I am genuinely not surprised one bit about this.
Run by a bunch of headless chickens.
Man Utd set to appoint Director of Football (when hell freezes over)
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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I am genuinely not surprised one bit about this.
Run by a bunch of headless chickens.
Not surprised by this at all. Ed is simply enjoying his powers too much. He’s not going to do what’s best for our club. He will do what he thinks is best.
We are irrelevant until a structure is in place. I won’t be watching with the same intenseness this year, just can’t be bothered caring about our problems when those in charge do nothing about it. Depressing.
Laughable management. Couldn't find a DOF since Christmas. Well played Woodward. Appease the fans after Jose's sacking and then do nothing about it.
On course to spend a decade without Epl trophy if he doesn't get it right this summer.
If he gets it wrong and Ole's reign gets worse then he has to go. He's already had a lot of 'last chances' and most fans don't like him.
Absolutely embarrassing decision.
Regardless of whether we're getting one or not, any person we brought in would have no impact on this summer's window.
I find Rio's most recent comments quite revealing as to our lack of planning. He's said he's interested but that the role is still to be clearly defined, yet we were told back in what, December(?), that a DoF would be appointed before the next permanent manager was announced. Fast forward 6 months and not only have we not appointed a DoF, we don't even know what their job description will be.
How much incompetence does Woodward need to display in order to be removed from football matters? It's infuriating.
How much incompetence does Woodward need to display in order to be removed from football matters? It's infuriating.
We have 2 chief scouts and a head of global scouting directly involved in deciding transfer targets, what kind of leadership structure is that? There can be no clear responsibility and accountability in that set up, which is why poor decisions get made repeatedly without responsibility being taken and people losing their jobs. After the last 6 years of poor decision followed by poor decision, obvious squad deficiencies not addressed and poor results on the pitch, we feel the system works? What criteria are they judging this against? We haven't been relegated yet? I just hope the story is bullshit otherwise we could be in for a decade of mediocrity until Woodward leaves.
For eff sake. When are those guys who claim to be real supporters because they watch the games live going to do something? I tell you, in Brazil the supporters would be rioting before the gates everyday, and heads would roll. What will it take for you to do something for the club you're supposed to love?
Did people seriously expect anything else? Why on earth would he give up 50% of his power?
Wait for Stone or Ducker to report something on the matter before you jump to conclusions over a speculative piece that seems to be written to rile a certain section of the fan base.
Ed is playing with fire, he better pray for Ole to succeed, otherwise the fans will be on his case.
After the Mourinho sack he promised to appoint a DOF before the start of next season and wait till the end of last season to appoint a manager, these two promises were made to appease the fans.
Sometimes I wonder if Ed deliberately choose the worst case scenario in every decision he makes, the Glazers and Ed have no intention of bringing us back to the top, it's not economical for them.
We can blame Ed, the Glazers,the managers, the players, but the truth is that we fans are the main culprits,we tolerate more than necessary, this can't happen at Madrid or Barca, our support and loyalty is drifting into docility that's why they are taking us for a ride.
Next season has ended for me before it begins.
After the Mourinho sack he promised to appoint a DOF before the start of next season and wait till the end of last season to appoint a manager, these two promises were made to appease the fans.
Sometimes I wonder if Ed deliberately choose the worst case scenario in every decision he makes, the Glazers and Ed have no intention of bringing us back to the top, it's not economical for them.
We can blame Ed, the Glazers,the managers, the players, but the truth is that we fans are the main culprits,we tolerate more than necessary, this can't happen at Madrid or Barca, our support and loyalty is drifting into docility that's why they are taking us for a ride.
Next season has ended for me before it begins.
There needs to be genuine, significant fan protests about this, calling for Woodward out, every game until he's gone. Banners, chants, sit-ins or walkouts, marches etc.
Rio’s comments back up the suspicion around the role - a nothing job with no real influence or decision making.
Would it take this long to appoint someone on the commercial side? We all know the answer to that question. It’s not a surprise. They don’t care about football and never have. They are a cancer.
Would it take this long to appoint someone on the commercial side? We all know the answer to that question. It’s not a surprise. They don’t care about football and never have. They are a cancer.
Why deal with the monkey when you can go straight to the organ grinder? Woodward is a symptom, the glazers are the disease.
I even believe the whole thing was a hoax from the start to get the fans to shut up about it.
Would not surprise me in the slightest....anything to deflect away from them.
This season could turn very toxic very quickly.
I have two line of thinking. First from the beginning I thought that the description was strange and either the club wasn't looking for a DOF or the press was making things up or both. But I also think that the reports in the last 6 months are clickbaits, basically every article from the Sun, Dailymail and their equivalents use Woodward's name for everything because they know that United fans will shut down their brains, click and get upset by whatever tripe they serve.
The press always do their dirty work of inventing stuff when there is no news. Our club never cared for a DOF I think. The moment we made OGS permanent without a DOF was the final proof I needed (I was doubtful before)
If anything if you read the article it sounds like they have formed a committee, with everyone having a veto on a player they listed about 7 people from Marcel Bout (head of global scouting) to Phelan and Ole. Supposedly Fletcher has bee involved in these talks as well to see how he got on.
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I have one line (of thinking). The club or Ed clearly briefed the press about our summer transfer targets and how club rejected them as we will go only for the absolute best (like Varane) undermining already what was a finished manager and went into the season with failure written all over it even before it started. After Jose got the sack, the club reported about the organizational change as they were aware about fans starting to questioning them and the whole structure that is in place. I think they (or Ed) really half-think about it, but it was also to calm the furious fans. Then Ole happened, everyone was cheerful and they scrapped the whole thing deciding everything will stay the same which suggests that we again didn't have anything close to a firm long-term plan.
A year later after the club briefed that money is there, but only for the absolute best, it made 360 deegres turn regarding our transfer policy and is now selling "youth, courage, success" moto. I don't mind going with it, but it is clear there is no consistency which is a problem.
The fans are been taking for a ride imo, but one thing am sure and that is if the shit hits the fan this year (and it might) they will start to feel serious pressure as you can fool and deceive people only for so long. As the saying goes, you can fool some people some times, but you can't fool all the people all the times.
Hope am wrong and we are at the start of something great with the club working in the right direction as we speak, but I seriously doubt it. And anyone who at least doesn't have serious question marks over the people who run this club are in denial.
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We are so fooked, fear for utd, i hate this guy with so much passion he's absolutely useless.
Wonder what the relegation odds are.
Wonder what the relegation odds are.
Just one important point, the club actually dismissed the idea of a DOF from the beginning the first brief was about a "DOFO" that wasn't supposed to be in charge of transfers, this idea has never actually changed from a report standpoint and it culminated with Ole's appointment and the idea that the new addition would work alongside the manager instead of being above him and then the transfer committee rumors.
So your theory could have been accurate if the club actually led people in the DOF direction but they never did, from the beginning the role and purpose is blatantly weird and isn't a DOF. I don't really know what they are doing and that's why I still give the club the benefits of doubts but I find it perplexing and it's not because of the time that they are taking but what the little details about the role that are spread around.
They didn't dismiss that they were looking for a "Technical Director". The idea was simply this - Woodward wanted to hold onto the power and at the same time, protect himself from fan ire (and Gary Neville) by hiring a yes-man. No experienced DoF will ever accept such a diminished role, so he turned to the likes of Rio, Evra, etc who have also presumably not been too eager to take the job due to its' limitations.
@Jim Beam summarized it perfectly. It's just Woodward trying to fool the fans. The strategy is this - We won't sanction massive spending even if we require it (150 million is max for us, and that obviously isn't enough considering our squad's condition). The only time we will break the bank for a player is if he is marketable - eg being Pogba, maybe Varane. But we won't pay 80 million for some name equivalent to say, someone like Salah or VvD when they were at Southampton and Roma as they wouldn't be marketable at the time we scout them.
But it will backfire some day. Our fans are slow to revolt, but even they would have a breaking point. Consider the fact that rivals are getting stronger and the midtable clubs are also working their way up with smart vision and recruitment to pose a threat to the weaker top 6 clubs like ourselves and Arsenal -- its' only a matter of time Ed is exposed fully if his Ole gamble doesn't work.
No you are simply fooling yourself, from the beginning the role was described as the role of a COO which is why I said at the time that it was fishy and that they were trying to replace Bolingbroke, the former COO. The issue is that some us mix what they want and what briefs say. If the brief tells you that the new man won't be in charge of transfers and won't be above the manager don't interpret it as "they want to make us believe that they will hire a DOF" because they are telling you that they won't.
I will wait for other papers to pick it up before venting.
You would think Ed Woodward was designed by a Liverpool fan somewhere and he's taking the piss.
You would think Ed Woodward was designed by a Liverpool fan somewhere and he's taking the piss.
This has been what has been briefed in the last month. A Liverpool style committee.
I honestly think we''ll be a club that finishes 8th or so more often than not.
No plan, no structure almost everything we do seems to be an obvious mistake.
Woodward is clueless on football matters, Ole is massively in experienced even more so when it comes to transfer dealings and the owners have little to no knowledge about the game hence why this charade continues to go on in a multi-billion pound global organisation
The whole thing is a complete farce.
No plan, no structure almost everything we do seems to be an obvious mistake.
Woodward is clueless on football matters, Ole is massively in experienced even more so when it comes to transfer dealings and the owners have little to no knowledge about the game hence why this charade continues to go on in a multi-billion pound global organisation
The whole thing is a complete farce.
Will have to check that actually. I can clearly remember the first reports, immediately after Jose got the sack, which stated caretaker, permanent manager and before a permanent one, the director of football. Can't remember it stated he won't be in charge of transfers.
A joke of a club. We can't see a specific plan short or long. We don't even know what's going on because it seems that there is nothing going on seriously. We seem also not able to get out targets or ship off our ridiculously below average players.
Exactly he is the CEO is he not?
The best gloss we can put on it is that the person they want (they really, really, want) is not currently available? So we are marking time!
However forming a committee of 7 people is dangerous, I'm reminded of the saying " a horse designed by a committee is a Camel"
Think everything that has come out of the club has been about us wanting a technical director, and not a director of football. The difference between the two basically being what JPRouve said.
This is why I knew the Ole 'clear out' was never going to happen. Other teams aren't going to pay the likes of Jones & Rojo 80k a week, Lingard 100+ and so on.
In regards to signings, It seems we have already missed out on our top targets like Sancho, Koulibaly etc and are now haggling over 10 fecking million for Wan Bissaka. Real Madrid wouldn't be doing that. They go out and get what they want. We are a second rate club now.
The first report is more than a year old, it didn't start 6 months ago. Initially, the role was supposed to be administrative with no say in transfers, that's what I'm talking about. In February there were reports about the future technical director being involved in more things but none said that he would be in charge as far as I can remember and finally we ended up with the transfer committee which kind of confirms their first idea.
As I said will check that, but... It was still about organizational change which never happened. Either they still haven't decided and cleared the role, either they did, but don't know who to place in it or they scrapped the whole thing they "wanted" in the start. So, whichever route you are willing to choose it doesn't actually scream competence and long-term planning. And looking at the whole picture in these last 6 years, it doesn't put much confidence they will get things right.
There is obviously a structure in place and people with vast experience involved at the club. The problem is, the final decisions are still made by the bankers. And when that is the case, the structure underneath doesn't have the autonomy or freedom to embed an ideology, they are merely making suggestions for the board to agree or veto. If Woodward took a step back from football decisions, and left them to it, we would be in a much better place. But he needs to have faith in his appointed team, to allow them to make decisions and work towards a five year plan. The DOF role is a red herring. No point in having one, if he cannot have full control of footballing matters. We already have that structure in place now.
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