I read all those pieces and not come to that conclusion so you need to say which one.
https://theathletic.com/5151315/202...ed=1&source=googlesearch&access_token=3793320
OK -here are some pieces from The Athletic which show how difficult it was to work under Murtough, and it's not specific to Eric Ten Hag but also Ole and Rangnick so we can just put aside the 'person' as manager and look at the structure.
These are just SOME takeaways. The consistency here is Murtough is fecking shite as a DoF, and even if we had Emery or De Zerbi in last year I actually think they'd have to plan with an arm behind their back, because the structure around them was absolute bollocks.
Regarding not knowing how much certain players were costing - here's a nugget with Ole and Diallo:
"Solskjaer had given his blessing to the signing 48 hours before the announcement, having watched some video footage, but he was unaware of the significant fee, which rose dramatically from when prospective buyers enquired at Atalanta earlier that year.
Solskjaer initially believed Amad, an exciting talent, was an academy player but realised after the move was finalised that the money involved meant he was expected to soon feature in the first team."
Regarding Murtough being unable to actually take the right consultation on where the issues were:
"Rangnick struggled to get his head around the setup. Appointed by Murtough as manager on an interim basis with the prospect of a director role at the end of the 2021-22 season, Rangnick soon found himself isolated. Murtough cut down communication on sensitive subjects. Rangnick, struggling to gain authority over players, responded by taking his observations public, stating that United required “open-heart” surgery to fix the issues at the club."
^ (worth also noting Murtough had a big fallout with Butt, which is in the wider article)
Regarding no structure existing for managers to be given alternatives by the recruitment team:
"When Arnold took charge as chief executive in February 2022 he conducted a root-and-branch review of club protocols. Internally, he asked hard questions of recruitment, wanting to know how United had got so little to show for a £1billion spend on new players. The result was Jim Lawlor and Marcel Bout, two long-standing chief scouts, being ushered out. Lawlor, a Ferguson ally, was judged to be dismissing too many targets as not good enough. Murtough and Brown, the main architects of the system, stayed on."
So from the above - Head scouts get the chop, it pretty much goes into Murtough to suggest club targets and put them on the table alongisde who the manager suggests, before they start going through the joint shortlist.
So when Ten Hag wants a DM - you'd expect the scouts to give some targets right?:
"
United lost to Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, and panic spread. Chief executive Richard Arnold became more visible around Carrington and sat in on a lengthy recruitment meeting following the 2-1 defeat by Brighton at Old Trafford. It was then that staff decided to pivot from De Jong to Casemiro.
The decision to go for Casemiro, a different profile of midfielder to De Jong, was taken despite some internal resistance. It was calculated that signing Declan Rice from West Ham United for £120million, as an example, would have been better for United’s long-term financial-fair-play (FFP) prospects than bringing in Casemiro, then aged 30, for half the fee. Rice’s salary would have been significantly smaller than Casemiro’s earnings of around £350,000 per week and he could have signed a longer contract owing to his age, meaning the cost could have been amortised — or spread out — in the accounts over a longer period. Rice, then aged 23, also had potential resale value."
In other words, FFP wasn't even considered and we went for Casemiro. So much for Murtough's scouting prowess on finding a DM for Ten Hag. A 12 year old competent at FIFA could think of that as a suggestion, but it doesn't mean its the way forward. I don't see that as a manager failing - unless you think Ten Hag should draw up the shortlist all on his own.
Hojlund - a player told he can go for £50m, and Murtough rocks in and overpays by £20m for what I can only assume is banter:
" Atalanta had told Hojlund he could leave for £50m, and United communicated they would draw the line at £60m, but then agreed a fee worth £72m during all-day talks in Bergamo that lasted until 3am. Atalanta had demanded £86m for a player they signed for less than £15m just 11 months earlier."
Mount - going in with the stronger cards but still coughing up £20m more than what we want to pay because of fright of Liverpool(!)
" There are inconsistencies even within a window too. During the summer, for instance, United went first for Mount because they feared Chelsea would otherwise sell different players to alleviate their FFP concerns, and Arsenal and Liverpool were in for him too. Internally, the price set for Mount was £40m because he had only a year left on his Chelsea contract, but that was the first offer Chelsea received. United’s bidding rose 50 per cent to a total of £55m plus £5m in add-ons. If the full £60m is realised, United will be delighted, however, as they will make a £1m payment every time Mount plays 70 per cent of games in a title-winning campaign during his five-year contract."
Absolutely no way to know that. The only way to have gotten Mount cheaper was to wait it out as Chelsea needed to sell but there's a risk in that as Liverpool and Arsenal were struggling to sign midfielders so might have put more pressure on Mount to join them instead. We got Mount for basically 50m which is roughly only like 5-10m an overpay or not an overpay. Depends on who's asking. Players with less than a year similar to him have been transferred for more than that. On current trajectory those bonuses aren't gonna be triggered.
Fair for the rest outside the bolded.
The price we initially set for him was £40m and we paid £55+5m. That 20m gap can fund a other gaps, especially when you consider how shite we were with the Hojlund negotiation too.