Ed Woodward 2019 - Until all Arctic ice melts edition

dev1l

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Businessmen are generally not very good at taking footballing decisions as emotions are involved.
 

UncleBob

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I read somewhere that the Glazers involve themselves in footballing decisions such as transfers.
There was a rumour about one of them stopping Jose from putting Martial on transfer list because he was his favourite player.
Did you also hear the one about the lizard people ?
 

Johan07

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The suspicion is Woodward not Jose. Jose was not exactly thrilled with his acquisition seeing he never played him.
Why the feck would Woodward himself decide to invest 50m of Glazers money on Fred? Does anyone really think he sits playing FM at home at nights or watching old Shakhtar games and thinking: thats the guy we should get? Like, really?
Its not like Fred is a PR-dream either, which is usually thrown at "Woodward-signings". Sorry, but this is a conspiracy theory at the best.
What probably happened was that Mourinho did not get his first options and had to settle for his 4-5th. We have done that way too much over the last 6 years.
 

Annihilate Now!

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So to summarize:

  • Woodward counters the 'noodle partner' jibe by saying that the commercial side isn't his domain. He actually focuses on football matters. That's a major blow to his supporters on here.
It's as big a shambles as we all thought.
If this is the case then it is inexcusable for him to not have been fired by now.

How can one man be so shit at a job and continued to still be employed? If it wasn't any more apparent that the Glazers obviously do not give two shits about what is going on at this club
 

tomaldinho1

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Why hasn't he been run out of town yet?
Most likely because it's a sensationalist article. I know we want him gone but there's not really any proof in this, it's just a lot of stories cobbled together by a clever writer. Journalists love writing about United because we have a massive supporters network and things aren't going well so there are a lot of opinions flying round - we're treating it as a fact but really it's some commonly known information (where he's from, some facts about his childhood) to give the pretence of accuracy and then just a mish mash of opinions to trigger fans.
 

Johan07

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Fellaini taking shots at the board.
So you mean that us fans - as a clear majority - did not want LVG out as well? He could be taking shots at us as well if thats the case. So now we are blaming the board for sacking LVG? Thats fecking backwards.
I read the interview and its actually quite balanced btw.
 

UncleBob

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Most likely because it's a sensationalist article. I know we want him gone but there's not really any proof in this, it's just a lot of stories cobbled together by a clever writer. Journalists love writing about United because we have a massive supporters network and things aren't going well so there are a lot of opinions flying round - we're treating it as a fact but really it's some commonly known information (where he's from, some facts about his childhood) to give the pretence of accuracy and then just a mish mash of opinions to trigger fans.
Pretty much.

But two signings in two windows hardly deserved a round of applause and Moyes had been concerned early on. As names such as Thiago Alcantara, Cesc Fabregas, Toni Kroos, Ander Herrera and Gareth Bale flew around Carrington, without any signing, Moyes wondered aloud about the legitimacy of those pursuits. “I don’t know if this man is a genius or a clown,” Moyes said of Woodward. There was little laughter when none of that stellar wish-list arrived.

The recruitment system without Ferguson’s alchemy was flawed. A scout’s recommendation for Atletico Madrid’s Saul Niguez, available then for £8 million, fell through the gaps, while Moyes rejected the one signing lined up, Thiago, because he was not personally familiar with the player.


So which one is it.

In terms of the rest of the names, Moyes is quoted from here and to the moon about his interest in Fabregas and Bale:

‘When I first went in my real target was Gareth Bale. I felt all along that he was a Manchester United player,’ said Moyes, who left with United seventh in the Premier League. ‘I fought right until the last minute. We actually offered a bigger deal than Real Madrid. But Gareth had his mind made up on going to Madrid. That was, in my mind, the player I really wanted to bring to Manchester United. ‘The other one was Cesc Fabregas, who we thought we would get right up until the last minute.
 

AshRK

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So you mean that us fans - as a clear majority - did not want LVG out as well? He could be taking shots at us as well if thats the case. So now we are blaming the board for sacking LVG? Thats fecking backwards.
I read the interview and its actually quite balanced btw.
We fans don't run the club or make decisions. This whole notion of how dare fans criticise the board is bs. There were many fans who were not fully supportive of Jose getting a contract extension that soon, similarly there were fans who thought the Board should wait till the end of the season before appointing Ole, or at least till top 4 was confirmed. These are just 2 decisions but there have been many decisions they have taken in the last 6 years which were amateurish.
 

Neil_Buchanan

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Whoring out the name of our successful club to anyone and everyone doesn't make you an impressive business man. Sounds quite easy actually just pick any object at random and google the top businesses which sell that object. Then start ringing down the list until you find someone rich and stupid enough to sponsor the club.
 

Johan07

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Pretty much.

But two signings in two windows hardly deserved a round of applause and Moyes had been concerned early on. As names such as Thiago Alcantara, Cesc Fabregas, Toni Kroos, Ander Herrera and Gareth Bale flew around Carrington, without any signing, Moyes wondered aloud about the legitimacy of those pursuits. “I don’t know if this man is a genius or a clown,” Moyes said of Woodward. There was little laughter when none of that stellar wish-list arrived.

The recruitment system without Ferguson’s alchemy was flawed. A scout’s recommendation for Atletico Madrid’s Saul Niguez, available then for £8 million, fell through the gaps, while Moyes rejected the one signing lined up, Thiago, because he was not personally familiar with the player.


So which one is it.

In terms of the rest of the names, Moyes is quoted from here and to the moon about his interest in Fabregas and Bale:

‘When I first went in my real target was Gareth Bale. I felt all along that he was a Manchester United player,’ said Moyes, who left with United seventh in the Premier League. ‘I fought right until the last minute. We actually offered a bigger deal than Real Madrid. But Gareth had his mind made up on going to Madrid. That was, in my mind, the player I really wanted to bring to Manchester United. ‘The other one was Cesc Fabregas, who we thought we would get right up until the last minute.
We should not forget the fact that Moyes was installed on OT before Woodward was made COO and that most of that transfer window - if one wants to play the blame game - is on Moyes, Gill, and Sir Alex. And Moyes himself is not on Woodward. LVG and Mourinho and now Ole is. But not Moyes.
 

Johan07

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We fans don't run the club or make decisions. This whole notion of how dare fans criticise the board is bs. There were many fans who were not fully supportive of Jose getting a contract extension that soon, similarly there were fans who thought the Board should wait till the end of the season before appointing Ole, or at least till top 4 was confirmed. These are just 2 decisions but there have been many decisions they have taken in the last 6 years which were amateurish.
LVG had lost the dressing room. He had to go for that reason and maybe others, but for that reason alone.
The appointment of Mourinho was an disaster as well as letting him handle the squad transfer-wise as he did. Lukaku, Matic and Sanchez were terrible acquisitions and set us back years because of what they cost the club. I am not going to judge Fred yet, but it does not look too good.
 

R'hllor

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LVG had lost the dressing room. He had to go for that reason and maybe others, but for that reason alone.
The appointment of Mourinho was an disaster as well as letting him handle the squad transfer-wise as he did. Lukaku, Matic and Sanchez were terrible acquisitions and set us back years because of what they cost the club. I am not going to judge Fred yet, but it does not look too good.
Nope.
 

Johan07

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Yeah, he had. Players were fed up with his gym teacher attitude and discipline.
And this is from one of the biggest LVG supporters on here that wishes we would have stuck with him or at lthe very least not replaced him with Mourinho. But he lost the dressing room, and also could not be trusted to bring in new big name players because of the way he runs a team. I think its a pity myself but IMO its what happened.
 

tomaldinho1

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Pretty much.

But two signings in two windows hardly deserved a round of applause and Moyes had been concerned early on. As names such as Thiago Alcantara, Cesc Fabregas, Toni Kroos, Ander Herrera and Gareth Bale flew around Carrington, without any signing, Moyes wondered aloud about the legitimacy of those pursuits. “I don’t know if this man is a genius or a clown,” Moyes said of Woodward. There was little laughter when none of that stellar wish-list arrived.

The recruitment system without Ferguson’s alchemy was flawed. A scout’s recommendation for Atletico Madrid’s Saul Niguez, available then for £8 million, fell through the gaps, while Moyes rejected the one signing lined up, Thiago, because he was not personally familiar with the player.


So which one is it.

In terms of the rest of the names, Moyes is quoted from here and to the moon about his interest in Fabregas and Bale:

‘When I first went in my real target was Gareth Bale. I felt all along that he was a Manchester United player,’ said Moyes, who left with United seventh in the Premier League. ‘I fought right until the last minute. We actually offered a bigger deal than Real Madrid. But Gareth had his mind made up on going to Madrid. That was, in my mind, the player I really wanted to bring to Manchester United. ‘The other one was Cesc Fabregas, who we thought we would get right up until the last minute.
Exactly - there are holes all over the story. Also the most ridiculous thing is the clear bait that comes in early on that Woodward doesn't consider himself to be on the commercial side, it's like a child's attempt to wind someone up because it's so obviously wrong. Everything commercial will go through him.
 

Pexbo

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For what it's worth. A transfer committee made up of ex United players sounds like an absolutely terrible idea.
 

Halal Jalal

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So to summarize:

  • Woodward counters the 'noodle partner' jibe by saying that the commercial side isn't his domain. He actually focuses on football matters. That's a major blow to his supporters on here.
  • Woodward kept Rooney, not Moyes.
  • "there is a suspicion among some agents that Woodward, for all his supposed intentions to appoint a “head of football”, enjoys the glamour of the game too much to ever truly relinquish involvement in transfers."
  • "At times a player’s personal terms have even been agreed, and contracts drawn up, only for lines of communication to go cold as United instead close in on a different target. Woodward has been known to place a courtesy call after the event to explain and assuage." Explains a lot.
  • "There are claims Mourinho only acceded to the Brazilian midfielder, who came at a cost of £52 million, because he felt the alternative was no midfielder at all." So whose signing is he?
  • "“You don’t really get near Woodward, he delegates a lot of work to Murtough and Judge,” said one leading agent. “Judge is like an acting director of football, really. But what experience has he got in the football industry?”"
  • "There was one early incident that exposed the differences between working in the city and football, though. Judge held a positive early meeting with a representative of Edinson Cavani but then saw the move derailed when the brother of the player became involved and made different demands. Judge now often asks for prospective details to be outlined in an email". Interesting.
  • "Woodward spoke with Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, and Darren Fletcher among others about the role but those conversations have yet to lead to anywhere definitive. A committee of former players offering formal advice on signings was proposed but fairly quickly parked" So no committee then.
  • "One candidate discovered the proposed role had the potential to be more about carrying messages than making decisions. When it emerged any appointment could work from the club’s Mayfair offices, the sense grew United did not carry serious intentions for significant change." And no real DoF either.

It's as big a shambles as we all thought.
Watch this space :lol:
 

red thru&thru

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As long as there's the Glazers, there's Woodward
Unfortunately, you are correct. Maybe in the wrong thread, but I see one of the other Glazer siblings sold their shares recently? Could be much to do about nothing but always gives us hope that they are looking to bail out, whilst they can get the share prices as what they are now, before they drop even further.
 

Fluctuation0161

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We should not forget the fact that Moyes was installed on OT before Woodward was made COO and that most of that transfer window - if one wants to play the blame game - is on Moyes, Gill, and Sir Alex. And Moyes himself is not on Woodward. LVG and Mourinho and now Ole is. But not Moyes.
Stop splitting hairs. Woodward has made more than enough mistakes to be sacked 5 times over.
 

Johan07

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For what it's worth. A transfer committee made up of ex United players sounds like an absolutely terrible idea.
It does sound romantic, but how anyone would think it is a good idea in todays world of football with fulltime-employed professional scouts? Its beyond me.
 

R'hllor

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Yeah, he had. Players were fed up with his gym teacher attitude and discipline.
And this is from one of the biggest LVG supporters on here that wishes we would have stuck with him or at lthe very least not replaced him with Mourinho. But he lost the dressing room, and also could not be trusted to bring in new big name players because of the way he runs a team. I think its a pity myself but IMO its what happened.
5-6 months before FA cup final, players had perfect chance to turn on him and they didnt. Majority hated LvG so much that it would be a slam dunk for them, heck they would been seen as heroes if they turned their backs on him at the time. Sure maybe they were unhappy with him but he never lost them lost them, you can not lose a dressing room and win something at the end.

Compare that with JM and Chelsea, thats how it looks when you lose dressing room, backstabbing till he is gone, there is a reason why Chelsea match going fans turned on with banners next game and called their own players rats, snake what else.
 

UncleBob

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You'd better watch out mate. Better hope you don't see me in the streets with comments like those. :lol:
Lets be honest, physical confrontation is for morons. I ran into a knobhead that went to the same school as me, i remember when he broke his wrist at the age of 16 while fighting a lamp post (Alcohol was involved), at the age of 35 he's happily bragging about how he got thrown out, and banned for 6 months from the local pub for alcoholics because he got in a drunken fight. I mean, great, congratulations, 19 years later you're still an absolute clown.
 

Roboc7

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I still think he has a lot of potential in the right setup. He did well at Molde and Cardiff are rubbish and will make anybody look bad. He says the right things and his targets are spot on, hust a shame his tactics are so inconsistent. It’s not all bad like many suggest. For the first time in years it seems we have the manager, players, and club hierarchy, all pulling in the same direction. This is important. In the long run it might well pay off & I would trust Ole to at least identify the right targets. I want to see how we perform with a fully fit squad and a good run.
His tactics are terrible there’s no other way to describe it and he looks completely lost. Other than swapping front three for sake of it be just sticks to same formation and has no plan other than counter attacking. I don’t know how can say club is pulling in same direction the whole club is all over the place on and off the pitch. If Ole’s picking our targets we’re in trouble because he won’t get likes of Maddison and Sancho and no one else at the club will be able to realise that.

At best Ole could make us decent enough to finish in top four by massively over spending on players from Premier League. However that will take years because it will be up to Woodward and pals to get the deals done. But Ole won’t all of a sudden become a top manager, he’s closer to Bruce in quality than he is to Pep. That’s not even an insult just the reality of situation we find ourselves in.
 

ash_86

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His tactics are terrible there’s no other way to describe it and he looks completely lost. Other than swapping front three for sake of it be just sticks to same formation and has no plan other than counter attacking. I don’t know how can say club is pulling in same direction the whole club is all over the place on and off the pitch. If Ole’s picking our targets we’re in trouble because he won’t get likes of Maddison and Sancho and no one else at the club will be able to realise that.

At best Ole could make us decent enough to finish in top four by massively over spending on players from Premier League. However that will take years because it will be up to Woodward and pals to get the deals done. But Ole won’t all of a sudden become a top manager, he’s closer to Bruce in quality than he is to Pep. That’s not even an insult just the reality of situation we find ourselves in.
Since ole took over you look at his tactics against top 6. I don't think we've come second best in any of those games except maybe against city. Against big opposition tactics matter a lot and we have been doing quite good. Against teams who park the bus is where we seem to be doing poor as our players are unable to move the ball in tight spaces due to lack of close dribbling and quality.
 

OT1214

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The article says Woodward was once a Liverpool fan. That explains everything :D