elmo
Can never have too many Eevees
In an ideal world, VDS replaces Woodie as CEO, Ole moves to become the DOF and we get in an actual coach that knows how to use what's available to him.
SHHHHHHHH! Are you insane? Don't tell the Lazers-Gay that you can have less overall gross revenue but sign better players for less and also not overpay the entire playing staff so that even though you don't have mega-sponsor bucks you also don't have stupidly high expenses and you still get your dividend.In an ideal world, VDS replaces Woodie as CEO, Ole moves to become the DOF and we get in an actual coach that knows how to use what's available to him.
Ah. I wondered when that distraction line would be trotted out. Comes up every time out transfer dealings fail.Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
I'm open to being corrected by our resident Chelsea fans, but wasn't he viewed as being not very good, and the one they have in place now much better?currently out of work
Ole DOF? What a ridiculous idea.In an ideal world, VDS replaces Woodie as CEO, Ole moves to become the DOF and we get in an actual coach that knows how to use what's available to him.
Is that like when United are monitoring a player situation or preparing a bid?Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
2 months ago.Ah. I wondered when that distraction line would be trotted out. Comes up every time out transfer dealings fail.
@duffer @TheMagicFoolBusI'm open to being corrected by our resident Chelsea fans, but wasn't he viewed as being not very good, and the one they have in place now much better?
Anyone associated with letting KDB, Salah, and probably Lukaku, went out on the cheap, should have stayed in the shade for a little while.currently out of work
It’s a lazy jibe aimed for the cheap seats.Anyone associated with letting KDB, Salah, and probably Lukaku, went out on the cheap, should have stayed in the shade for a little while.
Likewise no-one would put successful recruiting Sanchez to MU into his CV....
How did he? How much of a role did he have in signing those players?It’s a lazy jibe aimed for the cheap seats.
Roman and Jose wanted to win the title. None of those guys were good enough at the time to own a position in a title winning team. Likewise Roman put no pressure on his manager to develop youth players, and certainly not at the cost of PL points.
In those days, Chelsea hoovered up youth talent as a side business and not for their first team. If I remember correctly, they once had 30 registered players on loan all over the world.
The player you mentioned had real talent which needed regular game time to develop so they got proper development oriented transfers and it worked for them. I doubt they’d be the players they are today if they had moped around in Chelsea’s reserves.
Against that brief Emenalo did a fantastic job. everyone know this, and yet a distorted version of events without any context is rolled out time and time again, normally as a cheap jibe at Mourinho.
What is the role of a DOF in this business.It’s a lazy jibe aimed for the cheap seats.
Roman and Jose wanted to win the title. None of those guys were good enough at the time to own a position in a title winning team. Likewise Roman put no pressure on his manager to develop youth players, and certainly not at the cost of PL points.
In those days, Chelsea hoovered up youth talent as a side business and not for their first team. If I remember correctly, they once had 30 registered players on loan all over the world.
The player you mentioned had real talent which needed regular game time to develop so they got proper development oriented transfers and it worked for them. I doubt they’d be the players they are today if they had moped around in Chelsea’s reserves.
Against that brief Emenalo did a fantastic job. everyone know this, and yet a distorted version of events without any context is rolled out time and time again, normally as a cheap jibe at Mourinho.
Monchi cannot believe that Manchester United do not have a sporting director.
. Glad you're aboutMonchi cannot believe that Manchester United do not have a sporting director.
In a nutshell
He called Evra and asked him to tell Matt Judge to answer his phone.
Sporting Director in I-can't-believe-everyone-doesn't-have-a-sporting-director SHOCKER.Monchi cannot believe that Manchester United do not have a sporting director.
In a nutshell
Did somebody ask him about the great job he did with Roma?Sporting Director in I-can't-believe-everyone-doesn't-have-a-sporting-director SHOCKER.
Another aspect of his job that is well overblown. It's not a hard job attracting companies to sponsor the club. We're the most watched football team on earth, whether we're winning league titles or finishing 6th. More people tune in for our games all over the globe than any other club. So companies are obviously going to want to associate their brand with us. It's huge publicity for them. We could get any Tom Dick or Harry from Canary Wharf to do that job. There's nothing special about Woodward whatsoever.Let Woodie do his CEO things because he knows how to bring sponsors in ... VDS would be the model role of an DoF. He has the eye, has the brain, the knowledge, knows how to business and is a former United legend. Another option would be Rio ...
So he's the nice guy version of Judge and Woodward.Emenalo is terrible, at Monaco people thought that he was a really nice guy but absolutely useless.
Not OGS. Buying a fullback that cannot attack does not make sense, regardless of how good he is at defending.In an ideal world, VDS replaces Woodie as CEO, Ole moves to become the DOF and we get in an actual coach that knows how to use what's available to him.
Just because companies would like to sponsor us doesn't mean that it's easy to sign sponsors. It's about negotiating the best possible deals, approaching sponsors who hasn't contacted you to get better deals than from the ones who have, managing the portfolio of possible sponsorship areas and finding new opportunities nobody thought of before.Another aspect of his job that is well overblown. It's not a hard job attracting companies to sponsor the club. We're the most watched football team on earth, whether we're winning league titles or finishing 6th. More people tune in for our games all over the globe than any other club. So companies are obviously going to want to associate their brand with us. It's huge publicity for them. We could get any Tom Dick or Harry from Canary Wharf to do that job. There's nothing special about Woodward whatsoever.
Read my post again. He's a finance man. I said we could get any Oxbridge graduate type working in Canary Wharf to do what he does. Woodward isn't this financial genius people make him out to be. He's crap on the football side of things I think we are all in agreement and on the financial side there's dozens of people qualified to do what he does. Nothing special about him whatsoever.Just because companies would like to sponsor us doesn't mean that it's easy to sign sponsors. It's about negotiating the best possible deals, approaching sponsors who hasn't contacted you to get better deals than from the ones who have, managing the portfolio of possible sponsorship areas and finding new opportunities nobody thought of before.
Our commercial side increased significantly after Woodward took over. Our sponsorships are down to him and Arnold and their team.
Any half competent salesman could do the sameLet Woodie do his CEO things because he knows how to bring sponsors in ... VDS would be the model role of an DoF. He has the eye, has the brain, the knowledge, knows how to business and is a former United legend. Another option would be Rio ...
Exactly, its not like he is getting microsoft and amazon to sponsor freds fish and chip bar for £40 million a year, any halfwit who can find their own arse without two hands and a map could do it. The chinless little gobshite does NOTHING that couldnt be done by millions of other people, most of whom wouldnt be so arrogant as to not admit what they dont know. The mark of someone with a real talent for business is knowing what you dont know and recruiting well to cover those gaps with people who do. Not just giving jobs to other useless banker wankers like judge.Another aspect of his job that is well overblown. It's not a hard job attracting companies to sponsor the club. We're the most watched football team on earth, whether we're winning league titles or finishing 6th. More people tune in for our games all over the globe than any other club. So companies are obviously going to want to associate their brand with us. It's huge publicity for them. We could get any Tom Dick or Harry from Canary Wharf to do that job. There's nothing special about Woodward whatsoever.
That post just shows how naive and possibly a bit limited you are to the world of finance. If you think every 'Oxbridge graduate type working in Canary Wharf' is of equal quality and would deliver the same outcome, I guess there is no point in arguing with you.Read my post again. He's a finance man. I said we could get any Oxbridge graduate type working in Canary Wharf to do what he does. Woodward isn't this financial genius people make him out to be. He's crap on the football side of things I think we are all in agreement and on the financial side there's dozens of people qualified to do what he does. Nothing special about him whatsoever.
I used to have to travel down to Canary Wharf quite a bit for a previous job and there's literally hundreds of Ed Woodwards there my friend.
You're the one defending Ed Woodward. HahahahahaThat post just shows how naive and possibly a bit limited you are to the world of finance. If you think every 'Oxbridge graduate type working in Canary Wharf' is of equal quality and would deliver the same outcome, I guess there is no point in arguing with you.
I would only say then that every 'Man Utd graduate type footballer working in England' can do what that Rashford bloke does...
Where did I write that I'm defending Ed Woodward? I'm addressing your argument, which is incredibly weak, has no underlying logic to it and it shows that you have limited understanding of how professional ladders work in all walks of life.You're the one defending Ed Woodward. Hahahahaha
Haven't all clubs (especially PL clubs) sponsorships increased significantly in that time? Indeed I'm pretty sure that most other top clubs have increased at a significantly faster rate and they have been closing the distance between us since Woodward took over.Our commercial side increased significantly after Woodward took over. Our sponsorships are down to him and Arnold and their team.
Yes. The myth of Ed Woodward being an unprecedented business genius is just that. United's finances have grown quite slowly compared to other big clubs (or hell, the Premier League in general), and they're at the top mostly due to inertia.Haven't all clubs (especially PL clubs) sponsorships increased significantly in that time? Indeed I'm pretty sure that most other top clubs have increased at a significantly faster rate and they have been closing the distance between us since Woodward took over.
It's not weak whatsoever. You seem to think there's not many people like Ed Woodward around who can get sponsorship deals from major companies and I'm telling you that's BS. There's plenty of Ed Woodward's in the world.Where did I write that I'm defending Ed Woodward? I'm addressing your argument, which is incredibly weak, has no underlying logic to it and it shows that you have limited understanding of how professional ladders work in all walks of life.
Can you show me any evidence of your claims?It's not weak whatsoever. You seem to think there's not many people like Ed Woodward around who can get sponsorship deals from major companies and I'm telling you that's BS. There's plenty of Ed Woodward's in the world.
How difficult is it really to sell United as a brand? We're the most marketable club in the world mate. He's just a Glazer Yes man. Nothing he does is extraordinary.
“We are specialists in doing more with less,” says Monchi, which given his extraordinary success as a sporting director with Sevilla, means he has certainly earned the right to be listened to.
The 52-year-old has risen to be regarded as one of the best in the business – and, naturally, he is perplexed why some big clubs, such as Manchester United, who Sevilla beat in the Europa League semi-final on their way to winning the trophy, do not employ specialists such as him.
“This is my opinion – all clubs should have this position,” Monchi says. “What is the main function? To dedicate the time to everything that relates on a sports level. Where 60-70 per cent of the budget is allocated to the first team, if you don’t have a specialist who deals with that, it is very difficult to understand.
“I do understand there are very successful clubs – Manchester United are probably one of the top five in the world, but they do not have that specific position – but I think that clubs more and more are aware that they really need this position and also we are the connection between the technical staff, the squad, the board, we know the market, we get lots of information through the different scouts.
“So, for me, I can’t believe a club does not have this particular position. Logically, I have to believe in it because that’s what I do. But I do think it’s essential.”
Many United fans, given the club’s apparent struggles in the transfer market, will readily agree, although when Monchi was given the opportunity to work in the Premier League, he turned down an approach from Arsenal to return to rebuild Sevilla after he left Roma two years ago.
Still, there are some Premier League clubs whose work he admires, although he states that often it is the “money that makes the difference” when it comes to the English market. “There are clubs like Leeds, Liverpool and [Manchester] City, amongst others, that are working with quite a well-developed sporting management structure.
“It is difficult for us to compete with English football, but we do so by making our brand name known, which is undoubtedly associated with success.
“Maybe we can’t pay that much, but we can offer a very exclusive sporting challenge, I would say almost unique. There are the numbers … 20 finals in this century, 10 titles, kings of the Europa League, we are specialists in doing more with less.”
Monchi – whose full name is Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo – is so passionate about what he does that he released 13, 13-minute episodes on Sevilla’s YouTube channel to explain his work. Thirteen was the number he wore as a reserve goalkeeper before retiring in 2000 to take up his role with Sevilla, who were facing a financial crisis and had just been relegated. Since then his record has been hugely impressive – with the magic formula of coupling on-field success with recouping huge revenues through transfers.
Among those he has sold are Sergio Ramos, Jesus Navas and Jose Antonio Reyes, while recently Sevilla turned down an offer of more than €50 million (£46 million) from City for Jules Kounde, more than double what they paid for the defender only last year.
“It is like a father who has lots of different children. When you say to a father ‘which one do you like the best?’ he says ‘I like them all in the same manner’,” Monchi says when asked to rank his best signings.
“Maybe the player – with the way we signed him up, the level of performance and what he gave the club on an economic level – is Dani Alves [signed for €200,000 and sold for €36 million having won five trophies]. There are other names, like Fabiano, [Ivan] Rakitic, [Ever] Banega. I could spend the whole interview talking about all these important players.”
One who left Sevilla this summer – albeit after the end of a loan deal from Real Madrid – and has since joined Tottenham Hotspur for €30 million, is left-back Sergio Reguilon. “He is a great player,” Monchi says. “Last year he was a very, very important footballer. I believe that he grew a lot with us, because until he arrived at Sevilla he had not enjoyed continuity at an elite level. I don’t know what will happen in England, because it is another footballing context, but he has everything to succeed.”
Until Monchi arrived, Sevilla, who narrowly lost last week’s Uefa Super Cup to Bayern Munich after extra time, had won just four trophies in their 52-year history. Since then, there have been 10 – including winning the Europa League an incredible six times and all this while players have continually been bought and sold. Monchi describes how he works.
“We have two pillars. One is scouting and the other is the co-ordination with the coach. At Sevilla, the coach does not decide the name of the player. He says the profile of the player he would like and we work on that.”
The year is divided in two – starting with July to December. “The first part is what we call the ‘gross tracking’, where we do a very broad tracking of all the tournaments and championships that we think are important, so that we get as many players as possible into our database.” Each of Sevilla’s 12 scouts is assigned certain leagues – for example “the Premier League and the Belgian league and the one for Ukraine” – and each month they identify 11 “ideal” players.
“In December, we open up our database and go through all the different information we have been accumulating as we start on the second part of our year. We move from ‘gross’ to ‘net’ tracking and we don’t follow matches in general. We have around 400 to 450 players and six or seven technical staff carry out a tracking of them. From January we follow that up and by May we have another selection, another screening.
“It is still 15 players per position, so around 150-160 players, and we sit down with the coach and say ‘Mister, what do you think we need for this year?’ And then maybe we have those 15 players who play that position and we ask ‘which ones fill all the characteristics that the coach wants?’ Then we get down to seven finalists and they are the names we give to the coach.
“They have been through lots of different filters and if the coach likes one of the names then we start to move into the next phase of seeing whether we can sign him up. We have assessed the players by ‘A, B, C, D, E’ and A is obviously a player that will be at a top, top level. And then it goes down in category. I get all this information.”
There is a pause. “When I started in 2000, the structure of the sports management side was almost zero, we started from scratch. Today we are a club that people want to study and see how we work. We don’t stop. And information – that is the secret behind everything.”
There're literally thousands of people who can do his job as an accountant at PWC and/or M&A at JPM. Thousands. You're insane if you think Ed Woodward is somewhat special or a master deal maker - because the evidence on the finance and the footballing side points the opposite way.Can you show me any evidence of your claims?
"There's plenty of Ed Woodward's in the world" - like who?
"How difficult is it really to sell United as a brand?" - do you know anything about negotiations? I'm guessing you're the kind of person who also wants us to pay whatever the selling club is asking for their player(s)...
Do you know how Woodward landed his current job? He was part of the bank team that NEGOTIATED the Glazers deal. If you believe Glazers would give that job to someone who is just commodity skills available dime-a-dozen, I really pity your simplistic view of the world.