Did Woodward get it right, then?

[Nikelesh Reddy]

I don't know, not sure you can justify buying another centre back for a hugely inflated fee at the wrong sort of age when you already have 5 centre backs on the books, two of which the manager had chosen. Maybe they should have sacked him then especially when he was writing off the the whole season at pre-season but we had just finished second in the league so it would have been even bolder.. it's a tricky call.

Just back your manager.Jose by the way was right about our centre backs...Yes,he bought 2 Centre backs and both didn’t perform under him,so he should be held responsible for that.But there’s no doubt in my mind that we need a new CB this summer....Rojo and Jones aren’t good enough anymore...Baillys struggling to establish himself....

Lindelof and Smalling could potentially be a good partnership,but I think we need a top class CB to move onto the next level...

 

[Nikelesh Reddy]

He shouldn’t have backed him as he wanted to bring in Willian and Perisic for Martial and Pogba!

Should be just been sacked in the summer when their plans for united differed.

He wanted to sell Martial and he was interested in bringing in Willian and Perisic...But not sure if he wanted to offload Pogba last summer..l

 

[cyril C]

Knowing what we now know?
for £50m. Bearing in mind that we already have 3 left sided wingers at the club! He also wants 29 year old Toby Alderweireld for £35m, even though he only had a year left on his contract. He has since extended for 1 year with a release clause of £25m.

Knowing what we now know, did Woodward really help us dodge a rather expensive bullet, last summer? Has his faith in this squad of players and the academy, really shown Mourinho up as a crackpot who was hellbent on filling our squad with short-term fixes who would be finished in 2 years. Not that he would be around then anyway!

Knowing what we now know? You mean if we choose to think the media put out accurate stories?
Willian has been linked to Barca numerous times, Perisic was linked to us this week. Does that mean it’s all true?
Whoever Jose wanted we didn’t get. Players agents use our name to get better deals for their players, or to highlight they are available.
Only crackpots are those that buy into that hype.[/QUOTE]

If a sucker is willing to pay 35m for Alderweireid and 50m for Perisic, I am sure both clubs would sell. Only Leicester City may hesitate as Maguire is their bedrock and no so easy to replace, unless Maguire press for a move like VV did.

 

[Adisa]

I've defended him over the course of the past 18 months but the way he has handled contracts has been a mess.
Our policy of waiting for two years before we begin talks is a recipe for disaster.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Turns out he was an incompetent idiot all along, who would've guessed?

 

[FootyGirl88]

I've always said he was clown, the amount of things he's done right you could probably count on one hand.

 

[deadrevelz]

This is why we need a DoF.

Someone with football knowledge and an understanding of a consistent direction for the club to move in. A DoF could have seen that letting Herrera go on a free is stupid both in football terms and financially.
Woodward may have held off giving Herrera a contract because Jose didn't fancy him and he was over 30. Surely he would have been offered one sooner if we'd known what would happen to Jose. He is too reactive and has tried to gloss over this by talking about investing in youth as if that's the only thing that creates long term success.

 

[Ban]

Yeah but do you remember how he stood out to Jose?

 

[Fluctuation0161]

I've defended him over the course of the past 18 months but the way he has handled contracts has been a mess.
Our policy of waiting for two years before we begin talks is a recipe for disaster.

I cant see the logic of it at all! Unless Mourinho wanted rid odd those players?

 

[Lam]

I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s the Nani of football operations. Does something to make you wonder if he’s the real deal but then has a stinker which makes you wonder if he really belongs at this level.

 

[Morpheus 7]

It's hardly a surprise, he's handled transfers and contracts horribly in general. He's all about the marquee name and maximising global market, then scrimps and runs down contract to save money. The club lack leadership and seem to be happy just doing enough. We lack edge and a ruthlessness to properly challenge under these owners. Too many passengers and not enough leadership, vision and annual investment.

 

[Patrick08]

No he did not, we still need a dominating defender who can play from the back and is good in the air. Nothing has changed.