08 Oct 2018 06:36:00
Ed001 if you're about. it'd be great to know your opinion on the daily mirror journalist who has had his media pass revoked by United?

{Ed001's Note - I don't know anything about the journalist sorry. I do know his pass was revoked because he was set to talk to BeIn Sports TV channel about his story on Jose being set to be sacked pitchside before the game at the weekend. The club were upset that he would do so during the build up to a match right there. Understandably I think. In my opinion they had every right to stop him disrupting the build up to an important game like that.}


1.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 07:35:44
Thanks ed001. I just meant about the situation.

I wish clubs clamped down harder on journalist in general. I know clubs should be open to scrutiny but the level of crap that has been written about united recently, I was happy to see action being taken.

{Ed001's Note - so you want clubs to dictate to newspapers what they can write? You are advocating censorship? Sorry I disagree. That story came from a legitimate source within the club, he had every right to write it and put it out there.}


2.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 07:41:21
Esq could you give your views on our current state if you have time. The media have placed the blame firmly on Jose but I think that is very much incorrect. Although he isn't the best suited manager out their to the "United way" some of the players have been appalling to say the least and it seems he hasn't been backed 100% by the board. As a fan what I ask of from everyone involved is first and foremost 100% effort. It shouldn't matter whether you like the manager or not, whether you like the tealady or not, if you are a part of the association then you can't have these childish attitude towards the club and I don't just mean it for United and United players. You should be true to your job and fully professional at the least.

It happened at Chelsea, it happened at Leicester too, 2 prime examples of the recent times. I think player power is starting to get out of control in football as a whole.

On a side note Ed 1, who do you think United will go for if (when? ) Jose goes out of the door and who do you think we should go after? I think we might go for Zidane and I think it would be the 2nd worst choice (first being Big Sam) . I think when we go for a new manager, we should do what City and Liverpool have done, get a manager that plays the desired style of football, has a bit of success proven himself somewhere for a few years and give him 2_3 years time before demanding all sorts of results and that goes for us fans too. We should do a proper rebuild of the club and how it is run.

Rant over
Cheers.

{Ed001's Note - it is never 100% totally one person's fault, but Jose has to take a large portion of the blame, over 50% of it, for the way he has handled things. He has been confrontational and never willing to compromise. He has been deliberately obstructive at times and has come into the job in all the wrong way from the start. That has turned the board and players against him, when initially they were almost entirely on his side.

This is not the same situation as at either Chelsea or Leicester. This is a man who knew there were people who were not keen on his appointment and then has deliberately and wilfully antagonised them by making it known he hated living in Manchester and refusing to buy a house in the area. If you start a relationship at someone's throat and you are unwilling to compromise, the only way it goes is downhill.

He has put himself into a situation where he has made it all about himself and his demands. Only he is to blame for that.

Both the board and the players could have responded better to his actions, you are correct, but the mess there right now is largely down to Jose.

Having said that, just getting rid of Jose will not fix it, as he is just the major problem, not the whole problem. There is a need to remove Ed Woodward from any involvement with the football side of things at all, I would argue that should probably extend to the whole of United, as the achievements he has made are those any junior executive should have been able to do. A genuine football person needs to come in to oversee the football side of things, to create a blueprint for the type of football the club, as a whole, will look to play and to bring in the people to achieve that goal at all levels. That is far more important than the manager, in modern day football, as they are the roles the old school football manager at clubs like United used to fulfil. Ferguson was never a coach, in fact there were large periods where he never even got time to get to the training ground. United need to stop trying to hang on to this idealised version of what he did and move into the real world and see what he actually did. Once that is done, then the club can catch the team on the other side of the city.

As for a replacement, I really don't know. The desire of most is a big name or club legend, as anyone else would be an issue with regards to club profile and stock market value. Which is why Zidane is favourite. Because of that I do think I think I can remove options like Howe from the running. It does look like Zidane, Carrick or Giggs, as there are very few other options out there.}


3.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 07:58:11
Dictate? I've just read my post again and that's a bit of a leap made by you.

There is a constant stream of bull**** stories published by the English media and most of the time they are never held accountable.

Something has to be done.

The next time a journalist wants to go pitchside and discuss a story like that before a game, he might think twice.

What about all of the other stories written without a shred of information or sources?

{Ed001's Note - what about them? That is not up to the club to stop, that is up to the morons who keep clicking on the links. All you have to do is not click on them as a fanbase and they will go away.}


4.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 08:15:49
Ed, In this day and age. do you think that is going to happen? Really? In a world of brexit and President Trump.

I think as a journalist you stop with writing the clickbait crap, if you don't do that, I think you should be held accountable for your own nonsense.

{Ed001's Note - I agree it shouldn't be written, but if people are dumb enough to keep clicking the links, someone will keep writing them. I certainly wouldn't write it, I hate it with a passion and would love to see it vanish, but it is down to people as a whole to see sense and stop being such gullible fools and clicking on the links.}


5.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 08:28:34
I know you don't write it. That's completely evident.

But the majority of these so called journalists have incredible following and ability to make people believe. That is the age that we live in unfortunately.

Someone has to be held accountable and I have no problem with journalists within the media rooms of clubs having their passes revoked by the clubs if they write complete and utter crap.

I'd imagine you'll see less and less of it being wrote as those journos live to be in those rooms. If they aren't there, then they don't get paid.

{Ed001's Note - I agree with the passes being revoked and it should be done publicly as well with a full explanation of why it has been revoked. I just disagree with your suggestion of clamping down harder. The problem is that you will end up with a situation like happened under Ferguson, when every journo who wrote the truth was banned in order to shut them up.}


6.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 08:47:44
Lol I don't want it to go full dictator. I just don't believe that these people should be allowed to be in these media rooms when they are unable to do their job.

When i mean clamp down, I meant exactly what i elaborated on in the posts above. Thise writing absolutely crap should be held accountable. Those actually doing there job no matter how it reflects on the club should be actually be applauded. I know those journalists still exist and should be lauded.

{Ed001's Note - if the club could be trusted to do that fairly I would agree, but they can't. They are only interested in protecting their own interest.}


7.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 08:50:16
I think a DOF of sorts is a must for Us, and if he is a guy that is liked by Fans and all then maybe the best option football wise as coach wouldn't be the hardest thing to achieve. And also ed1 I was never trying to say Jose is not at fault, what my point is people in general seem to think firing Jose and hiring a new manager will be solution I think Jose is, as you said, the biggest part of the problem but not the whole problem. I think this having to be a big name and/ or an ex player so that the fans will get behind them and the stock value won't plummet approach will eventually lead us into obscurity if not dealt with properly in time. If the club appoints a competent guy who is not yet a big name it doesn't matter to me as a fan and I think it shouldn't matter to others as well. What should matter is that the guy is leading us in the correct direction. Just a random name and not the first choice I would make but Eugenio Di Francesco will get my full backing if he is leading us to the correction direction irrespective of the fact that he is not a big name manager or has never played for United. On the other hand Mark Hughes would be a terrible choice although he is an ex player and so is Steve Bruce. This is already starting on the wrong side. Only half decent ex man it's player turned manager is Blanc and he isn't that great either. Our club is turning into a huge mess and that won't be solved just by saving Jose. It may be a start but that doesn't end there.

Also ed1 I was not trying to say that we are in the same position as Chelsea or Leicester. It was just an example of player power getting out of hand. Speaking of Leicester, what is Ranier up to these days, I think even he would be better than Zidane. I don't know why but I am not convinced by Zidane, although he has won more European trophy in 3 yrs than SAF managed in his whole Career. Something just doesn't seem right to me yet.

{Ed001's Note - I wasn't meaning it to suggest you were saying those things, it was just trying to address the whole discussion I have seen on the pages over recent weeks.

I agree on Zidane, he is not convincing at all.}


8.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 08:56:56
So ed I know someone above has mentioned why and who would replace Jose, but have you heard anything about him leaving? Do you expect him to go soon? Personally I'd prefer to see Carrick and McKenna in charge for this season find a director of football by Christmas then see if the management issue needs to be changed at the end of the season or if those 2 are doing a good job.

{Ed001's Note - I do expect him to go because he has antagonised so many people it is only a matter of time before it comes to a head. Wins like the one at the weekend are only papering over the cracks. I don't know if the rumoured meeting did take place or not, but there is certainly a growing number of people who are pushing for him to be removed.}


9.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 09:24:02
For all I have written above (with a million typos- do you guys even understand half of that, even I have to read it twice to be sure what I was trying to write) , United need to part ways with Jose and that is inevitable. However sweet the result at the weekend was, we were down 2_0 to a team that looks like will find hard to survive and that at home. Jose needs to take a huge share of the blame for that. The players need to put 100% effort, that is the minimum I as a fan expect but Jose is the guy in charge to ensure that does not change. Having a team full of players that don't seem like they want to break a sweat go out to play, well he makes the decision on who plays so he takes the blame too. Not all of it, but a huge chunk of it.

I think we could do a lot worse than Mr. Wenger for a shirt term solution. He might even end up being a good DOF ( who knows) . Also Conte is out of Job.
The number of so called big name manager out of job might make the board act quicker as they seemingly have the options available. Just off the top of my head Ranieri, Wenger, Zidane, Conte, Roger Schmidt, Sampaoli, they all are out of job and/ or in a position where they will be attainable a bit easily. A random name and he is at a club that was once a rival to us but wouldn't it be a hell of a journey if Mr Madman Bielsa was at our great club. That would be fun. If you think Pep plays exciting football, well he is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to high octane energetic football, a rollercoaster ride.

I know you would enjoy Bielsa at a top club ( maybe not at Utd) ed1.


On a side note Ed, with all this uncertainty is there any update on the transfer front or has this toxic environment halted the plan once more?

Cheers.

{Ed001's Note - the club will always continue to look at players but right now they do not even know who they will be recruiting for. It is difficult to sign players who want to know the coach who will be training them and picking them.}


10.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 09:44:01
Exactly what I was fearing of. This kind of uncertainty happened under Van Has too and it led us to shafting a long term plan and taking the high road. Not the best decision but Van Has did warrant the sack. The club need to quickly decide what they want to do in this scenario, either fully back Jose or sack him. There are options available to the club so just make a well thought out logical decision that doesn't look at what the share prices will be tomorrow but rather looks at where will this potentially lead us to this time next year and year after that. A similar scenario resulted ultimately into this mess and also cost us Saul Niguez amongst others (according to ed2, we were going to hold+ a meeting with Atleti nut all plans were cancelled back then) . Don't want a repeat of similar situation where the club is direction less for a significant time.

Just imagine Sail in our Midfield. What a player he is, one of the best midfielders unlike someone who is always a potentially one of the best but doesn't have the time to take his head out of his backside.

{Ed001's Note - Saul is a fantastic player.}


11.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 10:16:13
What would you do if you were incharge ed? Short term solution? Long term? Dof first? Or even stick with mourinho?

{Ed001's Note - right now you have to get through the season with as little damage as possible, so I would bring in a DoF with the remit to look over the club from top to bottom ready to get cracking next summer. Then I would give Jose a bit longer, to see if he can rein himself in long enough to see the team through. He only has to cope long enough for the DoF to identify the long term options and appoint one of them. But it has to be the man at the top first, as it needs to all stem from him.}


12.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 10:24:18
Ed001 - I think that is superb reply and I totally agree with you about SAF. It is my understanding that as his career progressed he took a step back and became a brilliant delegator. He regularly changed his assistants and coaching staff to freshen things up, implement new ideas and keep the players motivated. He became more of an observer which gave him the advantage of being able to assess exactly what was going on at the football Club.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said any new DOF will become the most important person at the Club most certainly from a footballing perspective anyway. They will drive the footballing strategy and vision.

I was always slightly curious why we couldn't have adopted this approach when SAF retired. I think he could have remained in post for a couple of seasons as a figurehead whilst Moyes took control of the team. He would have been a valuable asset and maybe he could have been more actively involved in player recruitment aiding both Moyes and Woodward through a difficult first window. I'd have liked to have seen a slower more measured transition where Moyes was approached and offered the job as head coach ultimately taking the main role the following season or even the season after. It might just have given the Club time to find its feet and put measures in place to fill the massive void when SAF eventually retired. Of course this is all just pie in the sky reasoning but ultimately the great man was always going to retire and maybe his biggest legacy could have been overseeing the next step and ensuring the Club continued to dominate rather than just leaving a vacuous hole they have been unable to fill. Johan Cruyff left Barcelona with a footballing philosophy which has endured for decades even after his untimely death. He has provided the Club with a blueprint and recipe for continued success. I'd have like to have seen Utd follow suit with SAF engineering and planning his own retirement and legacy rather than just leaving suddenly. Of course this all sounds great in theory but I appreciate in reality it's easier said than done. Maybe he just couldn't commit any more of his time and things happened suddenly which we're out of his control. Its all ancient history now anyway.

{Ed001's Note - I think the problem you had was that Fergie was still around and it never works out when the previous, legendary, manager is still around. Busby stepped upstairs and it didn't help at all. Shankly was causing a similar issue at Liverpool after he quit, so he was asked to stay away. Cruyff went off to rebuild Ajax (if I remember correctly) so he was not there overshadowing his successors. Fergie is too strong a character to just put him to one side, unlike Paisley, for example, who acted as advisor when Dalglish was first appointed up until he fully retired in 1989 and then it all fell apart for Liverpool without him. When you have someone as strong as Fergie, it has to be a clean break or his shadow is over everything.

Your biggest problem was that he was in control of pretty much everything at the club. Great while he was there, but the minute he went it left a massive power vacuum that Eddy Woodwouldward could never hope to fill and Moyes had no intention of getting involved to that degree of micro-management. So you were left with a lot of people who no longer knew who to report to.}


13.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 10:56:22
Is there any plans to remove Woodward or is he safe? He definitely needs to be removed from any influence over the football side.

{Ed001's Note - the plan is to appoint someone to come in and take over the football side from him but I don't believe his position to be in threat.}


14.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 12:03:44
Hi Ed, thanks for your input into these posts it’s very interesting and helps to get some perspective.

I know things are all hypothetical but if Jose is removed in the near future do you see the club making a point to put in someone in the DoF post as the top priority?

Would make sense and have a temporary head coach until this position is filled?

{Ed001's Note - the club is already searching for one, so I would think that would be the way they would look to go.}


15.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 12:07:18
Waking up and seeing the red response from you gives me goosebumps Ed001, seriously lol. Do agree with you, it is Jose's fault, preventable issues etc but getting rid of him won't sort everything out. But one thing, what is the need for him to buy a house if he's the only one living in it? City centre apartment is actually more convenient for him?

Also, did you see Mbappe's 4 goal haul yesterday? Incredible player with an elite mentality; saying he should have got a few more lol.

{Ed001's Note - because buying a house would allow his family to come up and stay in Manchester from time to time and visit him. It wouldn't have to be a house, but I just meant all that time in the hotel was just saying I am not putting down roots.

I haven't seen Mbappe's goals yet.}


16.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 12:11:27
Also, what do you think of Eddie Howe Ed? Seen his name mentioned quite a bit recenty.

{Ed001's Note - I am not convinced by Howe personally. His teams' are inconsistent because he has no idea how to coach defence. He is another Roberto Martinez/Marco Silva - great when it works but all comes crashing down when things go against him. He is just lucky there not to have had a proper sticky patch, as he threw in the towel elsewhere when it happened.}


17.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 12:32:36
Ed do you know if the reason Sir Bobby Charlton not going to any games this season is to do with health or some other reason?

{Ed001's Note - as far as I am aware he is just not that well these days. He is a very old man, his brother is severely ill and he is not 100% either. Sadly time catches up with all of us.}


18.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 11:35:32
Any chance that we might tempt Allegri again if Mourinho does get the sack?

{Ed001's Note - I think he would not be interested again after the way he was treated last time.}


19.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 13:08:24
Yeah your probably right Ed001. Pie in the sky talk really just thinking out loud thanks for your reply!

{Ed001's Note - it is difficult because you don't want to push out a legend like Fergie, but sometimes you have to.}


20.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 11:35:32
Any chance that we might tempt Allegri again if Mourinho does get the sack?

{Ed002's Note - No.}


21.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 14:34:57
Thank you Ed001 and 002 for taking out the time to provide us with this informtion, reassuring us makes us feel a lot better lol. i. e. still looking for a director = hope. Also, Monaco have played 10, Lost 7 and Drew 3 so maybe we could possible tempty Jardim though i remember Ed002 saying it would be difficult or unattainable, can't remember correctly. Ed001, there was talk of Alderweireld being available for £25m, do you know when that will be activated? (Providing he doesn't sign a new contract)

{Ed001's Note - I don't believe there is any such stipulation in his contract. It is not something Levy would allow normally.}


22.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 15:06:57
Thanks Ed.

{Ed002's Note - The termination clause relates to a one year extension to his existing contract not to either this season nor a new contract.}


23.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 15:37:46
You're the man Ed002, thanks.


24.) 08 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 17:37:58
Hi, Ed001. Just wondering if you have any idea on Mourinho's feelings about us bringing in a DOF. Cheers.

{Ed001's Note - I am quite sure he fully expected one when he joined.}


25.) 09 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 17:52:16
Can't argue with any that Ed001. Cheers.

{Ed001's Note - I am sure you could mate!}


26.) 09 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 21:00:47
Hi ed001, just reading about your comments on Fergie and the vacuum left when he retired.

Do you liken it to Wengers time and how he used to micro manage everything? Except for the fact that arsenal seemed to have planned in advance for Wengers departure. They seemed to have put things in place so that when Wenger left, the correct people were already there.

Now you can see arsenal tying down contracts in advance and allowing emery just to focus on what happens on the pitch.

It looks like they learned from United's mistakes.

{Ed001's Note - very similar yes and you are spot on they did see a number of those issues arising and took action. Whether it is enough or not only time will tell, but they have certainly put themselves into a stronger position comparatively than United did. In fact they actually look to have improved without Wenger.}


27.) 09 Oct 2018
08 Oct 2018 21:15:31
Cheers, Ed001. Didn't know if he would embrace it, or see it as a challenge to his position. Glad to hear you think he would have at least been expecting it, rather than having it thrust on him. Thanks again.

{Ed001's Note - the plan was always to bring one in mate. He is used to working with a similar set up, very few clubs outside of England operate any other way.}