Board vs Jose

[Sky1981]

Do we always have someone to blame?

We're 2nd. Not relegated.

Sometimes we just have to accept we can't win it every year.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Do we always have someone to blame?

We're 2nd. Not relegated.

Sometimes we just have to accept we can't win it every year.

Because we only won it a year or so back?

 

[amolbhatia50k]

The board has backed him with funds though. It's him that chose to spend big getting another LW in Sanchez in instead of addressing the obvious issue on the other flank. Funnily enough, Mahrez was available at the same time and would have been superb for us. The problem area was so damn obvious that even randomers on the internet thought Sanchez was being signed for the right wing.

They have backed Mourinho but given we aren't a Psg or a City, we have a budget within which we needs to operate. So if you buy a 3rd left winger instead of a first choice right winger, that's on you. You can't come back in the summer saying Hey, I'd like a right winger too now and you know the 35mil I spent on a CB last summer who I barely played? Yeah I want another guy there too. Oh and yes, I also want rid of the Martials and would like to stock up on the Perisics and Willians.

They're probably even questioning the wisdom of giving him big money when he's unable to get anywhere close to the best out of what he already has and that's sensible too. Its not a great scenario to be in as fans but that's how it is and why some have been saying for a while now that he won't be able to take us ahead as a club.

Oh we have definitely backed him thus far. If anything, he's the one who could have done more with the signings he's made/made better ones.

Mahrez would have been perfect for us. We've been sorely lacking on the right and he would have fit it excellently. I wonder if Jose needs someone more disciplined on the right given Sanchez is allowed to play wherever he feels like.

 

[Isotope]

LVG didn't fail to convince the board to improve the squad. LVG spent a fortune - just as Mourinho has - and wasted most of it. I can't believe the board is still taking criticism for our failings. Our managers have been backed as much as they could expect and they have wasted so much of the money they've been given, and then they expect to be given even more money to fix their mistakes. It's not sustainable and it's just not on.

Here we are again though. We've just sold Blind, a player our last manager wasted money on. We're going to sell Darmian, a player our last manager wasted money on. We look set to get rid of Martial, a player our last manager signed. We want to sell Shaw, a player our last manager signed. We've already sold one of Mourinho's signings (Mkhitaryan) and I wouldn't be surprised if a few more of his signings are referred to as deadwood in a season or two.

The amount of money we have pissed away is quite incredible tbh, and we don't look an awful lot better than we did when Ferguson left. If I owned United I would be fuming at how my money was being spent so poorly. I don't know how anyone can defend Mourinho over the board.

Great minds..

 

[Jonno]

LVG didn't fail to convince the board to improve the squad. LVG spent a fortune - just as Mourinho has - and wasted most of it. I can't believe the board is still taking criticism for our failings. Our managers have been backed as much as they could expect and they have wasted so much of the money they've been given, and then they expect to be given even more money to fix their mistakes. It's not sustainable and it's just not on.

Here we are again though. We've just sold Blind, a player our last manager wasted money on. We're going to sell Darmian, a player our last manager wasted money on. We look set to get rid of Martial, a player our last manager signed. We want to sell Shaw, a player our last manager signed. We've already sold one of Mourinho's signings (Mkhitaryan) and I wouldn't be surprised if a few more of his signings are referred to as deadwood in a season or two.

The amount of money we have pissed away is quite incredible tbh, and we don't look an awful lot better than we did when Ferguson left. If I owned United I would be fuming at how my money was being spent so poorly. I don't know how anyone can defend Mourinho over the board.

It's not Mourinho's fault he inherited a squad of misfits.
LVG pressed the football club suicide button when he decided to sell good players by the truck load and replace them with inferior players, just to make it a 'LVG squad'.

We didn't sell Mhiki though did we, we took the opportunity to upgrade him in a swap deal costing us no additional money for a far superior player. It will turn out to be a great move once Sanchez plays his way into form.

You can't get every signing spot on, but for what it's worth, when Bailly plays, he looks better than our other defenders by some distance, the more Lindelof plays, the better he gets, he hasn't flopped like some like to claim and has lots of time to improve, Pogba and Matic, dramatically improve the midfield he inherited, Lukaku, dramatically improves the attack he inherited, Sanchez is a world class player, and will play his way into form, and will improve our attack.

If Mourinho inherited the squad LVG did, we would be in much better shape. LVG cost us about 3-4 years of squad development.

 

[Sky1981]

Because we only won it a year or so back?

Well city didn't won it last year either. Liverpool for the last 10 years only won 1 league cup.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Well city didn't won it last year either. Liverpool for the last 10 years only won 1 league cup.

City won it last year.

Liverpool have only now started spending big and that too mostly from player sales. We have no such excuse.

Only Jose fans want expectations lowered. I wouldn't mind to be honest if we were such a big spending football club.

 

[Sterling Archer]

I'm tired of the board. Ten years as one of the most if not most profitable, marketable club in the world and we've got one Champions League title to show.

And they've come close to driving this club to rock bottom.

I just can't continue to fault managers without taking a more criticical look above them.

Time for executive heads to go before we toss Jose.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Well if anything has happened it's got to be fairly recent. Board supported him on Fellaini even with the negativity coming from the majority of the fans.
He just seems to want more and more. I reckon you could get him Messi, Ronaldo, Bale and all the late 20s/30 year old footballers he loves, and he would still moan imho.

Exactly, a leopard doesn't change his spots. Watch the moaning get unbearable through the season.

 

[Jonno]

Exactly, a leopard doesn't change his spots. Watch the moaning get unbearable through the season.

Does the moaning really bother the average fan though?

It doesn't bother me in the slightest. All managers moan. Mourinho moans when he wins CL's and PL's.

 

[Isotope]

How did you arrive at this amount? He’s spent only £286m before this transfer window.

£30m - Bailly
FREE - Zlatan
£27m - Mkhitaryan
£89m - Pogba
£30m - Lindelof
£35m - Matic
£75m - Lukaku

Sanchez replaced Mkhitaryan -

If you add Fred, Dalot, Grant to £286m - it’s not even up to £400m. Stop using abacus counting to force your ridiculous narrative.

He said, if we get Maguire for 60m. Then it's pretty close to half billion in EUROs.
https://www.transfermarkt.com/jose-mourinho/spielertransfers/trainer/781/plus/0?station_id=134947

 

[Snow]

Him saying that he's not getting the deals he wants doesn't have to regard the United board. It takes two parties to negotiate a price for a player and after that you also need to satisfy the player and his agent. People just read ambigous words and decide their meaning for themselves, often out of context.

 

[roonster09]

Jose is usually fine when he gets the players he wants. He delivers the trophies. You just might hate his football.

He wanted Lampard, Deco, Carvalho, Drogba at Inter but Inter signed Sneijder, Lucio, Milito, Eto'o and he won treble that season and all these players were key players.

 

[Bestietom]

I'm really worried more about the football we play this season than who we bring in. We just have to improve on the offensive side to our football, More creative play, and more attacking.

The likes of Pogba, Lingard, Sanchez, Rashford, Martial ( if still here), need to be up into double figures in the scoring charts. Do this and we are half way there.

 

[royboy16]

LVG didn't fail to convince the board to improve the squad. LVG spent a fortune - just as Mourinho has - and wasted most of it. I can't believe the board is still taking criticism for our failings. Our managers have been backed as much as they could expect and they have wasted so much of the money they've been given, and then they expect to be given even more money to fix their mistakes. It's not sustainable and it's just not on.

Here we are again though. We've just sold Blind, a player our last manager wasted money on. We're going to sell Darmian, a player our last manager wasted money on. We look set to get rid of Martial, a player our last manager signed. We want to sell Shaw, a player our last manager signed. We've already sold one of Mourinho's signings (Mkhitaryan) and I wouldn't be surprised if a few more of his signings are referred to as deadwood in a season or two.

The amount of money we have pissed away is quite incredible tbh, and we don't look an awful lot better than we did when Ferguson left. If I owned United I would be fuming at how my money was being spent so poorly. I don't know how anyone can defend Mourinho over the board.

I would tend to agree with a lot you have said there but lets not forget,someone is responsible for hiring these managers that wasted all this money on players also.

 

[Muhammad Fauzi]

Zidane is available and if Jose does not stop his polluting attitude, i’ll be more than happy to see him go. What is the benefit in having a go at Pogba like that in public?

 

[Litch]

It's not Mourinho's fault he inherited a squad of misfits.
LVG pressed the football club suicide button when he decided to sell good players by the truck load and replace them with inferior players, just to make it a 'LVG squad'.

We didn't sell Mhiki though did we, we took the opportunity to upgrade him in a swap deal costing us no additional money for a far superior player. It will turn out to be a great move once Sanchez plays his way into form.

You can't get every signing spot on, but for what it's worth, when Bailly plays, he looks better than our other defenders by some distance, the more Lindelof plays, the better he gets, he hasn't flopped like some like to claim and has lots of time to improve, Pogba and Matic, dramatically improve the midfield he inherited, Lukaku, dramatically improves the attack he inherited, Sanchez is a world class player, and will play his way into form, and will improve our attack.

If Mourinho inherited the squad LVG did, we would be in much better shape. LVG cost us about 3-4 years of squad development.

Cannot argue with that. I don't think it's about Jose or the board, I think as a good footballer there are now so many options to where you can play your football. Utd are no longer the only option in the country and city despite the pull of the manager and playing style are struggling to get their targets over the line. I think if any WC player comes available, our financial package will be as good as anyone's, just you are offering a blank cheque to players that are multi millionaires anyway. Getting a Bale here or anyone else that's WC is much more than money....

 

[Massive Spanner]

I would tend to agree with a lot you have said there but lets not forget,someone is responsible for hiring these managers that wasted all this money on players also.

Moyes was a total cock up but LvG was widely considered as the best available appointment at the time, so can we blame the board for that? Again, when we hired Mourinho he was considered the best available choice, too, seeing as Pep was taken. So can we blame the board for that either?

I think, Moyes aside, the board have hired the right managers at the right times, unfortunately these managers so fair have completely failed to deliver upon their reputation (there's still time for our current one).

Now, you could argue that the board could take a more pragmatic approach with a manager and not just go for the one that's best on paper and that's a fair statement, but then you can also use the "we're Man Utd, we need to win trophies" narrative for them doing that. People always scream on here for the likes of Poch or that we should've tried to get Klopp instead but at the end of the day, they haven't won anything either.

Ultimately I think the biggest problem was having Sir Alex here for 26 years. It's left lasting issues that we're still trying to recover from.

 

[GM K]

He wanted Lampard, Deco, Carvalho, Drogba at Inter but Inter signed Sneijder, Lucio, Milito, Eto'o and he won treble that season and all these players were key players.

Not completely correct mate. Inter is my team in Italy so I know a thing or two about the club's recent history. As soon as Jose knew Sneijder, Milito and Lucio were available, he was desperate to sign them. In fact his desperation for Milito was criticized because getting him involved losing some Inter youngsters especially the very talented Robert Acquafreca who many Inter fans believed had a big future and had then been loaned to Cagliari. Inter gave the young lad up and some money to get the 30 year old Milito and Thiago Motta who had both helped Genoa to have a super season prior to their transfers. The usual 'Jose hates young players' attack were hurled at Mourinho for that deal.

Etoo's case was a bit different. Jose didn't want to lose Zlatan at all but Zlatan was determined to join Barcelona partly because he had done it all in Italy and partly because he believed he had a better chance of winning the Champions League with Barcelona. However, once Etoo entered the negotiations and Jose knew he could get Etoo for Zlatan, he jumped at the deal.
One thing I can tell you about Mourinho is that he can be a real prick and act childish at times but if he gets what he wants - no matter the cost - he, more often than not, delivers. And herein lies the problem with him. Clubs are not always willing (and at times rightly so) to get a target at 'all costs' and Mourinho loses his edge once his plans don't work. But I think only Pep is as good as he is if Jose gets all he wants to chase a league title. I know many will disagree but I am convinced that if he had gotten Perisic last season, we would have been much closer to City and by the start of this season, would be looked at as co-favourites for the title. Of course the deal made little sense then considering the cost of getting Perisic and the prospect of losing Martial. But Jose is more of an 'instant' results man than a builder for the future.

 

[kouroux]

Him saying that he's not getting the deals he wants doesn't have to regard the United board. It takes two parties to negotiate a price for a player and after that you also need to satisfy the player and his agent. People just read ambigous words and decide their meaning for themselves, often out of context.

So true. It's impossible to have a fair assessment when it comes to transfer dealings anyway as we (the fans) lack so much of the information. I will never blame Mourinho for not getting the players he wants but only for not getting the best out of the ones he's got.

 

[roonster09]

Not completely correct mate. Inter is my team in Italy so I know a thing or two about the club's recent history. As soon as Jose knew Sneijder, Milito and Lucio were available, he was desperate to sign them. In fact his desperation for Milito was criticized because getting him involved losing some Inter youngsters especially the very talented Robert Acquafreca who many Inter fans believed had a big future and had then been loaned to Cagliari. Inter gave the young lad up and some money to get the 30 year old Milito and Thiago Motta who had both helped Genoa to have a super season prior to their transfers. The usual 'Jose hates young players' attack were hurled at Mourinho for that deal.

Etoo's case was a bit different. Jose didn't want to lose Zlatan at all but Zlatan was determined to join Barcelona partly because he had done it all in Italy and partly because he believed he had a better chance of winning the Champions League with Barcelona. However, once Etoo entered the negotiations and Jose knew he could get Etoo for Zlatan, he jumped at the deal.
One thing I can tell you about Mourinho is that he can be a real prick and act childish at times but if he gets what he wants - no matter the cost - he, more often than not, delivers. And herein lies the problem with him. Clubs are not always willing (and at times rightly so) to get a target at 'all costs' and Mourinho loses his edge once his plans don't work. But I think only Pep is as good as he is if Jose gets all he wants to chase a league title. I know many will disagree but I am convinced that if he had gotten Perisic last season, we would have been much closer to City and by the start of this season, would be looked at as co-favourites for the title. Of course the deal made little sense then considering the cost of getting Perisic and the prospect of losing Martial. But Jose is more of an 'instant' results man than a builder for the future.

Jose himself said he wanted to sign Lampard and it was very very close, he also said he wanted to sign Gerrard.

“I have another disappointment,” Mourinho told journalists in a Press conference, discussing his failure to lure Steven Gerrard to Chelsea. “[That is] when I was trying [to bring] Lampard to Inter. And it was almost, almost, almost [there] but [that] also didn’t happen. “I’ve had a couple of disappointments and that’s normal in the football market.”

Lampard's interview:

At the time, if I am honest about it, I did have thoughts about going to Inter,' Lampard told Chelsea TV.

'It was a difficult time for me in my life, things had happened for me personally and everybody knows how I feel about Jose Mourinho.'

I thought maybe it was something I could do as a different path in my life but it is the best thing I have done, not going to Inter, because once I got my head straight I realised what I wanted to do and realised what Chelsea have given me.

He wanted Deco and Carvalho too and from his interview.

Mourinho was his mischievous self when discussing the matter, saying: 'To be fair about Deco, I feel it's very difficult for a Chelsea player to come to me.

'Every time I'm interested in one of their players, it looks quite different. In the summer we were told he was almost free to come.


'Two weeks later, when they know Inter are interested, it goes zero to five (million) and for Carvalho from five to 15 (million). Something like that.'

From Morratti's interview.

There is still no agreement with Chelsea but I think we will manage to find one shortly," Moratti told Gazzetta dello Sport.


"The coach has asked us for Deco and Carvalho and we are trying to make him happy. We want to take both of them and I'm pleased to see the two players want to come here."
.

from the same article.

Moratti said Inter were also fans of Chelsea striker Didier Drogba but stopped short of saying they would again bid for the Ivorian.

And then there were multiple reports by papers like Gds saying Jose's agent met with Drobga's agent, which he denied at that time.



Well btw, Inter is my second team and I know how many transfers were changed at that time. He wanted to sign all these Chelsea players and when they failed to land these players, they went for alternate options. Luckily for them Sneijder was available at that time. Also best thing to happen for Inter when Chelsea didn't sell any of the players and Inter signed superb players.

 

[GM K]

Jose himself said he wanted to sign Lampard and it was very very close, he also said he wanted to sign Gerrard.



Lampard's interview:



He wanted Deco and Carvalho too and from his interview.


From Morratti's interview.



from the same article.


And then there were multiple reports by papers like Gds saying Jose's agent met with Drobga's agent, which he denied at that time.



Well btw, Inter is my second team and I know how many transfers were changed at that time. He wanted to sign all these Chelsea players and when they failed to land these players, they went for alternate options. Luckily for them Sneijder was available at that time. Also best thing to happen for Inter when Chelsea didn't sell any of the players and Inter signed superb players.

Fair mate. What I indicated was not correct was not his interest in the Chelsea players you listed. What I tried to refute was the idea that the players he eventually got were somehow 'imposed' on him by the club. Maybe that is not what you meant but that is how your initial post came across to me (sorry if I misunderstood it). Jose always has his plan A, B, C when it comes to transfers and when players are also proposed to him, he usually checks them out before either approving or declining. A typical example was Raphael Varane. It was Zidane who discovered Varane and proposed him to Jose. Jose checked him out and saw that the kid was a gem and so he encouraged Madrid to get him.

 

[roonster09]

Fair mate. What I indicated was not correct was not his interest in the Chelsea players you listed. What I tried to refute was the idea that the players he eventually got were somehow 'imposed' on him by the club. Maybe that is not what you meant but that is how your initial post came across to me (sorry if I misunderstood it). Jose always has his plan A, B, C when it comes to transfers and when players are also proposed to him, he usually checks them out before either approving or declining. A typical example was Raphael Varane. It was Zidane who discovered Varane and proposed him to Jose. Jose checked him out and saw that the kid was a gem and so he encouraged Madrid to get him.

Yeah, that's what I mean. Inter failed to sign his Initial targets and then signed alternate players (obviously with Jose's approval) and they worked out awesomely well for Inter.

 

[Denis79]

Do we always have someone to blame?

We're 2nd. Not relegated.

Sometimes we just have to accept we can't win it every year.

Alot of the fans we have are spoiled by SAF, to achieve what he did in such a competetive league is simply crazy. Some of our fans have never experienced us struggling. Our under 30 fans grew up with us dominating.

 

[Cloud7]

I'm tired of the board. Ten years as one of the most if not most profitable, marketable club in the world and we've got one Champions League title to show.

And they've come close to driving this club to rock bottom.

I just can't continue to fault managers without taking a more criticical look above them.

Time for executive heads to go before we toss Jose.

Please explain to me what the board have done besides give managers more time than they deserved, and backed them to the tune of hundreds of millions in the transfer market?

I fail to see why people constantly criticize our board for the failings of the managers. Our board is a dream to work with. They seem to be one of the least intrusive collection of people in world football. There’s no Perez telling you who to buy and who you are his favorites that must play, no Hoeness making angry comments in the newspapers every week.

The board allow the manager to get on with their work, and more often than not sign exactly who they want. When Moyes was here, everyone knew of his reputation for dithering, and sure enough he wasted until the end of the transfer window to sign fellaini. He wanted reinforcements in January, and got Mata who was one of the best attacking players in the PL in the preceding seasons.

Vangle wanted ADM, one of the best players in the world just one season before, and he got him, as well as a host of other players which he then proceeded to make a mess of the year after. When ADM wasn’t working out and Vangle had enough, the board was happy to sanction his sale and get the player that THE MANAGER thought would replace him, and we all saw how that went with Memphis.

Then comes José. In his first season he wanted four players and got those four players, including the world record transfer for one of the finest midfielders in the world, who by the way has not looked as dominant as he used to previously. He talked a big game about challenging for the league that season, we finished 6th. The next season we spent hundreds of millions more, once again the manager talked about challenging for the title. We were out of the race in by November. We even signed, again, one of the best players in the league in January, a player who objectively is far better than Perisic who many couldn’t stop moaning would be the one to transform our season.

Reading this, I don’t understand how anyone can possibly blame the board for what has clearly been the failings and shortcomings of our managerial appointments. The board aren’t the ones coaching the players, or giving them their tactical plans. The only thing they can be blamed for is giving these underperforming managers too much time, and perhaps not being proactive enough in seeking out suitable replacements.

 

[Sterling Archer]

Please explain to me what the board have done besides give managers more time than they deserved, and backed them to the tune of hundreds of millions in the transfer market?

I fail to see why people constantly criticize our board for the failings of the managers. Our board is a dream to work with. They seem to be one of the least intrusive collection of people in world football. There’s no Perez telling you who to buy and who you are his favorites that must play, no Hoeness making angry comments in the newspapers every week.

The board allow the manager to get on with their work, and more often than not sign exactly who they want. When Moyes was here, everyone knew of his reputation for dithering, and sure enough he wasted until the end of the transfer window to sign fellaini. He wanted reinforcements in January, and got Mata who was one of the best attacking players in the PL in the preceding seasons.

Vangle wanted ADM, one of the best players in the world just one season before, and he got him, as well as a host of other players which he then proceeded to make a mess of the year after. When ADM wasn’t working out and Vangle had enough, the board was happy to sanction his sale and get the player that THE MANAGER thought would replace him, and we all saw how that went with Memphis.

Then comes José. In his first season he wanted four players and got those four players, including the world record transfer for one of the finest midfielders in the world, who by the way has not looked as dominant as he used to previously. He talked a big game about challenging for the league that season, we finished 6th. The next season we spent hundreds of millions more, once again the manager talked about challenging for the title. We were out of the race in by November. We even signed, again, one of the best players in the league in January, a player who objectively is far better than Perisic who many couldn’t stop moaning would be the one to transform our season.

Reading this, I don’t understand how anyone can possibly blame the board for what has clearly been the failings and shortcomings of our managerial appointments. The board aren’t the ones coaching the players, or giving them their tactical plans. The only thing they can be blamed for is giving these underperforming managers too much time, and perhaps not being proactive enough in seeking out suitable replacements.

Didn't back SAF well enough, financially.

Hired Moyes.

 

[PepsiCola]

Please explain to me what the board have done besides give managers more time than they deserved, and backed them to the tune of hundreds of millions in the transfer market?

I fail to see why people constantly criticize our board for the failings of the managers. Our board is a dream to work with. They seem to be one of the least intrusive collection of people in world football. There’s no Perez telling you who to buy and who you are his favorites that must play, no Hoeness making angry comments in the newspapers every week.

The board allow the manager to get on with their work, and more often than not sign exactly who they want. When Moyes was here, everyone knew of his reputation for dithering, and sure enough he wasted until the end of the transfer window to sign fellaini. He wanted reinforcements in January, and got Mata who was one of the best attacking players in the PL in the preceding seasons.

Vangle wanted ADM, one of the best players in the world just one season before, and he got him, as well as a host of other players which he then proceeded to make a mess of the year after. When ADM wasn’t working out and Vangle had enough, the board was happy to sanction his sale and get the player that THE MANAGER thought would replace him, and we all saw how that went with Memphis.

Then comes José. In his first season he wanted four players and got those four players, including the world record transfer for one of the finest midfielders in the world, who by the way has not looked as dominant as he used to previously. He talked a big game about challenging for the league that season, we finished 6th. The next season we spent hundreds of millions more, once again the manager talked about challenging for the title. We were out of the race in by November. We even signed, again, one of the best players in the league in January, a player who objectively is far better than Perisic who many couldn’t stop moaning would be the one to transform our season.

Reading this, I don’t understand how anyone can possibly blame the board for what has clearly been the failings and shortcomings of our managerial appointments. The board aren’t the ones coaching the players, or giving them their tactical plans. The only thing they can be blamed for is giving these underperforming managers too much time, and perhaps not being proactive enough in seeking out suitable replacements.

Great post.

Agree with every word.

The only fault of the board is that they are very reactive rather than proactive.

Another, which we can't really confirm yet, is m fear they are satisfied with top 4 finishes and CL football.

 

[dove]

City won it last year.

Liverpool have only now started spending big and that too mostly from player sales. We have no such excuse.

Only Jose fans want expectations lowered. I wouldn't mind to be honest if we were such a big spending football club.

No one is lowering our expectations. We should be able to challenge for every trophy. Some of us can appreciate the work Jose done so far though. It's far from perfect but it's much better than the shambles we had with Moyes and LVG. Even if Jose leaves after this season (and he should leave if we win nothing) we will have a much better squad with quality players.

 

[Greck]

Please explain to me what the board have done besides give managers more time than they deserved, and backed them to the tune of hundreds of millions in the transfer market?

I fail to see why people constantly criticize our board for the failings of the managers. Our board is a dream to work with. They seem to be one of the least intrusive collection of people in world football. There’s no Perez telling you who to buy and who you are his favorites that must play, no Hoeness making angry comments in the newspapers every week.

The board allow the manager to get on with their work, and more often than not sign exactly who they want. When Moyes was here, everyone knew of his reputation for dithering, and sure enough he wasted until the end of the transfer window to sign fellaini. He wanted reinforcements in January, and got Mata who was one of the best attacking players in the PL in the preceding seasons.

Vangle wanted ADM, one of the best players in the world just one season before, and he got him, as well as a host of other players which he then proceeded to make a mess of the year after. When ADM wasn’t working out and Vangle had enough, the board was happy to sanction his sale and get the player that THE MANAGER thought would replace him, and we all saw how that went with Memphis.

Then comes José. In his first season he wanted four players and got those four players, including the world record transfer for one of the finest midfielders in the world, who by the way has not looked as dominant as he used to previously. He talked a big game about challenging for the league that season, we finished 6th. The next season we spent hundreds of millions more, once again the manager talked about challenging for the title. We were out of the race in by November. We even signed, again, one of the best players in the league in January, a player who objectively is far better than Perisic who many couldn’t stop moaning would be the one to transform our season.

Reading this, I don’t understand how anyone can possibly blame the board for what has clearly been the failings and shortcomings of our managerial appointments. The board aren’t the ones coaching the players, or giving them their tactical plans. The only thing they can be blamed for is giving these underperforming managers too much time, and perhaps not being proactive enough in seeking out suitable replacements.

Great points actually. The one thing you can really fault them for is promoting a hierachy that doesn't know the sport enough to choose a unified direction for our rebuild, but even that is because they want to defer the footballing aspects to the managers, who unfortunately keep squandering money and underperforming.

The criticism about funds are weak because we're really just faulting them for not outspending a single oil club. Nevermind that we probably out spend these oil clubs in wages

 

[GM K]

Yeah, that's what I mean. Inter failed to sign his Initial targets and then signed alternate players (obviously with Jose's approval) and they worked out awesomely well for Inter.

Fair point mate.

 

[bosnian_red]

The problem with the board is what their ambition is. They are good business men but the question is, do they really care about on field success? They didn't back Fergie with money because he could still dominate the premier league without it. We've had a shambolic 5 years and they have backed the managers in that period. Now that we finished 2nd though, I have a feeling they might be tightening the purse-strings again. So long as we stay in the top 4, and the money keeps rolling in for them, then I think we won't see massive spending like we saw to get us back into the top 4.

Don't see any other explanation for it tbh. We spent like crazy the last few years, we have Mourinho in charge who has never been shy about spending and sorting out the gaps in the squad, yet now when we have like 3-4 pretty clear gaps in the squad (RW, LB, CB), we aren't spending anything.

 

[sal klita]

The problem with the board is what their ambition is. They are good business men but the question is, do they really care about on field success? They didn't back Fergie with money because he could still dominate the premier league without it. We've had a shambolic 5 years and they have backed the managers in that period. Now that we finished 2nd though, I have a feeling they might be tightening the purse-strings again. So long as we stay in the top 4, and the money keeps rolling in for them, then I think we won't see massive spending like we saw to get us back into the top 4.

Don't see any other explanation for it tbh. We spent like crazy the last few years, we have Mourinho in charge who has never been shy about spending and sorting out the gaps in the squad, yet now when we have like 3-4 pretty clear gaps in the squad (RW, LB, CB), we aren't spending anything.

But why are you thinking that the solution is in throwing 200 mil pound every summer window? In 5 last years only citizens spent more money than United.
The solution is to change the management way. The solution in appoint modern manager.

 

[Cloud7]

Didn't back SAF well enough, financially.

Hired Moyes.

That was under Gill. Under Woody, who you are fed up of, we’ve been very free spending.

They hired Moyes solely on the back of fergie recommending him. After guiding the club sucessfully for so long they were not wrong to trust him in this decision, albeit it went disastrously, but that was on Moyes himself.

The biggest mistake with Moyes was not sacking him earlier.

 

[Greck]

Seriously believe SAF just got really stingy towards the end. Everyone ignores him repeatedly saying the board never refused him funds and instead chuck it up to him being a saint to help cover for the Glazers. The board also wasn't why he didn't pay am extra 4m for Hazard

 

[amolbhatia50k]

No one is lowering our expectations. We should be able to challenge for every trophy. Some of us can appreciate the work Jose done so far though. It's far from perfect but it's much better than the shambles we had with Moyes and LVG. Even if Jose leaves after this season (and he should leave if we win nothing) we will have a much better squad with quality players.

Of course it's better than two poor managers. I suppose that's meant to be a feat of some sort. Either way, the point stands that United are expected to challenge for and win big trophies and rightfully so.

More relevant to that post, you can't win the league every year is an odd thing to say in our scenario of not having won it in any of the past 5 seasons.

 

[roonster09]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

This doesn't look good.

He is joking, I mean that Twitter guy.

 

[AshRK]

He is joking, I mean that Twitter guy.

Fell for it.

 

[AndyJ1985]

I would tend to agree with a lot you have said there but lets not forget,someone is responsible for hiring these managers that wasted all this money on players also.

The board aren't football people. All they can go on is a managers CV. Few are better than Mourinho's. I can't blame them for choosing him.

This is why we need a DoF and a long term plan. City didn't randomly throw money around willy nilly and then strike lucky when it all came together. They brought in the DoF from Barcelona and their recruitment was always geared towards eventually hiring Pep. They are now reaping the rewards for their planning. What's our plan when Mourinho goes? Hire the biggest name available probably, and we'll go through the same thing again. The board need to hire experienced football people to guide us towards a long-term goal. We need some identity in the team. Until that happens I don't expect us to dominate the league or be a force in Europe.

 

[Jordan_mufc]

Over priced like virtually ever single footballer in the past few years ?

Obviously I meant it in the context of the current transfer market. Didn't think it needed explaining tbh.

 

[Kostov]

Is that enough? We're still playing Fergie's players in defence and miles off City.

We signed Maguire? He has been backed in the past fully agree. I don't even think that lack of investment in this transfer window and not signing the likes of Maguire is a valid excuse for not making, for example, comfortable top 3 finish with 80+ points along with playing some proper football.

But if there is any rift this summer between the board and Jose, you just don't go on with him because of his personality. He is not your Moyes type of guy who will just be happy that he is sitting in the dugout and not believing he got the job.

He has brought two fecking CBs for 30-40 milion pounds each. Who’s fault is that they are not starting? By all accounts Jose chooses his transfer targets. He chose Lindelöf instead of Maguire just a year ago. How is he not backed?