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

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Adnan

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Howson knows about as much as Chirag on MUTV ✔
Howson has called out things before regards at academy level that have been true. Mr Mujac who is well known as a United youth historian and also posts on this forum would probably agree due to having links to Howson. Howson also has had BBC and Guardian journalists on his channel which give him some credence.

It would be very disappointing if we only sign another two players though. But I guess it'll be an improvement on Fred & Dalot from last season. Quite frankly, nothing would surprise me under the current ownership.
 

Reiver

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Is that on his patreon? If not could you link me to it? Thank You :)

Also, as I said in the Wan-Bissaka thread, Real Madrid have signed 5 players and spent 300 million euros in the time it's taken us to buy a championship player / great prospect and have a bid rejected by Palace.

What are Woodward and Judge doing? What is this new "ambassador" role supposed to do beyond "tempting" players?
With the way we're currently run, they probably just attend parties and eat Ferrero Rocher.
 

Vault Dweller

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Well it would seem Philip De Brun isn’t a complete bullshitter after all, since he called it ages ago.
I don't mind him at all actually. I listen to his podcast about United (it's usually on every midweek during the season) and while he can be over the top, I think he is also a passionate United fan who has decent-ish ties and sources within the club.

As others have said, if we only sign 1/2 more players this summer I think that is a strong indication that the Glazers are actively looking to sell, confirming Brun's position.
 

Kapardin

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I can't believe some people can delude themselves to think Howson is a legit ITK because he managed to take selfies with Rashford and Lingard.
 

settembrini

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I don't mind him at all actually. I listen to his podcast about United (it's usually on every midweek during the season) and while he can be over the top, I think he is also a passionate United fan who has decent-ish ties and sources within the club.
De Brun is one of the very people worth following for United news, I've never understood why he is so disliked on here.
 

Adnan

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I can't believe some people can delude themselves to think Howson is a legit ITK because he managed to take selfies with Rashford and Lingard.
Nobody thinks he's a 'legit itk' as you put it. But he does have connections to alot of well informed people so could know a thing or two.
 

Infra-red

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I can't believe some people can delude themselves to think Howson is a legit ITK because he managed to take selfies with Rashford and Lingard.
He's a complete twat. The only thing he is interested in is monetising football fandom for his own gain, even if that means exploiting unwitting United fans. I mean, look at the state of this:

Manchester United fan charging Old Trafford tourists £20 to take them to the pub

https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...s/manchester-united-fan-charging-old-10284652
 

rampo

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Other club: We want 60 mil for the player
Ed: We will give you 25 mil

<After a week>

Ed: Ok, here take this 30 and give us the player

<After a month>

Ed: Ok, take this 32 mil
Club: We won't sell the player for anything below 50 mil

<After 2 months>

Ed: This has gone for too long now. You guys know how tough I am. You don't have any further room for negotiation since this is my final offer. Here, we will offer 70 mil for the player. Take it or leave
 

Adnan

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@Infra-red

Dawson wrote a piece which you linked due to the belief being that Fred was signed by Woodward and not infact being a Mourinho signing. Duncan Castles who is considered the mouth piece of Mourinho had quite clearly stated months prior to him signing for us that he was one of the players wanted by Mourinho which was pointed out by @roonster09. Jason Burt also says all 11 signings made under Mourinho were his signings that he wanted.

I think most people would agree that Castles and Burt would be more reliable on the matter than say Dawson who prior to working for ESPN was a reporter at the MEN.

I think we can blame Woodward for alot of things, but to blame him for going against the wishes of Mourinho to sign Fred from the Ukranian league for a big transfer fee is a bit too far fetched for my liking.
 

Lowkey

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2 months to sign one kid from Swansea. Well done Woodward.

Meanwhile Real Madrid with the big club mentality and knowing that they need to restructure the team have signed 6 players. 0 plan, 0 transfer strategy.

We are a joke of a club. The laughing stock of football with Arsenal at the moment.
 

Infra-red

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@Infra-red

Dawson wrote a piece which you linked due to the belief being that Fred was signed by Woodward and not infact being a Mourinho signing. Duncan Castles who is considered the mouth piece of Mourinho had quite clearly stated months prior to him signing for us that he was one of the players wanted by Mourinho which was pointed out by @roonster09. Jason Burt also says all 11 signings made under Mourinho were his signings that he wanted.

I think most people would agree that Castles and Burt would be more reliable on the matter
than say Dawson who prior to working for ESPN was a reporter at the MEN.

I think we can blame Woodward for alot of things, but to blame him for going against the wishes of Mourinho to sign Fred from the Ukranian league for a big transfer fee is a bit too far fetched for my liking.
Five minutes ago you were telling me how untrustworthy Castles is and how we should take anything he says with a pinch of salt. Now he's the bastion of reliability!

I think the counter claim was made by Duncan Castles who is well known as a Mourinho apologist. Would take anything he says with a pinch of salt.
@Infra-red

This should prove to you that Castles can't be trusted and Fred was a Mourinho target. Castles changes his opinion as and when it suits him, like he has done with Lindelof too in the past, like @roonster09 pointed out.
 

Adnan

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Five minutes ago you were telling me how untrustworthy Castles is and how we should take anything he says with a pinch of salt. Now he's the bastion of reliability!
Castles is unreliable when it comes to Mourinho and i've told you that before when you were going on about De Ligt and what Castles said in his podcast. The reason I brought up Castles is because people like yourself give credence to what he says on Mourinho due to having this supposed inside track to Mourinho. True or false?

Jason Burt is far more credible than either Castles or Dawson and his articles do hold weight believe it or not. He also doesn't change his views like a Chameleon changes colours like we've seen with Castles in his defense of Mourinho.
 

roonster09

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Five minutes ago you were telling me how untrustworthy Castles is and how we should take anything he says with a pinch of salt. Now he's the bastion of reliability!
Its not really difficult to understand. Castles is Jose's mouth piece, so him talking about transfer targets before they were signed is reliable as he was close with Mendes/Jose and he was the one who used to post positive articles on Jose and negative on one anything who replaces Jose or his opposition.

He is unreliable when he changes his tune and try to push Jose's agenda when the transfers fail, like he did with Lindelof, Fred.
 

Infra-red

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Its not really difficult to understand. Castles is Jose's mouth piece, so him talking about transfer targets before they were signed is reliable as he was close with Mendes/Jose and he was the one who used to post positive articles on Jose and negative on one anything who replaces Jose or his opposition.

He is unreliable when he changes his tune and try to push Jose's agenda when the transfers fail, like he did with Lindelof, Fred.
What has he said about Lindelof and Fred and what does it have to do with Rob Dawson's piece?
 

Adnan

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What has he said about Lindelof and Fred and what does it have to do with Rob Dawson's piece?
So Rob Dawson's piece is sufficient for you to believe we signed a Brazilian midfielder without the consent of Mourinho from the Ukranian league?
 

roonster09

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What has he said about Lindelof and Fred and what does it have to do with Rob Dawson's piece?
I have no idea what Rob Dawson's article is talking about.

C-c-called a U-turn
‘Manchester United have opened discussions with Benfica over the January transfer of Sweden international Victor Lindelof. According to sources familiar with the negotiations, Lindelof is first on a list of central defenders drawn up by Jose Mourinho to strengthen a back four that has proved problematic during the new Old Trafford manager’s initial months at the club’ – Duncan Castles, Daily Record, December 2, 2016.

‘Manchester United have agreed an initial fee of €35million for the transfer of Sweden international Victor Lindelof from Benfica. As reported by Record Sport Online in December, the Old Trafford manager asked United to bring Lindelof to Old Trafford in the winter window. Benfica, however, demanded an unrealistic fee of €60m before extending the Swede’s contract to 2021 on substantially improved terms. Lindelof’s ability to build play from the back is understood to be an important factor in Mourinho’s pursuit of the player’ – Duncan Castles, Daily Record, June 11, 2017.

‘A year ago, United settled on Victor Lindelof because the Benfica-based Swede was cheaper than more polished options’ – Duncan Castles, Sunday Times, July 29.

You have to admire the dedication. When all looked well – Mourinho’s man. When it went badly – United settled (and screwed over Mourinho in the process). Well done Duncan.
https://www.football365.com/news/mediawatch-mourinho-didnt-really-want-lindelof-after-all
 

Jim Beam

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So Rob Dawson's piece is sufficient for you to believe we signed a Brazilian midfielder without the consent of Mourinho from the Ukranian league?
The article said he gave his consent. But that the midfielder was pushed to him and that his priority was CB.

And tbf Fred was barely even used under Mourinho.
 

Adnan

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The article said he gave his consent. But that the midfielder was pushed to him and that his priority was CB.

And tbf Fred was barely even used under Mourinho.
I did read the article. But Mourinho said we'd see the best of Fred if we had another CB. This was after he had signed two CBs prior. Just stock piling CBs wasn't gonna cut it.
 

Jim Beam

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I did read the article. But Mourinho said we'd see the best of Fred if we had another CB. This was after he had signed two CBs prior. Just stock piling CBs wasn't gonna cut it.
Am not so eager to jump in Jose defence after what happened last season. A manager can't get all his wishes and he did spent a lot. Poch didn't have a single player, but still kept working with what he has.
Still... You can point here at the massive difference in both managers personalities as well as different expectations in both clubs. Also, we are again in a situation where we desperately need another CB, so it is not like something's changed there and we solved that problem. 2 CB's aren't a lot in today's market especially since we went for relatively unproven ones. Yeah, you could point at Jose and say the players weren't improving under his coaching, but that is still not a reason to not address the clear area of weakness.

Fred was definitely a weird signing, I mean he didn't play and was clearly not fancied by Jose. We even had a thread here why did we bought him in the first place. The whole thing becomes worse if you count Herrera situation and how he end up leaving on a free.
 

Eckers99

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@Adnan was it you who said recently we'd definitely have DoF by the start of the season? Apologies if not. If so, you standing by that?
 

Adnan

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@Adnan was it you who said recently we'd definitely have DoF by the start of the season? Apologies if not. If so, you standing by that?
I'm not a ITK you know..:D

It was reported that a Dof would be in place by the start of the season. Now I can't remember exactly where I read it.

I just want to see a structure in place and see how it pans out. Even a experienced Dof could fail like we've seen with Monchi at Roma and Leonardo at AC Milan.
 

Infra-red

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If we wanted to be charitable, we could say that both things can simultaneously be true (ie that more expensive options were unacceptable/unavailable so Mourinho suggested a cheaper alternative that he'd be satisfied with). To claim that Mourinho was opposed to the Lindelof signing would obviously stretch credulity, though. He, like Dalot, is a player that Mourinho would undoubtedly be very familiar with.

The spin that Castles has chosen to put on it at different times is obviously rather self-serving.
 

Infra-red

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Am not so eager to jump in Jose defence after what happened last season. A manager can't get all his wishes and he did spent a lot. Poch didn't have a single player, but still kept working with what he has.
Still... You can point here at the massive difference in both managers personalities as well as different expectations in both clubs. Also, we are again in a situation where we desperately need another CB, so it is not like something's changed there and we solved that problem. 2 CB's aren't a lot in today's market especially since we went for relatively unproven ones. Yeah, you could point at Jose and say the players weren't improving under his coaching, but that is still not a reason to not address the clear area of weakness.

Fred was definitely a weird signing, I mean he didn't play and was clearly not fancied by Jose. We even had a thread here why did we bought him in the first place. The whole thing becomes worse if you count Herrera situation and how he end up leaving on a free.
It's certainly odd I agree and Mourinho's treatment of the player does lend credence to the claims made in Dawson's article (ie that the player was heavily pushed by the club's video analysts, specifically head performance recruitment analyst Mick Court, while Mourinho himself was more reluctant).

That specific claim about Fred does not of course exonerate Mourinho from the club's recruitment failings more generally - certainly, I haven't seen anyone (not even Castles) claim that Mourinho was opposed to the Sanchez signing, which must go down as one of the worst pieces of business in Premier League history.
 

Jim Beam

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That specific claim about Fred does not of course exonerate Mourinho from the club's recruitment failings more generally - certainly, I haven't seen anyone (not even Castles) claim that Mourinho was opposed to the Sanchez signing, which must go down as one of the worst pieces of business in Premier League history.
Oh, he pushed for that one certainly.
 

PureCantona7

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So Rob Dawson's piece is sufficient for you to believe we signed a Brazilian midfielder without the consent of Mourinho from the Ukranian league?
So how come Mourinho never played him?

Almost like he was making a protest against the signing.
 

Eckers99

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I'm not a ITK you know..:D

It was reported that a Dof would be in place by the start of the season. Now I can't remember exactly where I read it.

I just want to see a structure in place and see how it pans out. Even a experienced Dof could fail like we've seen with Monchi at Roma and Leonardo at AC Milan.
Mate, ultimately we all want the same thing - the kind of efficient, forward- thinking structure that befits a club of our standing. The rumours surrounding the club make this seem unlikely though.
 

soaphroniscuss

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I'm not a ITK you know..:D

It was reported that a Dof would be in place by the start of the season. Now I can't remember exactly where I read it.

I just want to see a structure in place and see how it pans out. Even a experienced Dof could fail like we've seen with Monchi at Roma and Leonardo at AC Milan.
You actually said "I think" rather than "I read" which suggests that YOU thought the logic was compelling. Now it is "nothing" to do with you.

There is too much of that around here IMO. If you state something then stand by having stated it.

If I said that "I think Ole will win the league" then that would be on me and nobody else, other than my other personality.
 

Adnan

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You actually said "I think" rather than "I read" which suggests that YOU thought the logic was compelling. Now it is "nothing" to do with you.

There is too much of that around here IMO. If you state something then stand by having stated it.

If I said that "I think Ole will win the league" then that would be on me and nobody else, other than my other personality.
Yes I think it's logical to believe a Dof/Technical Director will be in place by September.
 

Adnan

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So how come Mourinho never played him?

Almost like he was making a protest against the signing.
Mourinho dropped Pogba and gave Lindelof and Mkhi similar treatment where we didn't see them for months. It shouldn't surprise anyone he did the same to Fred when he had previous.
 

Adnan

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Mate, ultimately we all want the same thing - the kind of efficient, forward- thinking structure that befits a club of our standing. The rumours surrounding the club make this seem unlikely though.
I think it's best to just sit back and see how things unfold, because I foresee the fans are gonna start to lose patience in a ugly manor if we see a repeat of last season in the transfer window. The Glazer's can't take the piss in this window.
 

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I think we can safely say that as long as Ed is in charge their won't be a DOF, he probably fears somebody doing a better job than him
 
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