Disneyland

Mainoldo

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If you read through anyone of my posts, I've not ONCE defended Ole. It is clear as day he should never have got the job, I never wanted Ole in the first place. I said it so in here (I think). But what I DO NOT want to happen again is, Ed to appoint another manager. He clearly shows that he is not capable of doing this.
Clearly... but I think there is a big difference to not picking the right guy to the actually club being a problem. Manchester United club is not actually that much of a problem but the selection of picking managers and assessing their performance on the field is terrible.

It’s why Mourinho gets a third season when he clearly took us as far as ‘he’ could go and why we’ve received this stupid pitch about long term vision watch is the worse long term planning since Moyes 6 year contract.

I agree with fears of sacking Ole and changing the plan completely but we have no principle we allow every manager we hire to decide them and it’s a joke.
 

Denis79

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Excellent, well-written post. The leadership will always be reflected in the end product. Our product isn't very good at the moment is it?
 

red thru&thru

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Clearly... but I think there is a big difference to not picking the right guy to the actually club being a problem. Manchester United club is not actually that much of a problem but the selection of picking managers and assessing their performance on the field is terrible.

It’s why Mourinho gets a third season when he clearly took us as far as ‘he’ could go and why we’ve received this stupid pitch about long term vision watch is the worse long term planning since Moyes 6 year contract.

I agree with fears of sacking Ole and changing the plan completely but we have no principle we allow every manager we hire to decide them and it’s a joke.
good to know we actually share similar opinions. You're correct that the club isn't the problem but the people who run the club becomes the club and as a club, we are incompetent. But get the proper people, in the correct places, there is nothing to suggest we can't be competing very soon again.
 

SaintMuppet

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I really don’t get the Ed hate. Ok I get it as he is a horrid little man but is it really all him?

He is doing exactly what he is told by his bosses. He gets a brief and clearly follows it else he would be out on his ear. Why are we not hounding the real problem at the club???
 

red thru&thru

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I really don’t get the Ed hate. Ok I get it as he is a horrid little man but is it really all him?

He is doing exactly what he is told by his bosses. He gets a brief and clearly follows it else he would be out on his ear. Why are we not hounding the real problem at the club???
Because we don't see them or hear from them. Ed on the other hand, is the most egotistic ceo of any club, other than Perez maybe. The guy is always talking crap and leaking even worse stuff. Also, if he doesn't like it, he can leave!

But yes, Glazer's should also be targeted!
 

Suedesi

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Let's be fair, the pitch wasn't the best, but it was more timing than anything else.

On 11 April 2014 at 10 p.m., Jürgen Klopp met Hans-Joachim Watzke for a drink at Munich’s Park Hilton Hotel and told him that he had made up his mind. He was staying put.

Earlier that day, ahead of the team’s departure for an away game at Bayern’s Allianz Arena, the Borussia Dortmund coach had still been undecided. He’d received a tempting, hugely lucrative offer from the north-west of England, a chance to take over and revolutionise one of the biggest clubs in the world. ‘We first met in my kitchen,’ says Watzke. ‘Without going into details, it was an interesting talk. I think it made a difference because he said to me on the plane that we needed to talk again in the evening. I was due to have dinner with my daughter, who lived in Munich, so I could only see him at 10 p.m. He straightaway said: “I can’t deal with this pressure any more. I’ve turned them down."

Not long before, Manchester United executive vice chairman Ed Woodward had flown out to see Klopp in Germany. David Moyes’ short tenure at Old Trafford was coming to an end, and Klopp was United’s favourite to replace him, to bring back a sense of adventure to the Red Devils’ game. Woodward told Klopp that the Theatre of Dreams was ‘like an adult version of Disneyland’, a mythical place where, as the nickname suggested, the entertainment on show was world-class and dreams came true. Klopp wasn’t entirely convinced by that sales pitch–he found it a bit ‘unsexy’, he told a friend–but he didn’t dismiss the proposition out of hand either. After almost six years in the job at Dortmund, perhaps the time was ripe for a change of scenery.

Aware of United’s interest, Watzke had intended to insist that Klopp honour his contract, which had been extended to 2018 only the preceding autumn. Sensing that the 46-year-old was quite conflicted, Watzke changed tack and opted for a very risky strategy. If Klopp wanted to go to Man Utd, he wouldn’t stand in his way, he told him, playing on their mutual trust and a connection that had long since crossed from business into the territory of friendship. After some deliberation–and the conversation at Watzke’s kitchen table–the BVB manager came to the conclusion that his work at the Signal Iduna Park was not yet done.

United, however, felt there was still a possibility of luring him away. When Moyes received his inevitable marching orders on 22 April, Klopp was quickly installed as the bookmakers’ favourite to succeed the Scot. Incessant media speculation in the UK prompted the Swabian to release a statement via the Guardian the next day, to kill the rumour. ‘Man Utd is a great club and I feel very familiar with their wonderful fans,’ it read, ‘but my commitment to Borussia Dortmund and the people is unbreakable.”

Klopp continued to attract interest from the Premier League, regardless. Six months after he had turned down Woodward, Manchester United’s local rivals Manchester City made an approach. Tottenham Hotspur, too, enquired about his services. At the same time, Klopp used an interview with BT Sport ahead of Dortmund’s Champions League game at Arsenal to make his long-term intentions known. Asked whether he would be coming to England once his time at Borussia was over, the answer was unequivocal. ‘It’s the only country, I think, where I should work, really, [after] Germany,’ he nodded, ‘because it’s the only country I know the language a little bit. And I need the language for my work. So we will see. If somebody will call me, then we will talk about it.’

The writing was very much on the wall then, Watzke says. Dortmund were having their first–and only–poor domestic campaign with Klopp in charge, and an escape to rainier climes all of a sudden held more attraction than before. Watzke: ‘Our season was already in the toilet, and you got that distinct feeling… For me it was clear that he wouldn’t go anywhere else in Germany after Borussia, he wouldn't be able to do that. He always said he didn’t study English but I’m pretty sure he polished it a little bit. I could observe that he had. It was obvious that he’d go to the Premier League. That’s his game.

Almost exactly one year after Klopp had said no to United, his bond with Dortmund turned out to be breakable after all. He announced he would resign at the end of the 2014–15 season, making sure to add that he didn’t intend to take a sabbatical.

***

“Klopp’s name had first cropped up at Anfield in the spring of 2012, as possible successors to Kenny Dalglish were being sounded out. A middle-man got in touch with the Dortmund coach but was told in no uncertain terms that Klopp had no intention of leaving. He was on the way to winning a historic double.”

Excerpt From: Raphael Honigstein. “Bring the Noise: The Jürgen Klopp Story.” Apple Books.
 

fps

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I really enjoyed reading your post, very creative!
 

RedCurry

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Had we got Klopp back then, we'd still be managed by Ole right now. The management above Klopp would be Ed Woodward and ultimately he's unfit for the job.
 

AshRK

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Another exhibit of how arrogant Woodward can be. He thinks we are Manchester United and we can do whatever we want and are the place to be. The fact that the guy contributed zero success to this club acts like he made this club is what infuriates me the most. The day we signed Maguire he was acting all giddy by waving at the media and walking past them. The guy has killed the club singlehandedly.
 

Traub

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It sounds like Woodward did zero research into Klopp's character, and what would best appeal to him.
Ya, but it’s better than hiring someone who doesn’t fit into Ed’s vision.
 

Adam-Utd

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Does anyone think we would have stuck with klopp for 4 seasons , no chance imho , he was berated on here in his earlier tenure at "anfailed" never won a final etc , dilussional German with his own failure thread as I recall.


Not excusing Ed for his numpty approach by any stretch of the imagination
100%

we aren’t desperate for trophies, just progress to begin with. Everybody was happy with ole at first as progress seemed possible. Everything was going well until PSG. Those injuries changed everything. For some reason we lost that spark and it doesn’t seem he can get it back.
 

fps

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It's not Disneyland so much as one of those Christmas wonderlands you hear about that's got one sick deer and a couple of 6ft elves on their phones in a car park.
 

SteveJ

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Sounds as bad as a zoo I once visited - empty cages with signs on them like: 'Benjamin the leopard (deceased)'.
 

clarkydaz

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100%

we aren’t desperate for trophies, just progress to begin with. Everybody was happy with ole at first as progress seemed possible. Everything was going well until PSG. Those injuries changed everything. For some reason we lost that spark and it doesn’t seem he can get it back.
He has turned into a defensive manager since that psg/liverpool week. For some reason he abandoned the reasons he was given the job in the first place
 

M15 Red.

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Any new manager will face the same problems Ole's dealing with. A thin squad. On huge contracts. With big egos. Plus an over reliance on youth. Disneyland would be an exaggeration atm. We're more like Camelot. A dusty wreck.
 

Needham

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Klopp is a Christian version of George Graham camped in the opposition's half. Ed Woodward had no idea how to approach such a man.
 

Acole9

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The whole adult Disneyland thing has to be utter bullshit.
 

Valuedrug

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I wonder how he’ll pitch the job to Pochettino, now that Ole is most likely reaching the end of the line.

I seem to recall reading that his methods have previously included team building events in the mould of secluded, survival-like get aways with his players. Breaking arrows with your throat and the like. Maybe this time around Woodward will play the man instead of the cards, and liken United to a sporting version of The Walking Dead.

Leading a motley group of shellshocked survivors into a dystopian nightmare. Where moments of brief serenity are sparsely sprinkled in between the gut wrenching decisions, sacrifices, cruel and casual losses with only hunger and chaos as steadfast companions?

I think he might go for it.
 

Annihilate Now!

...or later, I'm not fussy
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Forget Disneyland, we're more like that theme park Eddy Murphy goes to in Beverley Hills Cop 3
 

SteveJ

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Miseryland.