 

Sylar

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Not all signings work immediately or at all. It is a numbers game. I think Jose has earnt the right to pick his own transfers. Especially considering his success rate. Woodward is clueless.
Yeah its a weird one, because we would have to expect Jose to get 100% of his signings and choices correct. Thats not gonna happen, not to Jose, not to Pep, not to Fergie.
Sometimes things change, attitudes change and you need supplement or a replacement for situations. I have no doubt our defence line would have been so much better with Toby.A playing today.
 

bleedred

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Throwing money at it isn’t the problem.

Let’s give Jose more money so he can buy another defender to go with the 2 shit defenders he’s already bought.

We need a better system, if that involves signing a top DoF or just reworking our scouting system I don’t know but investing money in crap players isn’t the way to go.
Not defending Jose here, but that's stupid logic. Klopp got Karius, so we shouldn't let him buy another GK.
 

starman

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Every transfer is a risk. Players may come good or not turn out as the scouts/managers thought it might be. So its irrelevant to say, we spent 70m on two CB's, we are not signing anyone else until they come good.

How many CB's did city and liverpool sign and they failed before they found a combination. same for every other positions. You can list many transfer failures have been had for any club, but that shouldn't stop them from going out signing better.

In that case, the board and Ed should have told Mourinho, "If you think these players are not enough, I will bring in someone who can make the most of them".

But they did absolutely nothing. Mind you, I am not defending Jose here at all. The board has the ultimate responsibility.

Players are not playing well because of the manager and the manager was appointed by the board along with two other previous failures, which clearly shows that Ed is not fit for the role and lacks any coherent stratergy.
No, its about giving them a chance to prove themselves. Lindelof has hardly played and when he does everyone moans about him. And why even play him at all if hes not good enough.

Sorry, but blaming Ed for Mourinho is ridiculous, he is one of the most successful managers ever. His CV is top of the pile. This contradicts your whole post about signing better players as we signed one of the best, most successful managers, better than Moyes and Van Gaal. manager that didn't work out. Then finished in the top 4 and won trophies. Saying there is no coherent strategy makes no sense

And bar the first one, which was more down to Gill, this is the only window he has not delivered on every player. Go back to under SAF reign, he managed with not signing record fees every summer.

Losing to Brighton is down to the players and manager, blaming the board is some Liverpool, Hicks and Gillett type stuff.
 
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starman

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Not all signings work immediately or at all. It is a numbers game. I think Jose has earnt the right to pick his own transfers. Especially considering his success rate. Woodward is clueless.
He has been doing that, but spend 70m on a shiny new defender when the 35m one has barely given a chance, and given that we could have bought that 70m defender for 17m and not bought the 35m one in the first place has to be questioned
 

LJJT

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Why don’t we just sack Jose and bring in Giggs with big mike and Rene as assistants? Like we should have done at the outset? What other business sacks off the successful management team and bring in a gang of new boys????
 

Dr. StrangeHate

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Not defending Jose here, but that's stupid logic. Klopp got Karius, so we shouldn't let him buy another GK.
Klopp gets his team to play football that jose can only dream of. If Jose played klopp level of football and the board over ruled him there would be riots.
 

bleedred

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No, its about giving them a chance to prove themselves. Lindelof has hardly played and when he does everyone moans about him. And why even play him at all if hes was not good enough.

Sorry, but blaming Ed for Mourinho is ridiculous, he is one of the most successful managers ever. His CV is top and the pile. this contradicts your whole post about signing players as we signed one of the best, most successful manager, better than Moyes and Van Gaal. Saying there is no coherent strategy makes no sense
What was the strategy for this season supposed to be?. Ed goes, " Jose, I know you are WC manager, but you have to prove to me with the squad you have and try out the players you got, before I give you any more money.".

If Ed had any conviction on Jose, he should have backed him.


And bar the first one, which was more down to Gill, this is the only window he has not delivered on every player. Go back to under SAF reign, he managed with not signing record fees every summers.

Losing to Brighton is down to the players and manager, blaming the board is some Liverpool, Hicks and Gillett type stuff.
Lets leave SAF out of it, he won the league with cleverley and anderson. and he could still do it with this squad.

Yes, he failed only in two windows, but the two are the most crucial. This was the time to kick on from our second place finish to get to the next level.

The players performance is dependent on the manager. appointing and backing the manager is the responsibility of the board, so yeah, blaming the board is appropriate as we have just dicked around in the last five years with , again I say, "no coherent strategy". Many of the signings Ed did were just oppurtunistic, rather than the player/manager wanting them here, ADM, Sanchez, Falcao...,
 

LJJT

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What was the strategy for this season supposed to be?. Ed goes, " Jose, I know you are WC manager, but you have to prove to me with the squad you have and try out the players you got, before I give you any more money.".

If Ed had any conviction on Jose, he should have backed him.




Lets leave SAF out of it, he won the league with cleverley and anderson. and he could still do it with this squad.

Yes, he failed only in two windows, but the two are the most crucial. This was the time to kick on from our second place finish to get to the next level.

The players performance is dependent on the manager. appointing and backing the manager is the responsibility of the board, so yeah, blaming the board is appropriate as we have just dicked around in the last five years with , again I say, "no coherent strategy". Many of the signings Ed did were just oppurtunistic, rather than the player/manager wanting them here, ADM, Sanchez, Falcao...,
What was the strategy for this season supposed to be?. Ed goes, " Jose, I know you are WC manager, but you have to prove to me with the squad you have and try out the players you got, before I give you any more money.".

If Ed had any conviction on Jose, he should have backed him.




Lets leave SAF out of it, he won the league with cleverley and anderson. and he could still do it with this squad.

Yes, he failed only in two windows, but the two are the most crucial. This was the time to kick on from our second place finish to get to the next level.

The players performance is dependent on the manager. appointing and backing the manager is the responsibility of the board, so yeah, blaming the board is appropriate as we have just dicked around in the last five years with , again I say, "no coherent strategy". Many of the signings Ed did were just oppurtunistic, rather than the player/manager wanting them here, ADM, Sanchez, Falcao...,
How’s about the strategy of keeping a winning management team? Phelan and Rene? The ships sailed now tho but it would be better than this shower
 

Dr. StrangeHate

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You twisted the Woodward's wording there to suit your argument. Woodward used the word performance, not success.

Challenging all front while not being too successful is still better performance than what we are since Woodward was installed in such prominence role at the club. The club financial prowness was built on history of success. Sure many club who perform underwhelming can also be in good financial position, but it's not what this club should go for. This club should strive to be among the top dogs (no guarantee of success) which Woodward try to downplay. Saying it to anyone, it's the same. You can't sustain a growth in commercial side forever if you go far from the root of the organization. Here is a football club.
He is assuring investors that regardless of performance/success (whatever), the club is going to make money and gain exposure so keep throwing money/noodles/tractors at us. He is doing exactly what is right for us commercially.
I truly believe him when he says we would have spent £100mil on Varane. He doesn't want to overpay for average players, that is the right approach. What would be best though is a DOF with a set philosophy not just a hard on for big names.
 

Ronaldo's Love Child

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After today's match I don't know who to blame but I am trying to apply some cold reason to our problems.

Should Woodward have backed Jose in the transfer market ? Probably yes. If you want the team to progress (a big "if") then you need to improve on what you have.

However.......We lost today against Brighton.......I will repeat that for emphasis.....BRIGHTON. Were we robbed ? Hell no ! We were lucky to only lose 3-2. Now, we should not need players like Alderweld, Perisic and Willian to beat a team like Brighton which makes our transfer activity this summer irrelevant. We finished second last season so upgrading on a few positions should mean that we are aiming at either winning the title this season or getting closer to the eventual champions.

There are some who will think that we are over-reacting, after all, it is only one defeat and only the second match of the season but it is a continuation of the same dross we watched for most of last season and at least last year there appeared to be more harmony in the squad.

I also wonder if Woodward placed some conditions into Jose's new contract that there will be a mutually enforced termination of Jose's contract if Utd don't make top 4 at the end of each season. Perhaps at least that way we can sack him without paying any compensation ?
 

bleedred

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Do you think Klopp got every player he wanted at Liverpool?
Don't know and dont care. I was using that as an argument against people saying that "Mourinho signed two duds so I wouldn't trust his opinion on signing another player".
 

ti vu

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He is assuring investors that regardless of performance/success (whatever), the club is going to make money and gain exposure so keep throwing money/noodles/tractors at us. He is doing exactly what is right for us commercially.
I truly believe him when he says we would have spent £100mil on Varane. He doesn't want to overpay for average players, that is the right approach. What would be best though is a DOF with a set philosophy not just a hard on for big names.
There is other way to deliver the message that the commercial exposure of the club would always be great without sounding detached to reality (football performance has no meaningful impact on commercial side). I meant there is another side to that statement if you pay attention: the club is hitting its peak in commercial growth that even if the ram is to win everything in sight, investors shouldn't expect much better return for their investment!!!! :rolleyes:

Surel. Nobody would doubt Woodward would go out paying whatever it takes for names. The point stands football is not just about name. Players with names can flop. You can't always sign names and when it happens, you have to go with alternative to maintain/thrive for the standard that befitting the club status in football world. It's the problem we, football fans are talking about: a person who so lack in football understanding giving big decisions at the club.

DOF is just another role/name into the equation, thus just a step if we employ one. The structure/system is what should be looked at now. And at the top of the system is the focugiven we had quite a fair share fixing the lower level positions in vain for years post SAF
 

starman

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What was the strategy for this season supposed to be?. Ed goes, " Jose, I know you are WC manager, but you have to prove to me with the squad you have and try out the players you got, before I give you any more money.".

If Ed had any conviction on Jose, he should have backed him.

Lets leave SAF out of it, he won the league with cleverley and anderson. and he could still do it with this squad.

Yes, he failed only in two windows, but the two are the most crucial. This was the time to kick on from our second place finish to get to the next level.

The players performance is dependent on the manager. appointing and backing the manager is the responsibility of the board, so yeah, blaming the board is appropriate as we have just dicked around in the last five years with , again I say, "no coherent strategy". Many of the signings Ed did were just oppurtunistic, rather than the player/manager wanting them here, ADM, Sanchez, Falcao...,
Not spending record amounts every summer is a strategy. Its being made out Mourinho has been given no money at all, in 3 years he's spent 300m, logic would say he has been backed.

Again you go on about no coherent strategy, we went from Moyes, to Van Gaal, to Mourinho and won trophies and made it back in the top 4 two years running, notsure why you cant see the strategy in that.
And maybe Mourinho is here next year and is given 100m+, that would be near half a billion he would have spend. I dont see how anyone in their right mind can not say has not been backed. You cant get every single player you want and moan about it not being backed if you don't get them
 

Moonwalker

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Don't know and dont care. I was using that as an argument against people saying that "Mourinho signed two duds so I wouldn't trust his opinion on signing another player".
Karius costed 5 million. That's a punt, not a serious investment. Had he squandered 65 million on two goalkeepers and still craved more, you could definitely see their owners saying no to those wishes.

And, as I was trying to point out, there's every reason to think Klopp had a plethora of wishes that couldn't be granted in terms of playing personnel, it's just that their owners didn't establish such a fatuous 'rapport' with the press, as our hapless CEO, so as to wash it all in public and let people contrive concepts like "no full backing".
 

Revan

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Don't know and dont care. I was using that as an argument against people saying that "Mourinho signed two duds so I wouldn't trust his opinion on signing another player".
Are there only 2 though (and both those duds were expensive duds)? Pogba, Lukaku have been at best underwhelming. Mkhitaryan was a clear miss, and somehow his replacement (most payed player in the league by a big margin) looks worse. Ibra has been good for one season, then got injured and somehow got an another contract. Matic has been quite good, I give you that. Fred looks a bit shit, but I guess to early to tell.

For most part, Mourinho has been as good at signings as coaching a team to attack.
 

bleedred

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Are there only 2 though (and both those duds were expensive duds)? Pogba, Lukaku have been at best underwhelming. Mkhitaryan was a clear miss, and somehow his replacement (most payed player in the league by a big margin) looks worse. Ibra has been good for one season, then got injured and somehow got an another contract. Matic has been quite good, I give you that. Fred looks a bit shit, but I guess to early to tell.

For most part, Mourinho has been as good at signings as coaching a team to attack.
Like I said, previously, I don't back Jose anymore. But if the board thought that he isn't good at transfers, then they should have just said, "thanks for your two years, You cannot identify good targets, Bye"!
 

ti vu

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Are there only 2 though (and both those duds were expensive duds)? Pogba, Lukaku have been at best underwhelming. Mkhitaryan was a clear miss, and somehow his replacement (most payed player in the league by a big margin) looks worse. Ibra has been good for one season, then got injured and somehow got an another contract. Matic has been quite good, I give you that. Fred looks a bit shit, but I guess to early to tell.

For most part, Mourinho has been as good at signings as coaching a team to attack.
It's easy to say how Mourinho signing were underwhelming and all, but try to remember what happen when some of them out of form or not available. Ain't we worse with what was already here from previous regime?

Sure the board doesn't have trust in Mourinho thus no more signings, then what? Why is he here? The expectation is to kick on to next level with or without Mourinho, yet why we're looking at more of the same from last season? What is the board is trying to prove? Football performance has no meaningful impact on business side?
 

fallengt

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Incompetent buffoon.
A man in his position should have plan to drive the club forward in both football and non-football things.
 

JohnnyKills

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Feel like Woodward has tried something pretty much unprecedented in top-level football. He's tried to build a football team to serve its marketing department, not the other way round.

A lot of teams have pushed the players' brands before (the Real Madrid Galácticos spring to mind) but they were always football-first. Success on the pitch was the most important thing.

But Woodward seems to see likes and shares as more important than goals and assists. He boasts to investors about players' social media reach and claims the club's commercial success has nothing to do with its football success.

But what's weird is he's hired two managers who aren't about that at all. So we've bought this weird mix of superstars and workhorses, and lost any semblance of vision and purpose.

Hopefully the hiring of a DoF will signal the end of this strategy once and for all.
 
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