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

Revaulx

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This hard on for constantly shitting on the club at every opportunity for being inept and then subsequently claiming that every positive piece of news is a “brief” or a “PR Piece” is getting fecking tiresome.

Anyone would think we want to wallow in our own self pity and constantly want the club to fail so we can circle jerk ourselves to death for being the worlds worst run club. It’s almost as if we revel in the club being badly run.
Well the club has been atrociously run in recent years, so a degree of scepticism is hardly surprising.

Beyond that I totally agree with you. PR puff pieces are annoying as hell when they are quite obviously not a true reflection of reality, which was often the case in the Woodward era (Cultural Reset? Bah!). But now there’s clear progress on the football side, I find it hard to resent them for publicising the ways that things have changed for the better.
 

UnitedSofa

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It mightn't be because of the reason that tweeter was saying but there was several journos essentially writing the same article over the last few weeks and that isn't a coincidence.
Find me those articles that are 'essentially' the same thing please.

What happened to Darren Fletcher, barely seen him or heard his name this season. Did Ten Hag come in and ask why a person with zero experience was in such a role?
Do you even know what Fletcher's role actually is? (In actually reality he is more than qualified to do the role that he is assigned to do)
 

Amir

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This hard on for constantly shitting on the club at every opportunity for being inept and then subsequently claiming that every positive piece of news is a “brief” or a “PR Piece” is getting fecking tiresome.

Anyone would think we want to wallow in our own self pity and constantly want the club to fail so we can circle jerk ourselves to death for being the worlds worst run club. It’s almost as if we revel in the club being badly run.
I haven't got an issue with the transfers or our actions in getting them done. But the need to give a big name - "Emergency Protocol" - to an elementary move is silly.
 

Roboc7

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As already caveated by the journalist, these articles were always going to be scheduled on the one year anniversary. The club performance is irrelevant. Ducker isn't just going to scrap his scheduled evaluations if the club is doing bad.
It’s not a balanced, objective evaluation, it’s scheduled PR from perspective of Arnold. We have a no dick heads policy he is responsible but were trying to sign Arnautovic and Rabiot.

Maybe Arnold was on holiday when that was happening, or maybe him and Ducker are just oblivious to the contradiction.
 

VP89

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It’s not a balanced, objective evaluation, it’s scheduled PR from perspective of Arnold. We have a no dick heads policy he is responsible but were trying to sign Arnautovic and Rabiot.

Maybe Arnold was on holiday when that was happening, or maybe him and Ducker are just oblivious to the contradiction.
Arnautovic fizzled out in a matter of 48 hours, because they thought nah he is a dickhead. Whilst we dropped Rabiot before long too.
It's a bit like pointing to prime Klopp and not giving the club any remote credit for Robertson, Salah, Mane, Wjinaldum etc. and pointing out "but they got Shakiri and Origi".
 

AdNani

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the real Idea of how well Murtough and the Recruitment side are doing will be this window, as they will have had a full year with Ten Hag to plan and Suss out the players he wants/alternatives.

we certainly seem to be being run better than before Arnold took over, and with the News he was letting Murtough take full control would point to him doing a good job.
 

Roboc7

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Arnautovic fizzled out in a matter of 48 hours, because they thought nah he is a dickhead. Whilst we dropped Rabiot before long too.
It's a bit like pointing to prime Klopp and not giving the club any remote credit for Robertson, Salah, Mane, Wjinaldum etc. and pointing out "but they got Shakiri and Origi".
Our bid for Arnautovic got rejected and there was such a bad reaction to it we pulled out. That’s not the point anyway.

If journalists don’t want to be accused of being briefed then more balanced, insightful articles would do the trick. You can’t ignore trying to sign Arnautovic when you supposedly have that policy, it’s laughable.

If the journalist challenged it the likely explanations would be either we had low funds so had to consider them or manager said he could handle them. Both understandable but also completely undermine the image of Arnold that’s being projected.
 
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roseguy64

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What happened to Darren Fletcher, barely seen him or heard his name this season. Did Ten Hag come in and ask why a person with zero experience was in such a role?
It's because we're no longer doing as badly as last season that no one wants to use him as a scapegoat anymore.

He's still in the same role he had then.
 

golden_blunder

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I've got an irrational dislike for Darren Fletcher.

Mental images of him slithering around the technical area, interfering with Rangnick managing, putting his nose where it shouldn't be.

I'll always see him as part of the bad period we've had.

I hope the new owners get rid of him and some of the other monkeys around him asap. Bring in people with actual pedigree in that role.
This is the kind of irrational reaction that I dislike; usually led by @devilish
Nonsense based on nothing but ‘vibes’ which ironically many of them complained about during Oles tenure
 

golden_blunder

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Our bid for Arnautovic got rejected and there was such a bad reaction to it we pulled out. That’s not the point anyway.

If journalists don’t want to be accused of being briefed then more balanced, insightful articles would do the trick. You can’t ignore trying to sign Arnautovic when you supposedly have that policy, it’s laughable.

If the journalist challenged it the likely explanations would be either we had low funds so had to consider them or manager said he could handle them. Both understandable but also completely undermine the image of Arnold that’s being projected.
Yet everyone who moaned about Arnautovic would probably take him now. our fans are fickle

They should be careful not to listen too much to United fans when it comes to recruiting because most of us have no idea
 
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sullydnl

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Yet everyone who moaned about Arnautovic would probably take him now. They should be careful not to listen too much to United fans when it comes to recruiting because most of us have no idea
Why? He hasn't suddenly become a better player, nor have those racism accusations magically disappeared. There's no reason to want him anywhere near the club.
 

golden_blunder

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Why? He hasn't suddenly become a better player, nor have those racism accusations magically disappeared. There's no reason to want him anywhere near the club.
I bet if we did a poll the feeling would be different. The point is the fans change their mind according to whether they want a new shiny toy or not
 

OmarUnited4ever

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We all know that many of these journalists hate United with passion, so if they write something positive, that means they had to write it to maintain journalistic integrity, otherwise they would jump at the chance of shitting on United when they can while trying to maintain that journalistic integrity especially those with reputable organisations like BBc, The Telegraph of the Athletic
 

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It seems Murtough has availed himself of early criticism by nailing the managerial appointment. Now he needs to find a way to get substantial investment into the squad next summer to fuel a title charge and run in the champions league. Obviously not all on him, but credit where it’s due .
 

Yakuza_devils

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Hope his scouting department will be finally up and running by summer window. We are still heavily relying on ETH as we can see the signings like Weghorst and Sabizter.
 

sifi36

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Hope his scouting department will be finally up and running by summer window. We are still heavily relying on ETH as we can see the signings like Weghorst and Sabizter.
Multiple sources have confirmed we have held long-standing interest in Sabitzer, going back to his Leipzig days.
 

VictoriaRed

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Big time respect. Soooooooooo hope we can go on another long, long run of success!
 

Bojan Djordjic

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It seems Murtough has availed himself of early criticism by nailing the managerial appointment. Now he needs to find a way to get substantial investment into the squad next summer to fuel a title charge and run in the champions league. Obviously not all on him, but credit where it’s due .
Wasn't he also instrumental in bringing Rangnick to the club as an adviser, promptly promoted this recruitment specialist to manager and by Christmas was ignoring his new managerial appointment's meeting requests because he had a few home truths to deliver? Not sure how much credit you can give to someone for identifying the hottest managerial talent on the market. Conte was available but comes with a ship worth of baggage and Poch had just failed fairly spectacularly at PSG. Murtough might very well turn out to be a great appointment but I still think the jury is out on him.
 

Tom Van Persie

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Murtough and Fletcher led the search for the new manager and they completely nailed it with the ten Hag appointment. They deserve huge credit for that and Arnold deserves credit too for leaving it up to the football people to make that big decision.
 

mu4c_20le

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Wasn't he also instrumental in bringing Rangnick to the club as an adviser, promptly promoted this recruitment specialist to manager and by Christmas was ignoring his new managerial appointment's meeting requests because he had a few home truths to deliver? Not sure how much credit you can give to someone for identifying the hottest managerial talent on the market. Conte was available but comes with a ship worth of baggage and Poch had just failed fairly spectacularly at PSG. Murtough might very well turn out to be a great appointment but I still think the jury is out on him.
I think he quickly realized his mistake, owned up to it, and binned him. I've been one of his biggest critics but he deserves credit for actually learning on the job.
 

Edwards6

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Murtough and Fletcher led the search for the new manager and they completely nailed it with the ten Hag appointment. They deserve huge credit for that and Arnold deserves credit too for leaving it up to the football people to make that big decision.
So many people criticised us for missing out on Conte but thank feck we waited and got Ten Hag, it was worth going through that shit last season for where we are now
 

roonster09

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Wasn't he also instrumental in bringing Rangnick to the club as an adviser, promptly promoted this recruitment specialist to manager and by Christmas was ignoring his new managerial appointment's meeting requests because he had a few home truths to deliver? Not sure how much credit you can give to someone for identifying the hottest managerial talent on the market. Conte was available but comes with a ship worth of baggage and Poch had just failed fairly spectacularly at PSG. Murtough might very well turn out to be a great appointment but I still think the jury is out on him.
Home truths? More like talked out of his arse to save himself from any criticism and did a good job marketing himself as some sort of guru.
 

Sviken

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So many people criticised us for missing out on Conte but thank feck we waited and got Ten Hag, it was worth going through that shit last season for where we are now
Nobody criticized United for missing out on Conte. ETH was target N1 for the vast majority of United supporters.
 

sglowrider

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Sabizter is 110% ETH's signing. He knew him since Leipzig days.
Huh? Sabitzer played under Ralf. I have a strong suspicion that Ralf would have known about Marcel way before ETH did -- who left the recruitment to Overmars.

Ultimately, Arnold/Murtough hired him and is responsible for ETH. So if ETH gets credit for things, Murtough should directly or indirectly get credit too. It works that way for any organisation.
 

sglowrider

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Nobody criticized United for missing out on Conte. ETH was target N1 for the vast majority of United supporters.
I think in the early days, the majority of the Caf wanted Conte or Poch. ETH was only a bump on a log back then.
 

bringbackbebe

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I think in the early days, the majority of the Caf wanted Conte or Poch. ETH was only a bump on a log back then.
Exactly. I remember seeing posts on what an awesome job Conte has done for Spurs & that we should have gone for him. These talks lasted till around end of October.
 

Yakuza_devils

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Huh? Sabitzer played under Ralf. I have a strong suspicion that Ralf would have known about Marcel way before ETH did -- who left the recruitment to Overmars.

Ultimately, Arnold/Murtough hired him and is responsible for ETH. So if ETH gets credit for things, Murtough should directly or indirectly get credit too. It works that way for any organisation.
"United’s boss added on acquiring another proven performer: “I know the player already a long time from [RB] Salzburg. Especially from [RB] Leipzig. He performed fantastically, so I expect that he will do the same here. I think he has a great attitude; he is at the right age, and I am sure this opportunity will motivate him greatly and he will perform strongly for us.”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.go...eadline-day-bayern-munich/blt006bf1393f34acfb
 

roonster09

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All these Manager signing/Club signing doesn't make sense. If the club signs a player who is not wanted by manager then it's a problem. If manager asks for a player who isn't approved by club recruitment team but manager insists and threatens to quit if the player is not signed then it's a problem.

All we are seeing is, club lists a player and manager is happy with the choice or the manager names the player he wants and club is happy with manager's choice and they get the thing done. How does it matter whether the player was named first by club or manager, they are same team working as a team. All that matters is if both manager and recruitment team are happy and convinced by the choice.
 

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Home truths? More like talked out of his arse to save himself from any criticism and did a good job marketing himself as some sort of guru.
So much this. He has a good PR I give him that, stuff about open heart surgery and how he recommended about 25 players but nobody listened.
 

dpansheth

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So much this. He has a good PR I give him that, stuff about open heart surgery and how he recommended about 25 players but nobody listened.
This is the key difference between an analyst and a leader.
ETH is the leader who can correct a problem (to a certain degree) thru leadership.
He was an analyst. Good leaders will employ analyst but that's about it.
 

dal

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I wouldn’t give anyone too much credit for hiring Ten Hag. Most of the caf wanted him in November. It was such an Obvious appointment. He is a great coach and looking at his team he knows how to build a winning team with grit and style.

Even Solskjaer was a transformative appointment in that it led the way for a progressional coach rather than the old school dinsosaur manager.

The whole of the fan base new that we needed to replace Maguire, needed two central midfielders, a right winger and a striker. Ten Hag just pressured the board enough to get it done. Make no bones about it Woodward completely f**t this club up.
 

Sparky Rhiwabon

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I wouldn’t give anyone too much credit for hiring Ten Hag. Most of the caf wanted him in November. It was such an Obvious appointment. He is a great coach and looking at his team he knows how to build a winning team with grit and style.

Even Solskjaer was a transformative appointment in that it led the way for a progressional coach rather than the old school dinsosaur manager.

The whole of the fan base new that we needed to replace Maguire, needed two central midfielders, a right winger and a striker. Ten Hag just pressured the board enough to get it done. Make no bones about it Woodward completely f**t this club up.
I was going to say the same - if identifying Ten Hag as the best managerial appointment is what makes a good DOF, then most on here could do the job. And most of the signings so far seem to have come out of Erik's Little Black Book.
 

Real Name

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Murtough and Fletcher led the search for the new manager and they completely nailed it with the ten Hag appointment. They deserve huge credit for that and Arnold deserves credit too for leaving it up to the football people to make that big decision.
This.
 

Revaulx

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Credit to Murtough certainly, but most of all to Arnold, who has almost entirely turned around the awful culture that prevailed at the club under his predecessor.

Convincing the Glazers that Golden Boy Ed was actually an idiot and that everything he had done needed to be reversed as soon a possible for the club to prosper couldn’t have been easy.
 

sglowrider

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Credit to Murtough certainly, but most of all to Arnold, who has almost entirely turned around the awful culture that prevailed at the club under his predecessor.

Convincing the Glazers that Golden Boy Ed was actually an idiot and that everything he had done needed to be reversed as soon a possible for the club to prosper couldn’t have been easy.
True. Buck stops with the CEO.