For sure, but I wouldnt be surprised if early results dont go well, and we see our manager making passive aggressive comments about our recruitment strategy. I mean it has happened before. Lets hope for the best. I dont think its too late for signings, just that I dont see any positive changes in our approach...yet.
We have let go a bunch of players -- this is as clean a slate or house cleaning as I have ever seen in all my years as a supporter. That's a plus. Enough with legacy players.
Secondly, as anyone who is responsible for a new operation or new there -- he will have his own pre-joining assessment of the team and a plan based on that.
Then when he gets into United, there will be deviations or pivots from his original planning based on his on-the-ground assessment. That includes the operational reality, actual financial constraints versus what was pitched to him and most importantly, his own actual assessment of the players.
We can assume the core of his plan -- the trigger or critical mechanism is Frenkie. Thats simply because his assessment and that of most people is that United is very poor at transitioning the ball from defence into attack. And for him as a possession-based manager, United doesn't have many player there who play in accordance to his world view. They are primarily counter-attacking players. Then he has to assess whether he can coach them into that philosophy. That will require his to have them on the pitch and decide.
If you know the dutch and I have worked with the dutch for many years, they are meticulous planners and detail orientated. Not long-term executors but nevertheless good planners.
ETH would have had a Plan B, C and D in case he fails to convince Frenkie over. If he gets Frenkie, who will he need to support Frenkie and narrow the other gaps -- before pre-training starts.
Then at pre-season training, he makes his assessments on a few other players on whether he can coach them into his worldview or otherwise replace them.
So I am expecting him to get 2 firm to firm-ish transfers by pre-season training. (My view is Frenkie and then a striker for obvious reasons.) Then trigger a couple more after seeing with his own eyes on the training pitch @ the end of June -- like see who can play alongside Frenkie with the midfielders we have. Then who can play on the RW -- and since we have Sancho, Anad and Facundo here already, not sure why we would pull the trigger so early on Antony -- unless there are a few clubs creeping around.
So in many ways, that's one deal at a time. A tree decision-making procedure. But for different reasons to say, Woodward's approach.
This is more for footballing strategic reasons --- as opposed to Woodward's budgetary constraint approach ie we would but our primary target and then see what money we got left for the others within the balance of the transfer budget.
New C-suite team, new manager and new coaches. They need to be given time to assess and then make their choices for what is achievable in the 1st season.
