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

Status
Not open for further replies.

crossy1686

career ending
Joined
Jun 5, 2010
Messages
32,003
Location
Manchester/Stockholm
This has nothing to do with a lack of investment, their team cost far less than ours. Why would we put more money into someone who has already spent a huge amount of money and not shown equal results.
Because the team has needed investment since Fergie was there and it's only recently we've realised that a midfield made up from Anderson, Rafael and O'Shea don't win you titles post Ferguson.
 

spiriticon

Full Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2013
Messages
7,535
Because the team has needed investment since Fergie was there and it's only recently we've realised that a midfield made up from Anderson, Rafael and O'Shea don't win you titles post Ferguson.
Fergie left us huge investments in Nani, Zaha and Rafael for our right wing when he left as well.

Not really Woodward's fault the right wing is now barren.

What I would kill to have the three of them back. Jesus wept what are we doing.
 

Hammondo

Full Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2015
Messages
7,021
Because the team has needed investment since Fergie was there and it's only recently we've realised that a midfield made up from Anderson, Rafael and O'Shea don't win you titles post Ferguson.
So we bought 2 midfielders for about 140m in Pogba and Fred, we spent how much on Martial, Mata and Lukkaku? Also we bought 3 of the 4 defenders we played with today. We have spent a huge amount of money, this lineup is probably the 2nd most expensive lineup in the PL this week (I assume not the most expensive).

Basically we have overspent on overrated players and our manager has not shown they were worth what we paid.
 

ti vu

Full Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2015
Messages
12,799
What is he supposed to say," pack it up investors we are shit."
"We are looking at a greater space once our football performance return to the top"

If one can't see how wrong it is with Ed's wording ("no meaningful impact"), then they should as well give up sport. I meant a sport club and sporting performance has no meaningful impact. Any business, no one would turn a blind sight on stuff that clearly bringing loss the company let alone sport club and sporting performance.
 
Last edited:

Dumbat12

New Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2014
Messages
1,468
Fergie left us huge investments in Nani, Zaha and Rafael for our right wing when he left as well.

Not really Woodward's fault the right wing is now barren.

What I would kill to have the three of them back. Jesus wept what are we doing.
I agree. Rafael, Nani and Zaha are better than anything we have in those positions currently.
 

crossy1686

career ending
Joined
Jun 5, 2010
Messages
32,003
Location
Manchester/Stockholm
So we bought 2 midfielders for about 140m in Pogba and Fred, we spent how much on Martial, Mata and Lukkaku? Also we bought 3 of the 4 defenders we played with today. We have spent a huge amount of money, this lineup is probably the 2nd most expensive lineup in the PL this week (I assume not the most expensive).

Basically we have overspent on overrated players and our manager has not shown they were worth what we paid.
So it's Mourinho's fault that those players cost that much? I'm sure we'd have paid £10m if it were an option. The money spent argument is a non starter. Players are only sold for what the market dictates. Blame PSG and Neymar if you want to blame anyone.
 

Ban

New Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2015
Messages
26,022
Location
Zagreb, HR
He's a charlatan about football. He should go or let someone else care about football related things.
 

shaky

Full Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2014
Messages
2,515
I agree. Rafael, Nani and Zaha are better than anything we have in those positions currently.
Zaha I can understand. Rafael and Nani though? They hardly went on to do great things after leaving.
 

Bastian

Full Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2015
Messages
18,692
Supports
Mejbri
He's doing an excellent job on the commercial side but that'll cease eventually if performances on the pitch aren't up to scratch. Manchester United will just be a name and dining out on past glory.
He's said the complete opposite. That playing performances do not affect the financial ability of the club. He may be lying and appeasing investors, but he's still said it publicly and it should be a cause of concern.
 

ti vu

Full Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2015
Messages
12,799
So we bought 2 midfielders for about 140m in Pogba and Fred, we spent how much on Martial, Mata and Lukkaku? Also we bought 3 of the 4 defenders we played with today. We have spent a huge amount of money, this lineup is probably the 2nd most expensive lineup in the PL this week (I assume not the most expensive).

Basically we have overspent on overrated players and our manager has not shown they were worth what we paid.
Pogba and Fred had 2 games together, and SAF retired 5 seasons ago. Matic is a starter, mind, who is out injured. The point is when we started to invest post SAF, other teams also had same players turn over while already in better shape in term team building. Similar can be said about defenders. Vida, Rio and Evra all needed someone to take over. We should have recruited better even with failures. Other teams also had failure and also strengthen as much when we started to spend post SAF. Of course, bad manager appointment set us back even further, but all in all it's all about planning as you seem to agree. And planning is not just on the post SAF managers's fault. Someone have to take responsibility for this.
 

Im red2

Prophet of Doom
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Messages
7,227
Location
In the begining(time), God created the Heavens(spa
The people running United have no idea about football, they are financial people and it is showing more and more on the pitch. Mourinho is getting frustrated by the lack of investment made by the club in the just gone window, and his tactics are not suited to the club. Woodward will never be sacked, as he is the same guy who directed the Glazers during the takeover. But I also believe that Moaninho should get the boot, and Woodward should have no say in transfer matters anymore. We need a top DOF.
 

christinaa

Gossip Girl
Joined
Sep 19, 2012
Messages
11,618
Supports
There's only one United!
Unfortunately the whole of United is in shambles, starting from the board/Woodward etc down to our inexistent defence.

Why did we only buy Fred/Dalot/Grant during the Summer window?

All the other top teams strenghtened even more and we did nothing to get players in our defence.

Mourinho saw the problems there and went after 4 central defenders but Woodward was not capable of closing ONE transfer of those players.

Zaha was available and we could have had a perfect winger but we didn't even put in an offer for him.

Disillusioned ! :confused::(
 

Acole9

Outstanding
Joined
Feb 17, 2013
Messages
12,507
He's said the complete opposite. That playing performances do not affect the financial ability of the club. He may be lying and appeasing investors, but he's still said it publicly and it should be a cause of concern.
It will eventually though, like I said before Manchester United will just become a name and we'll be like the scouse dining out on past glories. Future generations growing up may not necessarily want to support United based on history.
 

Sylar

Full Member
Joined
May 15, 2007
Messages
40,595
He kinda made a non decision in the summer and its gonna cost us another season.
You either back Jose in year 3 of 3, or you cut your losses and bring in somebody else.

You cant hire Jose, back him first season, almost fully back him second season, then not really back him third.
Yes the football should be better, but mistakes can happen. Ive seen us lose to Boro, Wednesday, and other teams poorly but they were one offs. This is becoming the norm now.
Ahhh, Id love to know what hes thinking.
 

Bastian

Full Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2015
Messages
18,692
Supports
Mejbri
It will eventually though, like I said before Manchester United will just become a name and we'll be like the scouse dining out on past glories. Future generations growing up may not necessarily want to support United based on history.
Oh, I'm not disputing that at all. It's 100% logical. But to be the main man at a club (which he is) and come out with that line should truly alienate the supporters. But we've got so many different scapegoats that he's had a relatively easy ride, especially from the press.
 

DoubleRevv

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jun 29, 2013
Messages
215
The people running United have no idea about football, they are financial people and it is showing more and more on the pitch. Mourinho is getting frustrated by the lack of investment made by the club in the just gone window, and his tactics are not suited to the club. Woodward will never be sacked, as he is the same guy who directed the Glazers during the takeover. But I also believe that Moaninho should get the boot, and Woodward should have no say in transfer matters anymore. We need a top DOF.
It seems this is obvious to the fans but not to the people who make decisions. I've vowed not to watch United under Mourinho anymore and the sooner other fans speak with their feet , then will we reclaim ownership of this club's heritage.

Mourinho and to an extent Woodward, are dropping the ball on Sir Alex Ferguson's heritage. I can't take this anymore
 

spiriticon

Full Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2013
Messages
7,535
He kinda made a non decision in the summer and its gonna cost us another season.
You either back Jose in year 3 of 3, or you cut your losses and bring in somebody else.

You cant hire Jose, back him first season, almost fully back him second season, then not really back him third.
Yes the football should be better, but mistakes can happen. Ive seen us lose to Boro, Wednesday, and other teams poorly but they were one offs. This is becoming the norm now.
Ahhh, Id love to know what hes thinking.
At this moment, I reckon he's probably thinking it was a mistake not firing Jose Mourinho at the end of last season before he opened his gob to the media.
 

ti vu

Full Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2015
Messages
12,799
He's been wrong with plenty of things, but I'll stick with him for not buying Jose a CB late in this window.
There was supposed to be another position beside CB and the list as being confirmed was given months ago for Ed and the negotiating team to work with.

Not being able to buy players is one thing, coming out with that brief is like announcement of distrust on manager, and downplay sporting performance after all the big talk is doing the team more harm than help.
 

Sylar

Full Member
Joined
May 15, 2007
Messages
40,595
At this moment, I reckon he's probably thinking it was a mistake not firing Jose Mourinho at the end of last season before he opened his gob to the media.
I just dont get it overall. Jose got us to second, and you need a big investment to catch up to a team thats been in place for several years vs ours thats been put together over a three year plan (coming into the third year).

If we really were thinking, we cant back this guy, you gotta tell him to go and say were taking a different approach.
Was Ed really expecting us to massively improve, or was he expecting City to hugely under perform whilst none of the other teams catch up. Crazy stuff.
 

Im red2

Prophet of Doom
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Messages
7,227
Location
In the begining(time), God created the Heavens(spa
I just dont get it overall. Jose got us to second, and you need a big investment to catch up to a team thats been in place for several years vs ours thats been put together over a three year plan (coming into the third year).

If we really were thinking, we cant back this guy, you gotta tell him to go and say were taking a different approach.
Was Ed really expecting us to massively improve, or was he expecting City to hugely under perform whilst none of the other teams catch up. Crazy stuff.
To be honest I believe that ED was under orders to not spend anymore cash.
 

Dumbat12

New Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2014
Messages
1,468
I just dont get it overall. Jose got us to second, and you need a big investment to catch up to a team thats been in place for several years vs ours thats been put together over a three year plan (coming into the third year).

If we really were thinking, we cant back this guy, you gotta tell him to go and say were taking a different approach.
Was Ed really expecting us to massively improve, or was he expecting City to hugely under perform whilst none of the other teams catch up. Crazy stuff.
Absolutely spot on. We were in deep shit since SAF left while Sheikh City were competing for the title, with the exception of that one Guardiola season, since they were brought. Mourinho has been fighting an uphill battle since he came in.

I'll say it again. If Woodward didn't have any trust in Mourinho anymore and didn't have the willingness to back him despite having the money to do so (as per Woodward), then he should have just sacked Mourinho and hired someone he had trust in.

Gone are the days when you could buy 0 players and we could still win the title due to SAF's genius.
 

C'est Moi Cantona

Full Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
8,893
He didn't make the call despite all the spin.

It was the owners who don't want to spend on the team
.
This is 'spin', I dislike our owners with a passion, but to say this is just wrong.

No point going into the sandy ground they stand on saying this, but if I was them I'd be asking what hell happens to these so called top players as soon as they walk through our door, other than the very few it's just been one bad signing after another, or at least when they play for us anyway..

I just hope somehow they have now decided to stop, and at least try and do things differently, the DoF talking is promising, as is stopping Jose spending yet more money this window.
 

spiriticon

Full Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2013
Messages
7,535
I just dont get it overall. Jose got us to second, and you need a big investment to catch up to a team thats been in place for several years vs ours thats been put together over a three year plan (coming into the third year).

If we really were thinking, we cant back this guy, you gotta tell him to go and say were taking a different approach.
Was Ed really expecting us to massively improve, or was he expecting City to hugely under perform whilst none of the other teams catch up. Crazy stuff.
Maybe Ed made mistakes in the transfer market, just like Jose has done with some of his chosen signings. Nobody's perfect. Now the smart thing for Jose would be to publicly back his CEO since you know, they are supposed to be a team. But no, The Outspoken one decides to throw everybody (CEO + players) under a bus in preseason, for some inexplicable reason. So they are now all publicly throwing him under a bus too and the media are absolutely beside themselves with this drama and thus we are reaping the cracks and divisions all over our football team.

Now Jose's seriously backtracking over everything he did over the summer, and let's hope for our sake he can reverse the damage in time.
 

LoneStar

Full Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2017
Messages
3,558
Don't get why everyone is criticising him today of all days.

Do we need to spend another 500m to beat the likes of Brighton ffs? On paper, our team is far far superior to them.

Individual mistakes aside, the main reason we lost today is because we played like shite. No offensive plan, no coordination between the players. And lastly, when nothing else works, try hoofing the ball aimlessly, hoping Fellaini wins it.

Today is on the manager. You don't need Alderweireld or Perisic or Messi to beat the likes of Brighton.
 

Jazz

Just in case anyone missed it. I don't like Mount.
Joined
Feb 11, 2014
Messages
31,099
It's tempting to wonder whether Woodward asked the players if they support Jose...
Surely he wouldn't? Then again, who the hell knows with our club's hierarchy..
 

Jazz

Just in case anyone missed it. I don't like Mount.
Joined
Feb 11, 2014
Messages
31,099
So what has happened? Can someone brief me in?
Woodward had a face like a smacked arse at the end of the game. Some peeps are blaming him - others including me - are blaming the dire coaching.

Went into the dressing room - alone - and spent 5 mins with the players. SteveJ wants to know if he asked them if they're still playing for the manager:D

Most are in agreement that Woodward needs to step aside and let someone with football knowledge take over that aspect of things.

Speculation now on if Jose will last till next week, October or whenever.

Speculation on who can take over.

That's about it.
 

ti vu

Full Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2015
Messages
12,799
Don't get why everyone is criticising him today of all days.

Do we need to spend another 500m to beat the likes of Brighton ffs? On paper, our team is far far superior to them.

Individual mistakes aside, the main reason we lost today is because we played like shite. No offensive plan, no coordination between the players. And lastly, when nothing else works, try hoofing the ball aimlessly, hoping Fellaini wins it.

Today is on the manager. You don't need Alderweireld or Perisic or Messi to beat the likes of Brighton.
It's about the manager situation, either back him or sack him. Why this game? Because it's not about spending to beat Brighton but the integration of a club. It's not just the managers and players relationship but also the owner and the board with the club and the fan base. Brighton being at lower level yet is contrast to how we're run these days.

Hypotheciallyerynone can agree Mourinho should be gone by now. Why is he still here? See where this led to?!
 
Last edited:

Fluctuation0161

Full Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2016
Messages
8,178
Location
Manchester
Unfortunately the whole of United is in shambles, starting from the board/Woodward etc down to our inexistent defence.

Why did we only buy Fred/Dalot/Grant during the Summer window?

All the other top teams strenghtened even more and we did nothing to get players in our defence.

Mourinho saw the problems there and went after 4 central defenders but Woodward was not capable of closing ONE transfer of those players.

Zaha was available and we could have had a perfect winger but we didn't even put in an offer for him.

Disillusioned ! :confused::(
This also indicates to our players that the board don't fully back the manager. So player performances drop even further.
 

OldSchoolManc

Full Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2018
Messages
2,777
He's been wrong with plenty of things, but I'll stick with him for not buying Jose a CB late in this window.
You don’t know exactly how a player is going to integrate into a team until they have settled in.
Every manager makes mistake buys, like Pep and Jurgen.
The difference is, they were given permission to sign expensive replacements until it clicked.
Jose has been told to make do with 2 new 30 million youngsters that are still finding their feet.
 

Mr. Ant

Full Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2014
Messages
733
When Jose goes Ed needs to go too in my opinion, he can stay if he wants to negotiate business deels but the club needs a person who knows football.

If we sign a DoF I hope he won't be a yes man.
 

JPRouve

can't stop thinking about balls - NOT deflategate
Scout
Joined
Jan 31, 2014
Messages
66,345
Location
France
I strongly believe that the club need to change its structure that the football side needs to be run by football people but the investment talks are ridiculous. But our problem is simply that our managers are wank not that we didn't spent a billion yet. And the board only has itself to blame since they chose them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.