The Telegraph: The Secrets of Uniteds Summer Rebuild

KeanoMagicHat

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I hate these fluff articles about changing culture etc, let’s see who we are looking to buy, that’s all I’m interested in.
 

mitchmouse

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We'll probably never know. It's a great line... also pretty bulletproof... "here's some vague information about mistakes we didn't make"!
more importantly want to know to see how right or wrong that decision was. De Bruyne, anyone? Kroos? Maradona? :):confused:
 

wolvored

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Exactly what I’d been saying in another thread. People think because he’d been appointed last year he must’ve been making all the decisions since then. They clearly haven’t been been paying attention to Ed Woodward the last 10 years and how egotistical the cnut was.
And me. woodward was an egotist and would make all the decisions regardless what others think, I would guess.
 

RopersReturn

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Woodward should be banned from OT. The damage caused by his profligacy and decision making, will reverberate around the club for years.
 

Bilbo

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This is a great thread for highlighting the only-here-to-whinge element on this forum.
 

Blzbud

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It's really good we walked away from 4 targets but is there anybody we can walk towards yet?
Yeah, this just seems like a dumb thing to brief about. Evokes De Ligt’s porky Papa, but at least Marcel Bout is no longer at the club to bring those keen insights.

Depends what checks and balances we’re going to apply now and does sort of seem to that the current squad is full of players who wouldn’t meet these checks and balances.

Still, I’m hoping the stars are aligning a little bit for us now. I was always a bit wary of just heaping the blame on Woodward but I’m beginning to be more convinced that he really did botch the job at many levels and where no amount of Noodle sponsorships can make amends.

However much the Glazers are leaches on the club, with the money we’ve used in the last 10 years, a well run club would be challenging City and Liverpool right now.

I’m in the time will tell group, I appreciate the cynicism but have to live in hope as a fan. I like Ten Hag from what I’ve seen of him and Arnold/Murtaugh could be an upgrade on Woodward. Cause for mild optimism even with the sour taste of this season still lingering.
 

Galactic

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Simple secret to better recruitments: get those really good players in double quick time. We were so embarrassing slow far too many times.
 

Ted Lasso

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Very understandable that the fans here are doubtful about these changes and potential impact. But new CEO and new manager. I'm hopeful and optimistic until it's not. No other way to enjoy the coming seasons without that hope.
 

r3idy

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Meh. Seen this movie a million times before. Anyone falling for this is just a naive muppet. Action speaks louder than words.
They do and you are 100% right to be cynical. That said I have not seen this energy from the club in many a year. A lot of tosh and nonsense from Woodward but never anything challenging the defacto structure within the club.

Maybe I live in hope but a lot of these changes we are seeing will only bear fruit in future months and transfer windows. if and it's a BIG IF these changes are true, I hope the fans have patience and also the people running the ship have patience and not return to this short term shotgun approach.
 

Andycoleno9

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No more survivor culture. If that means no more extensions to players like Jones then great.
 

VanDeBank

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I mean show how much of a shite show it was.

This day and age ETH’s work phone should be telling him how much macros each player has consumed from the dinner canteen.
The app wouldnt account for the maltesers Shaw frequently sneaks in.
 

sunama

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Well, that can't be right.
Ralf R called out some poor decisions and also pointed out specific issues with the dressing room (problem players like Lingard and Martial)....and he lost his job as a consultant.
IMO, nothing has changed. The aim is top 4 and to attain this, we shall spend big, buy big names to sell shirts, pay huge wages and if things go wrong on the pitch, the manager will be fired.
The player attitudes this past season were the worst we have seen in decades and before any player got shipped out, the manager got fired from his new consultant position. Player power remains and I fully expect to see a new manager in approximately 3 years.
I can't believe how negative I have become, but that's how I see things now.
 

sunama

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Just act now, we don't care for talk

Can start by being ruthless in the transfer window and getting in targets early
They'll buy players and spend big money. Trust me.
The problem is that they won't dispose of the deadwood, because the wages are too high and the players are too crap. about 75% of the players need to be ejected, but the club will do everything possible to hang onto them.
 

padzilla

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It's May...what action would you like to have seen by now?

We are negotiating deals with new players.
Letting several go
Rangnick has gone
New manager in.

We have been so badly run over the past ten years. You do not have to be great but you can't be bad.

I sense a big change.

The changes could already be happening without us seeing them. i.e certain signings Ed would have been all over walked away from. Players Ed would have given 10+ contracts to now being allowed to leave. A change in the player/manager relationship...etc

Was the Florida Question a question as to whether the owners are committed to this? Or what?
I don't expect any changes right now this minute but all this briefing about getting consultants in smacks of PR guff - the type we have seen before.
Not that long ago Ralf was going to light the path and instil a new ethos into the side and now he's out on his ear and we are starting again.
 

Aretak

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Must be hard to live in a state of apathy some posters on here live in, what they are saying here is all the things most wanted to happen but now they are happening its PR etc
Of course it's PR. Articles like this don't get written just because a journo fancies cheering United fans up a bit. It's leaked to them by the club to quieten discontent and let everybody know that they're super cereal this time about getting it right.

Incidentally, I have to say that personally I think it'd be far worse to live in a constant cycle of false hope and crushing disappointment for nine straight years. I don't blame anyone for being apathetic after going through this same song and dance every summer for so long. I know I'm sure sick to the back teeth of hearing about "next season" and "rebuilding" every November-ish when it becomes clear that nothing's changed again and the team is still miles off challenging. Maybe it'll be different this time, but I'll let you get your hopes up for that. I can be happy later if it proves to be more than just words.
 

Amadaeus

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Seems we are doing the right thing on the back end. let see where we are at the end of the summer. I don’t expect us to spend a lot since we failed to qualify for champions league, but I expect us to at least get a few good players in that can strengthen upon what we already have here. I will be content with Frankie de Jong, antony and (rice/neves/ boussouma or a rb) this summer. That is a very solid foundation to work on especially if we are to get martial back and rashford back to his best form.
 

pascell

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Straight out the Woody playbook. Shite season + owners taking a nice dividend = spoon feeding the fans what they want to hear via the press.

We don't want to read whats happening anymore, we want to see results ffs.

Hardly a secret either if someone is briefing the press.
 

DSG

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Can we at least give the new regime a chance before we write them off. If Ed was still in charge and this came out, I'd be in board with the negativity but this is Arnold and Murtough's first summer running the ship.
I would love to give Murtagh the benefit of the doubt, and the club. If there are these changes, I’m excited, because they are doing SOMETHING. On the other hand, why leak to a journalist to do a puff piece? Especially the Korn Ferry shite. Who cares who the head hunters are? By the way, if you’ve ever worked with headhunters, you know they are pretty shit at getting the right person for the job.

I hope that this means change, but a bit nervous that they don’t have football people in place who are saying, “get this guy, he’s/ she’s bloody nails, will die to do their job.” I dunno, I always wanted the final say on all of my hires and resented the external pressure for a head hunter team that had no idea how I worked. On the other hand, you do need dissenting voices in the team.

I worry that the leadership at the board level is so weak that unless we get a true SAF, bigger than life personality in the manager’s seat, we’ll always be a cover your ass, consensus driven organization. In some ways, I see a guy like Conte being a perfect fit, but then again LvG and Jose failed, so…
 

DSG

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The stories coming out since the season ended feel a little different to the past. It was always very obvious that Woodward didn't know what he was doing and wanted too much power. The new guy seems to at least be letting more qualified people do their jobs.

But yes, actions speak louder and the way the post-Ferguson era has gone I certainly wouldn't be surprised if it all mounts to nothing.
Woody was always trying to bring in the impossible transfer, for PR reasons. Hoping we are strategic with our transfers and make buys that are under the radar but fill team needs where we were previously deficient (DM).
 

FreakyJim

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Do people actually believe this crap, as in - if true - it's actually going to fix anything?

As long as the Glazers are the owners the only thing we can hope for is they'll fluke-hire the next SAF. Which I doubt will ever happen.

Changes will happen when the Glazers die out and their kids ( who hopefully care even less about the club) cash out.
 

Gentleman Jim

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Hilarious that Neville used the expression 'best in class' a few times and now the club regurgitates it back to the fans.
Yes it's way overused and tired isn't it?
The Tories used it a lot when explaining their response to COVID back in 2020.

Need a new scriptwriter.
 

DSG

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Well, that can't be right.
Ralf R called out some poor decisions and also pointed out specific issues with the dressing room (problem players like Lingard and Martial)....and he lost his job as a consultant.
IMO, nothing has changed. The aim is top 4 and to attain this, we shall spend big, buy big names to sell shirts, pay huge wages and if things go wrong on the pitch, the manager will be fired.
The player attitudes this past season were the worst we have seen in decades and before any player got shipped out, the manager got fired from his new consultant position. Player power remains and I fully expect to see a new manager in approximately 3 years.
I can't believe how negative I have become, but that's how I see things now.
This is speculation, but Ralf was let go because he failed to achieve top 4, he alienated the board with his comments, he was poor tactically (enough that he had to rely on a Russia based coach), criticized the players openly, and had poor pre match preparation and failed to resolve dressing room issues and squad cliques.

If anything, sacking Ralf and recognizing a mistake and addressing it quickly makes me optimistic. United fans laugh at Real for having a notoriously short leash on managerial appointments, but, hell, they’ve won 21% of all European Cup/CL titles… I do believe that times have changed and we cannot wait for signs of success. Big clubs like United have big aspirations and we should see progress quickly.
 

DeGea’sFeet

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Woodward trying to keep all the power for himself? Who would have guessed
Woodward was a great marketer and played a great role in improving our revenue and allowing us to spend £100+ a year. He just couldn’t see that he wasn’t a football man, didn’t have the respect, personality , knowledge to rule in that side of things.