Telegraph Football: Man Utd looking to appoint director of football this summer | Appointed

[Obiorahking_]

To me, the stupidest thing United have done since SAF's departure was replacing Moyes with Van Gaal and Van Gaal with Mourinho. That makes no sense: it's three different styles in just a few years, making long-term player recruitment impossible.

So to me, when people speak of United DNA, that's what the DOF should define: on a high level, what should the club play like? Possession football? High-pressure transition-focused football? Counter-attacking from a defensive setup? Something else? Do we want to be a development club or buy to win? And there are probably some other high-level things to determine. Some of this is also budget-dependent and would need input from the CEO.

Once that's figured out, the DOF oversees the hiring of a coach that fits that general vision. Obviously, the coach would fill in the details in their own way; a DOF is not the tactical mastermind. Also, the vision can develop, influenced by the coach and other factors. But this guarantees that the club can direct all of its resources in the same direction: youth development, player scouting, and indeed coach scouting - replacing a coach isn't as big a deal if you roughly know what you want and always keep a shortlist of potentially interesting coaches.

From that general setup, the rest can be figured out as required. For example, some coaches might want to be closely involved in player recruitment, some might not; and the DOF might have their own preferences for the decision-making process around recruitment. They might also want to keep a coach out of the process as much as possible to ensure they can spend maximum time working with the first team and preparing for matches. (In that sense, the model also allows coaches to be more focused on the football.) And so on. But the main thing is guaranteeing direction - and then this Moyes-Van Gaal-Mourinho nonsense won't happen.

At least, that's my takeaway.

This guy gets it. Love big picture posts like this.

 

[Rozay]

Fergie was without doubt the person who set the directives at the club when it came to seting the short and long term goals. You can call him DoF or what ever but the point is that he was the man that was calling the shots. And no he didn't have the same scouts as we have now because under Fergie it was reported that he only had two full-time scouts of which one was his brother Martin Ferguson. The setup is completely different now as has been well documented. Also I'm not sure what Cristiano Ronaldo has to do with anything.

Moyes bought two players but alienated even more and by the end of his tenure we had lost most of our Championship winning back 4. Moyes plays a very conservative style of football which is very risk averse and used width to create chances without sacrificing defensive stability during his short spell at the club. I think we might've broke the crossing into the box from all angles record under him in one game. Van Gaal in comparison has always had a defined way of playing football which was to dominate zones through possession and coached his teams especially in the early days of his career to interchange positions which was a philosophy that he inherited from Rinus Michels and turbo charged with his Ajax team. Both LVG and Moyes were polar opposites when it comes to how they want to implement their style. Fellaini wasn't a player you use for possession football so he was used as the long ball option because playing him in midfield he was never good enough due to his immobility. Mourinho again used him for route one football. And yes most coaches would buy Mane because no matter if you play reactive or proactive football, you still need forwards who are technical and can transition play quickly. Having ball playing CBs is important in certain styles and not so important in others. Same applies for keepers and midfielders including fullbacks.


Mourinho and Pochettino both benefitted from the work that has/had been done at academy level. And i've touched upon this before regarding the foundations that were laid by the people at the club which hugely benefitted both. So both getting a similar level of performance out of the team is testament of the work done by the club and scouts. Spurs have been a better run club than us post Fergie with a much smaller budget.


Why should Edu be sacked when he's barely been in the job long enough and had nothing to do with Arteta's arrival? Should Hassan Salihamidzic have been sacked last season at Bayern after the sacking of Kovac? Bayern sacked Kovac and promptly promoted Salihamidzic to a executive position from his sporting director role and in the the same season they won the Champions League. Rummenigge knew the job that Salihamidzic was doing was good hence giving him a promotion even after sacking the coach. You can't judge both roles with the same criteria and if the coach is failing it doesn't mean the man in charge of the footballing department is also failing as referenced in the case of Salihamidzic and Kovac.

The director doesn't set the philosophy but rather the club does. Clubs like Bayern don't bring in a director to ask them to set their personal philosophy but rather they (club) set their philosophy and ask him to work to a set criteria which revolves around playing attacking football. And everybody works in unison towards a common goal with in that remit. So even when they sack a coach the blow isn't anywhere near as bad because the people directing the ship are still in control. So it's not one man who is making decisions in isolation but rather a whole team of scouts who specialize in evaluating talent who then report to the man at the top whose sole responsibility will be to get deals done quickly and effeciently without any distractions.

Tbh, I’ve read my last post back and don’t like the tone of it, think it came across a bit rude. We’ve always gotten along on here, so I apologise.

As for the topic at hand, think it’s fair to say we disagree on this, although probably not massively as may seem. I have no doubt that a Director could be successful here. I just have similar conviction on my belief that it is not a prerequisite for being successful, as is often implied when the conversation comes up.

 

[Adnan]

Tbh, I’ve read my last post back and don’t like the tone of it, think it came across a bit rude. We’ve always gotten along on here, so I apologise.

As for the topic at hand, think it’s fair to say we disagree on this, although probably not massively as may seem. I have no doubt that a Director could be successful here. I just have similar conviction on my belief that it is not a prerequisite for being successful, as is often implied when the conversation comes up.

I go out of my way to stay civil with you mate because you're a good poster and respectful.

I do believe under our current model we could be successful but we need Solskjaer to deliver. Because believe it or not he's setting the directive and if he can stay long enough in the job it will give us stability which is what will create the conditions for us to be successful.

 

[zenith]

I can't even see the point in this exercise anymore.

Ole and Woodward seem to be on the same wavelength and bringing in someone new might create scope for conflict and poor communication, especially if it is not the absolute right appointment.

Ideal would be for Ed himself to quit (and there have been whispers about it) and we appointed someone like VDS as CEO, but that's about as likely to happen as arsenal surviving in the PL this year.

 

[red thru&thru]

Duncan Castles and his mate doing their best to push Campos to United. A bit of an audition if you will...

https://aca.st/c5dd6c

 

[Rozay]

We will win the league and this thread will quietly disappear.

 

[Bilbo]

There's a very good Mitten article on the Athletic which breaks down just how many staff United have working on football operations right now. A lot of supporters seem to believe its Ole, then Judge, then Woodward, when in reality we have dozens of people working on recruitment & performance & analytics.

I personally don't see where a DoF fits into the structure right now, and I don't believe its going to happen anytime soon. The fact is, a lot of the duties that people associate with a DoF position are already being handled by people at the club.

 

[red thru&thru]

There's a very good Mitten article on the Athletic which breaks down just how many staff United have working on football operations right now. A lot of supporters seem to believe its Ole, then Judge, then Woodward, when in reality we have dozens of people working on recruitment & performance & analytics.

I personally don't see where a DoF fits into the structure right now, and I don't believe its going to happen anytime soon. The fact is, a lot of the duties that people associate with a DoF position are already being handled by people at the club.

The problem is, from the outside looking in, Ole seems to be spearheading our recruitment. If he has a dip in form, is sacked, then what?

 

[Bilbo]

The problem is, from the outside looking in, Ole seems to be spearheading our recruitment. If he has a dip in form, is sacked, then what?

Thats not the case. All of the staff who work on recruitment and analytics are feeding into that recruitment process. There is a (previously discussed on here) 'Veto' operation in play, with some disagreement as to how that works, but the overall point being that it doesn't live or die on Ole being our manager - though of course that system would suffer slightly as things do in any organisation when a senior figure is removed from it.

 

[red thru&thru]

Thats not the case. All of the staff who work on recruitment and analytics are feeding into that recruitment process. There is a (previously discussed on here) 'Veto' operation in play, with some disagreement as to how that works, but the overall point being that it doesn't live or die on Ole being our manager - though of course that system would suffer slightly as things do in any organisation when a senior figure is removed from it.

Yeah I've read that too. But this process has worked so much better whilst Ole has been in play, which suggests Ole is leading it. My worry is, another manager coming in and wanting something different.

Where I'm at is, I'm very happy with the way things as they are (till the next loss ). However, if Ole gets the sack, who makes the decision of recruiting the next guy? I just don't trust Ed. For me, it's not just about scouting but also those "dark arts of transfers" which were mentioned by Andy Mitten a few months back.

Ole has been good at talking to potential recruits, bringing back a great atmosphere and bond between the players. If he were to get sacked, Ed would bring in a manager with opposite views to Ole at mo.

 

[Bilbo]

Yeah I've read that too. But this process has worked so much better whilst Ole has been in play, which suggests Ole is leading it. My worry is, another manager coming in and wanting something different.

Where I'm at is, I'm very happy with the way things as they are (till the next loss ). However, if Ole gets the sack, who makes the decision of recruiting the next guy? I just don't trust Ed. For me, it's not just about scouting but also those "dark arts of transfers" which were mentioned by Andy Mitten a few months back.

Ole has been good at talking to potential recruits, bringing back a great atmosphere and bond between the players. If he were to get sacked, Ed would bring in a manager with opposite views to Ole at mo.

I dont believe that Ole is anywhere near a sacking right now. Personally I feel that the progress on and off the pitch as it is today has already bought him another season after this one, barring of course a collapse.

However you are right that choosing an eventual replacement is a cause for concern, but the mistakes that have been made regarding continuity are obvious and if we have identified this then I have no doubt that the club have too. My thing with DoF is that I just haven't ever believed that appointing one will safeguard us against those problems. I think the position is prone to failure just the same as any other.

Fans romanticise about this 'boot room' philosophy and feel that we should have well known football names up and down our structure, but football is changing. Clubs have increasingly embraced analytics over the last decade and by many accounts we have some of the best in the game working at the club, even if most of them are largely unknown outside football circles.

 

[matt10000]

If the manager does not provide direction on how he wants his team to play football then I don't know who does?

Director of football is nonsense - he could say 'at a higher level our philosophy and general direction is to play exciting attacking football' but what clubs general ethos isn't to do this?

How many directors of football are going to say 'We want to play boring defensive football'?

Nonsense title and nonsense job unless they are actively working with the team everyday on tactics i which case that are the manager and everyone else is a coach

 

[red thru&thru]

If the manager does not provide direction on how he wants his team to play football then I don't know who does?

Director of football is nonsense - he could say 'at a higher level our philosophy and general direction is to play exciting attacking football' but what clubs general ethos isn't to do this?

How many directors of football are going to say 'We want to play boring defensive football'?

Nonsense title and nonsense job unless they are actively working with the team everyday on tactics i which case that are the manager and everyone else is a coach

This is why you should listen to the Louis pCampos

I dont believe that Ole is anywhere near a sacking right now. Personally I feel that the progress on and off the pitch as it is today has already bought him another season after this one, barring of course a collapse.

However you are right that choosing an eventual replacement is a cause for concern, but the mistakes that have been made regarding continuity are obvious and if we have identified this then I have no doubt that the club have too. My thing with DoF is that I just haven't ever believed that appointing one will safeguard us against those problems. I think the position is prone to failure just the same as any other.

Fans romanticise about this 'boot room' philosophy and feel that we should have well known football names up and down our structure, but football is changing. Clubs have increasingly embraced analytics over the last decade and by many accounts we have some of the best in the game working at the club, even if most of them are largely unknown outside football circles.

I do think you don't need experience in every job role. If I were to use a football team as an example however...young and inexperience players do wonder for a team. They give the energy and unpredictability. Our best years as a club has been on the foundation of youngsters. However, to be able to win things, you need to be lead by someone with experience. Class leading if you will.

This is why I believe a DoF would be the leader of the footballing side of things. Doesn’t mean they will call all the shots, no. But will allow a coach to do his job...coaching.

You should listen to the Campos interview I have posted above, it's really good. He talks about how he had to adapt according to club and coaches etc.

 

[Bebestation]

The thing with this club was it was obvious that even from the SAF days that he had a clear foot on what the DOF was doing.

SAF was doing it right but soon as it retired managers like Moyes, Van Gaal and Mourinho came with the ability to spearhead their own DOF type of management of United and the whole squad was getting worse by worse season by season.

Ole is doing it right because he knows how it was done before, he knows what it takes to be a manager here.

It's the first time I dont want a DOF here at United because we got one hiding behind the managers baby face and blue eyes - knowing how this club is run though the first time we go and get a DOF is when we dont need it at all and we go and get one that opposes everything Ole wanted here in the first place.

I'm happy for the way it is; unless for some miracle Ole is the one convincing the right type of DOF we should buy because for the first time we seem to be moving on to the the right mindset as a club as well.

 

[Rocksy]

Campos is obviously great at his job but the issue with him is that he moves around a lot. With a DOF you'd ideally be looking at someone longer term. Has he done a long term job? At Monaco and Lille he had a massive impact but was just not there very long. How long would he be around for?

The other issue is that he's a buy and sell type, United is more of a destination, even for young players. Buying young players is great but a lot easier at Lille and Monaco, where they have ages to prepare and play under less pressure. I think he'd probably be very good, but DOF jobs at the very top are harder to show that in.

 

[Adnan]

Campos is obviously great at his job but the issue with him is that he moves around a lot. With a DOF you'd ideally be looking at someone longer term. Has he done a long term job? At Monaco and Lille he had a massive impact but was just not there very long. How long would he be around for?

The other issue is that he's a buy and sell type, United is more of a destination, even for young players. Buying young players is great but a lot easier at Lille and Monaco, where they have ages to prepare and play under less pressure. I think he'd probably be very good, but DOF jobs at the very top are harder to show that in.

I think if the club were to appoint a Sporting Director and give the ultimate authority to the scouts, then maybe hiring someone with real experience would be beneficial even if it was short term as long as the club also have someone like a Nicky Butt to work under him so he can be groomed for the role long-term.

 

[Chairman Steve]

I’d like to think the following has happened:

• Woodward was no fan of Moyes and didn’t want him, so got rid of him
• He got in LVG because of that impressive CV and gave him the money and power to sign who ever he wanted, which ultimately failed
• He gets in Jose who’s a bit more relevant than LVG and does the same thing as before, although Jose is more successful at it
• Woodward starts to see Jose demanding tonnes of money for players, with Sanchez being the breaking point
• All during these LVG and Jose times, Woodward has ignored whatever the club scouts and general setup say about players they recommend, which importantly do not get LVG or Jose approval
• Woodward pulls the plug on Jose which causes Jose to spend half a year trying to get sacked basically
• Woodward finally decides to listen to the clubs scouts and general Utd setup about players upon hiring Solskjaer (maybe they cited all the good players who’ve gone on to be good elsewhere that got vetoed by LVG and Jose)

If we have a footballing committee made up of senior scouts, club officials, academy officials and first team management then I’m happy with that. I get the feeling before that it was LVG and Jose doing it their own way and Woodward letting them do it and to hell with the club officials and senior scouts.

 

[Adnan]

Yeah I've read that too. But this process has worked so much better whilst Ole has been in play, which suggests Ole is leading it. My worry is, another manager coming in and wanting something different.

Where I'm at is, I'm very happy with the way things as they are (till the next loss ). However, if Ole gets the sack, who makes the decision of recruiting the next guy? I just don't trust Ed. For me, it's not just about scouting but also those "dark arts of transfers" which were mentioned by Andy Mitten a few months back.

Ole has been good at talking to potential recruits, bringing back a great atmosphere and bond between the players. If he were to get sacked, Ed would bring in a manager with opposite views to Ole at mo.

Ole is our Sporting Director because that's the model we've adopted for decades and if you look back through history it was two legendary Scots who made it work due to the longevity they provided in the role and both were the de-facto Sporting directors at the club in their respective time periods.

I also worry about the manager being sacked because statistically it's a job that is very difficult to stay in longterm. So for me it's sensible for the club to control their own recruitment and put in place people who will hold the forte in the eventuality the Head Coach is fired which is a very sensible strategy that is used by some of the brightest minds in European football. Even our legendary manager SAF pointed to the Bayern model as something we should replicate and I'm not gonna argue with him because if anyone knew about running a football department then it was him.

It was reported we have a committe of some sort in place but according to Ole himself, it would take 5 scouts to veto his player of choice. So he has enormous power when it comes to recruitment and it's been reported regularly that he has his own personal scout (Simon Wells) who he trusts above all else.

The worry is if the manager is sacked then we lose the guy that sets our directives which then brings forth Ed Woodward into a position where he has to select the successor and history has shown us that he's used the CV/resume method rather than to build upon the work of the previous manager which has seen us cull the squad every few years which has destabilized us. I'm hoping he's learned from his mistakes because obviously he's a very intelligent man and has done a lot right too but sadly has been let down by the managers he appointed.

But the difference between people who are for/against is pretty simple IMO. People who want a Sporting Director want the football side to be run by club scouts who specialise in evaluating player potential with a man at the top of the chain who collates all the information from said scouts and then goes about trying to make things stick. This model provides much better stability and longevity for the man at the head of the operation. The people who are against it want a man in charge whose job is stastically the most short term out of the two positions in question which has caused us a lot of issues in the last 7 years.

For me it's sensible to have a fail safe in place (even if we win the league) and a Sporting Director would provide that in the eventuality of the head coach getting sacked.

 

[red thru&thru]

Ole is our Sporting Director because that's the model we've adopted for decades and if you look back through history it was two legendary Scots who made it work due to the longevity they provided in the role and both were the de-facto Sporting directors at the club in their respective time periods.

I also worry about the manager being sacked because statistically it's a job that is very difficult to stay in longterm. So for me it's sensible for the club to control their own recruitment and put in place people who will hold the forte in the eventuality the Head Coach is fired which is a very sensible strategy that is used by some of the brightest minds in European football. Even our legendary manager SAF pointed to the Bayern model as something we should replicate and I'm not gonna argue with him because if anyone knew about running a football department then it was him.

It was reported we have a committe of some sort in place but according to Ole himself, it would take 5 scouts to veto his player of choice. So he has enormous power when it comes to recruitment and it's been reported regularly that he has his own personal scout (Simon Wells) who he trusts above all else.

The worry is if the manager is sacked then we lose the guy that sets our directives which then brings forth Ed Woodward into a position where he has to select the successor and history has shown us that he's used the CV/resume method rather than to build upon the work of the previous manager which has seen us cull the squad every few years which has destabilized us. I'm hoping he's learned from his mistakes because obviously he's a very intelligent man and has done a lot right too but sadly has been let down by the managers he appointed.

But the difference between people who are for/against is pretty simple IMO. People who want a Sporting Director want the football side to be run by club scouts who specialise in evaluating player potential with a man at the top of the chain who collates all the information from said scouts and then goes about trying to make things stick. This model provides much better stability and longevity for the man at the head of the operation. The people who are against it want a man in charge whose job is stastically the most short term out of the two positions in question which has caused us a lot of issues in the last 7 years.

For me it's sensible to have a fail safe in place (even if we win the league) and a Sporting Director would provide that in the eventuality of the head coach getting sacked.

Agree on all above, relative to what I said earlier too but I think a DoF/Sports Director etc is more than just recruitment. It is managing player contracts, looking after their needs etc.

Looking after the youth football too. Recruitment of coaches. Being at the forefront of new new technologies to improve football etc.

We lose Ole, we will lose majority of that. I could easily see Ole seeing out his contract with us next year, in time for Pochettino to take over and Ole transitioning into the DoF/SD role.

 

[dinostar77]

The Transfer Window podcast have an interview with Luis Campos. Well worth a listen in the background to whatever you are doing.

https://play.acast.com/s/thetransferwindow/vnid://episodes/42797102?media_id=31511720

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Luis Campos, football's billion Euro technical director

Duncan Castles joins Ian McGarry to 'bring you the news before it becomes news' from the biggest clubs in world football.

Luis Campos: Football's billion Euro technical director - A Transfer Window exclusive interview

- January market predictions
- Botman's next move
- Secrets of Campos' scouting methods
- Working with Mourinho
- Speed matters more than distance in modern football
- Managing the 'PlayStation Generation'
- His next job

 

[davidmichael]

I’d like to think the following has happened:

• Woodward was no fan of Moyes and didn’t want him, so got rid of him
• He got in LVG because of that impressive CV and gave him the money and power to sign who ever he wanted, which ultimately failed
• He gets in Jose who’s a bit more relevant than LVG and does the same thing as before, although Jose is more successful at it
• Woodward starts to see Jose demanding tonnes of money for players, with Sanchez being the breaking point
• All during these LVG and Jose times, Woodward has ignored whatever the club scouts and general setup say about players they recommend, which importantly do not get LVG or Jose approval
• Woodward pulls the plug on Jose which causes Jose to spend half a year trying to get sacked basically
• Woodward finally decides to listen to the clubs scouts and general Utd setup about players upon hiring Solskjaer (maybe they cited all the good players who’ve gone on to be good elsewhere that got vetoed by LVG and Jose)

If we have a footballing committee made up of senior scouts, club officials, academy officials and first team management then I’m happy with that. I get the feeling before that it was LVG and Jose doing it their own way and Woodward letting them do it and to hell with the club officials and senior scouts.

Completely hit the nail on the head, brilliant post.

 

[Apokalips]

I’d like to think the following has happened:

• Woodward was no fan of Moyes and didn’t want him, so got rid of him
• He got in LVG because of that impressive CV and gave him the money and power to sign who ever he wanted, which ultimately failed
• He gets in Jose who’s a bit more relevant than LVG and does the same thing as before, although Jose is more successful at it
• Woodward starts to see Jose demanding tonnes of money for players, with Sanchez being the breaking point
• All during these LVG and Jose times, Woodward has ignored whatever the club scouts and general setup say about players they recommend, which importantly do not get LVG or Jose approval
• Woodward pulls the plug on Jose which causes Jose to spend half a year trying to get sacked basically
• Woodward finally decides to listen to the clubs scouts and general Utd setup about players upon hiring Solskjaer (maybe they cited all the good players who’ve gone on to be good elsewhere that got vetoed by LVG and Jose)

If we have a footballing committee made up of senior scouts, club officials, academy officials and first team management then I’m happy with that. I get the feeling before that it was LVG and Jose doing it their own way and Woodward letting them do it and to hell with the club officials and senior scouts.

I'd agree with this breakdown of events as it makes sense. I think Ed and the Board have definitely been learning from mistakes and have started to invest more in, and listen more to, the scouting department and those in the recruitment team.

 

[red thru&thru]

I’d like to think the following has happened:

• Woodward was no fan of Moyes and didn’t want him, so got rid of him
• He got in LVG because of that impressive CV and gave him the money and power to sign who ever he wanted, which ultimately failed
• He gets in Jose who’s a bit more relevant than LVG and does the same thing as before, although Jose is more successful at it
• Woodward starts to see Jose demanding tonnes of money for players, with Sanchez being the breaking point
• All during these LVG and Jose times, Woodward has ignored whatever the club scouts and general setup say about players they recommend, which importantly do not get LVG or Jose approval
• Woodward pulls the plug on Jose which causes Jose to spend half a year trying to get sacked basically
• Woodward finally decides to listen to the clubs scouts and general Utd setup about players upon hiring Solskjaer (maybe they cited all the good players who’ve gone on to be good elsewhere that got vetoed by LVG and Jose)

If we have a footballing committee made up of senior scouts, club officials, academy officials and first team management then I’m happy with that. I get the feeling before that it was LVG and Jose doing it their own way and Woodward letting them do it and to hell with the club officials and senior scouts.

Ed Woodward is obviously an intelligent man. You'd hope he'd learn and begin to get things correct.

 

[Polar]

If the manager does not provide direction on how he wants his team to play football then I don't know who does?

To a certain degree yes, but we need a solid platform in order to recruit the right manager and players - avoid mismatch between how we (United) want to play football and how the manager wants to play.

I think United need someone responsible for the strategic framework; a policy maker securing the United DNA and consistency regarding how we play; ex recruitment of managers and players who fits with United and the club’s strategy.

We have experienced what happens when managers on their own decide our overall style to play football and which players to bring in. Was the Mourinho-style of football a strategic choice; was it how United wanted to play in the future, also after Mourinho? Obviously not.

I don’t want our way to play football change dramatically every time we get a new manager. I don’t want one manager’s purchases to be useless for the next manager, ex: Sanchez, Fellaini, Schweinsteiger, Lukaku.

We need a DOF who can keep the threads together in a long term perspective.

I’m happy with Ole as manager, but perhaps he is even better suited to be a DOF?

 

[Yorkeontop]

Any progress?

 

[elmo]

They'll announce they've shelved plans to appoint a sporting director in May because they need to settle the summer transfers and once they've made a mess of the transfer window, the media briefing will start right on midnight after the transfer window has closed that they've identified a key person and will be approaching them after the Glazers approve of it with the intention for the new guy to step in for the next summer transfer window.

It's the same fecking thing every year, we'll never hire somebody for the job unless Woodward is gone.

 

[croadyman]

They'll announce they've shelved plans to appoint a sporting director in May because they need to settle the summer transfers and once they've made a mess of the transfer window, the media briefing will start right on midnight after the transfer window has closed that they've identified a key person and will be approaching them after the Glazers approve of it with the intention for the new guy to step in for the next summer transfer window.

It's the same fecking thing every year, we'll never hire somebody for the job unless Woodward is gone.

Yeah its basically our very own version of The Neverending Story

 

[Bilbo]

Its not a neverending story. Its a complete non event. There is no indication at all that the club are looking for a DoF. We don't need one

 

[BluesJr]

We need coaching more than we need help with transfers. Change my mind.

 

[Sunny Jim]

Any progress?

burn that witch

 

[Teja]

They'll announce they've shelved plans to appoint a sporting director in May because they need to settle the summer transfers and once they've made a mess of the transfer window, the media briefing will start right on midnight after the transfer window has closed that they've identified a key person and will be approaching them after the Glazers approve of it with the intention for the new guy to step in for the next summer transfer window.

It's the same fecking thing every year, we'll never hire somebody for the job unless Woodward is gone.

Yes lets hope some mythical figure who can do no wrong as DoF will come in and fix everything and not make any mistakes at all that'll set us back another decade.

Meanwhile our squad is in the best shape it has been in 5 years and recent ins / outs have been extremely solid.

 

[Ali Dia]

Yes lets hope some mythical figure who can do no wrong as DoF will come in and fix everything and not make any mistakes at all that'll set us back another decade.

Meanwhile our squad is in the best shape it has been in 5 years and recent ins / outs have been extremely solid.

I agree with this. Oles recruitment while not to everyone’s taste has been effective.

 

[Superunknown]

We need coaching more than we need help with transfers. Change my mind.

I agree with this. We do need more quality coming into the squad, but it's no good if we can't elevate players when they come in, or improve the ones that are already here.

 

[Sandikan]

We need coaching more than we need help with transfers. Change my mind.

We're 2nd in the league?
How bad can our coaching be? Unless you think our players are so supreme they can come 2nd despite the terrible coaching?

 

[Guapa]

When Ole has gone as far as he as manger Id like to see him upstairs in some capacity.

 

[dpansheth]

We're 2nd in the league?
How bad can our coaching be? Unless you think our players are so supreme they can come 2nd despite the terrible coaching?

May be I dont deserve to be Man United supporter, but every time I see City or Leeds or infact a lot of EPL teams play, I see their players know what their roles are, they know each other. They behave as a team. I have not seen us do the same. To me that's down to coaching. Ole has enough weapons to secure top 4, which he'll to his credit, but cohesiveness is lacking, its evident. And no, i dont think its down lets say Martial is in poor form. Its just so disjointed.. its as if I am coaching the team. And I know how much I can coach football to my 2 year old.

 

[BluesJr]

We're 2nd in the league?
How bad can our coaching be? Unless you think our players are so supreme they can come 2nd despite the terrible coaching?

We are a decent team because we have a lot of individual quality. We are not a well drilled cohesive unit. Our passing and general play in hard games is poor. Only elite coaching fixes these faults.

 

[Yorkeontop]

This would be a pretty good time to blood in a dof. Club feels stable and seemingly no crisis to combat.

 

[Jersey Heel]

Trump will announce his health care plan before we announce our new Director of Football.

 

[AltiUn]

We are a decent team because we have a lot of individual quality. We are not a well drilled cohesive unit. Our passing and general play in hard games is poor. Only elite coaching fixes these faults.

Every good team in world football has a lot of individual quality.