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

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D4X73r said:
You would let contracts to run out to wait for a DoF? It's not rocket science to extend the contracts of Martial & DDG.
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Good post

Whether United hire a DoF or not, extending Martial's contract was a no brainer as someone else of his quality would have a huge fee like £150 million.

A fee so large that you'd be lucky to sign one player like that in a transfer window, and they would cost the whole window's budget. Letting Martial run his contract down would've been criminal.
 
D4X73r said:
You would let contracts to run out to wait for a DoF? It's not rocket science to extend the contracts of Martial & DDG.
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dove said:
:confused: So according to you we should just let Martial and De Gea leave?
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Its not just Martial and DeGea. Contract talks including Young, Mata are ongoing in the background.

Again, Fellaini leaving is a no-brainer to the fans, but from the perspective of the board, why would one make the decision to offer the contract in the summer and dump him in the winter. If we had the intention of getting a DOF, we would have done it by now or we would have waited for the DOF to make these decisions.
 
Judas said:
You're guessing.
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I would say, more like inferring from what has happened. We have had this rumors for almost a year now and yet most decisions related to transfers, contract re-negotiations have carried on like we already have one.
 
bleedred said:
We are not getting a DOF. Ed is the DOF and will remain so. All these rumors are just fed to appease the fans. If we had any intention of signing DOF, then we wont be extending player contracts or letting players move on before bringing in the DOF.
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Players are assets that are worth money. Woodward isn't going to let their contracts expire because we don't have a director of football appointed. As long as we stop giving out ridiculously high wages to mediocre players it's not a problem to extend them by a year or two, we can always sell them should the dof/manager decide they are not needed.
 
So you guys still believe that we will hire a DoF, who actually has the power to make signings of his choice?
I've said from the off, that we won't be hiring one unless things go disastrously wrong and Woodward is taking a battering in the press and we are losing a lot of matches.

Woodie has a big ego and I believe he quite enjoys being the DoF.

Only time will tell - so just wait and see, I guess.
 
Only time will tell, however, I would expect an appointment no later than May of this year if the DOF., is going to have any influence on the 2019/2020 Season
 
I am probably okay with him being <insert any title>. The problem was , his inputs were coming from managers who had different thought processes and different styles. What he needs js a strong scouting team. They have to understand what philosophy we want to play with and finds players. All CEOs have strong support casts, without them being expert in everything. They hite great supporying cast
 
sunama said:
So you guys still believe that we will hire a DoF, who actually has the power to make signings of his choice?
I've said from the off, that we won't be hiring one unless things go disastrously wrong and Woodward is taking a battering in the press and we are losing a lot of matches.

Woodie has a big ego and I believe he quite enjoys being the DoF.

Only time will tell - so just wait and see, I guess.
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Think it was McClair that said Woodward had always wanted to be a DoF/club president like the guy at Madrid whose name I can't remember.

Not sure where he got that from. Even so, as soon as we were linked with a DoF the role was downgraded to Sporting Director according to some journalists, which meant Woodward keeps control of things but basically has a fall guy. All this grew legs when Woodward came under fire, which is pretty telling.
 
pocco said:
Think it was McClair that said Woodward had always wanted to be a DoF/club president like the guy at Madrid whose name I can't remember.

Not sure where he got that from. Even so, as soon as we were linked with a DoF the role was downgraded to Sporting Director according to some journalists, which meant Woodward keeps control of things but basically has a fall guy. All this grew legs when Woodward came under fire, which is pretty telling.
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Perez
 
bleedred said:
We are not getting a DOF. Ed is the DOF and will remain so. All these rumors are just fed to appease the fans. If we had any intention of signing DOF, then we wont be extending player contracts or letting players move on before bringing in the DOF.
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Why do you say this? I thought it was Mourinho who was opposing this position while he was still our manager. Most fans were either pro or neutral on this path. It will cost us an extra few million pound p.a. but should

1) Ensure we don't repeat the LVG mistake, signing so many CB who are really not suitable for EPL.
2) Again, challenge the Manager on any of his desired target, from a professional football perspective, which Woodward lacks.
3) May be more knowledgable on footballers in the market by spending more time with the scouts and perhaps watching more non-united games
4) Being more knowledgable on players price, perhaps a better negotiator than Woodward. Woodward is surely a good business man but negotiation on player is a different game.
 
Loon said:
Would love to know what Solskjaer and Gill discussed over lunch.
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Perhaps for next season's squad and Ole's projects. Gill is one of the board members so he will have a say on managers situation in summer.
 
So,have there been any updates whatsoever on the DOF front lately? Seems like everything's gone radio silent since Ole took over which is a bit concerning tbh
 
So logical thing to do would have been to get in a DoF as soon as possible after JM was fired. Would have given the DoF time to plan for the summer, get to now the squad, start working towards finding the next manager, strategy, renewals of contracts etc. And potentially make some smart transfers in the January window to strengthen weak positions in the team(CM, RB, CB). The DoF would also get to now the staff in the club, the way it is ran etc and would be able to make changes before next season starts.

What we are seing now is that we are selling players, renewing contracts for players that might not be needed next season and not improving some critical issues with the squad. These are issues that the DoF could have handled. We should know a number of our transfertargets for the summer by now and initiate talks with agents and clubs. Most big clubs do this continously. It is not something that they start with after the season. And seing as we have been "promised", then for him to be able to do his work before the next season starts he should have been hired 6 weeks ago. The DoF should have been "ready" the minute JM was sacked. I can 100% guarantee you that Woodward knew this would be JMs last season in August. And i fear that if we do actually hire a DoF this season it will be to late for the DoF to make an impact based on his understanding. Or the DoF will be a glorified lapdog for Woodward with no real authority. Amaturish. The owners/Woodward are either deliberately tryng to cling on to their power or incompetent in understanding of how footballrelated elements of a corporation should be managed.
 
Jose Jaime Eskauriatza said:
it's Van Der Saar... we're getting control back on our club!
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Didn't know VDS is currently GM of Ajax so having a bit of management experience. Apparently he is also running for the DOF job, just not sure if his negotiation skill is good enough, as he ticks almost every box.
 
the more times goes by I'm being won over by the idea of a Fergie old boy like Van Der Sar

Leadership is about Vision and good values and the values Fergie instilled in Ole are there for all to see
 
Cee90 said:
So was Berta responsible for bringing Morata to Atletico?

If so, no thanks! :lol:
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Athletico signed a Spanish international for an 18 month loan. That's a coup. Sure it didn't work out for him in the UK. However there had been many players who did well after returning home, following a disastrous season abroad. Two good examples would be Ian Rush and Mark Hughes
 
buckooo1978 said:
the more times goes by I'm being won over by the idea of a Fergie old boy like Van Der Sar

Leadership is about Vision and good values and the values Fergie instilled in Ole are there for all to see
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I wouldn't mind Van Der Sar being DOF at all..
 
sunama said:
So you guys still believe that we will hire a DoF, who actually has the power to make signings of his choice?
I've said from the off, that we won't be hiring one unless things go disastrously wrong and Woodward is taking a battering in the press and we are losing a lot of matches.

Woodie has a big ego and I believe he quite enjoys being the DoF.

Only time will tell - so just wait and see, I guess.
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Just a whole bunch of unsubstantiated conjecture in that post. Most top managers or CEOs recognise the value of having highly qualified people around them to strengthen their prospects of organisational success. The ONLY metric on which they will ultimately be judged.

Seems a far more likely mindset than the Machiavellian megalomaniac portrayed in your post. As for having having a big ego, show me a top CEO that doesn’t, and I’ll consider myself surprised.
 
It's a waiting game since some of you seem convinced we will not appoint one.
On the other hand, some of you still can't grasp the concept of a DoF. Ed Woodward is the CEO. Hiring a DoF does not affect his authority in anyway, form or fashion.
 
Rolaholic said:
So,have there been any updates whatsoever on the DOF front lately? Seems like everything's gone radio silent since Ole took over which is a bit concerning tbh
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Yes, it’s seems really concerning that a multi-billion pound company hasn’t given us regular updates on a job search that they’ve never publicly released a statement on. Probably time to panic, fear the worst, assume the Glazers are going to steal all our money - as well as your granny’s china - and leave Woody to make egomaniacal vanity signings he’ll force down the throat of his next managerial patsy.

Or, you know, we could just be patient.
 
simonhch said:
Yes, it’s seems really concerning that a multi-billion pound company hasn’t given us regular updates on a job search that they’ve never publicly released a statement on. Probably time to panic, fear the worst, assume the Glazers are going to steal all our money - as well as your granny’s china - and leave Woody to make egomaniacal vanity signings he’ll force down the throat of his next managerial patsy.

Or, you know, we could just be patient.
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Yes indeed,

I have had numerous sleepless nights over this. Now if only the team could go on a winning run and bring some smiles back, I'd have less to worry about
 
bleedred said:
We are not getting a DOF. Ed is the DOF and will remain so. All these rumors are just fed to appease the fans. If we had any intention of signing DOF, then we wont be extending player contracts or letting players move on before bringing in the DOF.
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This is indeed wise insight. Glad somebody has recognised the obvious flaw in the rumours. At my last company we decided to hire a head of product development to focus new innovations to customer needs more efficiently. But in the interim we ceased all development and release of new products, despite having been doing it for years before hand. It only made sense to cease vital operations until we could bring the new man on board.

Oh wait, no, that’s not what we did at all. Because that would’ve been fecking moronic.

Otherwise, top post.
 
Adisa said:
It's a waiting game since some of you seem convinced we will not appoint one.
On the other hand, some of you still can't grasp the concept of a DoF. Ed Woodward is the CEO. Hiring a DoF does not affect his authority in anyway, form or fashion.
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At least we can avoid or minimize recruitment mistakes and scout and plan signings better than the scatter gun approach with 3 different style managers.
 
Patrick08 said:
At least we can avoid or minimize recruitment mistakes and scout and plan signings better than the scatter gun approach with 3 different style managers.
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I agree. I'm just making a counter argument to those saying we will not appoint one because Ed is obsessed with power and doesn't want anyone diminishing his authority or some shit like that.
 
Adisa said:
It's a waiting game since some of you seem convinced we will not appoint one.
On the other hand, some of you still can't grasp the concept of a DoF. Ed Woodward is the CEO. Hiring a DoF does not affect his authority in anyway, form or fashion.
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Indeed. In fact, speaking as a CEO my experience is that the exact opposite is true. Expanding a senior team with your own handpicks is a great way to maximise your influence within a business.
 
Alemar said:
McTominay just dissapeared in your analysis, whereas we still own him and actually only just gave the guy a new contract :) That said, theoretically McTominay may be a back-up to Matic in case we fail to purchase a new and good DM.

At the same time, Pereira should be disposed of without a doubt - we've seen enough of his "magic". Fosu-Mensah very likely to be sold too - he can't make it even at a weak club, so that's another exit. Quite frankly, it would also be good to sell Joel Pereira - average goalkeeper, and it's a position where we have the strongest contingent worldwide, so to get several million as a fee is anyway better.
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Good spot! Didn't realise I missed McTominay off the list. Before the Burnley game I would have said that Pereira could get a chance but after watching that, final nail in the coffin for him. I don't think McTominay is good enough, no problem with giving him a new deal but I can see him going the same way as Pereira.

Don't know what has happened to Fosu-Mensah, he was superb when he had a run for us, remember Spurs away he was outstanding, looked the real part but his two loans seem to have derailed him badly, I wouldn't put him on the scrapheap just yet he's only what 19-20?

Agree on that Joel Pereira he just looks very poor IMO, Romero as back up with Grant and send Henderson on loan again next year, maybe to a struggling/midtable Premier League side as he looks the real deal
 
I can see why people would look at VDS to see if he could do the DOF job. I would want someone who can speak multiple languages. I know most other DOF will speak English, but I think it is an advantage to be able to speak at least one of Spanish/French/Italian. Germans are usually pretty fluent at English. You would not want to negotiating through an interpreter too often.
 
#07 said:
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I'm no expert for identifying DoFs but that could work out. Both already working for the club (academy) and so they should know what united is about and seeing how good our youth system is currently, they do know what to do. Also they already know what talents we have and therefore maybe know what is needed in the future and where we could have some homegrown players in 5-10 years time
 
Who have we had in the past that might suit that role? VDS are mentioned above is all I can think of.

I'd love Becks but he probably has no bite :lol:
 
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