Man Utd set to appoint Director of Football (when hell freezes over)

[RedSky]

Signings Lokomotiv Have Made Since He Was Appointed:

Mins = this season. 2,700mins is the highest they could have.

Fedor Smolov bought for 9m euros. Striker, 3 goals this season with 924mins
Benedikt Höwedes bought for 5m euros. CB, played 1,251mins
Rifat Zhemaletdinov bought for 1.5m euros. RW, played 359mins
Solomon Kvirkvelia bought for 2.5m euros. CB, played 2,290mins
Maciej Rybus bought for 1.75m euros. LB, played 1,065mins

I know they don't have a huge budget, but only one of his signings is a first teamer. Smolov looks a dud. Not exactly inspiring.

His wiki entry has this nugget: "Among other things, he was responsible for player purchases like Heiko Westermann , Ivan Rakitić , Jermaine Jones and Jefferson Farfán partly responsible"

 

[Adnan]

Signings Lokomotiv Have Made Since He Was Appointed:

Mins = this season. 2,700mins is the highest they could have.

Fedor Smolov bought for 9m euros. Striker, 3 goals this season with 924mins
Benedikt Höwedes bought for 5m euros. CB, played 1,251mins
Rifat Zhemaletdinov bought for 1.5m euros. RW, played 359mins
Solomon Kvirkvelia bought for 2.5m euros. CB, played 2,290mins
Maciej Rybus bought for 1.75m euros. LB, played 1,065mins

I know they don't have a huge budget, but only one of his signings is a first teamer. Smolov looks a dud. Not exactly inspiring.

His wiki entry has this nugget: "Among other things, he was responsible for player purchases like Heiko Westermann , Ivan Rakitić , Jermaine Jones and Jefferson Farfán partly responsible"

A DoF doesn't necessarily select or scout players. The head of recruitment will normally have reports on future incomings. The DoF will then try and secure the targets through negotiations etc and do the leg work.

 

[RedSky]

A DoF doesn't necessarily select or scout players. The head of recruitment will normally have reports on future incomings. The DoF will then try and secure the targets through negotiations etc and do the leg work.

Isn't the DoF normally the one who selects the best players for the vision of the club? I always thought (mainly wrongly) that they were essentially in charge of transfers and had the final say. Like the last chain of the link, so the scouts report to the recruitment and recruitment reports their analysis to DoF who selects the players he deems fits the need of the squad. He then goes off and negiotates.

 

[Adisa]

Sounds like a man trying to generate interest in himself.

 

[Adnan]

Isn't the DoF normally the one who selects the best players for the vision of the club? I always thought (mainly wrongly) that they were essentially in charge of transfers and had the final say. Like the last chain of the link, so the scouts report to the recruitment and recruitment reports their analysis to DoF who selects the players he deems fits the need of the squad. He then goes off and negiotates.

We're strongly linked with Paul Mitchell who is the head of recruitment currently at RB Leipzig. The head of recruitment will work with the DoF and provide reports on the profile of player we need in said positions. They will then select the best players suited to our vision and the DoF will then need to earn his corn by hopefully delivering the targets.

Someone like Paul Mitchell is a must for us too. He seems to have extensive knowledge on recruiting the right calibre of player in the UK and abroad.

 

[RedSky]

Weird I always though DoF was the guy that basically had the last say on recruitment and chose the direction the club heads in terms of recruitment. Head of Recruitment I thought was someone who spoke to all the scouts and assessed who they thought were options for a position teh DoF asked for. Then the DoF takes the reports for the position and goes "this guy will be our top priority". Instead you're suggesting that its the head of recruitment who has the final say and the DoF simply deals with the money side?

Must have not understood the position correctly, interesting.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

Not the best source but they do have good journos like Sam Lee etc.

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Strong network in North America and Asia?????

 

[Adnan]

Weird I always though DoF was the guy that basically had the last say on recruitment and chose the direction the club heads in terms of recruitment. Head of Recruitment I thought was someone who spoke to all the scouts and assessed who they thought were options for a position teh DoF asked for. Then the DoF takes the reports for the position and goes "this guy will be our top priority". Instead you're suggesting that its the head of recruitment who has the final say and the DoF simply deals with the money side?

Must have not understood the position correctly, interesting.

The head coach, DoF and head of recruitment will be key roles. The Head Coach and DoF will discuss our vision and philosophy going forward. The DoF will have the final say over the head coach. The head of recruitment will have the reports on future incomings and will liaise with the DoF.

 

[Adnan]

Strong network in North America and Asia?????

He was a DoF in Canada for 4 years which explains North America..

 

[Dante]

'Sporting Director'.

Not 'Director of Football'.

It's telling that the exact title isn't yet clear.

Either way, I think people are getting too wrapped up in defined roles they've heard about elsewhere. Every club's requirement will be unique.

Manchester United don't need a world class negotiator with world class business links and a world class understanding of the football. Ed Woodward can already do the first two things as well as anybody in the game. We only need a trusted football man to oversee the philosophy of the club, and to liaise with the higher ups on our direction.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

He was a DoF in Canada for 4 years which explains North America..

Dont really care about if and how he got his connections, but was confused on WTF would we care about such networks.

 

[Adnan]

Dont really care about if and how he got his connections, but was confused on WTF would we care about such networks.

Maybe because being well connected as a DoF is advantageous?

 

[cheeky_backheel]

Maybe because being well connected as a DoF is advantageous?

I wouldnt value connections in North America and Asia over S. America. Just dont see the talent pool being that big.

 

[UDontMessWith24]

I wouldnt value connections in North America and Asia over S. America. Just dont see the talent pool being that big.

Considering who our owners are it's safe to say the connections they covet could be media/commercial related rather than the talent pool of football players.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

Considering who our owners are it's safe to say the connections they covet could be media/commercial related rather than the talent pool of football players.

But a DoF is unlikely to have those kind of commercial connections

 

[UDontMessWith24]

But a DoF is unlikely to have those kind of commercial connections

I suppose his background would suggest you're right.

 

[Judas]

Sounds like a man trying to generate interest in himself.

100% my view too.

 

[roseguy64]

Imagine we announce it on MUTV with all former players around. Woodwards comes on stage and he says

"Ladies and gentlemen I wish to announce our DOF. In fact he's already in the audience. Here's the hint. He's English, erm actually a local lad. He's young, a former player and time and time again he proven to be very knowledgeablel"

Sky cameras move quickly towards Gary Neville

"Let me present you, Paul Mitchell"

Id kill to see Gaz's face after that.

Hilarious. No, really.

 

[roseguy64]

He isn't though, for example Judge is the one signing players while Woodward is simply the CEO, he doesn't hire the manager, the board does. The manager is in charge of all the playing and coaching staff which is the main role of a DOF.
Woodward responsibility is the structure of the club and make sure that every roles are occupied by someone competent and competently accomplishes his tasks, it's a massive job but he isn't the de facto DOF since Mourinho himself said that he identifies players and make the target lists, he also specifically mentioned that Judge was the one making the deals happen. Woodward only did Judge's job when Bolingbroke left for Inter and before Judge's appointment.

His Linkedin profile confirms

Spoiler

 

[Maticmaker]

'Sporting Director'.

Not 'Director of Football'.

It's telling that the exact title isn't yet clear.

Either way, I think people are getting too wrapped up in defined roles they've heard about elsewhere. Every club's requirement will be unique.

Manchester United don't need a world class negotiator with world class business links and a world class understanding of the football. Ed Woodward can already do the first two things as well as anybody in the game. We only need a trusted football man to oversee the philosophy of the club, and to liaise with the higher ups on our direction.

That's probably because the board don't really know what it is they want!

The original idea seems to have been at the basic requirement was to have someone of suitable experience to stand between Woodward and Mourinho and to keep the peace. However, now I suspect it will be a post that oversees the direction of the club in terms of clarifying its football ethos and philosophy. Going forward, it will be for the new appointee to determine how football development, as the tip of a billion pound organisation both on and off the pitch, can be reconciled with the commercial interest.

 

[Skills]

Weird I always though DoF was the guy that basically had the last say on recruitment and chose the direction the club heads in terms of recruitment. Head of Recruitment I thought was someone who spoke to all the scouts and assessed who they thought were options for a position teh DoF asked for. Then the DoF takes the reports for the position and goes "this guy will be our top priority". Instead you're suggesting that its the head of recruitment who has the final say and the DoF simply deals with the money side?

Must have not understood the position correctly, interesting.

I think it varies club by club.

I think maybe we can have a system with:

1) CEO at the top - responsible for the budget overall, how much we can spend in a given summer or over a few years. Ultimately if you're going to make a world record signing or make a signing with a major impact on the wage structure (i.e. Sanchez) he has to authorize it.

2) DOF -
Final say on a signing, and he takes care of the budget every season.
Responsible for investing that into the academy/scouting.
Ensuring our squad is in a healthy state in terms of contracts and renewals

3a) Manager/Head Coach - identifies what the team is missing

3b) Head of Recruitment - finds the players that fill our requirements, also essentially head of all the scouts. He's the one who brings the players to the table, which get bought off by a group including the coach/dof/himself.

3c) Head of the Academy - should have a say on the investment the academy needs. Also to represent the interests of the talented players we have coming through.

 

[roseguy64]

It’s strange to say ‘Moyes is all (all!) on Fergie’ when Woodward alone was responsible for the decision. If Woodward had no mind of his own on the subject, didn’t aquire other consultation on the question, didn’t question in his mind wether Fergie would necessarily know best who should replace him, didn’t as partnof this find out in beforehand wether Moyes would accompany himself with exclusively Everton crew and wether this would be a good idea for Man Utd ... if all this, then he certainly was out of his depth having the position he was in. Of course, that wouldn’t be too damning if he later shows he is a quick learner and got it right later. What I think is fairly obvious though, is that he has made a lot of decisions that in isolation can be viewed as sensible enough, but seen as a whole shows a deep lack of understanding of how to run a football club in England and Europe successfully, and particular a club such as Man Utd.

The idea that having a business man from USA just running through a number of different managers to see who are successful is a good way to run a club ...

Here's his Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Woodward

You'll notice where he was born and how long he's been at the club before he took Gill's role

 

[JPRouve]

Here's his Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Woodward

You'll notice where he was born and how long he's been at the club before he took Gill's role

It's also worth mentioning that Gill was also a finance man, as was Kenyon.

 

[roseguy64]

It's also worth mentioning that Gill was also a finance man, as was Kenyon.

Correct. The only difference is that they had Ferguson working with them who could manage the demands of the manager role. His replacements couldn't. It's probably also why guys like Matt Judge have been brought in, to have responsibilities shared around.

 

[Raees]

Not the best source but they do have good journos like Sam Lee etc.

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Can’t be true surely. Strong presence in North America and Asia - yay!

 

[Adnan]

Can’t be true surely. Strong presence in North America and Asia - yay!

And mainland Europe..

Him being German and with his back ground with youth football, could be of great benefit to us. So much talent in Germany that we've not quite tapped into yet.

 

[Raees]

And mainland Europe..

Him being German and with his back ground with youth football, could be of great benefit to us. So much talent in Germany that we've not quite tapped into yet.

Perhaps but German footballers are not really noted for moving abroad at a young age or at all. I’d rather someone with links to South America, France primarily and perhaps Spain/Dutch football as all these areas have top quality footballers who are likely to want to move abroad.

 

[Yakuza_devils]

Who ever it maybe or whatever contacts/experience he has is not important. The single most critical requirement is that he must make man utd play exciting attacking football.

Man utd fans shouldn't need to chant "attack attack attack" again during the games (after Moyes, LVG and Jose nightmare).

 

[Adnan]

Who ever it maybe or whatever contacts/experience he has is not important. The single most critical requirement is that he must make man utd play exciting attacking football.

Man utd fans shouldn't need to chant "attack attack attack" again during the games (after Moyes, LVG and Jose nightmare).

I think that will be the job of the head coach..

 

[the chameleon]

I think that will be the job of the head coach..

But he would be individual who decides what approach we go for. If they hired Allegri or another defensive manager like conte, we might as well say goodbye to wanting attacking football.

They would need to be able to understand what type of football they want us to play. The type of head coach implement it. The type of player that needs to be targeted. Even if the manager leaves, the show will go on, because DOF would be the constant that keeps it going.

 

[the chameleon]

In regards to the director of football. What is going on?

Apart from the odd rumour, there doesn’t to be any movement. We hear rumours of managers.

When will we know?

 

[L1nk]

In regards to the director of football. What is going on?

Apart from the odd rumour, there doesn’t to be any movement. We hear rumours of managers.

When will we know?

Probably not towards the end of the season either, it's possible the person we want won't leave right now.

 

[breakout67]

In regards to the director of football. What is going on?

Apart from the odd rumour, there doesn’t to be any movement. We hear rumours of managers.

When will we know?

Apparently we're getting one in the summer, so basically another laggy and slow change to the structure of the club. The board have said many times that they like to take their time (aka low risk strategy for consistent profits). The talk of the director of football being the right man for the manager we hire is also nonsensical, the DoF is supposed to be above the manager and sets the long term structure of the team, usually the DoF recruits the manager as well. But our board like to do things their own way.

 

[Adnan]

In regards to the director of football. What is going on?

Apart from the odd rumour, there doesn’t to be any movement. We hear rumours of managers.

When will we know?

Not sure what is going on, but we need the DoF in charge now, along with someone like Paul Mitchell. The quicker we get them in, the better prepared we will be for next season.

 

[Grande]

Here's his Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Woodward

You'll notice where he was born and how long he's been at the club before he took Gill's role

My mistake, I somehow made him out to be American just because he came to the club with the Glazers.

I knew he was at United since 2005, hence why I believe he was well involved in most processes when Moyes was evaluated and appointed.

 

[roseguy64]

My mistake, I somehow made him out to be American just because he came to the club with the Glazers.

I knew he was at United since 2005, hence why I believe he was well involved in most processes when Moyes was evaluated and appointed.

I don't doubt he was involved but that would have been a Gill and Ferguson decision. Moyes was appointed before he assumed the role.

 

[sglowrider]

Strong network in North America and Asia?????

(Commercial) partners or that's what caught Woody's eyes.

 

[MadDogg]

Not sure what is going on, but we need the DoF in charge now, along with someone like Paul Mitchell. The quicker we get them in, the better prepared we will be for next season.

There is a decent chance we already know who it will be and it's all organised, but he's currently in a job so can't be announced until the end of the season. It's not ideal, but if that is the case he'll definitely be having input into what we are doing already.

 

[Judas]

There is a decent chance we already know who it will be and it's all organised, but he's currently in a job so can't be announced until the end of the season. It's not ideal, but if that is the case he'll definitely be having input into what we are doing already.

I don't have the faith in this club that we're as well prepared as that to be honest.

 

[RedDevilRoshi]

There is a decent chance we already know who it will be and it's all organised, but he's currently in a job so can't be announced until the end of the season. It's not ideal, but if that is the case he'll definitely be having input into what we are doing already.

I hope you are correct