News: The OMT for the 1st Ever MUFC D.O.F

The second guy makes a great conditioner. We'd have the silkiest heads of hair in Europe.


Dad joke.

 

Good discussing brewing...... one question...would JM still be the coach?

 

For the purposes of this exercise, your call

 

I like the idea of this thread. Its at least something positive to mull over.

I dont think JM can stay if we get a DOF. He would likely try to subvert the DOF putting in place a new hierarchy. I think you need a new manager to reset the systems and allow the DOF to setup a hierarchy that works. You wouldnt have to do that immediately, but as long as JM is there I would imagine the DOF will have a tough time.

 

Here's the problem to me in this.

Any new DoF needs a big say in a new manager. They really need to be in place first and starting to settle into the job.

But, the Jose situation could spiral quick, real quick.

Then what do we do?

 

The season already started:
-Option 1: ride with Jose until the end of the season hoping things turn around, then you can put a DoF in place to help him if he stays.

-Option 2: If he goes at the end of the season then you can have a clean slate with a new DoF and a new manager.

This is the best scenario for the stability of the club all around.

One rule until the end of the season, not selling of players under 27.

 

Option 2 doesn't work for me, because that DoF needs a huge say in the manager appointment. He needs time in the position first to assess his surroundings, the squad, etc...

Then comes the manager.

One off season isnt long enough for that.

 

So hire a DoF now?

 

Yes, I think so. Within the 2 months at least.

But of course, were supposedly waiting until a Carrington update is done, which doesn't make sense to me.

 

There was a reason I asked @johno to clarify. A dof won't work with this version of JM and not under these circumstances. Everyone would be miserable.

If we are serious about getting a dof then we will hire a coach that is capable of working with one. I have no problem having both start one the same day. Vet them properly and you can hire each independent of the other. They don't have to know who the other is just that there is a new coach/new dof

 

Agreed. Get a director of football in right now and let him start getting his ducks in a row. Then sack Jose near Christmas and appoint either Zidane or if no good options are available, let Carrick have the reigns until summer then appoint someone.

 

But see what you're doing there is hiring a DOF but not giving him power to do what a DOF is supposed to do. You have to trust the DOF and let him make the manager choice or at the very least sign off on it.

 

I am with @J'can on this one. Hiring one now will most definitely have things go down hill unless you include Mou part of the interview. process for that DoF.

 

Exactly, I am not for the DoF make the manager his choice. I look at Dortmund they have changed so many managers because of Watzke after Klopp. His selections were shit and he changed them. No one held him accountable, that is why I do not want to give power to one person only.

 

The point is that this process is effectively the end of Jose. He's smart enough to know a DOF would be the end of him if he's not included in the process and if he is you risk missing out on a good DOF because Jose feels his power might be threatened. So I guess the more that I think about it the DOF would need to be brought in with only a little lead time before hiring a new manager. If a DOF is hired without Jose's consent he'll know they are about to overhaul and he'll implode (maybe that's not a bad thing, it'll make firing him easier).

So I guess the best move is hire a DOF in November with a list of managerial candidates ready, consult with him and pick someone, have them take over around Christmas. Gives the manager and DOF 6 months to flush out Jose's culture and then rebuild in the summer with a coach who is familiar with the squad and the needs.

 

United not hiring a Director of Football, but a technical director instead (because fvck common sense, Ed Woodward has his own ego to service):

Man Utd favour Technical Director over DoF appointment as bridge between manager and board - https://t.co/VcjOGUHoJd

— Mark Ogden (@MarkOgden_) August 20, 2018

 

I got beef with the responsibilities more than the title. I really do not care what the person is called. But the responsibilities listed in this article include only recruitment but what about playing style and long term vision. What about the academy and working with Nicky Butt.

These need to be defined better for us to see progress. Having someone to recruit better is not going help us play better.

 

What that article describes is worse than doing nothing. It's such a clear half-ass attempt by Woody to trick the fan base into thinking he's making big changes without actually giving up any of his power.

For a club that I love so much, I ********ing hate us. I knew post Fergie life would be rough, but I had no idea we were in for this shit show.

 

We are a fcuking joke.

 

Oh and if this "technical director" position is really what we're putting in place, go ahead and take all the potential DOF names we've talked about off the table. No decent DOF is going to leave their current role for this joke position.

 

The irony in all of this is that we had a guy at the club, who we could have promoted to the position in Javier Ribalta. His extensive network and background as a lead scout really would not have made him the worst choice for the position.
Instead, we had to watch him leave, after barely a year to take up a similar position with Zenit St-Petersburg.

 

Anyone think Woodward will

Worried that it will be Woodward making the decision

 

I didn’t even bother to look because this is such a United thing to do that I just assumed it was true.

 

This makes much more sense if we're being honest. I posted earlier in the thread that I wondered if Woodward was in trouble because bringing in a DoF to take over some of his big responsibilities did not seem like a move you'd make if you were secure in your role. Well all indications are that the Glazers are still firmly in his camp, and no surprise it's going to turn out that he doesn't actually have any intention of ceding much actual power.

I'm coming around to the idea that things are very unlikely to get significantly better while Woodward is here, and he seems extremely well entrenched. He just doesn't have anywhere near the necessary background or knowledge to be in charge of the footballing side and it's seeming pretty clear that as long as he's here he has no intention of giving up the reins. If anything he seems to be taking more charge of it if you believe the briefings that he's veto-ing Mou's targets and going for some of his own. As long as he's in charge we're never going to have a footballing vision more long-term than whatever the next available big splash is. If Zidane is the next manager he may be better than Mou but the decision will be made for the same short-sighted reasons and in the long run a bad process rarely leads to good results. In a league where there are now multiple other big clubs that are both well run and spending big (if maybe not quite as big as we can afford to spend) we can't truly hope to keep up like that.

 

The idea that Woodward was going to cede any real power was a fool's errand IMO. As mentioned, the only scenario that might have been a possibility, is if there was real pressure coming from Glazers or if Woodward's standing with them was precarious.
There's no evidence of either. Woodward finally wanting to appoint a Technical Director/DoF/Sporting Director, whatever you want to call it, for me is a step in the right direction regardless. It's him publicly acknowledging that at the very least, he needs some help with this transfer business and that can only be seen as a good thing.
Until recently, I was suspicious it really was going to happen (been there before after all), but with all the noises and rumors we're getting close to one being appointed (the turn of the year apparently), I'm starting to believe it's real.
We'll see how it actually goes but any move to change the current situation, is a plus in my book. I also believe we potentially can attract some top candidates: I imagine that the position could be a pretty lucrative one (compared to clubs with much more limited means at least) and that could be attractive all by itself.