Manchester United name John Murtough as Football Director and Darren Fletcher as Technical Director

[Grande]

All the general arguments for and against are generally sound, and almost impossible to judge on a general basis. Can a football man in a higher position strengthen the footballing decisions over the business ones? Sure, but we don’t know. Can an appointment from within be a feigned change that will uphold the status quo? Sure, and maybe not.

What do we know about Murtough himself? Not much but:

- He was not part of Moyes team of coaches, but Head of Youth Development at Everton during Moyes era. Everton did some very good development in that period and aquired a good rep. He was also responsible for sports science and development of data analysis.
- He was highjacked by FA as Head of Development Nationally in 2012, in a period where FA’s priority of Youth development had come far, the results of which we are seeing today. So it’s not a nothing appointment.
- He has been responsible for the rehabilitation of our youth setup, which has gone from highly criticized and back to one of the country’s if not the worlds most impressive developmental departments again.
- He has gradually aquired more and more influence over the different sides to the running of our club, in a period of time when we seem to maybe have changed from being chaotically run to being intelligently run. Is it a coincidence? Maybe. We’ll probably never find out. I still don’t know entirely what Mike Phelan does even.

 

[devilish]

Speaking about the club being slow to react. How many years did Woodward need to find Murtough and give him the job?

 

[bsCallout]

Is Fletcher really capable? Would love to understand what his inputs have been so far.

You wouldn't know if some outsider was either or what their inputs are. I suspect Fletcher is very switched on and is good for the role.

 

[Flexdegea]

And people still aren't happy


Should have changed his name to Jón Murica, everyone be happy

 

[Roboc7]

I think an outside star name DOF and we are back to ripping it up and trying to build a new squad in his image. I’m sure everyone is sick of the rebuild at this stage. This is the team that brought in Bruno and has us in second. Signs are good things are settling down behind the scenes and people want to rip it up and start again?

They did sign Bruno who has been an excellent signing, on the other hand when Spurs were close to signing him a few months earlier we weren’t interested and were pursuing Longstaff instead.

Have to remember as well these guys have been responsible for dishing out new contracts to likes of Jones recently so I think it’s quite right for there to be mixture of scepticism as well as optimism.

 

[bsCallout]

They did sign Bruno who has been an excellent signing, on the other hand when Spurs were close to signing him a few months earlier we weren’t interested and were pursuing Longstaff instead.

Have to remember as well these guys have been responsible for dishing out new contracts to likes of Jones recently so I think it’s quite right for there to be mixture of scepticism as well as optimism.

Isn't Matt Judge the one most responsible for contracts up till now and it seems his responsibilities are being reduced?

 

[Sky1981]

you mean not heard of like Edwin van der Sar or countless guys with the same job title at other top clubs?

Van der sar has been in ajax academy and part of their successful golden generation. He's been to juve and united as well. He has certain criteria and ajax is a well functional team before him.

We're at ground zero and to be honest fletcher doesnt inspire me. I love to be proven wrong. But pardon me if I'm not sold.

His strenght is hardwork and workrate, and he'll be leading a band of equally new on the job coaches in ole and carrick.

Being technical director is more than just loving the club and knowing it's value. Its about a hundred different things which fletcher might or might not possess.

Anyone of us can speak english pretty well, doesnt mean we can teach english literature at oxford. Doesnt mean we can develop new learning method of english language, doesnt mean we can identify which new youngster has the potential to be the next shakespeare based on his essay alone.

If I'm appointed technical director at la massia i have a set of previous guidelines i can follow. A team of established experienced coaches i can listen to. At this rate it'll be Carrick ole and fletcher echoing one another

And let's face it. No way fletcher has the heart to objectively judge ole without bias. No way he would pull the trigger on carrick if situation arose, if he can see Carrick isnt good enough at the first place. They're all beeer buddies

 

[bsCallout]

All the general arguments for and against are generally sound, and almost impossible to judge on a general basis. Can a football man in a higher position strengthen the footballing decisions over the business ones? Sure, but we don’t know. Can an appointment from within be a feigned change that will uphold the status quo? Sure, and maybe not.

What do we know about Murtough himself? Not much but:

- He was not part of Moyes team of coaches, but Head of Youth Development at Everton during Moyes era. Everton did some very good development in that period and aquired a good rep. He was also responsible for sports science and development of data analysis.
- He was highjacked by FA as Head of Development Nationally in 2012, in a period where FA’s priority of Youth development had come far, the results of which we are seeing today. So it’s not a nothing appointment.
- He has been responsible for the rehabilitation of our youth setup, which has gone from highly criticized and back to one of the country’s if not the worlds most impressive developmental departments again.
- He has gradually aquired more and more influence over the different sides to the running of our club, in a period of time when we seem to maybe have changed from being chaotically run to being intelligently run. Is it a coincidence? Maybe. We’ll probably never find out. I still don’t know entirely what Mike Phelan does even.

Seems like the ideal man for the job. He's done great work with our youth system and youth purchases.

 

[romufc]

All the general arguments for and against are generally sound, and almost impossible to judge on a general basis. Can a football man in a higher position strengthen the footballing decisions over the business ones? Sure, but we don’t know. Can an appointment from within be a feigned change that will uphold the status quo? Sure, and maybe not.

What do we know about Murtough himself? Not much but:

- He was not part of Moyes team of coaches, but Head of Youth Development at Everton during Moyes era. Everton did some very good development in that period and aquired a good rep. He was also responsible for sports science and development of data analysis.
- He was highjacked by FA as Head of Development Nationally in 2012, in a period where FA’s priority of Youth development had come far, the results of which we are seeing today. So it’s not a nothing appointment.
- He has been responsible for the rehabilitation of our youth setup, which has gone from highly criticized and back to one of the country’s if not the worlds most impressive developmental departments again.
- He has gradually aquired more and more influence over the different sides to the running of our club, in a period of time when we seem to maybe have changed from being chaotically run to being intelligently run. Is it a coincidence? Maybe. We’ll probably never find out. I still don’t know entirely what Mike Phelan does even.

This is a good post. Rather than what I have read on here, gives a good insight.

He has also been part of the womens team I believe? they have made some good signings too?

Look at our youth set up today, there are signs that there is a philosophy in the different age groups.

For me, if he can improve our squad then I am all for it.

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

All looks good to me. Murtough has been involved for a while; mostly while we've been shite it must be said but he's also been part of the uptick we've seen under Ole. I'm a massive fan of Fletch so I'm backing whatever it is the higher ups have seen in him.

 

[MrMarcello]

He sounds like a 90's action movie hero cop. I'd watch a franchise based on Murtough's revenge.

Lethal Weapon series exist, check it out. Danny Glover is Roger Murtaugh.

 

[Jackal]

I suppose but how many top clubs hire their DOF from other places? I genuinely don't know. I think think of the likes of Roma, Sevilla or Lille hiring the so-called proven DOFs but those aren't exactly the types of club I think of when I think about what we're trying to do here. I suppose PSG poached Leonardo from Milan but again wasn't he just a former player given a chance at this type of job at Milan? If you look at the likes of Bayern or Ajax they are always just hiring from within and keeping former players involved. But from my knowledge at least these were just former players who were given a chance at the job and allowed to develop into the role or moved on. It can certainly work out as they have shown, that's not to say it will work if you look at Abidal at Barcelona for example that didn't work out. The way I see it though, there's no DOF or Technical director that's a guaranteed success or that would fit into any given club. I think it's important to have that structure, I can't say I favored hiring a proven DOF over giving someone else a chance.

Man City hired Txiki(former Barcelona's DOF) and he's worked wonders for them. His success at Barcelona and the technical know-how plus the wealth of experience can only be an advantage. That is what we should be doing. We are already light years behind other big European clubs of our status, this appointment isn't an accelerator to catch up, it's a big brake-pump.

Txiki's appointment contributed to Man City signing Pep Guardiola. Sometimes, laying a good foundation internally at the club can attract top managers or top players. I really don't see how this appointment would catapult us back to our perch. It's like we have added another 20 years to the process. When this guy fails to attract top players, the ready made excuse would be "Be patient, he's still learning" - like we saw in the Moyes era.

Man Utd is too big a club to be handing out such important roles as an experiment. We should be signing former 'successful' football directors at Bayern, Madrid, Barcelona, etc.

 

[RedSky]

This is a good post. Rather than what I have read on here, gives a good insight.

He has also been part of the womens team I believe? they have made some good signings too?

Look at our youth set up today, there are signs that there is a philosophy in the different age groups.

For me, if he can improve our squad then I am all for it.

Indeed, we're moving in the right direction. The last few years are certainly an upward trend across the entire club. If he's responsible for some of that then no point upsetting the apple cart.

 

[Roboc7]

Isn't Matt Judge the one most responsible for contracts up till now and it seems his responsibilities are being reduced?

Most responsible in terms of negotiating finances but assume he has zero say in who gets a contract which would always have been case.

 

[stu_1992]

Man City hired Txiki(former Barcelona's DOF) and he's worked wonders for them. His success at Barcelona and the technical know-how plus the wealth of experience can only be an advantage. That is what we should be doing. We are already light years behind other big European clubs of our status, this appointment isn't an accelerator to catch up, it's a big brake-pump.

Txiki's appointment contributed to Man City signing Pep Guardiola. Sometimes, laying a good foundation internally at the club can attract top managers or top players. I really don't see how this appointment would catapult us back to our perch. It's like we have added another 20 years to the process. When this guy fails to attract top players, the ready made excuse would be "Be patient, he's still learning" - like we saw in the Moyes era.

Man Utd is too big a club to be handing out such important roles as an experiment. We should be signing former 'successful' football directors at Bayern, Madrid, Barcelona, etc.

Fair enough, I forgot that one and that is a good example. But still, the point stands, most top clubs aren't making external appointments for these roles and it's proven in a lot of cases to work out well. There's not one right way to do this. That Man City case is almost the exemption as they put that all in place specifically to attract Pep. I can't imagine too many other clubs have done so much to attract a specific manager.

 

[romufc]

Indeed, we're moving in the right direction. The last few years are certainly an upward trend across the entire club. If he's responsible for some of that then no point upsetting the apple cart.

Alot of fans want a quick fix but it usually isnt available.

We are not built on a quick fix scenario. Look at Barca, Madrid, Bayern and now Juve. They have all had their ups and downs. Madrid in the 00's had brilliant teams but couldn't win the CL.

Bayern as well until Heynkess were there or there abouts. Yes, they won their domestic titles but more because of the competition. The PL is so competitive that a bad spell can make it look worse than it is.

I hope that the upward spiral we are on is continued and we have a plan and stick by it.

 

[Ali Dia]

They did sign Bruno who has been an excellent signing, on the other hand when Spurs were close to signing him a few months earlier we weren’t interested and were pursuing Longstaff instead.

Have to remember as well these guys have been responsible for dishing out new contracts to likes of Jones recently so I think it’s quite right for there to be mixture of scepticism as well as optimism.

I agree about Bruno but that seemed to me like they were haggling over the price for way too long more than anything. I’m not sure a DOF is going to be able to get the owners to part with their cash any quicker. Maybe if there’s a few influential people all in agreement about a signing the owners will buck their ideas up. Longstaff and Brooks and players like that are only good value as a punt for up to say 30 million. If we like those guys we should be doing a Munich and tapping them up and getting them on the cheap/free as their contracts run down. A more solid structure independent of who is the manager should let us follow these players and work on those kinds of deals over a year or even longer if necessary. That could save us a lot of cash when looking to get English players of a certain age in.

this is what I said earlier and I’ve been a huge critic of the way the club has been run post Fergie.

I was thinking the free transfers and long contracts for players we’d like to see moved on are just tiding us over until our youth breaks through, which actually makes it a pretty solid plan as long as the youth are genuinely top notch. Not just expensive fumbling to fill squad the squad with stop gaps as a cash saving exercise as I feared but an actual long term strategy. I expect to see a few more Amad/Pellistri type signings for the first team squad this summer but probably loaning most of them out for a season or 2 and then stick or sell. This is the cheaper but smarter way to go. Grow your own and sprinkle with a dash of world class and we are looking very tidy all of a sudden.

Sancho or haaland and an Amad type DM and I’d be over the moon. More than likely because of covid it’ll be the same set up as last summer. Maybe a 40/50 million defender and the few expensive younger lads and a free transfer which is still solid building. I hope we still compete for the Sanchos and Haalands of this world though and I think we will because they represent long term value and stability but it would be just as important that we don’t make the same mistakes again like when we had the chance to sign Haaland and Upamecano on the cheap. I’m sure that’s been an eye opener for the club.

I’m pretty happy with the way things are going under Ole. If we’d got Sancho last summer we would be in a title race this year. We aren’t far off at all anymore.

 

[MrMarcello]

Man City hired Txiki(former Barcelona's DOF) and he's worked wonders for them. His success at Barcelona and the technical know-how plus the wealth of experience can only be an advantage. That is what we should be doing. We are already light years behind other big European clubs of our status, this appointment isn't an accelerator to catch up, it's a big brake-pump.

Txiki's appointment contributed to Man City signing Pep Guardiola. Sometimes, laying a good foundation internally at the club can attract top managers or top players. I really don't see how this appointment would catapult us back to our perch. It's like we have added another 20 years to the process. When this guy fails to attract top players, the ready made excuse would be "Be patient, he's still learning" - like we saw in the Moyes era.

Man Utd is too big a club to be handing out such important roles as an experiment. We should be signing former 'successful' football directors at Bayern, Madrid, Barcelona, etc.

Should have been Paul Mitchell a couple years back. Or Berta. We shall see how this goes.

 

[Champagne Football]

If you want someone with Utd DNA in their veins, who will never let you down, Fletch is your guy.

Exotic appointments in these types of roles usually work well for a season before they get bored and lose focus.

 

[Foxbatt]

Oh No. He came from Everton with Moyes.

 

[OmarUnited4ever]

If I understand this correctly based on the club's announcement and what's been reported in the media, the structure will be

Ed Woodward is the CEO and everyone one reports to him.

Ed has a non football management team that looks after the commercial and financial side (business admin side) of the club.

Then there is the football structure and it looks like this:

Ole is the Head Coach/First Team Manager.

Under Ole there is Phelan, Carrick & McKenna as first team coaches, plus other coaches such as GK Coach, Fitness coach etc. Also the football analysts will work under Ole if I am right.

Nicky Butt is the Head of First Team Development and reports to Ole.

Then there is Murtough who is effectively the DoF, and he has below people under him:

Judge as the Chief Negotiator. (Transfers and Renewals)

Fletcher is the Technical Director (provide football perspective and I expect he had completed his coaching badges and has knowledge on players assessments), he is the football person will football perspective that provides advice to Murtough.

The scouting department headed by Bout will also fall under Murtough

I'm also thinking the Football Acedamy headed by Nicky Cox will also fall under the preview of Murtough as well.

This sounds like a proper setup and division of labour, Ole looks after the first team and is involved in player recruitment, and all other football related matters (outside of managing the first team) will be led by Murtough.

If one day Ole leaves his role, a new Head Coach will arrive and work within the same football structure, this is a positive move toward stability.

 

[meamth]

I think an outside star name DOF and we are back to ripping it up and trying to build a new squad in his image. I’m sure everyone is sick of the rebuild at this stage. This is the team that brought in Bruno and has us in second. Signs are good things are settling down behind the scenes and people want to rip it up and start again?

Start again. Caf love those.

 

[RUCK4444]

Has our recruitment really been a lot better?

An objective analysis of last summer's acquisitions (admittedly in isolation and covid impacted) is not my idea of a successful recruitment drive.

Telles: Hardly features, although you could argue his arrival has sparked Luke Shaw into life
Van de Beek: I think he is a very good player but don't think he suits our play. He is a technical give and go player, more suited to Man City's system
Cavani: When he is fit he has been a positive but he misses a lot of games
Pellistri/Diallo: Haven't really featured so jury is out.

I do agree that our academy recruitment has been aggressive but will take many years before know the dividends.

Yeah it has. It's nowhere near as bad as you seem to say it is and also you've just listed the signings from our worst window under Ole where Ed made a complete mess.

That said the descriptions you provided aren't exactly awful, Telles is a positive overall. Van De Beek is a good squad addition for the bench (many of us called that at the time including me.) Cavani has largely been a success. Pellistri/Diallo are ones for the future, the latter is one of the most talented teenagers in Europe.

 

[red_de_pologne]

Ah the good ol give new titles to the same people.

Don't hire an actual DoF but people and press can't moan about DoF anymore, brilliant really.

 

[gajender]

Man City hired Txiki(former Barcelona's DOF) and he's worked wonders for them. His success at Barcelona and the technical know-how plus the wealth of experience can only be an advantage. That is what we should be doing. We are already light years behind other big European clubs of our status, this appointment isn't an accelerator to catch up, it's a big brake-pump.

Txiki's appointment contributed to Man City signing Pep Guardiola. Sometimes, laying a good foundation internally at the club can attract top managers or top players. I really don't see how this appointment would catapult us back to our perch. It's like we have added another 20 years to the process. When this guy fails to attract top players, the ready made excuse would be "Be patient, he's still learning" - like we saw in the Moyes era.

Man Utd is too big a club to be handing out such important roles as an experiment. We should be signing former 'successful' football directors at Bayern, Madrid, Barcelona, etc.

You have made long and winding post about why we have made the wrong decision by appointing Fletcher and Murtough why it's an experiment which should have been avoided while giving the Example of Txiki Bergstein ,can you be so kind to give us the background of his appointment as Barcelona Sporting Director what exactly were his qualifications apart from being Ex Barca Player because I couldn't find one .

 

[RUCK4444]

Why is Edwin taking over from Woodward as CEO? As that's what he is at Ajax, CEO.

Overmars is the DOF.



He's not there to deal with new players or selling Man Utd to potential new signings, he's there to deal with seeing if Academy Players have the mentality to play for Man Utd.

Darren will work closely with John to add technical input and direction into all football and performance areas. He will focus on a co-ordinated and long-term approach to player and squad development, helping maintain the integral link between the Academy and the first team, aligned with Manchester United’s values and culture.

https://www.manutd.com/en/news/deta...t-of-football-director-and-technical-director

Yeah but many have earmarked him for the DOF role with United.

I'm just happy the role and additional structure at the club has been created. Hopefully Murtough is the man to step up and do well.

 

[sullydnl]

Man City hired Txiki(former Barcelona's DOF) and he's worked wonders for them. His success at Barcelona and the technical know-how plus the wealth of experience can only be an advantage. That is what we should be doing. We are already light years behind other big European clubs of our status, this appointment isn't an accelerator to catch up, it's a big brake-pump.

Txiki's appointment contributed to Man City signing Pep Guardiola. Sometimes, laying a good foundation internally at the club can attract top managers or top players. I really don't see how this appointment would catapult us back to our perch. It's like we have added another 20 years to the process. When this guy fails to attract top players, the ready made excuse would be "Be patient, he's still learning" - like we saw in the Moyes era.

Man Utd is too big a club to be handing out such important roles as an experiment. We should be signing former 'successful' football directors at Bayern, Madrid, Barcelona, etc.

Txiki's entire reputation was build on his success as DOF at Barcelona. What was his experience in that position prior to taking the Barcelona job?

 

[Hoof the ball]

Hires a Football Director.

No changes occur over a five year period.

"Fat lot of good having a Director of Football did for us, Woody!"
"Ah, I never said we was hiring a DOF, did I?"

 

[R'hllor]

Maybe this guy will do great as FD or maybe he will prove those who moan in here right, also you cant expect/demand/have position and best man for that position in one go, that would be crazy, dont be entilted. We are in a great spot, there is no rush.

 

[Ali Dia]

Should have been Paul Mitchell a couple years back. Or Berta. We shall see how this goes.

Mitchell is definitely interesting. His work at Spurs was pretty stellar from what I remember.They were flat out killing it in the value stakes for a few years. If you could stick a Pogba/Maguire/Lukaku etc with something like that and keep your best players then it could be very successful. We are spotting the right players now but we are have been pretty late to the party post Fergie. Spurs were signing Bale and Walker and Ali when they’d barely played at a lower level. We go for AWB/Maguire/Shaw after they’ve totally broken out at PL level and there’s much less risk of it being just a good season. If we could get in earlier and develop players like that at the club through loans or rotation we would save a stack of cash.

 

[M Bison]

because we were expecting a proper director of football to take ownership of footballing matters. somebody with the right credentials. this seems like a bit of a fudge.

How do you know he hasnt got the right credentials?

 

[Foxbatt]

It's not a DOF. It's a Footballing Director. Now Ed can blame him. As another OP said it's bad management to put Fletcher in there. They should have brought in someone who has not played with them and are not buddies. Probably someone from Europe who has experience in these kind of jobs.
Now we have rookie coaches, rookie Technical Director and a rookie Footballing Director.
God help us.

 

[Foxbatt]

How do you know he hasnt got the right credentials?

He was with Moyes at Everton and he brought him with him to United.

 

[USREDEVIL]

Everyone making a big deal about how long it took to name Murtough. Don't you realize United scoured the earth, and some say the solar system, to review and analyze every potential signing of a DOF for over a decade, only to eventually determine that the best potential DOF in the world just happened to be in the same building. What a story!

 

[P-Nut]

You'd have to assume we are going to spend at least a decent amount in the market this summer. No way they bring in a DOF and hang him out to dry in his first summer. They will want to start him off with a positive summer.

 

[Cheimoon]

If I understand this correctly based on the club's announcement and what's been reported in the media, the structure will be

Ed Woodward is the CEO and everyone one reports to him.

Ed has a non football management team that looks after the commercial and financial side (business admin side) of the club.

Then there is the football structure and it looks like this:

Ole is the Head Coach/First Team Manager.

Under Ole there is Phelan, Carrick & McKenna as first team coaches, plus other coaches such as GK Coach, Fitness coach etc. Also the football analysts will work under Ole if I am right.

Nicky Butt is the Head of First Team Development and reports to Ole.

Then there is Murtough who is effectively the DoF, and he has below people under him:

Judge as the Chief Negotiator. (Transfers and Renewals)

Fletcher is the Technical Director (provide football perspective and I expect he had completed his coaching badges and has knowledge on players assessments), he is the football person will football perspective that provides advice to Murtough.

The scouting department headed by Bout will also fall under Murtough

I'm also thinking the Football Acedamy headed by Nicky Cox will also fall under the preview of Murtough as well.

This sounds like a proper setup and division of labour, Ole looks after the first team and is involved in player recruitment, and all other football related matters (outside of managing the first team) will be led by Murtough.

If one day Ole leaves his role, a new Head Coach will arrive and work within the same football structure, this is a positive move toward stability.

The bolded bit is what I was wondering about. From the press release, it sounded to me like Murtough and Fletcher work alongside each other. I couldn't figure out what that would mean for their division of tasks, as it sounds like there's overlap and like DoFs elsewhere would normally have both roles. If it is as you say, with Fletcher reporting to Murtough, the whole thing makes much more sense.

 

[Cheimoon]

Everyone making a big deal about how long it took to name Murtough. Don't you realize United scoured the earth, and some say the solar system, to review and analyze every potential signing of a DOF for over a decade, only to eventually determine that the best potential DOF in the world just happened to be in the same building. What a story!

It's like Genesis with Phil Collins after Peter Gabriel left - can't deny the success it brought them! (And some real quality music along the way.)

Yes, comparisons with Genesis and Phil Collins can be a good thing.

 

[M Bison]

All the general arguments for and against are generally sound, and almost impossible to judge on a general basis. Can a football man in a higher position strengthen the footballing decisions over the business ones? Sure, but we don’t know. Can an appointment from within be a feigned change that will uphold the status quo? Sure, and maybe not.

What do we know about Murtough himself? Not much but:

- He was not part of Moyes team of coaches, but Head of Youth Development at Everton during Moyes era. Everton did some very good development in that period and aquired a good rep. He was also responsible for sports science and development of data analysis.
- He was highjacked by FA as Head of Development Nationally in 2012, in a period where FA’s priority of Youth development had come far, the results of which we are seeing today. So it’s not a nothing appointment.
- He has been responsible for the rehabilitation of our youth setup, which has gone from highly criticized and back to one of the country’s if not the worlds most impressive developmental departments again.
- He has gradually aquired more and more influence over the different sides to the running of our club, in a period of time when we seem to maybe have changed from being chaotically run to being intelligently run. Is it a coincidence? Maybe. We’ll probably never find out. I still don’t know entirely what Mike Phelan does even.

Great post with some actual substance, rather than the rest of the histrionics in the thread.

 

[LuckyScout78]

For me. The structure look like this.

Top level = The big boss = the owner of the club
Second level = Ceo = Director of the club. Owner right hand = Woodward

3 rd level = Not sure how it works. Personally for me. I would split it in to two

Off the pitch = Director of football. He is not coaching the players. So i call his job is off the pitch. Not sure what Fletcher will do. But i include Fletcher and the negotiation man off the pitch sector. Plus the off the pitch scouting team.

On the pitch = Head coach and his coaching staff working with players on the pitch every day. Include the medical staff. Those work directly with players and the head coach.

And still personally for. If i a m the owner of the club. This will be the roles. This has to be clear and agree in the first place. So no room for arguing and complaining later.
- the Dof has always ask and discuss with the head coach about new players. The head coach is like a chef cook in the restaurant. Working directly with players and others assistant cook. The Dof can’t make his own decision. No room for personally decisions and purpose. Only the best for the fans and club. The fans = the peoples those are coming to the restaurant, eating and make the restaurant survive. So when i saying this. I do not prefer a DOF. As more chef and more cooks, it rise the chance for mor chaos. I prefer only one man that take the last football decisions. If the Dof and head coach are not winning over theirs big ego and not coming to agreement. Then problems can appear.

So yeah. For me. Personally for me. I m heading the direction and give my vote to. That the head coach has the last word when it come to in and out of players.

Then if team get poor results. Then it’s here the Dof and his team have to evaluate the head coach and his staff. Make the decision to keep or sack the head coach.

So sum up. Everything that has the direct relation to players. They are under the head coach sector/arms. If not, under the Dof sector.
Like i said. Everything has to be clear from the first day. Then it’s no room for arguing it later. All in one direction. If not. Who has the ball and man enough to take the blame?If the roles and everything are not clear and agree in the first place?As more chefs , as more troubles = true fact.

 

[M Bison]

He was with Moyes at Everton and he brought him with him to United.

I dont understand why that means he isnt qualified for the job he's been appointed to do.