Ed Woodward | Groundhog Day Edition

[Josep Dowling]

Out of my depth how? Because I give factual figures and don't put my opinions across as facts?

So when a person owns something, it's not his? Please explain about them not spending their money? Glazers own the club and the money that is made from it, is their's. Not rocket science is it?!

What are you trying to prove here? You know how they took over the club. If you are aware of that fact you know they purchased the club and then borrowed against the club’s assets to buy the club. Yes they ‘own’ the club but it’s the way they took it over in such a way that they reap all the benefits of the investment with such little risk that is completely wrong. In the process halting the successful run we were on whilst all the other elite clubs have dominated their own leagues across Europe.

The catalyst was Sir Alex retiring and the Glazers were exposed for the underinvestment in the squad for so many years. And the fact Woodward and Judge have proved so many times they cannot get negotiation done quickly or at good value, but 7 years later are still in the same role.

And since 2005 the debt has only gone one direction and it isn’t down. Lucky for them the financial crash happened which has kept interest rates low otherwise we could have been royally fecked around 2010.

 

[Eckers99]

I really hope that we direct our frustration to the club and the hierarchy over Ole. Whatever the fans think about Ole, we need to put that aside because there is evidence that given the backing he can improve this team.

Maguire and AWB - Starters and improved defence
Bruno - Starter (potential captain) and improved our attack.

There is clear evidence that he needs to be backed, if he is not we are regressing because every other team is strengthening.

We need to channel all our energy and frustration towards the board. Results don't go our way, Ole will be the man to go.

There has been 7 years of evidence that it is NOT the managers fault this. You cannot keep hiring and firing without changing the root of the problem.

There's zero chance match going fans would blame Ole if we made no decent signings and bombed next season. None at all. Plenty of morons on this place would though.

 

[midnightmare]

There's zero chance match going fans would blame Ole if we made no decent signings and bombed next season. None at all. Plenty of morons on this place would though.

“Match-going fans” and their opinions will be irrelevant. So too will those of the keyboard warriors. Fat lot of good it’ll do the manager when he’s sacked for lack of on-field results. No idea what’ll get the owners out.

 

[backofthenet]

“Match-going fans” and their opinions will be irrelevant. So too will those of the keyboard warriors. Fat lot of good it’ll do the manager when he’s sacked for lack of on-field results. No idea what’ll get the owners out.

An insane amount of money. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Revan]

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/12056223/lvg-i-wanted-neymar-mane-and-kante-at-man-utd

This says it all. LVG wanted Lewandowski, Muller, Kante, Neymar and Ramos.... Woody was able to get 3rd 4th or 5th choices.

Oh well. Shame that he didn’t ask for Messi and Ronaldo, then would have got 6th and 7th choice instead.

 

[macheda14]

So Ed Woodward’s full name is Edward right. Edward Woodward. Shorten both his first and last name to one syllable. ‘Ed wood’. Shorten his first and last name to the last syllable. ‘Ward ward’.
He’s Edward ‘Ed Wood’ ‘ward ward’ Woodward.

What a stupid name.

 

[romufc]

There's zero chance match going fans would blame Ole if we made no decent signings and bombed next season. None at all. Plenty of morons on this place would though.

Match going fans were in support of LVG & Jose but at the end of the day results didnt go their way and they were sacked.

I am sure that if we are 6th in November, the board will take the easy decision in sacking Ole. Many #OleOut fans will be there questioning his tactics etc.

 

[RkkMan]

Match going fans were in support of LVG & Jose but at the end of the day results didnt go their way and they were sacked.

I am sure that if we are 6th in November, the board will take the easy decision in sacking Ole. Many #OleOut fans will be there questioning his tactics etc.

Difference is LVG actually got backed heavily for 2 back to back summers and his football was awful and even though the board didn`t back Jose fully in his last window a lot of fans had already developed question marks over him since the Sevilla game and his whining during pre season already had a dark cloud over him.
Even though our last season was mixed Ole got us to 3rd place when we were 15 points off it from January and has improved a lot of players at his disposal without bad mouthing anyone. Him being a club legend with a tangible record of progress makes it easier for fans to side with over 2 managers who had zero connection to Utd and owners who`ve proven time and time again don`t care about Utd

 

[romufc]

Difference is LVG actually got backed heavily for 2 back to back summers and his football was awful and even though the board didn`t back Jose fully in his last window a lot of fans had already developed question marks over him since the Sevilla game and his whining during pre season already had a dark cloud over him.
Even though our last season was mixed Ole got us to 3rd place when we were 15 points off it from January and has improved a lot of players at his disposal without bad mouthing anyone. Him being a club legend with a tangible record of progress makes it easier for fans to side with over 2 managers who had zero connection to Utd and owners who`ve proven time and time again don`t care about Utd

Yeah, I agree with you.

We all know from last season, this squad is not good enough and we got top 4. That was the target set by everyone. Now, the fans and Ole want to improve on it which means the board need to back him again. It not then there is no progression going to happen.

 

[wolvored]

I dont understand how this fan anger towards Woodward would be anything new or somehow impactful.

Fans raided his home not so long ago.

Funny the press were there right when it happened.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

Heard he's been on holiday since we lost to Sevilla and isn't due back for a few weeks

 

[Adisa]

Our inability to shift players is also a serious failure. We are awfully run.

 

[red thru&thru]

I really don't know what will make the Glazers go. I thought £3b from Saudis would. £5b? There is no way anyone will get the returns back on their investment on this.

But more than anything, Ed needs to be let go of his current position. I get the Glazers may not want to sack him but someone who is clear in charge of the football needs to be brought in, a DoF. Whilst Ed is the face of the football, we will be poor in negotiations and will keep on getting fleeced.

 

[Eckers99]

“Match-going fans” and their opinions will be irrelevant. So too will those of the keyboard warriors. Fat lot of good it’ll do the manager when he’s sacked for lack of on-field results. No idea what’ll get the owners out.

Match going fans were in support of LVG & Jose but at the end of the day results didnt go their way and they were sacked.

I am sure that if we are 6th in November, the board will take the easy decision in sacking Ole. Many #OleOut fans will be there questioning his tactics etc.

I'm not saying it'll be enough to keep him in the job if results suffer. I'm just saying that match-going fans will not turn on Ole if next season is a struggle. Even if he was culpable, he'd still have more than enough goodwill to keep them on side.

To be honest, it's not even really limited to match-goers, most sensible fans can see where United's problems lie at this point, each passing transfer window and contract negotiation just reinforces it.

The diehard 'Ole out' brigade won't waver no matter what happens. We got top 4 and they were still murmuring about replacing him, so aren't really worth the effort.

 

[romufc]

I'm not saying it'll be enough to keep him in the job if results suffer. I'm just saying that match-going fans will not turn on Ole if next season is a struggle. Even if he was culpable, he'd still have more than enough goodwill to keep them on side.

To be honest, it's not even really limited to match-goers, most sensible fans can see where United's problems lie at this point, each passing transfer window and contract negotiation just reinforces it.

The diehard 'Ole out' brigade won't waver no matter what happens. We got top 4 and they were still murmuring about replacing him, so aren't really worth the effort.

Agreed. most of the sensible fans will take a broader view than what is infront of them.

Understanding where we have been for the past 7 years, understanding that this isnt a quick fix and Ole is trying to build something. He has shows with players, he can get results and performances which is key.

Even when the chips were down, Burnely was the only real game where fans were turning on him, considering the form we had until Jan, it shows most the fans stuck by him knowing a new manager will not make miracles happen.

The problem I find with fans is, we are Manutd we should be top, we cannot accept 6th.. yes, that is true, but saying we are manutd is not going to change anything, things need to be put in place, Ole is part of getting us back where we want us.

I see twitter fans saying We need Sancho, Upenacano, Grealish and other signings not realising this is covid and we never spend £200m in a summer.

 

[Eckers99]

Agreed. most of the sensible fans will take a broader view than what is infront of them.

Understanding where we have been for the past 7 years, understanding that this isnt a quick fix and Ole is trying to build something. He has shows with players, he can get results and performances which is key.

Even when the chips were down, Burnely was the only real game where fans were turning on him, considering the form we had until Jan, it shows most the fans stuck by him knowing a new manager will not make miracles happen.

The problem I find with fans is, we are Manutd we should be top, we cannot accept 6th.. yes, that is true, but saying we are manutd is not going to change anything, things need to be put in place, Ole is part of getting us back where we want us.

I see twitter fans saying We need Sancho, Upenacano, Grealish and other signings not realising this is covid and we never spend £200m in a summer.

Exactly. It's pretty obvious that we're in the middle of a transformation of not only the squad but also the culture of the club. Ole inherited a team with low morale, fragile self-belief and plenty of flaws. He's shipped out some of the biggest culprits, bought or promoted some decent young players and, in his first full season, made the minimum requirement of top 4.

If we're going to move to the next stage of the rebuild, the owners need to be decisive and back him in the transfer market. If financial constraints put the likes of Sancho out of reach - fine. But they need to back him with other parts of the rebuild instead. Whatever the financial limits are, they need to move quicker than this, as nobody wants us to drag out the window and end up getting neither Sancho nor the cheaper prospects who could give us better depth.

If the board can't manage this, we should expect another disappointing season and it'll be completely on them.

 

[Mr.Plow]

So Ed Woodward’s full name is Edward right. Edward Woodward. Shorten both his first and last name to one syllable. ‘Ed wood’. Shorten his first and last name to the last syllable. ‘Ward ward’.
He’s Edward ‘Ed Wood’ ‘ward ward’ Woodward.

What a stupid name.

This is the dumbest thing I've read in a while, and I love it.

 

[soralapio]

There's zero chance match going fans would blame Ole if we made no decent signings and bombed next season. None at all. Plenty of morons on this place would though.

There would be plenty of morons all over the place blaming him. After last summer the commonly accepted story among some of the more special fans was that "Ole didn't want new strikers", that "Ole failed to get in new players", "Ole failed to replace Lukaku", as if it was down to him. And doubly after he kept talking until the last minute about how crucial it was to bring in new players, which Woodward failed to do. And which was then used as a weapon against Ole.

Exactly. It's pretty obvious that we're in the middle of a transformation of not only the squad but also the culture of the club.

I would rather say, we SHOULD be in the middle of a transformation in the culture of the club. But I fear those in charge won't actually want or allow that.

 

[macheda14]

This is the dumbest thing I've read in a while, and I love it.

Thank you, I honestly thought it would get more of a reception haha. A stupid man makes me think stupid things.

 

[M Bison]

Well done Ed...

 

[Tom Cato]

Excellent first signing this window, applause!

 

[Bwuk]

Good player and a good price.

We should be taking advantage of our connection to VDS with Ajax more.

 

[Berbasbullet]

If he can get rid of some of the dead wood and get Sancho in then this is a brilliant window.

 

[sammsky1]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[sammsky1]

Van de Beek, 23, has agreed the outline of a deal to join Real Madrid for €55 million (about £49 million) but the financial crisis in La Liga caused by Covid-19 has left him uncertain whether Real can execute the transfer this summer, creating an opportunity United are considering exploiting.
Having looked into signing Van de Beek last August, United are now seriously examining him as a target again — Woodward looking to try to secure a deal at closer to the £36 million mark.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...n-ajax-midfielder-donny-van-de-beek-sd95dfcp6

 

[M Bison]

Brexit FC, at it again it seems

 

[sillwuka]

Lets hope he can conclude a quick a deal on a left back now and then we can continue with the Sancho negotiations.

 

[lsd]

Great job getting Van De Beek for that price . Ed is our hero

 

[Fluctuation0161]

Good signing. 2 more to go now to give the team a fighting chance next season.

 

[Awla]

Good player and a good price.

We should be taking advantage of our connection to VDS with Ajax more.

We could've also got Ziyech. Its surprising that Utd showed no interest in him given our dire need of RW.

 

[Skills]

Good signing. 2 more to go now to give the team a fighting chance next season.

Fighting chance at what?

 

[el3mel]

Deserves good amount of credit for VDB signing. Was done in no time and without much fuss before it. Great job.

 

[L1nk]

I didnt believe in the other thread where people were saying that just because we made 1 easy signing there were people on the forum actually praising this man for doing the bare minimum of his job, but apparently there are, wow

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Not a Woodward fan, but the selective/short term memory about our transfers is pretty comical. I bet if you go back to the threads when we signed (or sold): Lukaku, Maguire, AWB, Bruno, Lidelof , Martial, Kagawa, Mkhitaryan , even Schweinstieger (sp?) etc...it would be interesting to see the reactions of all of us on the Caf as the bitching comes like clockwork.

 

[fergosaurus]

Great job getting Van De Beek for that price . Ed is our hero

We matched their asking price with the first bid. Glad to see there was no messing around haggling with this one though as it's a very fair price and important to get some business done before the season starts.

 

[crossy1686]

We matched their asking price with the first bid. Glad to see there was no messing around haggling with this one though as it's a very fair price and important to get some business done before the season starts.

I think this is more to do with the good relationship between Ajax and United. We asked what the price was, they gave us a fair price and we didn't haggle because of that. Hopefully VDB does well and we do more business with them in the future.

 

[fergosaurus]

I think this is more to do with the good relationship between Ajax and United. We asked what the price was, they gave us a fair price and we didn't haggle because of that. Hopefully VDB does well and we do more business with them in the future.

Yes, VDS being at Ajax would've made the deal easier as well.

 

[Mainoldo]

Don Woodward finally signing them cheques.

 

[laughtersassassin]

Fighting chance at what?

Kicking on and closing the gap to the top by a decent chunk. Should be the only thing considered acceptable. Also we really need to win the league cup or FA cup Next sey

 

[Morpheus 7]

Deserves good amount of credit for VDB signing. Was done in no time and without much fuss before it. Great job.

He deserves nothing yet.