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

[Class of 63]

Do you think ed has a clue that there are 109 pages written about him in the cafe. Possibly 80% being bad news.

Of course he will, and so will Jose and all the players as well, they probably all employ people working around the clock to keep them updated.

ps. I think you spelt 99% wrong

 

[Christie]

He appointed David Moyes and LvG yeah, but i'm not sure how you can blame Ed Woodward for their failures, that's surely on the Managers, and players, and the unrealistic expectation of some of our fans which doesn't help either.

You do realise that circa 99% of all Managerial appointments end in failure don't you ? So why should Ed Woodward a non football man apparently get it right first, second, third or even forth time ?

And how do you know that Ed is clueless when it comes to football, were you shooting the breeze with him and come to that conclusion, or did you just read/hear it somewhere, think it's probably true as others are saying the same and go with it(ah the old if you hear something often enough it must be true) with absolutely nothing to back it up ??

Hi Ed!

Curious as why you think 99% of manager appointments end in failure but you won't sanction signings as 99% of player appointments end in failure?

And don't you think there is a close to 99% chance a CEO signing is a failure as well?

 

[tenpoless]

Ed is not a football man. I doubt He's ever kicked a ball in the last 10 years.

 

[ravi2]

He appointed David Moyes and LvG yeah, but i'm not sure how you can blame Ed Woodward for their failures, that's surely on the Managers, and players, and the unrealistic expectation of some of our fans which doesn't help either.

You do realise that circa 99% of all Managerial appointments end in failure don't you ? So why should Ed Woodward a non football man apparently get it right first, second, third or even forth time ?

And how do you know that Ed is clueless when it comes to football, were you shooting the breeze with him and come to that conclusion, or did you just read/hear it somewhere, think it's probably true as others are saying the same and go with it(ah the old if you hear something often enough it must be true) with absolutely nothing to back it up ??

^Ed's alt account

 

[ErranMorad]

Absolute disgrace that his sham is allowed to continue. That absolute cnut of a man is hell bent on destroying everything and this idiot still won't fire him. I want this moron gone before Jose. His incompetence has allowed this fecking scumbag Mourinho to sabotage the season and the club with gay abandon. Shocking that this is happening at what is supposed to be one of the biggest clubs in the world.

 

[Class of 63]

Hi Ed!

So glad I checked to see if you were male or female first because I was going to reply "Hi Christie, how is it hanging ?

Curious as why you think 99% of manager appointments end in failure but you won't sanction signings as 99% of player appointments end in failure?

Okay 99% is probably ott, but what figure would you give ? and I wouldn't waste your time starting under 85%

On players i'd say it's between 33% and 50%

And don't you think there is a close to 99% chance a CEO signing is a failure as well?

Nope, i'd stick with the % above

Hi Christie, how is it.......

 

[Class of 63]

Ed is not a football man. I doubt He's ever kicked a ball in the last 10 years.

So what, I was still taking a ball to bed with with me until I was 35, but I haven't kicked a football for nearly 20 years now.

1,2,3,4,5,6.....

 

[Class of 63]

^Ed's alt account

An alternate account (or "alt" for short) is an account used by a resident for something other than their usual activity or to do things in privacy (such as building or scripting). Alts are sometimes viewed in a negative regard as they have been used by some residents to abuse others anonymously and/or in order to avoid having their "main account" banned. However, alts have many legitimate uses as well such as using the account to role-play, build/script without being disturbed, hold land, aquire more stipend, and more.

Accounts that are on the same credit card could be considered alts of each other, although an alt usually refers to one person with multiple accounts rather than two different people on different accounts that are paid for by the same credit card (such as spouses or families).

It is impolite and against the TOS/CS to reveal an alternate account if the owner of the alt has not done so themselves. Accusing another resident of being an alt is also impolite

http://secondlife.wikia.com/wiki/Alternate_Account

 

[cheeky_backheel]

He appointed David Moyes and LvG yeah, but i'm not sure how you can blame Ed Woodward for their failures, that's surely on the Managers, and players, and the unrealistic expectation of some of our fans which doesn't help either.

Think I get you - everyone else is culpable except Woodward eh? Company is doing badly, but its everyone else's fault except for our infallible CEO

You do realise that circa 99% of all Managerial appointments end in failure don't you ? So why should Ed Woodward a non football man apparently get it right first, second, third or even forth time ?

There is a clear difference between ending in failure and being a failure. Mourinho's and Conte's tenures at Chelses ended in failure but were not failure, given the each delivered PL titles.

None of those manager's could be said to have had a successful tenure even by their individual standards. The only thing they had in common is having to work with Ed.

And how do you know that Ed is clueless when it comes to football, were you shooting the breeze with him and come to that conclusion, or did you just read/hear it somewhere, think it's probably true as others are saying the same and go with it(ah the old if you hear something often enough it must be true) with absolutely nothing to back it up ??

It is easy to see from the decisions he makes.

As an example, anyone with basic familiarity with the game would know what kind of manager LvG and Mourinho were both in philosophy and personality (afterall each had been coaching for 30+ and 20+ years respectively and at various top flight clubs). To appoint LvG after Moyes was to start upon a unique path (possession football, moldable youth players, flexible players etc), but after 2 season he replaces LvG with Mourinho who is the total antithesis of LvG (proven and matured players, direct system etc). In fact Mourinho first press conference, made it clear when he said he preferred 'specialists'.

What happens, the first two seasons of Mourinho's tenure are basically spent undoing what LvG had done, with most players acquired by LvG being sold (depay, Schneiderlin, Blind, Schweini) or consigned to the bench (Darmian, Rojo, Herrera). A player like Di maria, who would have fit well into Mourinho's system (and had played for him at real)

When Barcelona and Bayern fired LvG, he was succeeded by Rijkaard and Guardiola respectively, two coaches who shared philosophical roots with LvG and offered continuity. Ed could have also appointed a manager (e.g. Koeman) along that line of thought.

That he appointed Mourinho and thus inevitably wasted 2 seasons of transfers and thus left us with a mish-mash squad of aging and overpaid mediocre players is clear evidence of his arrant ignorance.

 

[tenpoless]

An alternate account (or "alt" for short) is an account used by a resident for something other than their usual activity or to do things in privacy (such as building or scripting). Alts are sometimes viewed in a negative regard as they have been used by some residents to abuse others anonymously and/or in order to avoid having their "main account" banned. However, alts have many legitimate uses as well such as using the account to role-play, build/script without being disturbed, hold land, aquire more stipend, and more.

Accounts that are on the same credit card could be considered alts of each other, although an alt usually refers to one person with multiple accounts rather than two different people on different accounts that are paid for by the same credit card (such as spouses or families).

It is impolite and against the TOS/CS to reveal an alternate account if the owner of the alt has not done so themselves. Accusing another resident of being an alt is also impolite

http://secondlife.wikia.com/wiki/Alternate_Account

Second Life isn't real life though.

 

[wolvored]

Absolute disgrace that his sham is allowed to continue. That absolute cnut of a man is hell bent on destroying everything and this idiot still won't fire him. I want this moron gone before Jose. His incompetence has allowed this fecking scumbag Mourinho to sabotage the season and the club with gay abandon. Shocking that this is happening at what is supposed to be one of the biggest clubs in the world.

I would bet its the Glazers who wont sack Mourinho unless its absolute certain we wont qualify for CL. On the other hand remember Mourinho reckoned he had the job from the january, but wouldnt start halfway through a season. Maybe that is happening again. The big clue is if he is backed in the january window and by how much money.

 

[Bojan11]

So even the Southampton board sack the manager after a draw against us. This reflects badly on him and the club. No clubs in the past would have sacked their manager after drawing with us.

Woodward is ruining the club. He could have sacked Jose in October. Even after beating Newcastle 3-2, only a few people wanted Jose to stay. Woodward could have saved the season after that. But all he has done is prolong the inevitable.

 

[mitchmouse]

So even the Southampton board sack the manager after a draw against us. This reflects badly on him and the club. No clubs in the past would have sacked their manager after drawing with us.

Woodward is ruining the club. He could have sacked Jose in October. Even after beating Newcastle 3-2, only a few people wanted Jose to stay. Woodward could have saved the season after that. But all he has done is prolong the inevitable.

This is weird. I was sure they would do it this time last week, but maybe failing to beat us is now seen as total failure!

 

[Nickelodeon]

For me, our expectations out of Ed or someone in his position are the following:

• Hire competent managers. Set them tangible targets (trophies, league position etc.) and some intangible ones as well (attractive football at least 50% of the time, not dragging the clubs or players name in the mud) and reviewing them at various stages of the season. If the club is not progressing as we should, swift decisions need to be taken to ensure the overall targets are still achievable. If he is unable to manage all these himself, then an additional football guy such as a Director of Football needs to be there. Overall, with or without a DoF, he has to get this done.
• Financial backing to the manager / DoF which correlate with a long term strategy as well as short term strategy on the pitch. Not all signings would serve both purposes but they should target improvement in at least one.
• Commercial deals etc.

He's hired 2 managers LVG and Mourinho who were reasonable choices at the time. However, he's really failed in timely disposing them off. Both managers were sufficiently backed in the market so under-investment is not something we can charge him with. However, as the top guy, he needs to own how the club is performing and the perception around it.

Still, if he can find a manager who if backed properly is able to get the team playing, he still might do it. I would personally judge him basis his handling of the Jose issue and the appointment of the next manager.

 

[elmo]

Don't talk shite, the only harm he's ever done to Manchester United football club is by appointing Jose Mourinho as the Manager against his better judgment, and we can blame the hundreds of thousands of spolt little rich kids amongst our fan base(mostly 30 or under) who needed to be heard for that.

I'd take Ed Woodward as Chairman/CEO over David Gill, Peter Kenyon, Michael fecking Knighton and Martin Edwards everyday of the week.

He's fecking clueless when it comes to football and neglected to hire someone who actually knows what they're supposed to do while overriding the very managers he hired over transfer matters .

If he hired Jose because our fans wanted it, he's a bigger idiot than we all thought. He's the CEO, not a bloody yes man to the fans. Following your logic, he's just a bloody puppet and not someone who should be CEO.

 

[MadDogg]

Something I don't quite understand is that from Woodward's perspective, why would he not want to appoint a DOF?

He's excellent at the commercial side of the club, but it's clear he is clueless when it comes to the football side, and it's probably also clear that his first and foremost priority is to rake in the money for the Glazers. So with that in mind, would it not make sense to delegate the running of the football operations to a DOF? He has said already that the football side doesn't affect the commercial so he can relieve himself of the "burden" of our footballing endeavours and focus 100% on negotiating with sponsorships and the like. It doesn't necessarily mean he has to concede power either as he can easily retain the ability to hold the DOF to account for poor performances from the team.

There's likely something I'm missing though that flaws the argument. Perhaps I've simplified the situation too much to reflect the reality accurately.

My theory is that the reason he didn't want to appoint a DOF is because he wanted to keep going with the same system we had with Fergie. One of the things which made us different from every other top club (barring Arsenal perhaps if you want to include them) is that we give the manager more power to run things how they want to. Obviously that doesn't mean the manager gets 100% power. Even Fergie didn't get that, and over the years there were many many many many players that he wanted that we didn't end up signing. But he was able to build the team how he wanted and, as long as he performed (which he always did), there was never any danger of player power fighting him.

I said when we signed him, and I still reckon it'll happen, is that Mourinho was our last role of the dice for that old style. If he failed, which I think we can all accept he now has, we'd move on to a system more like the other top clubs who have a DOF or similar position. So I expect we'll bring someone into that position sometime before the start of next season. If I'm wrong...well, I'll join the 'Ed Out' movement that he's either getting off on the power or is just a failure. But until then I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he was trying to do what he though was the right thing.

 

[fezzerUTD]

Heres a view from an editor on another site I go on, has good info on whats going on behind the scenes which we don't find out about and only can speculate.

"Manchester United, like most clubs use advisors to give a calming view on player, potential transfers, coaching etc., and I can say with confidence that EW has ignored what the club has been told (largely). The issue over the Director of Football/Sporting Director has been running since JM arrived and as I have previously explained there were two options agreed upon by the manager and by the club - yet nothing was done and it has been allowed to drift to the back of the pile".

And then someone asked: "Do you believe Woodward will have learned from previous mistakes"? And the editor replied:

"Tough to see that he will. This is an "agenda" moment not a "what is best moment". Mourinho, like is or not is an astonishing coach that will piss off people around him to achieve the best for the club he is at. For that you can be assured. At Chelsea they had intelligent players who reacted well. At Manchester United, perhaps there are players who do not really understand. Mourinho is committed but will upset people - he will intimidate and annoy, but he knows what he is doing and there is little argument to say that he does not know what is best. Woodward wants a different solution and is being perhaps in English would be called an irritant. I know the description in another language but this is a family website".

Somebody else chipped in and said: "I very rarely engage directly but your information that EW has ignored what the club has (largely) been told by advisors is staggering". And the editor replied:

"I would have thought you would have known that in the summer".

Take from it what you will believe peoples information or not, I believe Woodward has been a big problem on the footballing side, and im no Jose defendant because his tactics and team selection don't sit right with me, my main point being its not all his fault.
I won't reply about someones information here, as I can't speculate on other peoples knowledge.

 

[Masterman]

Something I don't quite understand is that from Woodward's perspective, why would he not want to appoint a DOF?

He's excellent at the commercial side of the club, but it's clear he is clueless when it comes to the football side, and it's probably also clear that his first and foremost priority is to rake in the money for the Glazers. So with that in mind, would it not make sense to delegate the running of the football operations to a DOF? He has said already that the football side doesn't affect the commercial so he can relieve himself of the "burden" of our footballing endeavours and focus 100% on negotiating with sponsorships and the like. It doesn't necessarily mean he has to concede power either as he can easily retain the ability to hold the DOF to account for poor performances from the team.

There's likely something I'm missing though that flaws the argument. Perhaps I've simplified the situation too much to reflect the reality accurately.

Because Woodward has already become the de facto DoF of the club. He is the most powerful person in the club, and any step towards reducing his power and responsibilities is a step towards kicking him out of the club. A competent DoF who knows how a football club should be buying his players would know what a terrible job Woodward has been doing for years, making signings for the sake of saving face and pleasing fans rather than to build the club towards being the best in Europe. And it will be difficult for that competent DoF to operate as long as Woodward is there above him.

 

[red thru&thru]

The problem with that is that He is THEIR Ed more than our Ed. Plus Woodward is doing an excellent job on the financial side of things. VDS would have not have that experience of the knowledge of the commercial side like Woodward. What we need is someone under Woodward who would deal with the footballing side of things and not let the Manager get away with taking the piss as Jose is doing now.

I think you’re giving Ed too much credit in terms of our financial power. He gets all these deals because of the name of Manchester United, not because of the name Ed Woodward.

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, however, but I read somewhere that Arsenal’s sleeve sponsor was more than ours. Theirs was £30m and ours £20m? Shows Ed isn’t that great

 

[mostar94]

I still think he messed up by blocking the signing of a defender in the summer. Under Fergie we had a defence that could probably play 30 games together in a season. LVG came and signed 2 defenders and tested out a lot of different players.

Mourinho came and signed 2 defenders and tested out a lot of different players. We don't have a pair that can play out a season together like other top teams, we should have sold and actually signed a pair of top defenders for the season.

 

[JoaquinJoaquin]

Heres a view from an editor on another site I go on, has good info on whats going on behind the scenes which we don't find out about and only can speculate.

"Manchester United, like most clubs use advisors to give a calming view on player, potential transfers, coaching etc., and I can say with confidence that EW has ignored what the club has been told (largely). The issue over the Director of Football/Sporting Director has been running since JM arrived and as I have previously explained there were two options agreed upon by the manager and by the club - yet nothing was done and it has been allowed to drift to the back of the pile".

And then someone asked: "Do you believe Woodward will have learned from previous mistakes"? And the editor replied:

"Tough to see that he will. This is an "agenda" moment not a "what is best moment". Mourinho, like is or not is an astonishing coach that will piss off people around him to achieve the best for the club he is at. For that you can be assured. At Chelsea they had intelligent players who reacted well. At Manchester United, perhaps there are players who do not really understand. Mourinho is committed but will upset people - he will intimidate and annoy, but he knows what he is doing and there is little argument to say that he does not know what is best. Woodward wants a different solution and is being perhaps in English would be called an irritant. I know the description in another language but this is a family website".

Somebody else chipped in and said: "I very rarely engage directly but your information that EW has ignored what the club has (largely) been told by advisors is staggering". And the editor replied:

"I would have thought you would have known that in the summer".

Take from it what you will believe peoples information or not, I believe Woodward has been a big problem on the footballing side, and im no Jose defendant because his tactics and team selection don't sit right with me, my main point being its not all his fault.
I won't reply about someones information here, as I can't speculate on other peoples knowledge.

Thanks for that. Woodward is a clown.

 

[the chameleon]

Like the Mourinho: Should he stay or go, surely, we also need a poll on this thread.

We all (at least most of us) know that he is a big part of the problem. I would be curious to see how many people also want him out.

Plus, things like this get picked up by journalists, which can only add pressure to Woodward.

Anyone else agree that a poll needs to be added to this thread?

 

[Rhyme Animal]

Like the Mourinho: Should he stay or go, surely, we also need a poll on this thread.

We all (at least most of us) know that he is a big part of the problem. I would be curious to see how many people also want him out.

Plus, things like this get picked up by journalists, which can only add pressure to Woodward.

Anyone else agree that a poll needs to be added to this thread?

Completely agree.

Poll for 'should Woodward be removed immediately from footballing decisions?' needs to be up - bizarre it's not already been going since his antics over the Summer (after giving Mourinho a contract extension last season...).

 

[Bastian]

Like the Mourinho: Should he stay or go, surely, we also need a poll on this thread.

We all (at least most of us) know that he is a big part of the problem. I would be curious to see how many people also want him out.

Plus, things like this get picked up by journalists, which can only add pressure to Woodward.

Anyone else agree that a poll needs to be added to this thread?

Totally agree. We need a poll.

 

[luke511]

For every day Mourinho hasn't been sacked, I grow to hate Woodward even more.

 

[Adisa]

It's difficult for me calling for his head cause he is simply not going anywhere.
The best we can hope for is a DoF to mitigate this clown's shit.
I do believe we will get one.

 

[Christie]

It's difficult for me calling for his head cause he is simply not going anywhere.
The best we can hope for is a DoF to mitigate this clown's shit.
I do believe we will get one.

How come you can accept this guy not goign anywhere but not accept Mourinho?

Surely Woody is easier to sack, he has no contract with a multimilion payoff to remove him.

 

[red thru&thru]

Like the Mourinho: Should he stay or go, surely, we also need a poll on this thread.

We all (at least most of us) know that he is a big part of the problem. I would be curious to see how many people also want him out.

Plus, things like this get picked up by journalists, which can only add pressure to Woodward.

Anyone else agree that a poll needs to be added to this thread?

I also agree.

I also say we need to take it a step further and say the fans want a football man in charge, just like Edwin. Hopefully this gets picked up by the media too!

 

[Adisa]

How come you can accept this guy not goign anywhere but not accept Mourinho?

Surely Woody is easier to sack, he has no contract with a multimilion payoff to remove him.

I do not need to accept anything. He's been here since the Glazers took over. He's not going anywhere. Why waste my energy calling for him to go. Do I want him to feck off...of course I do.
Ed Woodward will be here long after Mourinho.

 

[Hawks2008]

I do not need to acceoa anything. He's been here since the Glazers took over. He's bit going anywhere. Why waste my energy calling for him to go. Do I want him to feck off...of course I do.
Ed Woodward will be here long after Mourinho.

This sums up how I feel about it, really hard to care about wanting Woodward out when he has untouchable job security.

 

[Rhyme Animal]

This sums up how I feel about it, really hard to care about wanting Woodward out when he has untouchable job security.

The reality though, is that it will become increasingly hard for people to care about Man Utd, when Ed Woodward is making football decisions...

And it's happening already.

Rival friends don't bother bantering, because they know that this isn't really United anymore...

Long term fans care less about United and watch less games...

There is a real, tangible feeling, that this isn't really Manchester United anymore.

 

[JPRouve]

I do not need to acceoa anything. He's been here since the Glazers took over. He's bit going anywhere. Why waste my energy calling for him to go. Do I want him to feck off...of course I do.
Ed Woodward will be here long after Mourinho.

And he has been a good employee for the Glazers, the issue is that it seems like he was moved to a role that doesn't suit his abilities. Realistically he can't go back to his former CFO role, so the alternative would be to let him go but is it fair to sack someone because you put him in a position that he shouldn't have been in?

At this point ideally, Woodward leaves and he is replaced by someone like Marotta.

 

[Yakuza_devils]

Do we really need a poll to know the fans feeling whether Ed should stay or go?

 

[Rhyme Animal]

Do we really need a poll to know the fans feeling whether Ed should stay or go?

Yes. It's a crucial issue at the club, perhaps the single most crucial issue.

 

[Christie]

I do not need to accept anything. He's been here since the Glazers took over. He's not going anywhere. Why waste my energy calling for him to go. Do I want him to feck off...of course I do.
Ed Woodward will be here long after Mourinho.

So why do you waste energy calling for Mourinho to go? He has an extended contract.

Isn't it strange you don't bother to get rid of the guy who has been here since the day we started going downhill, but cannot stop moaning about a guy who at least have reversed the trend for a while?

 

[fezzerUTD]

A question for those that want a poll, who would remove Woodward? He's the highest at the club running day to day business that the owners have nothing to do with. There is nobody above him.

 

[Judas]

The very best we can hope for is someone coming in and taking over the football duties away from Woodward, which would be great, and for the best for everyone. From most sources, he's good at the other side of things, good with deals and all that, so keep him at the club doing that, everyone wins.

 

[Adisa]

So why do you waste energy calling for Mourinho to go? He has an extended contract.

Isn't it strange you don't bother to get rid of the guy who has been here since the day we started going downhill, but cannot stop moaning about a guy who at least have reversed the trend for a while?

Woodward has been here since 2005. His job is a lot safer than Mourinho's. It's not rocket science.
Mourinho will be gone next season and Woodward will still be here. Don't see the point of this debate.

 

[liamp]

And he has been a good employee for the Glazers, the issue is that it seems like he was moved to a role that doesn't suit his abilities. Realistically he can't go back to his former CFO role, so the alternative would be to let him go but is it fair to sack someone because you put him in a position that he shouldn't have been in?

At this point ideally, Woodward leaves and he is replaced by someone like Marotta.

Ideally, he'd remain as CEO and delegate the football operations side to a sporting director. He doesn't have to relinquish his actual title nor would he have to relinquish oversight of that area. He'd just leave the actual execution to people who quite frankly know a lot better.

It's similar to the problem we have with the manager position. In the days of Fergie and Gill/Kenyon/etc. it seemed a lot more reasonable for the manager and CEO to operate as they did without layers between them. It's only after the departure of literally the greatest manager in the history of the sport that the club has learned the painful lesson that our old model isn't sustainable in modern football.

 

[reddaz71]

Look, Mourinho like Moyes and LVG before him is going absolutely nowhere until its financially cheaper to do so,WE ARE A BUSINESS NOT A FOOTBALL CLUB!!