Posters like myself had been labelled in the anti/pro Mourinho, anti/pro Woodward or anti/pro players camp which I believe is unfair considering that the truth is somehow in the middle. So I thought that we need a thread were we are able to set the scores right.
Woodward
While being a financial genius, its pretty evident that football wise he's still a rookie which is dangerous especially since Manchester is not what is considered as a desirable city for players to be in. He lacks football knowledge and contacts which means that we are taken to the cleaners by ruthless agents, we struggle to get rid of the deadwood and we tend to sign players who are in search of the last pay cheque.
The manager is part at fault with the latter. The past four managers brought/kept players past their expiry date/not good enough mostly because of their loyalty to their manager. SAF kept the class of 92 when they were too old, Moyes brought Fellaini, LVG brought Bastian and Mou brought Matic and wanted Willian for crazy money.
If you ask me the problem is way bigger then Woodward. In fact crap started to hit fan under Gill administration and his so called value strategy. It was during that period were top players like Rio, Vidic Giggs, Scholes and Ronaldo were being systematically replaced with players who were clearly not good enough.
Returning on Woodward, he's clearly out of depth and has handled the Mou's problem horribly. Prior of giving him a contract extension he should have asked about his plans, the players he wanted and decided accordingly. If Mou's vision (ie instant success based on buying 30 year old players) differed greatly from that of the club then we shouldn't have extended his contract.
Solution:
Its time we appoint a CEO who knows a thing or two about football. Woodward can remain as joint CEO taking care of the financial side but we really need someone with the know how, the experience and the contacts needed to do this highly important job.
Bring people (Technical directors, chief scouts etc) in with experience in the job (not Queroz as DOF etc). People with experience in the required job tend to know what's doing + they have an extensive net of contacts. If you've got back pain then you go to a specialist in back pain not a world renowned dentist.
The players
As said the squad is clearly not good enough. Our CBs are not suited for the job, our full backs are failed wingers and we practically have no right wingers. If you ask me I would only keep 10 players out of the entire squad and that based on talent alone.
Having said that, I've worked with a shitty manager who constantly throw colleagues under the bus and I assure you its not a nice situation. By the end of the year every single person in that 10 men division have left the job, some of them preferring going on dole rather then stay with that idiot an hour longer. That division had previously won awards for being the most highly performance in the entire company. Mou has lost not 1 dressing room but 3
Solution:
Once we've got the system in place we need to act quick and decisively in the same way SAF did during his first years. Remove the deadwood and give an ultimatum to those with talent
Players won't be able to blackmail the manager as they would know that the strategy taken was discussed and collectively agreed with the people on top. They might be able to force the club to sack the manager but not half the board of directors
The Manager
I had only recently joined the sack Mourinho brigade and the reason to that is simple and cynical. He lost the dressing room. This may contrast with what I said in the previous paragraph but its doesn't. You see, I am not happy with players forcing a manager to leave. However as said before you can't really expect people to sweat blood for someone who would throw you under the bus the very moment he's under pressure. That's not how human nature work.
Solution:
Sack the manager but make sure to bring in a decent manager with
a- top man management skills
b- whose got total support (if not friendship) with the board.
That mean that next time the players consider a coup they'll know that it won't succeed
Former players
I know that they love the club however they have absolutely no idea what's going on and they certainly have no idea how clubs usually operate. Most of them had been with one club and under one manager for most of their lives. SAF created a safe environment for them shielding them from the harsh realities of football which rely on success not empty morals. Which explains why none of them was able to become a half decent manager.
Solution
Its time we appoint one of them in the board in a role very similar to what Nedved has at Juventus. That would give these guys an idea of what's really going on, instead of keeping in the dark only for them to come up with wrong conclusions.
Woodward
While being a financial genius, its pretty evident that football wise he's still a rookie which is dangerous especially since Manchester is not what is considered as a desirable city for players to be in. He lacks football knowledge and contacts which means that we are taken to the cleaners by ruthless agents, we struggle to get rid of the deadwood and we tend to sign players who are in search of the last pay cheque.
The manager is part at fault with the latter. The past four managers brought/kept players past their expiry date/not good enough mostly because of their loyalty to their manager. SAF kept the class of 92 when they were too old, Moyes brought Fellaini, LVG brought Bastian and Mou brought Matic and wanted Willian for crazy money.
If you ask me the problem is way bigger then Woodward. In fact crap started to hit fan under Gill administration and his so called value strategy. It was during that period were top players like Rio, Vidic Giggs, Scholes and Ronaldo were being systematically replaced with players who were clearly not good enough.
Returning on Woodward, he's clearly out of depth and has handled the Mou's problem horribly. Prior of giving him a contract extension he should have asked about his plans, the players he wanted and decided accordingly. If Mou's vision (ie instant success based on buying 30 year old players) differed greatly from that of the club then we shouldn't have extended his contract.
Solution:
Its time we appoint a CEO who knows a thing or two about football. Woodward can remain as joint CEO taking care of the financial side but we really need someone with the know how, the experience and the contacts needed to do this highly important job.
Bring people (Technical directors, chief scouts etc) in with experience in the job (not Queroz as DOF etc). People with experience in the required job tend to know what's doing + they have an extensive net of contacts. If you've got back pain then you go to a specialist in back pain not a world renowned dentist.
The players
As said the squad is clearly not good enough. Our CBs are not suited for the job, our full backs are failed wingers and we practically have no right wingers. If you ask me I would only keep 10 players out of the entire squad and that based on talent alone.
Having said that, I've worked with a shitty manager who constantly throw colleagues under the bus and I assure you its not a nice situation. By the end of the year every single person in that 10 men division have left the job, some of them preferring going on dole rather then stay with that idiot an hour longer. That division had previously won awards for being the most highly performance in the entire company. Mou has lost not 1 dressing room but 3
Solution:
Once we've got the system in place we need to act quick and decisively in the same way SAF did during his first years. Remove the deadwood and give an ultimatum to those with talent
Players won't be able to blackmail the manager as they would know that the strategy taken was discussed and collectively agreed with the people on top. They might be able to force the club to sack the manager but not half the board of directors
The Manager
I had only recently joined the sack Mourinho brigade and the reason to that is simple and cynical. He lost the dressing room. This may contrast with what I said in the previous paragraph but its doesn't. You see, I am not happy with players forcing a manager to leave. However as said before you can't really expect people to sweat blood for someone who would throw you under the bus the very moment he's under pressure. That's not how human nature work.
Solution:
Sack the manager but make sure to bring in a decent manager with
a- top man management skills
b- whose got total support (if not friendship) with the board.
That mean that next time the players consider a coup they'll know that it won't succeed
Former players
I know that they love the club however they have absolutely no idea what's going on and they certainly have no idea how clubs usually operate. Most of them had been with one club and under one manager for most of their lives. SAF created a safe environment for them shielding them from the harsh realities of football which rely on success not empty morals. Which explains why none of them was able to become a half decent manager.
Solution
Its time we appoint one of them in the board in a role very similar to what Nedved has at Juventus. That would give these guys an idea of what's really going on, instead of keeping in the dark only for them to come up with wrong conclusions.