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

[POF]

He isn't. DoF should be someone who is well connected with huge network, should be in position to take good advantage of contract clauses.The signings we have made are very straight forward ones or known players.

We should be proactive to take advantage of free transfers, talking to players when their contract has 1 year to expire so that we can get them on cheap or free transfer, should be well connected with agents to know the 'secret clauses'.

Completely agree. United always seem incredibly naive when it comes to the transfer market.

They decide they want a player yet seem to come in at the point in time that player is at his most valuable and with a secure long term contract so they get absolutely fleeced on price.

They seem to have been lining Sancho up for a long time with no genuine alternative yet he's got 3 years on his contract it seems unlikely he will agitate for a move. They have zero bargaining power other than pay whatever crazy fee Dortmund want.

 

[RUCK4444]

I’m all for one of these if it means we properly start laying the groundwork on players we want quicker than we do currently.

You look at Bayern and other big clubs and they seem to start working on future transfers, ‘getting their ducks in a row’ so to speak, a year or so before they actually bid for them.

A scouting network and a DOF above them should have the framework of the next 3 years recruitment mapped out with alternatives and contact with agents ongoing.

It doesn’t feel like any of that goes on currently.

 

[Xaviesta]

I don't get the idea of making Solskjaer DOF is results dictate United need a change of manager. If you're Naglesmann, Ten Haag, Zidane or Pochettino, do you really want to report to and work with your predeccessor?

 

[wolvored]

Another 8 days and summer is over. No talk in the media about a DOF coming. Bullshit again. Dont know why they mention it, its never going to happen.

 

[Xaviesta]

Another 8 days and summer is over. No talk in the media about a DOF coming. Bullshit again. Dont know why they mention it, its never going to happen.

The transfer window shuts on Monday, Ocotber 5.

 

[wolvored]

The transfer window shuts on Monday, Ocotber 5.

I was talking about what the thread is about, not the transfer window.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I was talking about what the thread is about, not the transfer window.

We won't sign any players we will sign a DOF.

 

[wolvored]

We won't sign any players we will sign a DOF.

Anything will be a big bonus compared to how we are run at the moment.

 

[Cloud7]

Ah I was wondering if there was another one of the scheduled releases about the club searching for a DOF in light of people becoming disgruntled about transfers. I expect it though, either at the end of the transfer window, or after the first unexpected loss next season.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Anything will be a big bonus compared to how we are run at the moment.

As long as he can be used in multiple positions to strengthen the bench.

 

[wolvored]

As long as he can be used in multiple positions to strengthen the bench.

If we do get a DOF he would probably be an old footballer who knows feck all about the DOF role, so would be more use on the bench

 

[DomesticTadpole]

If we do get a DOF he would probably be an old footballer who knows feck all about the DOF role, so would be more use on the bench

That's true.

 

[NWRed]

No signings yet, so nearly time for another one of these stories.
My bet is before the start of next week we'll have the usual bs story - 'search is ongoing, have spoken to [insert names here] but no decision made yet'.

 

[mitchmouse]

Thread jumps down a wormhole and ends up in 2424. Newspaper headline: "Manchester United looking to appoint Director of Football"

 

[VanGaalyTime]

No signings yet, so nearly time for another one of these stories.
My bet is before the start of next week we'll have the usual bs story - 'search is ongoing, have spoken to [insert names here] but no decision made yet'.

I think by the end of next week we'll hear "Solskjaer is trying to get one or two players in, but Corona is making transfers difficult." Then in two weeks "Expect only one signing at United, and they'll be a squad player. Club waiting till January to make major moves." Then in three weeks "Club tried but couldn't close deal in time. Will promote youth and expand DOF search".

 

[Jonno]

Are the lads back in training yet?

 

[reddevilz007]

A director would have helped us get rid of Romero, Smalling, Jones, Rojo, Dalot, Fred, Pereira, Mata, Lingard, which would give us at least 100 mil, but unfortunately, we would never do it.

 

[beingshe7don]

1. Manchester United ready to buy 4 to 5 players to strengthen the squad
2. Manchester United are facing a huge challenge with the transfer of <insert name of player>
3. Manchester United looking to hire Director of Football this summer
4. Manchester United not interested in <insert name of player>
5. Manchester United make a youth signing
6. Manchester United have signed an extension of <insert name of current United player>
7. Manchester United sign <insert name of player 2>
8. Repeat

 

[OleTheGreat]

I hope this happens so enough because we've been talking about this since SAF left the club.

 

[Amir]

A director would have helped us get rid of Romero, Smalling, Jones, Rojo, Dalot, Fred, Pereira, Mata, Lingard, which would give us at least 100 mil, but unfortunately, we would never do it.

While I'm all for hiring a DOF, how would he have done that?

The first stage of doing that is someone deciding he wants rid of those players. A manager can do that, or he might decide to keep some of them. Just as much as a DOF can do either of the two.

So, then it comes to finding a team that wants them and a financial settlement. A DOF can't pick teams who'll want mediocre/ageing/injury prone players out of his arse. Nor is he a miracle worker who'll get those teams to take on the expensive contracts these players have or convince the players to give up on money.

 

[murali_red]

I thinks VDS will make a great DOF, he has been working wonders with Ajax from marketing director to CEO in the last 8 years. Great Manchester United player and fan, understands the culture. Let Woodward deal with the commercial aspects if he is good at at but we need a top face while speaking with potential signings. VDS is respected worldwide and is a great footballer.

 

[EwanI Ted]

VDS would be pretty much the dream option for us, but for reasons long discussed on the forum it doesn't look like there's much chance of it happening.

 

[Tiber]

VDS would be pretty much the dream option for us, but for reasons long discussed on the forum it doesn't look like there's much chance of it happening.

Absolutely, not only does he ooze class and love United, he is doing fantastic work at Ajax. But yea, I don't see him steeping down as CEO of the entire Ajax organisation to run 'some' of the football Operations at United under Woodward.

 

[RashyForPM]

Might as well close this thread, as we ain’t gonna be hiring one anytime soon bar a miracle like VDS resigning, which he’ll never do as he’s the boss of Ajax.

 

[Dan_F]

VDS would be pretty much the dream option for us, but for reasons long discussed on the forum it doesn't look like there's much chance of it happening.

He’s not even director of football at Ajax.

I think people are confused about what a director of football should be doing. It is essentially what Ole is doing currently, by making sure that players with the right philosophy (sorry) are joining the club. They should be making sure that even if the manager changes, there is continuity in how the club is run. This is where we’ve been a complete shit show. We’ve improved recently, but the problem with having the manager do this is that you lose it when the manager leaves.

You will then get directors of football who are more about negotiating transfers. There’s no evidence that VDS is actually any good at this, or that Ed and Matt Judge would let him do this. I’m thinking more like Brands, who seems to be able to attract better talent than Everton should be getting, but doesn’t seem to have any thoughts about how they will play together, or the manager.

 

[stu_1992]

He’s not even director of football at Ajax.

I think people are confused about what a director of football should be doing. It is essentially what Ole is doing currently, by making sure that players with the right philosophy (sorry) are joining the club. They should be making sure that even if the manager changes, there is continuity in how the club is run. This is where we’ve been a complete shit show. We’ve improved recently, but the problem with having the manager do this is that you lose it when the manager leaves.

You will then get directors of football who are more about negotiating transfers. There’s no evidence that VDS is actually any good at this, or that Ed and Matt Judge would let him do this. I’m thinking more like Brands, who seems to be able to attract better talent than Everton should be getting, but doesn’t seem to have any thoughts about how they will play together, or the manager.

You say that, and that may be generally true, but the issue is a "Director of Football" is not a well defined role across the board. Many clubs have different interpretations of the role. We don't even know exactly what our club would want from this role, if we even want to hire anyone in this position at all. Which I'm not convinced by.

 

[Tom Cato]

Another 8 days and summer is over. No talk in the media about a DOF coming. Bullshit again. Dont know why they mention it, its never going to happen.

A DOF in a club like Manchester United is a extremely critical piece of personell infrastructure that we just don't have any experience with in this organization. With a transfer window opening so close to the new season strarting, the process of appointing a DOF just becomes a lesser priority. The priority right now is getting through the window and getting our business done. Only then will they look at a DOF.

 

[Dan_F]

You say that, and that may be generally true, but the issue is a "Director of Football" is not a well defined role across the board. Many clubs have different interpretations of the role. We don't even know exactly what our club would want from this role, if we even want to hire anyone in this position at all. Which I'm not convinced by.

Agreed. like I said, I don’t think Ed will give up his role, and Ole is kind of doing the first part. So I don’t think we’ll be making any changes for now.

 

[Bestietom]

Another 8 days and summer is over. No talk in the media about a DOF coming. Bullshit again. Dont know why they mention it, its never going to happen.

They only mention it in transfer windows when things are not going so well.

 

[Garethw]

The issue we have had is that there has been no continuity between managers.

Under LVG we were one of the best possession sides in Europe. We did feck all with it, but we dominated possession in most games. The big mistake was then going for Mourinho who was anti possession football. So in essence everything that LVG did was ripped up and we were starting from scratch again.

If we would have moved for an attack minded possession orientated coach rather than Mourinho Then the foundations LVG laid would have been utilised.

If you look at LVG and Guardiola, they both have very similar philosophies. Just that ones possession football operates in the attacking third and ones operates in the defensive third.

We needed to be smarter when choosing managers.

 

[Adisa]

VDS coming here to be DoF is a bit of a stepdown for him.

 

[red thru&thru]

Edwin would be a dream in terms of CEO, who is football minded. Edwin has taken a master degree in sports and marketing and has learnt from the likes of Gill. So he knows what he is doing on that sides of things too.

To me, Ole is doing the same role as what Fergie did. He let's the coaches coach the team at Carrington and he does all the other stuff, such as what a DoF would do. The previous managers were doing it all.

The only problem we have here is, what happens if Ole gets the sack?!

 

[EwanI Ted]

He’s not even director of football at Ajax.

I think people are confused about what a director of football should be doing. It is essentially what Ole is doing currently, by making sure that players with the right philosophy (sorry) are joining the club. They should be making sure that even if the manager changes, there is continuity in how the club is run. This is where we’ve been a complete shit show. We’ve improved recently, but the problem with having the manager do this is that you lose it when the manager leaves.

You will then get directors of football who are more about negotiating transfers. There’s no evidence that VDS is actually any good at this, or that Ed and Matt Judge would let him do this. I’m thinking more like Brands, who seems to be able to attract better talent than Everton should be getting, but doesn’t seem to have any thoughts about how they will play together, or the manager.

That's a fairly limited definition of what a DoF does. What every club needs is a senior management team that collectively has a shared footballing vision and is able to articulate that outwards to every part of the club. Yes that includes making sure we buy the right players. It also means hiring the right coaches who can share the vision; having a data team that looks for data that supports that vision; having the right training facilities that trains players in the right way; overseeing the academy to make sure young players are developed to fit the first team; sharing the vision with the Board so they can understand when its worth splashing out on a player and when it isn't; liaising with influencers in other countries to make sure the club is a powerful force; not to mention all the parallel stuff like finances, marketing, HR etc.

In different clubs each DoF will have a different brief. Some might be very narrow, only working on the first team transfers. But others might do everything but work with the first team. Each club evolves naturally and ends up with different people doing different things depending on the skill set. If your CEO is a former player, you probably support him with more finance and marketing specialists. If your CEO is a former finance guy, you support them by putting more footballing skill around them.

Its clear that at United we've struggled to articulate a clear vision for how we want United to operate. That’s been the major problem since SAF left. This is why we've lurched from one style of manager to a totally different one. Why we have managers wanting a player and the Board not seeing why. It’s why we’ve bought lots of players but ended up with 6 centre backs and no right winger. Its why we have so much deadwood on long contracts. My view is that while Woodward and Judge are both clearly able people, they’ve been unable to understand, or share, a strong vision for the club and that’s resulted in a club pulling in all different directions. That’s why I think we need more talent in the exec team, and in particular, why we need a footballing person to knit together all the disparate parts. VDS fits the bill.

 

[Adnan]

The Sporting director model is already operational at youth level. It's that model that needs to be brought into the first team for continuity/stability purposes. Nicky Butt should be a candidate for the role.

 

[Nick7]

Not even a cheeky DOF article after the loss yesterday? Ed is slipping.

 

[The Urban Goose]

Not even a cheeky DOF article after the loss yesterday? Ed is slipping.

He's saving it for the day after the transfer window shuts. Today's distraction is "Jose wants Lingard".

 

[MrMarcello]

Should have been Paul Mitchell a while back.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Should have been Paul Mitchell a while back.

Only he isn’t a DOF

 

[MrMarcello]

Only he isn’t a DOF

He's a sporting director but you don't think he could perform a DoF role?

 

[Inigo Montoya]

He's a sporting director but you don't think he could perform a DoF role?

I think a lot of guys could but that ship sailed a while back
Woody wants total control over transfers. He’s a leech