The John Murtough Era

[pocco]

ETH was my first choice - I still think we hired the best head coach available this summer.

I have quite a cynical view of the role though. I don't think they're any different to players - he's just a part of the puzzle. I think the way your club should be set up is that your manager is quite easily disposable. The bigger pictures has to come from elsewhere, and your manager and players are just there to help deliver at any given time.

I'm still hopeful that he'll be successful, but i'm also desperately hoping we're not just handing him the keys to the entire place. Because there's a chance that in 2-3 years time we'll be back at the same place again.

Yeah I agree with all of that. I honestly cannot believe that Manchester United have not tried to arrest our woes by just hiring the best people to run the club. Why do we insist on doing it our own way and promote/hire completely unproven people? It beggars belief. We even had a guy renowned for building clubs, talking a lot of sense about our situation and even having first hand experience working with the first team in Rangnick... Yet we fecked him off! Unbelievable. Many great options have come available in recent years and we've just ignored them.

After briefing for years that we're looking for a DoF, it seems we've probably appointed one to keep fans happy, but he is ultimately a yes man. We got the entirely diluted version of a DoF.

 

[Andycoleno9]

Is it streaming on any of big 3?

I wouldn't know. I keep best stuff on hard drive.

 

[Giggsy13]

The John Murtough disaster.

 

[Roboc7]

Answer. If the club pulled the plug end of June, would you have supported it? Do you think the majority of the fan base would have supported it?

Don’t get me wrong. While chasing De Jong could still have signed a winger and striker and that’s on the board.

I personally would have supported it because never believed he would sign and being dragged into Barca’s mess when we are in our own was unlikely to end well.

It wouldn’t have been a popular decision to pull out but it’s what should have happened a long time ago. Murtough is paid to make the correct decisions not the popular ones.

People have to be judged by decisions they make and consequences can’t have this apathy and lack of accountability where they get to the end of the window and just shrug their shoulders.

The De Jong deal is a mess but being strung along all summer, failing to sign him and then either getting no one or panic buying is not an accident. It’s result of choices people at the club have made and they need to own the consequences.

 

[FreakyJim]

I think he can outdo Woodward and actually get us into a relegation fight.
I’m now convinced these people are Liverpool fans and are actively trying to destroy the club.

 

[oz insomniac]

Handpicked by Woodward, how did that go wrong.?

Looking at just about every decision by the Glazers and Woodward and its hard to see any pattern other than wtf.

 

[Castia]

I expect his resignation at the end of this window. He’s completely failed at his job and worse caused the club to look even more amateurish than we thought possible even after 10 years of failure.

He’s been here for years as well, he’s a part of the previous failures under Ed, who ironically is starting to look good compared to this lot.

The Glazers know feck all about football that’s a given but why in the hell are they not actively trying to make a structure change? They’ve seen this group of friends fail the club and blow over 1B in finances, they should be recruiting the best in class directors to stabilise the club, you don’t need to know football to realise its being run by cowboys.

 

[Rocksy]

I expect his resignation at the end of this window. He’s completely failed at his job and worse caused the club to look even more amateurish than we thought possible.

There’s no chance he’ll resign!

 

[Yakuza_devils]

Just when I thought no one could possibly be worse than Ed for Man Utd. Murtough prove many wrong, he is comfortably by far the bigger idiot than Ed and easily capable to drag us down to further new low. This is simply unbelievable. It's actually harder to feck up so badly at one of the biggest club than to be successful.

 

[Godfather]

This window is even more amateurish then when the three fake agents turned up. At least back then we weren't at fault for these guys faking.

 

[#07]

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[groovyalbert]

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No fecking shite

It's been a total waste of a window, we've a worse squad since last season (worst season in my living memory) and have fallen further behind all our rivals.

Top 6 is no guarantee, the entire board is in need of replacing.

 

[led_scholes]

Imo, what he does is to let everything to ETH, so he can hide behind him. Is what Woodward was doing. Support the manager the first summer and say that we tried to bring whatever the manager wanted, then blame it all to him.

It all started with Moyes. Instead of buying players that our scouting department greenlighted, we required Moyes agreement. Eventually, Moyes obviously could not identify targets, bar the best players in the world like Bale and Fabregas and players from his old club.

Same with LVG (Blind, Rojo, Di Maria etc, players who performed well in the WC and impressed him), Jose (Mendes clients), and OGS.

Murtough, like Woodward, doesnt care about restructuring the club. Because if it is done, he will be considered surplus. He cares about his wage and his position.

Hopefully I am wrong, but our recruitment thus far points to me that he just copy pasted Woodward cowardly survivalist approach.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

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Murmurings from whom? The club hierarchy?

If true, this supports my prediction that Murweak is getting sacked once the transfer window shuts.

 

[FerociousCorgis]

Sucks to be right when getting hammered for "panicking and the window has barely started" earlier. Clearly there was no plan, or it was a shit plan if there was one. No idea how we have a worse squad than last year. Heads need to roll for this shit. Looking at the strides other squads made top 4 would be a miracle. Honestly top half is something im not even that sure about if we dont get our shit together before the window shuts. If we dont add anyone else i am legitimately thinking a top half finish might not even happen. The squad quality is severely lacking in many positions, and squad depth is absolutely nonexistent.

 

[hobbers]

Hired by Moyes, promoted by Woodward. Who'd have thought they'd be a failure.

 

[VP89]

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He's definitely fire fighting.
Temporary hirings for contract negotiations, trying to bring in deputy DoF when the window had already started, sacking Matt Judge when the window started, changing his mind on Ralf when he could have added value to transfers.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

of course he should. If I was Arnold I'd stop any panic buys from being made, I'd give ETH a free pass for this season as long as he develops kids, I'd sack Murtough and I'd hire a top sporting director now. I dare saying that I'd rather see us invest on Rangnick return as sporting director with Mitchell as head of recruitment then all the Moratas and Rabiots this incompetent staff might bring to try and save face

Will never happen. We like handing out favors to those within.

 

[devilish]

Will never happen. We like handing out favors to those within.

if we want to have a smoothly run club were money isn't thrown in the bonfire then that's what we should do.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I expect his resignation at the end of this window. He’s completely failed at his job and worse caused the club to look even more amateurish than we thought possible even after 10 years of failure.

He’s been here for years as well, he’s a part of the previous failures under Ed, who ironically is starting to look good compared to this lot.

The Glazers know feck all about football that’s a given but why in the hell are they not actively trying to make a structure change? They’ve seen this group of friends fail the club and blow over 1B in finances, they should be recruiting the best in class directors to stabilise the club, you don’t need to know football to realise its being run by cowboys.

No chance he'll resign. Woodward got 8 years to feck about ruining the club. It's only fair that Murtough gets to ruin us for at least 3.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

if we want to have a smoothly run club were money isn't thrown in the bonfire then that's what we should do.

We never do what we should and while the Glazers are still around we should expect more of the same.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Let's just say that he hasn't done anything to prove anybody wrong.

Or - if you want - considered as someone above the "manager" in the hierarchy, he has done nothing to prove anybody wrong.

And if he isn't above the "manager" in the hierarchy (in terms of transfer policy) - then what's the feckin' point of him in the first place?

 

[Blood Mage]

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And there it is. After all that posturing, all the briefing, sweet feck all has changed at the club. Jobs for the boys and cronyism continues to prevail over hiring the best in class. Nothing will change until the Glazers sell to an owner who cares about making the club competitive again.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Nothing will change until the Glazers sell to an owner who cares about making the club competitive again.

The Glazers can't be stupid enough not to realize that they'll make more money if United get back to a half decent state of affairs on the football side. Or - can they?

I mean - this is feckin' obvious.

Perhaps they (Joel, Avram) really are utter idiots.

Their father wasn't an idiot - he knew what an asset he had in Fergie. *

* He was a cnut who never should've been allowed to buy the club - but he wasn't an idiot.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

The Glazers can't be stupid enough not to realize that they'll make more money if United get back to a half decent state of affairs on the football side. Or - can they?

I mean - this is feckin' obvious.

Perhaps they (Joel, Avram) really are utter idiots.

Their father wasn't an idiot - he knew what an asset he had in Fergie. *

* He was a cnut who never should've been allowed to buy the club - but he wasn't an idiot.

Pretty sure old Malc was incapacitated by the stroke he had, and was never involved with the club in any capacity. It's been Joel and Avram since the takeover in all but name.

 

[MrSingh2002]

All fake news. They're clearly doing this intentionally. No1 could be this inept.

 

[Andycoleno9]

He's definitely fire fighting.
Temporary hirings for contract negotiations, trying to bring in deputy DoF when the window had already started, sacking Matt Judge when the window started, changing his mind on Ralf when he could have added value to transfers.

Reminds me on me last year in FPL. Guy literally managed to feck up every decision. If he plays on red, you need to play on black.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Pretty sure old Malc was incapacitated by the stroke he had, and was never involved with the club in any capacity. It's been Joel and Avram since the takeover in all but name.

Wasn't that (the stroke) around 2006?

So, he was still (presumably) the main man behind the actual takeover. As in - it was done by him (in charge), and then his brats had to take over shortly after.

I remember Joel and Avram showing up at Old Trafford after the takeover was a fact (and not Malc himself) - but even that was before the stroke (they were his emissaries, but they didn't actually run the operation at that point).

 

[saivet]

The Glazers can't be stupid enough not to realize that they'll make more money if United get back to a half decent state of affairs on the football side. Or - can they?

I mean - this is feckin' obvious.

Perhaps they (Joel, Avram) really are utter idiots.

Their father wasn't an idiot - he knew what an asset he had in Fergie. *

* He was a cnut who never should've been allowed to buy the club - but he wasn't an idiot.

I don't understand this either. Then again if you're making money putting in no effort then it's easy for them to just be lazy and spend their making money elsewhere.

 

[ilrm]

Here's what I don't understand, if FdJ is obviously the most crucial piece to United getting into the top-4 or else you wouldn't have wasted an entire summer after him. There is a €30-40m difference in revenue between getting in to the CL & not. If that's the case then why not pay the extra €17m towards FdJ's salary and bring him in as early as possible to acclimatize him? It would still be a profit of over €10m.

 

[devilish]

We never do what we should and while the Glazers are still around we should expect more of the same.

this baffle me. We threw an eye watering 1 Billion pounds in the bonfire. Why wouldn't we hire someone competent as Sporting director? I take it that Woodward was a control freak, that he wanted stooges at lower levels that allowed him a certain degree of micromanagement etc. However I can't see how the owners would be happy with this crap. This is their own money after all.

 

[hobbers]

this baffle me. We threw an eye watering 1 Billion pounds in the bonfire. Why wouldn't we hire someone competent as Sporting director? I take it that Woodward was a control freak, that he wanted stooges at lower levels that allowed him a certain degree of micromanagement etc. However I can't see how the owners would be happy with this crap. This is their own money after all.

It's not their own money really. It's the club's revenue and it doesn't matter how much Woodward or Murtough piss away on transfers, they can still take whatever dividends they like.

Until United start hemorrhaging commercial and matchday revenue they wont give a shit how club generated money is spent.

 

[Andycoleno9]

I don't understand this either. Then again if you're making money putting in no effort then it's easy for them to just be lazy and spend their making money elsewhere.

Making money on Fergie's train finally stopped. United's market value (shares) dropped by one billion in last 12 months. And will drop deeper IF we don't do something result wise. And sponsorship money will decrease too. Sponsors will just go to Spurs or Chelsea (whoever is in CL).

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Wasn't that (the stroke) around 2006?

So, he was still (presumably) the main man behind the actual takeover. As in - it was done by him (in charge), and then his brats had to take over shortly after.

I remember Joel and Avram showing up at Old Trafford after the takeover was a fact (and not Malc himself) - but even that was before the stroke (they were his emissaries, but they didn't actually run the operation at that point).

In theory yes, he was in charge of the family business.

In reality, he was already old and practically retired by then. His sons had already taken over running the Bucs (and were already running it into the ground - the franchise was actually pretty well run under Malcolm and won a Super Bowl in 2002). When the United takeover was completed, it was his sons who took up seats on the board. I'm not convinced Malcolm himself had anything to do with the takeover, aside from being the face of the whole operation.

 

[devilish]

It's not their own money really. It's the club's revenue and it doesn't matter how much Woodward or Murtough piss away on transfers, they can still take whatever dividends they like.

Until United start hemorrhaging commercial and matchday revenue they wont give a shit how club generated money is spent.

The more profit they make, the more it benefits them. It pays off having an efficient system in place. I think that Murtough is Woodward's man and still a relic of the old administration. I won't be surprised if Arnold would fire him

 

[Foxbatt]

Will never happen. We like handing out favors to those within.

Don't give them any ideas. They are going to make Fletcher the DFO.

 

[quiet_united]

I don't understand Glazers. I know that they don't care for club but they care for the money. Giving the fact that they have billions i am sure that they know thing or two about business. So why the feck they don't hire right and proven people on most important positions inside the club? Surely, surely they realised that what happens on the pitch is related to how much club will worth and how much money will get them.

First they gave Ed to do everything around first team, then they hired Ole and now they hired complete novice to be in charge for first team. Are they stupid?

I think the sons are stupid. The empire was built by Malcolm. He’s gone and his sons haven’t done anything to show that they know what they are doing.

 

[OmarUnited4ever]

One argument I can accept for not signing players is: - "We sign the right players only, if we cannot find them, then we develop from within"

That argument means that only the players with right profile in terms of ability, mentality and attitude will walk through the club's door, it is a bit detriment to the club's short term success, but it will ensure that no deadwoods and unneeded players walk into the club.

So far the club signed Malacia, Martinez and Eriksen, Malacia & Martinez do meet the profile ETH is looking for, and they are young enough to keep improving, and their attitude is great based on what we heard about them, Eriksen is a quality player, model pro and he comes as a free transfer, so it was a no brainer to bring him.

However, going for Arnautovic & Rabiot makes me think that there is zero planning here by Murtough and his recruitment team, I do get that at least 2 Midfielders are needed, but why chase De Jong for so long and not move onto other targets, and not have a target lined up for attack as well, I know we can not get all targets in one summer, but I said before, Midfield was a SUPER URGENT priority that needed fixing, and a minimum of 3 new players required (2 of them must have the quality to be in the starting XI).

Hope once this summer is over and the season is in full swing, a new DoF is appointed, who has the necessary experience in the transfer market and is able to navigate and make decisive moves.

 

[Highfather_24]

It was obvious that we needed an experienced DOF like Rangnick/Mitchell, who are atleast competent if not brilliant at their jobs. When I said that having someone with zero experience at recruitment will obviously lead to disaster, many here defended Don Murtough to the hill, giving examples of how internal hires have gotten success elsewhere. I can only say that after supporting Utd for so many years, you can see car crashes like this from a mile away.

 

[devilish]

Don't give them any ideas. They are going to make Fletcher the DFO.

Tbf it's been a couple of months since the Fletch got his promotion. If you compare it to his first 6 months then his career had been stalling