Ed Woodward - Same medicine for the patient, no new structure?

Bastian

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We needed a top new in demand manager in place and rivals stole the race for them while moronic Woodward arrogance is running us into the ground. I dont blame glazers for providing 400m.
You don't blame the Glazers for hiring Woodward? Watch him fail, fail again, then fail again and not fire him? I see no difference between the two. He is there because he was allegedly instrumental in helping them buy the club with money they didn't have and then proceed to take tons of money out of the club. It is a marriage made in hell.
 

SER19

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This man is ruining the club. Has gotten away with murder while we blame manager after manger. Whether it’s things he has done, or hasn’t done, he’s gotten very little right.

6 starters last night that were at club when fergie left 6 years ago. Where have the billions gone.
 
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ti vu

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Like any CEO, the bottom line. As long as the shareholders are happy, that's his duty done.
The issue is it's known he has a crave to play FM and interfere with the football side. Briefing about warchest was bad enough, unsettling the dressing room when his failure in securing deals, is basically killing our season. And that's not all. Dithering in decision making, and random decision (contract renewal).

It's painful nowadays as United supporter.
 

.mica

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We spend enough money, I can’t be arsed to pull up the numbers but in last 6 years our transfer fee and wages would rival those flushed with oil money. We just spend that money extremely poorly on fees and wages. Also, that it is possible to not play football that makes you want to gouge your eye out even with players who are not top draw.

The biggest reason for that is we have no footballing structure in place. We have an ultra bloated scouting system who can’t spot any top talent for shit working in conjunction with an all powerful manager. To top it all off we have a banker turner CEO sitting at top of footballing heirarchy who can veto those decisions. Is it really that big a surprise when we are in current state?
Spot on.

This post is the answer of a lot of threads inside this forum. United can spend how much they want, get a load of players in or get rid of others. But it won't make a difference or change anything as long as there is such an amateurish structure inside the Club.

I postet it some weeks ago, other Clubs starting to implement more than one DoF cause of the difficulties which comes with modern football, while United struggles to even get one.
 
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Bastian

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Can this thread be moved to the United forum?

BBC's Chief football writer Phil McNulty on Woodward:

United's line-up in Barcelona offered a vivid outline of just how momentum has been lost, how failure to rebuild and unstructured work in the markets have left them as also-rans.

Four of United's back five at the Nou Camp - David de Gea, Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling - were in the starting line-up when United lost in Basel in December 2011 - a result that meant they failed to reach the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time in six seasons.

Now Solskjaer and United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward - who must finally show he has a handle on footballing matters - face a period of serious reconstruction.

This will be a crucial summer for Woodward in particular. There will be investment but there can be no more mistakes or missteps on the scale he has presided over so far.

Solskjaer is still a gambler's appointment and Woodward must hope the dice rolls well for him and his manager.
 

Mr. Christian

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So apparently Ed has briefed the better parts of the press on how we're going to spend big and get in 6 players, etc.

This all sounds great and fans are buzzing. But will the underlying problem really be solved?

1) It seems completely bizarre, that we're going to mega-spend, without a DoF having overseen the structure and a general plan is laid out.

A DoF should be hired well in advance, BEFORE we enter the market with a giant wallet. If he's not hired now or at least before June, how is he going to influence our long term strategy, as he's supposed to?

We might just spent a fortune, and find out later, that this wasn't the optimal way to go about things - and that these players wont fit a new manager if Ole fails. There's a great chance we'll just spend on big names, without them fitting into an overall plan or style.

2) There's no transparency from Ed or The Glazers - just leaks.

If there is indeed an overall plan and we're not just paddling for 4th, how about actually telling us fans just a little bit about it? Why do we even leak these things? It makes the prices higher, and sets our expectations extremely high, when in reality we could meet transfer struggles, like in previous years, when we ask for Müller, Fabregas, and then be left with Fellaini's. Sounds like bad media-use to me. Had Ed gone the other way and just surprised us with 6 signings, then we'd be more in his boat.

Overall it all sounds like we're giving the ill patient, that is Manchester United, the same medicine, that didnt make the patient better the last previous years. The fans are jumping for joy, because they'll be given some morphine/transfers for now, but after the spending, the pain could just as well come back, considering the transfer-strategy of the previous six years. This sounds like treatment of symptoms, not the underlying cause.

To me this just reeks of incompetence and stupid-money spending. And the signal is that Woodward just wants to show what a big-spender he is. Again.
Unfortunately I feel Ed is a little out of his depth!
 

SER19

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If we were a continental club there’d be people locked inside the stadium.

An absolute fecking joke each and every one of us is. This guys remit is to make money for glazers. That’s it. My money, your money and every other sad fecking sap that contributes to this club. There’s a place for anger at players, various managers. Of course. But the ugly monstrous head of this club needs to be chopped off. We are finished as a remotely significant club with him in charge. What has happened under his reign is one of the most dramatic declines in th history of professional sport. And he is absolutely untouchable. Some have made it taboo to even mention him, because he sanctioned the fecking waste of hundreds of millions.
 

Rightnr

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This prick and his overlords need to feck off out of the club. Anyone that still defends them is part of the problem.
 

freeurmind

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Until this man and probably the owners go we will continue to mire in this kind of nonsense.
 

breakout67

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This prick and his overlords need to feck off out of the club. Anyone that still defends them is part of the problem.
I doubt a poster on the caf backing Woodward and his cronies is a problem, they are just idiots. The fact of the matter is that our owners bought us as a cash cow and hired clowns to run the club. SAF was simply papering over the cracks.
 

Kostur

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Watch the press being briefed later today with some DOF and warchest for transfers bullshit later tonight by this clown.
 

marktan

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The day we get rid of Ed is the day we might actually start making reasonable decisions again. Till then, mediocrity beckons.
 

Rightnr

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I doubt a poster on the caf backing Woodward and his cronies is a problem, they are just idiots. The fact of the matter is that our owners bought us as a cash cow and hired clowns to run the club. SAF was simply papering over the cracks.
It's more about the people that allow the Glazers and Woodward to get away with it by not expressing their discontent, like how Liverpool have done. I know it's not up posters here but generally the fanbase should get on our board's back and really, really express their displeasure.

I am not sure how season ticket renewals have gone but if most people have renewed for next year, our owners won't care.
 

breakout67

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It's more about the people that allow the Glazers and Woodward to get away with it by not expressing their discontent, like how Liverpool have done. I know it's not up posters here but generally the fanbase should get on our board's back and really, really express their displeasure.

I am not sure how season ticket renewals have gone but if most people have renewed for next year, our owners won't care.
You're on a hiding to nothing in my opinion. Liverpool went decades without success and still piss on most teams in terms of financial viability. SAF built something that will take decades of bad work to undo. If you don't renew your season ticket, a thousand people will be ready to take your spot.
 

Rightnr

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You're on a hiding to nothing in my opinion. Liverpool went decades without success and still piss on most teams in terms of financial viability. SAF built something that will take decades of bad work to undo. If you don't renew your season ticket, a thousand people will be ready to take your spot.
I agree with all those points. I think financially we'll be fine but we're effectively done as top level football club if Ed Woodward continues to deal with football matters.
 

HJ12

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Watch the press being briefed later today with some DOF and warchest for transfers bullshit later tonight by this clown.
You are so right. Everytime things are going pear-shaped, the PR magicians whisper the same hymn to the masses. All empty words of nothingness.
 

NoLogo

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I can't remember why I joined this war.
Usually a CEO that is severely under performing should get fired. The problem is that commercially we are doing really well and the people who own the club only care about that aspect. So as long as our commercial revenue is great he won't get sacked. So the only way to get rid of him is to stop United merch and stop going to the games until this clown is out a job.
 

Suv666

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Lets be real, Woodward is going nowhere and I highly doubt we would be seeing a DOF anytime soon. The window is about to open, too late for a DOF. Woodward and the Glazers are here to stay and there is very little we, the fans can do about it.
 

sglowrider

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We should give the Saudis a chance
If we were a continental club there’d be people locked inside the stadium.
An absolute fecking joke each and every one of us is. This guys remit is to make money for glazers. That’s it. My money, your money and every other sad fecking sap that contributes to this club. There’s a place for anger at players, various managers. Of course. But the ugly monstrous head of this club needs to be chopped off. We are finished as a remotely significant club with him in charge. What has happened under his reign is one of the most dramatic declines in th history of professional sport. And he is absolutely untouchable. Some have made it taboo to even mention him, because he sanctioned the fecking waste of hundreds of millions.
:nervous::nervous:
 

Adam_S

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Nah, change the manager and sign Gareth Bale and she'll be right. Better give Pogba that pay rise he's after while you're at it and make sure we get Phil Jones locked into a new 5 year contract too.

It'll be interesting to see what happens when things like shirt sponsor renewals come up. At some point, the tumescent crap we keep serving up on the pitch has to start having an effect on the bottom line.
 

The Last Jedaiiii

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The owners need to act now and strip him of his footballing duties.
They'll never do that as they practice cronyism. There must be someone wealthy enough who is a United fan that could buy them out. In fact, surely Neville can ask the owners of Salford to invest in United. Or surely there is a legal loophole that we can use in order to get rid of the Glazers?
Given that they wouldn't be allowed to purchase the club in the way they did if attempted today (leveraged buyout I think was outlawed in 2007), surely we could retroactively get it applied.
When City lost 4-0 at Everton in 2017, their defence consisted of Bravo, Sagna, Stones, Otamendi and Clichy.

Of those 5, Pep had purchased Bravo and Stones for a £18m and £50m respectively the previous Summer. You know what they did in the summer of 2017?

They let go of Clichy and Sagna while dropping to the bench Otamendi and Bravo. They bought Ederson (33m), Danilo (27m), Laporte (50m), Kyle Walker (50m) and Bernardo Silva (40m). That is in defence alone. I have heard some United fans say that Jose is to blame for our poor defence (last Summer) and that he should "Be like Pep and sign better defenders." When I mentioned to him that Pep had signed a keeper for a British record in his first season and replaced him in the second for someone even more expensive, while adding 4 defenders in his 2nd season, I was given a mouthful.

In addition to all of the above. Pep took over a stronger team than Jose, and has been allowed to buy whomever he pleases. I think the only solution to this matter is for Ole to resign and tell everything to the media about Woodward's power mongering.
We need to follow Liverpool's example and exchange our parasitic Americsn owners for ethical ones. Contrary to popular belief, ethical billionaires do exist- John Henry being one of them, Michael Bloomberg being another. Or maybe a Chinese billionaire can buy out the Glazer family.
 
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Kostov

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What a fecking clown this guy is. Match going fans should make him know what all United fans think of him and the Glazers. The sooner some new owners come in the better.
 

Tincanalley

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Firstly, we've had the same owners since 2005. The only significant investment came after 2013. Too little too late. These are the same owners who sold Ronaldo for £80 million and replaced with Valencia. Using the profit to clear their debt.

We only spend the money when we don't achieve top 4. That seems to be Woodward's/ Glazer strategy since 2013. Even then, when we do spend, the focus seems to be on how marketable the playe is rather than character or contribution to the team. See Pogba and Sanchez, compare with the board not signing Perisic.

The lack of investment has been over a long period. It only became apparent after Fergie left. When we needed significant investment.

Extending Mourinhos contract then not backing him is yet another sign of Woodward incompetence.

In short, if you can't see our owners and Woodward's incompetence with football matters then you must have blinkers on.
Look at the stadium, ffs! These people don’t give a shit.
 

OldRed1

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I reckon that with everyones deep knowledge on this site of everything happening to our team and the workings of management they should all be working for the club and if you think John Henry is getting nothing out of Liverpool your a dreamer, he's a yank business man after all. It's not done for love.
 

Big Ben Foster

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They'll never do that as they practice cronyism. There must be someone wealthy enough who is a United fan that could buy them out. In fact, surely Neville can ask the owners of Salford to invest in United. Or surely there is a legal loophole that we can use in order to get rid of the Glazers?
Given that they wouldn't be allowed to purchase the club in the way they did if attempted today (leveraged buyout I think was outlawed in 2007), surely we could retroactively get it applied.
When City lost 4-0 at Everton in 2017, their defence consisted of Bravo, Sagna, Stones, Otamendi and Clichy.

Of those 5, Pep had purchased Bravo and Stones for a £18m and £50m respectively the previous Summer. You know what they did in the summer of 2017?

They let go of Clichy and Sagna while dropping to the bench Otamendi and Bravo. They bought Ederson (33m), Danilo (27m), Laporte (50m), Kyle Walker (50m) and Bernardo Silva (40m). That is in defence alone. I have heard some United fans say that Jose is to blame for our poor defence (last Summer) and that he should "Be like Pep and sign better defenders." When I mentioned to him that Pep had signed a keeper for a British record in his first season and replaced him in the second for someone even more expensive, while adding 4 defenders in his 2nd season, I was given a mouthful.

In addition to all of the above. Pep took over a stronger team than Jose, and has been allowed to buy whomever he pleases. I think the only solution to this matter is for Ole to resign and tell everything to the media about Woodward's power mongering.
We need to follow Liverpool's example and exchange our parasitic Americsn owners for ethical ones. Contrary to popular belief, ethical billionaires do exist- John Henry being one of them, Michael Bloomberg being another. Or maybe a Chinese billionaire can buy out the Glazer family.
:houllier:
Surely you realize the dangerous precedent that enforcing laws ex post facto would create?
 

Werder Herzog

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I think some people seriously underestimate how bad of a mess Woodward and the Glazers have put us in without a clear strategy.

Other than 1 year of Zlatan name one signing since Fergie that has been a resounding success? Fergie left 6 years ago. That's 12 transfer windows of clueless sub-par dross Woodward has overseen.

I was thinking about this a lot this morning and there is one thing that does not add up - we have spent near on 800 million since he left , the Glazers have nowhere near seen that return in terms of their own pockets - they get a dividend yearly for each board member if I am right (correct if wrong)? For a bunch of mizers who put commerciality above football matters and love their money so much to the point, we have actually run at a negative spend since they arrived if you add what's been taken out to service debts, why on earth is Woodward still employed? He has spent a ferocious amount of money with no real return on the pitch and surely if the success matched the spend they would be making more on their dividend each year as profit would be higher?

I can come to only once conclusion- having all these sponsorships attached to the club from tractor partners to wine, etc, and then the commercial value of Pogba and Rooney before him who stayed to long is better for their wider scope of operations, if these sponsors and partners are linked to Utd then they are by default linked to the Glazers which somehow helps whatever other businesses they have their toes dipped into (Tampa and then whatever else).

If that's the case has Woodward built up so much clout commercially that they actually see what he has done as success? Or is the money spent on players part of our turnover anyway so it does not affect them?

Maybe someone can summarise it better than above but to me non of it adds up at all.
 

ROFLUTION

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Remember back when the Glazers took over, and a masterplan document was leaked about how they wanted to emulate what Real Madrid was doing? Buy big commercial names, who sells shirts was part of it.

Wish I could find that leak again. Anyone? - Itd be interesting to see if they have followed through with the things stated.
 

The Last Jedaiiii

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I reckon that with everyones deep knowledge on this site of everything happening to our team and the workings of management they should all be working for the club and if you think John Henry is getting nothing out of Liverpool your a dreamer, he's a yank business man after all. It's not done for love.
How much has he invested in the club and how much has he taken out?
If you don't have answers or any credible evidence to substantiate the claim, don't make it