Steve McClaren | Yessh our new assistant coach

Andy_Cole

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Care to elaborate? It's crazy if things are really like that.
Who brought in those coaches?
Given recent changes, are these guys being replaced?
Could you explain a bit more closely about 30 coaches who don’t want to have any strategies whatsoever? Sounds implausibly exaggerated to me, but I’m an OTK
I think you're a bit of a fibber
I have a friend who consults to various PL club and this was what he told me. The interesting part was that he works with several clubs so he can compare the good ones (City, Brighton) to the bad ones (United). He even does some work with Ajax which he praises but he fears the Hag appointment is superficial and won’t change the grander scheme of things. He’s not a United fan, this was his honest opinion.

Sorry I didn’t mean 30 coaches but 30 staff members all involved in football. Some coaches, analysts etc. Obviously PL football is a giant organisation and it’s no surprise the size of the teams that work on the football. Unfortunately like I said United are so institutionalised, and there’s no care from the Glazers to change that we are stuck in the past. Woodward was part of the problem too. Hopefully this new Murtough era changes things.
 

Dante

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This kind of thing really makes a difference. The players won't be oblivious to how subpar things are at United and how little of a shit the board gives.

It's a bit like that phenomenon in city planning, where a run down area inevitably gets disrespected with graffiti and litter. But after the council invest in local facilities, all of a sudden the same population who used to treat it like crap start taking pride in it and keeping up its standards themselves.

If United were best-in-class behind the scenes, it would begin to feed through to the pitch.
 

Adebisi's Hat

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who do you feckin think ?
I have a friend who consults to various PL club and this was what he told me. The interesting part was that he works with several clubs so he can compare the good ones (City, Brighton) to the bad ones (United). He even does some work with Ajax which he praises but he fears the Hag appointment is superficial and won’t change the grander scheme of things. He’s not a United fan, this was his honest opinion.

Sorry I didn’t mean 30 coaches but 30 staff members all involved in football. Some coaches, analysts etc. Obviously PL football is a giant organisation and it’s no surprise the size of the teams that work on the football. Unfortunately like I said United are so institutionalised, and there’s no care from the Glazers to change that we are stuck in the past. Woodward was part of the problem too. Hopefully this new Murtough era changes things.
That's fascinating, I love these types of comments and inside info. Hopefully Ralf has identified this issue and from Ten Hags interview rant i'm sure has mentioned this issue. Not to put you or your friend in a spot but do the recent 'retirements' make sense in this context ?
 

ti vu

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Will Van der Gaag be joining the coaching staff also ?
Sound like it, since he's reported to attend the meeting regarding transfer, pre season, and plan for next season along with ETH and McLaren
 

Mainoldo

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Good COO. Unlike Phelan this guy has been best in class in what he does. Wasn’t just picked up for being a United old boy.
 

Mainoldo

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Best in class in what?
What is he best at?
He done a very good job at Derby which got him the United gig. Then did a good job here which got him a management job at Middlesbrough. From there he managed to also get the England job.

Not being funny but what assistant manager has that type of CV.

He was clearly the best in class at what he was doing to continue to get big roles. I didn’t mean it as he was the best in world football. Just pointing out his excelled in his job roles.
 

romufc

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He done a very good job at Derby which got him the United gig. Then did a good job here which got him a management job at Middlesbrough. From there he managed to also get the England job.

Not being funny but what assistant manager has that type of CV.

He was clearly the best in class at what he was doing to continue to get big roles. I didn’t mean it as he was the best in world football. Just pointing out his excelled in his job roles.
So Phelan didn't do well when he was Fergie's assistant?

McClaren went from being manager at Derby to consultant at M. Tel Aviv to QPR manager to Technical Director at Derby, all of them one year or less spells.

So he is best in his class but you dont hes has different roles over the last 3 years.

I dont get why people like to talk negative about Phelan but will say McClaren is best in class when their recent CV's have been very similar.
 

DJ_21

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So Phelan didn't do well when he was Fergie's assistant?

McClaren went from being manager at Derby to consultant at M. Tel Aviv to QPR manager to Technical Director at Derby, all of them one year or less spells.

So he is best in his class but you dont hes has different roles over the last 3 years.

I dont get why people like to talk negative about Phelan but will say McClaren is best in class when their recent CV's have been very similar.
Does phelan even coach the players? Like hands on? Sure rangnick said he doesn’t which means he’s useless… ten Hag is very hands on and will want his assistants to be doing some actual coaching aswell.
 

Mainoldo

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So Phelan didn't do well when he was Fergie's assistant?

McClaren went from being manager at Derby to consultant at M. Tel Aviv to QPR manager to Technical Director at Derby, all of them one year or less spells.

So he is best in his class but you dont hes has different roles over the last 3 years.

I dont get why people like to talk negative about Phelan but will say McClaren is best in class when their recent CV's have been very similar.
Mike Phelan himself said he was literally doing nothing in the lower leagues and Fergie called him to come onboard his team.

It’s a bit different to making a lot of noise for your good work at Derby and been given a chance to show that at United.

Who then go on to win a Treble and a few more league titles whilst your assistant manager. This then gets you head hunted by Middlesbrough who you take to a league cup.

Again. Tell me where the match up is similar??
 

Marwood

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I have a friend who consults to various PL club and this was what he told me. The interesting part was that he works with several clubs so he can compare the good ones (City, Brighton) to the bad ones (United). He even does some work with Ajax which he praises but he fears the Hag appointment is superficial and won’t change the grander scheme of things. He’s not a United fan, this was his honest opinion.

Sorry I didn’t mean 30 coaches but 30 staff members all involved in football. Some coaches, analysts etc. Obviously PL football is a giant organisation and it’s no surprise the size of the teams that work on the football. Unfortunately like I said United are so institutionalised, and there’s no care from the Glazers to change that we are stuck in the past. Woodward was part of the problem too. Hopefully this new Murtough era changes things.
Bit surprised United being old fashioned, institutionalised and insular are hiring in outside consultants. Doesn't really add up.
 

romufc

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Mike Phelan himself said he was literally doing nothing in the lower leagues and Fergie called him to come onboard his team.

It’s a bit different to making a lot of noise for your good work at Derby and been given a chance to show that at United.

Who then go on to win a Treble and a few more league titles whilst your assistant manager. This then gets you head hunted by Middlesbrough who you take to a league cup.

Again. Tell me where the match up is similar??
That was 20 years plus ago mate. Which is why Phelan wasn't good appointment by Ole because it was outdated tactics.

Yes, So SAF got Phelan in 2008 and we won doubles, league titles, CL finals.

MY point is you ca say can say one is a good appointment without having to shit on other people.
 

romufc

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Does phelan even coach the players? Like hands on? Sure rangnick said he doesn’t which means he’s useless… ten Hag is very hands on and will want his assistants to be doing some actual coaching aswell.
So Ten Hag, Mitchell van der Gaag and McClaren will hands on coach the players?

So Rangnick said he doesnt coach = he is useless. You believe everything Rangnick says then? He also said he wants to play a certain way, but I dont see it on the pitch so he must be useless too?
 

Mainoldo

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That was 20 years plus ago mate. Which is why Phelan wasn't good appointment by Ole because it was outdated tactics.

Yes, So SAF got Phelan in 2008 and we won doubles, league titles, CL finals.

MY point is you ca say can say one is a good appointment without having to shit on other people.
Phalan was brought back in 2000. He got promoted, but back to 2008 I’d have that more in line with Carlos coming back.

It was 20 years ago and his job now would not be what it was then. The game has moved on. My point was he comes in with high level insight which is what is required. He’s not embedded with a United DNA. He personally know’s what top performance looks like and why. I can’t say that’s been the case lately with our coaching staff.

I’m guessing but I see his role more to do with information on the league and the English game. Probably what Brian Kidd offers Man City.
 

Mainoldo

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Bit surprised United being old fashioned, institutionalised and insular are hiring in outside consultants. Doesn't really add up.
It’s how you can get out the rut. Or just continue to be unsuccessful.
 

Marwood

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It’s how you can get out the rut. Or just continue to be unsuccessful.
My point was United can't be all that antiquated and stuck in their ways if they're paying outside consultants to advise.

I'm made up about McClaren. Maybe lacked the steel to be a manager but I think always comes across well. Plus the track record.
 

Marwood

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That was 20 years plus ago mate. Which is why Phelan wasn't good appointment by Ole because it was outdated tactics.

Yes, So SAF got Phelan in 2008 and we won doubles, league titles, CL finals.

MY point is you ca say can say one is a good appointment without having to shit on other people.
You've got top level ex pros saying really good things about McClarens coaching. He was Fergie's number two in the days when they were almost totally responsible for training.

I can't readily remember anyone saying similar about Phelan and he simply didn't have the same role.

I don't think Phelan was responsible for the training programme and overall structure. More a cog in the machine.
 

DJ_21

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So Ten Hag, Mitchell van der Gaag and McClaren will hands on coach the players?

So Rangnick said he doesnt coach = he is useless. You believe everything Rangnick says then? He also said he wants to play a certain way, but I dont see it on the pitch so he must be useless too?
More then likely yes, wasn’t McClaren there when we won the treble? Rangnick did say he doesn’t do any coaching, obviously not the useless part and every manager has a way of playing but certain ones can’t play the way they want because of the shite squad they inherited. Klopp wanted to play a certain way with Liverpool but didn’t and couldn’t until 3 years later when he has his own squad. Why you so defensive over phelan, he was there with ole and we still looked under coached!
 

romufc

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Klopp wanted to play a certain way with Liverpool but didn’t and couldn’t until 3 years later when he has his own squad.
That's a complete lie. Go ask Liverpool fans they will tell you that you could see a style in the first season. The one they got to the final of the Europa. They played high intensity pressing football from the get go.
 

DJ_21

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That's a complete lie. Go ask Liverpool fans they will tell you that you could see a style in the first season. The one they got to the final of the Europa. They played high intensity pressing football from the get go.
Maybe he inherited players who could adapt and play that style straight away but they still wasn’t good enough as he won nothing for 3 years. We’ve got a bunch of lazy players who don’t want to run or do anything. I don’t think pep or klopp could get this bunch to play a certain style.
 

romufc

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Maybe he inherited players who could adapt and play that style straight away but they still wasn’t good enough as he won nothing for 3 years. We’ve got a bunch of lazy players who don’t want to run or do anything. I don’t think pep or klopp could get this bunch to play a certain style.
If that's the case we need 18 new players? If all our players are lazy, why we hiring a new manager hoping it will change?

He will have the same players, a few additions.

Or maybe Rangnick is terrible coach and cannot motivate the players.
 

Mainoldo

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My point was United can't be all that antiquated and stuck in their ways if they're paying outside consultants to advise.

I'm made up about McClaren. Maybe lacked the steel to be a manager but I think always comes across well. Plus the track record.
Well it’s easy to ignore when your “successfull”. Which they made us aware of many times in Solskjaer briefs. When your out in plain site for everyone to see. You start taking external advice serious. Which is only a good thing. I mean that internal restructure was a joke and destined to fail. Luckily the game who designed it has left.
 

Revaulx

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You've got top level ex pros saying really good things about McClarens coaching. He was Fergie's number two in the days when they were almost totally responsible for training.

I can't readily remember anyone saying similar about Phelan and he simply didn't have the same role.

I don't think Phelan was responsible for the training programme and overall structure. More a cog in the machine.
I think he was more than just a cog. He was SAF’s right hand man on admin and HR matters. Of all the ones fired by Moyes, he was probably the biggest loss; had he been kept he’d have helped Moyes handle the players better.

Your point still stands though. I don’t think there’s any evidence to suggest he was involved in tactics or training.
 

RedDevilRoshi

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Sound like it, since he's reported to attend the meeting regarding transfer, pre season, and plan for next season along with ETH and McLaren
I take it is he the only coach from Ajax that ETH is bringing with him?
 

DJ_21

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If that's the case we need 18 new players? If all our players are lazy, why we hiring a new manager hoping it will change?

He will have the same players, a few additions.

Or maybe Rangnick is terrible coach and cannot motivate the players.
Maybe it’s a bit of everything. We’ll see what happens in the new season… a few good additions can instantly make the team look a whole lot better. Look at the impact Fernandes had.. he made us go on a unbeaten run when he joined. We need quality and we need leaders. Rather have a few quality additions then a load of average signings.
 

Foxbatt

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I think he was more than just a cog. He was SAF’s right hand man on admin and HR matters. Of all the ones fired by Moyes, he was probably the biggest loss; had he been kept he’d have helped Moyes handle the players better.

Your point still stands though. I don’t think there’s any evidence to suggest he was involved in tactics or training.
Steve also won The Eredivisie on his own right with an unfancied team. So he is no mug in coaching too.
 

Revaulx

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Steve also won The Eredivisie on his own right with an unfancied team. So he is no mug in coaching too.
Oh definitely! Though his subsequent stint at Wolfsburg was a bit of a disaster. He seens to be a really nice guy, and an intelligent one also. Maybe he's just not got the man management skills to succeed in management consistently; I remember he made a dreadful hash of ostentatiosly dropping Beckham from the England setup. Beckham certainly needed easing out, but it could have been done a lot more tactfully.
 

Woziak

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So Phelan didn't do well when he was Fergie's assistant?

McClaren went from being manager at Derby to consultant at M. Tel Aviv to QPR manager to Technical Director at Derby, all of them one year or less spells.

So he is best in his class but you dont hes has different roles over the last 3 years.

I dont get why people like to talk negative about Phelan but will say McClaren is best in class when their recent CV's have been very similar.
I guess they’ve both had success and failure in equal measures but McClaren did win a league cup and a Dutch Title with unfancied teams, so maybe more of Sir Alex winning mentality rubbed off on Steve than Mike Phelan who just doesn’t quite seem as driven, jury’s out for McClaren though as if he goes in to hard as ETH English Enforcer and starts talking about the good old days, we are back where we started under Ole, Carrick and Phelan!
Change all the way throughout the club is now demanded, great start by the youth Team but we shouldn’t be waiting another 11 years to win another youth Cup either?
 

Woziak

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The whole point of buck stopping at manager was to analyze it's not just day to day tactical flaws of ole but the fact he got garbage players.

It's aged well since we now truly see the mess ole left us in
Ole did a job, but yes he left us in a real mess however, can I be the only United Fan who thinks Carrick would have done miles better than Ralph, I think he would have got United top 4, Michael deserves a chance in a championship team, he will be a good manager because of how calm he is and his high level of football intelligence.

He is not Ole, totally different, he learnt a little from Sir Alex,David Moyes, LVG and Jose and is from a more modern era than ole where he was still playing in 2018, just saying.
For the record Both Ole and Jose coming second with these players seems miraculous in hindsight and we really do need 6-8 players in this summer not 2 or 3 !
 

devilish

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I think this is the smartest appointment we've done for a long time. Mclaren knows United inside out. He knows the standards, the expectations and the obligations being part of United is. Management tend to be a lonely job, with the manager only being able to trust a very small circle of people. Mclaren had been in that inner circle at United an experience the average former player would never have. On top of that Mclaren knows ETH's ideology very well having worked with him at Twente. That means that he can act as the perfect bridge between United and ETH.

As a no 2, Mclaren's CV is quite decent. He won the treble, he won as manager both in the EPL and abroad and had sat on some of the hottest seats in football (England and Newcastle). While the typical British manager had never bothered going abroad, Mclaren had never shied from that challenge. He worked in Holland, Germany and Israel. The guy won more trophies in England with Middlesbrough then Ole and mates FC did with United.
 

devilish

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So Phelan didn't do well when he was Fergie's assistant?

McClaren went from being manager at Derby to consultant at M. Tel Aviv to QPR manager to Technical Director at Derby, all of them one year or less spells.

So he is best in his class but you dont hes has different roles over the last 3 years.

I dont get why people like to talk negative about Phelan but will say McClaren is best in class when their recent CV's have been very similar.
It really isn't.

First of all Mclaren was given the job out of merit rather then out of his links with the club. Back then Mclaren was the hottest young British coach and was known for bringing technology into English football and Manchester United. Secondly it came at a time when United were inches away from its prime. Phelan felt like he was the man SAF promoted towards the end of his career so that the club won't have to hire and then sack somebody once SAF called it a day. Thirdly Mclaren had more success as manager then Phelan had. He won more in England then Ole and Mates FC did with a much worse side. Finally Mclaren managed in several countries. The only country Phelan had moved into was Australia.
 

shamans

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Ole did a job, but yes he left us in a real mess however, can I be the only United Fan who thinks Carrick would have done miles better than Ralph, I think he would have got United top 4, Michael deserves a chance in a championship team, he will be a good manager because of how calm he is and his high level of football intelligence.

He is not Ole, totally different, he learnt a little from Sir Alex,David Moyes, LVG and Jose and is from a more modern era than ole where he was still playing in 2018, just saying.
For the record Both Ole and Jose coming second with these players seems miraculous in hindsight and we really do need 6-8 players in this summer not 2 or 3 !
Maybe, maybe not. After Ole we couldn't risk it. Ralf is a pretty lame manager to be honest but seemed like the right choice at the time
 

Judge Red

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We need the same never-say-die sprit that Steve McClaren’s hair has.


This should be a photo of three bald dudes.
 

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i bet they’re still drinking in a hotel bar somewhere in london, either planning on how to sort this mess or plotting some kind of elaborate fake death pact to get them out of this mess.
 

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I was too young when he was SAFs assistant but from what I've read he's supposed to have been an absolutely top class number 2, in more than just one instance. I feel like this is a really sensible appointment. I like both of ETHs assistants.