Are you more concerned by what's happening on the pitch or off it?

[Fortitude]

With the contracts handed out, and then Herrera moving on, as well as us seeming to have no clue what we're doing, or going to do over the summer, it does feel as though the club is in complete disarray.

We're an indifferent shambles on the pitch, which has really soured the fans toward the majority of these players.

Of the two, which bothers you more? Does a summer of the 'right' signings make everything alright for you, or at least place you in a state of anticipation, or do things need to change at a deeper level for you to feel the club is moving in a direction that appeases you?

 

[DomesticTadpole]

On the pitch at the moment, but think one impacts the other. If next season is as bad or even worse, then you have to look at the decisions off the field. This is a chance for them to try and get this team back on track. They better not mess up.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

If Ole just goes and signs his own players then nothing has changed. If he gets sacked by March and a new manager has to come in and sign his own players again then we are moving nowhere. Before a single deal is done this summer there needs to be appointments and changes in structure to allow continuity between managers. That way, what happens on the pitch is less important. in the short term as we will be moving somewhere in the long term

 

[Fluctuation0161]

Off the pitch actually concerns me more because that is impacting on the pitch performance now.

 

[purgethefallen]

Off the pitch urgently needs sorting which will (should), in turn, make things on the pitch better.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Off the pitch actually concerns me more because that is impacting on the pitch performance now.

I think the people running the club on a everyday basis have made a right kibosh of it.

 

[Sir Scott McToMinay]

Off the pitch is what brought us to where we are today, from the best club in England to an upper midtable PL club that sells a lot of shirts in Asia.

 

[Minimalist]

Shite answer but it's all linked and for me, my concern is in the middle somewhere. Recruitment is my problem and the lack of planning for 2-3 years ahead.

Don't often agree with Neville but when he started saying 'I don't like any of these players' it really hit the nail on the head for me. And a huge part of that is lack of planning to build a first-class squad in terms of personality and ability. Winning things is never a given but there's plenty of teams down the league who (their supporters) still like the players wearing the shirt.

There needs to be a structure in place with genuine expertise in building a club/team over the long-term. Whether that's one person or a committee is irrelevant to me. Someone needs to take up the pressure of doing that (and fall by the way side when they fail). At present it seems Woodward is the guy but he just takes pointers from whoever the manager is - that's so fcuking lazy. And as people point out, it's not his only role - so he can argue he's doing a great job purely because of the financials. It's too messy. Give someone (or a group of people) the ball (and only that ball) and hold them accountable either way.

 

[BlueHaze]

Off the pitch because anything that happens there will reflect performances on the pitch.

 

[Catt]

On the pitch. I think we'd be fine if we just get the right man in.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Off the pitch because anything that happens there will reflect performances on the pitch.

Think it is a two way street now. They are impacting on each other. We have made terrible decisions off the pitch, but if the football on the pitch gets even worse, it will impact on the value of the club. Yet the latter might need to happen and the owners not getting their cut to make something good happen in the end.

 

[Fluctuation0161]

I think the people running the club on a everyday basis have made a right kibosh of it.

It would have been hard to do a worse job if you tried.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

If somehow they got what was happening on the pitch correct that would act as a band aid covering up what’s going on behind in terms of a plan, structure and these contracts. Someone somewhere needs to have a vision for the club and be responsible for steering us in that direction as well as making sure we don’t let good players just slip away due to not offering contracts soon enough.

I can sort of understand why we are where we are now with say Herrera because for all we know the previous manager was maybe planning for life without him and maybe didn’t care if he stayed or left therefore it maybe wasn’t a priority and we don’t actually know what kind of fees Herrera was asking for so it’s hard to say, yeah we are being run by muppets. I would hope they really would work off of some structure but everything seems so reactive when everything should be proactive and a structure with we need this doing and we need these positions looked at as such and such is getting on in years or just not very good.

In all honestly i’m Equally concerned by both as I’m not sure Ole is the man, and the longer this search for a sporting director goes on I’m filled with a little more dread that once again we will be in the same position at the end of next year discussing the same problems and looking at a new manager and asking what is he going to do that is different.

 

[sullydnl]

Off the pitch.

I know what's happening on the pitch will take a while to get right anyway but that won't happen unless the off the pitch approach changes first.

 

[GiddyUp]

I actually think this team would prefer to plod along without a manager because they are obviously unable to carry that instruction on to the pitch.
I've seen a lot of bad teams but never one so clueless as this one. We really are dreadful but the talent is there which makes this so fecked up.

 

[Batigoal]

Off it, the team looks very very unbalanced, so the dressing room needs to be fixed. Imo more UK and Irish players need to come in to protect certain core values as an English club. Started a post about it in the Newbie forum, but not many posting there.

 

[Fortitude]

Does today make this question anymore valid, or is it as you were?

 

[Marcelinho87]

On the pitch. I think we'd be fine if we just get the right man in.

Even if he was told he was not allowed to sign the players he wanted? Has to be one that big ol' Ed wants instead?

 

[Red-Man-Walking]

Off it, the team looks very very unbalanced, so the dressing room needs to be fixed. Imo more UK and Irish players need to come in to protect certain core values as an English club. Started a post about it in the Newbie forum, but not many posting there.

What in the unholy feck have Smalling, Jones and Young done lately to protect our values? They can't even protect our fecking goal.

 

[Jim Reaper]

Off the pitch.

On the pitch can be fixed over time with the right ideas and investment. Will that investment be allowed? will the right decisions be made to get the right ideas in place? im not sure.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Off the pitch. Structure is everything.

 

[kafta]

I’m concerned with both. But fixing the problems off the pitch can help fixing the problems on it. So that should be the priority.

Sadly I doubt anything major will change.

 

[LeftyBlaster]

Not even a debate. Off the pitch. So glaringly obvious that the direction of the club has been massively influenced by commercial emphasis and the tolerating of mediocrity to save dollars.

No DOF to properly vet and scout signings to fit a proper footballing vision and philosophy that aligns with the manager’s. Just a half assed scattergun approach. The coaching staff is answerable too. Heads need to roll and now. Why has movement been non existent for so long now? We have a fecking conglomerate of Moyes, LVG and Jose era staff. Where’s the tactics and fitness?

 

[Kill 'em all]

Ole was a result of the cluelessness in the top management of our club. We need new directors and proper DoF to lead our footballing decisions and not an Woodward. The board are making it up as they go with no idea at all what they're doing.

Ultimately the Galzers are responsible. They are the ones who need to act and replace Woodward but this will never happen as he is their friend.

 

[Bestielob]

Both on and off the pitch. We stink from top to bottom.
The OT dirty laundry probably has a more fragrant scent at the moment.

 

[Foxbatt]

I think United needs a professional approach and not appoint people because they have played for SAF. People like Rio or Fletcher should not be appointed as Technical Directors. Now Berbatov wants to be The Technical Director and I think of those three he would be the best not only because he was a world class player but he also has a Degree in Sports Management. The academic side and the experience would be much better than someone who only has played.
But that said The Club needs to get rid off most of the players. Most of the defence has to go and so too the midfield and most of the strikers. It is very good to say they should run more but the man who runs most is Mata but no end product.

 

[Distracted Steward]

Off it. Not even close.

The behind the scenes work is far heavier lifting. United’s long-standing financial dominance has been diluted, the academy isn’t even the best in the city and the void left by Ferguson and Gil gapes as wide as ever.

These are problems that you can’t solve by just throwing money at them. It takes a cohesive vision, viable planning and competent leadership. Worse than just lacking these things, the club shows a resistance to making the changes to address the underlying issues.

The brutal truth of the moment is that the club ownership has a fundamentally different ire of what constitutes success. While they are probably about as alarmed as we are about the on-field product, they take an entirely different perspective. I have seen nothing to suggest that they view the club beyond an investment and understand it in anything but financial terms.

The soul of the club is something they’ve been told about—maybe seen—but damn sure never felt. If the spreadsheet numbers work well enough in their long term projections, I can’t see them getting too worked up about the way it looks or feels from the J Stand.

These things run deeper than anything on the field ever will. With a the money, a half decent plan and structure in place you can sort a squad out in a few seasons. You can’t really say that for the behind the scenes issues.

We are—I’m afraid—a long, long way away from this getting sorted and off field is the crux of it.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Both.

But I'm more concerned by what's happening on the pitch, because that's where I can clearly see.
What's happening off the pitch is also concerning, but I'm not too privy to the details, so hard to say.