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

I think we are all agreed it isnt a cure all - our problems are far, far deeper and wider

However it seemed to imply it wasnt that big a piece of the jigsaw - when I think for a lot of us it is (or could be).

Unless your point was that it all depends who and what role they are given by Ed - which I think we all agree on.

 

Haha

 

Comolli left Liverpool in 2012.

Just saying.

 

The pertinent question from my point of view is who is Woodward currently looking at or has in mind for the DoF job? Mitchell seems to be a longshot at this juncture with him being apparently offered a great job by Red Bull, as Head of Global football or something of that nature, with him overseeing not just Leipzig, but all their clubs around the world.
Ferdinand and Fletcher apparently have been ruled out by the media as well for one reason or another (could be taken with a grain of salt but still). Phelan was signed as Ole's assistant (and apparently Berbatov has even thrown his hat in the ring also). So unless Woodward is working on someone discreetly, behind the scenes who are we left with: guys from inside the club like Bout, Murtaugh or someone else of that ilk?
Don't know much about these candidates admittedly, but as much as I would love for us to get a guy in ASAP, I still would rather see Woodward take his time and possibly target a higher profile candidate. Especially now that domestic seasons are pretty much done in most leagues across Europe and it therefore stands to reason that more candidates may become available to us in the process.
It's too late for him to work on this window anyway. Plus Ole, Phelan, along with the personnel currently in place in our scouting department should be able to handle things for this window, to locate and secure the targets we need. We've waited all this time, and when we consider who we appear to be linked with, really don't mind waiting a while longer, provided it gives us a chance at better candidates.

 

Thats why I added Michael Edwards in too - as think he took over. Certainly don't claim to be any kind of expert on things Liverpool

The point I was trying to make (badly!) is I think it was Comolli who came in as an experienced DoF and established the DoF role and structure - as like many English clubs don't think Liverpool were run that way before.

In the future I may be ok with an ex-player with little experience having the DoF role, but for our first DoF like City and Liverpool, in order to get the role established (in particular to ensure that Ed has to let go) I agree with Gaz Nev - that we need someone who has done the role and knows how it should work and what structure is needed.

For example properly organizing our recruitment and scouting department that has clearly not delivered.

 

John Murtagh is Ed's choice for Sporting Director apparently.

Suspect this is for the following reasons;

- being a current employee makes him a better 'yes' man

- rather than appointing from outside the club it makes far more sense to appoint someone who has been part of the clubs six year failure

- he hasn't been a Sporting Director anywhere else, so wouldn't disrupt Ed's status-quo

- as an internal could easily have appointed him before the transfer window, but Ed keen to retain the power for this summer transfer window

- he is the last remaining employee left that came with Moyes, and Moyes / Everton are clearly something we should apire to

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1129115/Man-Utd-Transfer-News-Ed-Woodward-John-Murtagh

 

I'm exasperated at this stage. I really don't have any hope of real success for us for a very long time, I'm meaning years, probably until after Ed is out of the club. No proper DOF yet, wtf are they waiting for?

 

D.O.F. feels like shit we made up to make ourselves feel better about this clusterfck of an organization.

 

It's certainly the Vicodin that most people have convinced themselves they need.

 

The most damning part of this DoF business is that Woodward himself last summer came out and said we'd finally would be moving towards a more modern structure, one that is standard practice among top clubs around the world. The fans might have been clamoring for one for a long time, but we still knew it would take more than that to fix our ills. It would be a start in the right direction at least.
And if he said it as a means to appease the fans, even temporarily, the way things unfolded this season has seriously backfired on him. And he really have little choice but to follow up on his pledge. And a token guy or some meaningless "yes man" will not cut it, with things having gone from back to worst over the course of this term.
If he does not make that appointment and things don't improve over the course of the next few years, there really is no one left to blame then. So failure to live up to his promise and the bulleye, in theory at least, will only get bigger on Woodward. Unless of course he feels completely bulletproof, being the Glazers' man...

 

https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...er-news/man-utd-news-darren-fletcher-16317371

Still no news on the DoF front (although it still appears to be in the cards), but the club is looking to form a "transfer committee" of sorts (with Fletcher a part of it)...

 

The post from the ITK in the transfer thread mentioned a transfer committee that included Nicky Butt and I think regional head scouts. Don't know whether this corroborates the ITK to some extent or if it's based on the same post.

 

Our club is incompetent

 

What's ITK?

 

ITK = In The Know....

Have no issues with United forming a transfer committee as long as it's done correctly and the parameters for it have to make sense, to insure we get the right players in. Not sure if it's still in place atm at Pool, but when it was first implemented, it simply was not that successful because the focus was on stats and analytics, as opposed to players who fit the club ethos or even the managers' for that matter.
It also has to be part of a much larger restructure, which obviously must include a DoF. That position is one of the most important ones as the club is looking to update its structure. But it really needs to go deeper than that.
For instance, it is said that the club's scouting network is supposed to be one of the most extensive there is in club football. Obviously not being intimate with it, can't corroborate one way or the other, but it's not necessarily what it projects to me (even if it appears to be doing a decent job at youth level).
From where I stand, a DoF/Sporting Director is one of a few new positions that will need to be created in the near future.

 

If the ITKs are to be believed we're wrapping up a deal for AWB to be announced soon, have already wrapped up D. James, putting in place a transfer committee comprised of ex players, integrating Butt into first team discussions to help further the academy, and are giving him a big budget to snap up players around Europe.

Everything I just listed, if true, is the exact opposite of incompetent. It's smart and intelligent work. It's carefully planned work. It's ethos and value driven work.

 

The idea of a committee is fine, but not if it doesn't also include some sizeable representation of our research & data analytics. Bringing in an actual sporting / technical director with a track record and a clear vision is far less ambiguous than this, which could be anywhere between a progressive, data & intelligence driven approach and a collection of old boys telling Wayne Rooney anecdotes, saying a spreadsheet never scored a goal.

It's a risk because it could be anything between a sea change and more of the same. But I'm happier with a committee than just giving one of these players the DOF role outright.

 

Not a particularly wide spectrum on that committee to judge players either, with two DMs in Butt / Fletcher and a CB in Rio and also no knowledge of other leagues (as for example Evra could have brought instead) - Championship aside

 

The latest candidate apparently being considered for the DoF position (although the links are loose at best at this time) is Stuart Webber, who currently occupies the same position for Norwich City.

 

I think its pretty clear now that the DOF talk was just a smokescreen by Woody to buy some time until summer when transfer rumors would take over. We're not getting one and likely never will until Woody is fired or moved behind the scenes by the Glazers.

 

We are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of football.

 

Not yet. The Bucs would have been relegated at some point if that were a thing in American sports.

 

With the Daniel James signing seemingly all but official we have now begun our summer business for this absolutely critical rebuilding window with the same structure still in place that has so consistently failed us over the last few years. Nothing to worry about surely.