22 Sep 2020 06:35:00
The debate around the current managers C. V, experience, man management skills, tactical acumen and footballing philosophy is almost redundant whilst the football Club is being led by investment bankers and hedge fund managers.

The sense of dejarvu is unnerving and should serve as a stark reminder to any supporter who believes that success can be delivered without significant change at board room level.

If rumours are to be believed a RW and principally Jordan Sancho have been the Clubs No1 transfer priority. Utd have seemingly spent the summer ignoring Dortmund's assertions that Sancho will not be sold and if he does not arrive in the next two weeks the Club will have failed yet another manager. Any alternative will now surely reek of panic and there can be no hiding place for the negotiators who will have failed to deliver their principle target. Other areas of the squad have been neglected whilst the Club have engaged in a very public, protracted and frustrating transfer saga which looked destined to failure from the outset.

Rewind two short years and Jose Mourinho having finished a distant 2nd to Man City found himself embroiled in a similar transfer stalemate. Desperate for a new CB he attempted every trick in the book to put pressure on the board to deliver. Such was his desire to see the centre of his defence strengthened he ultimately burnt bridges with Ed Woodward and even undermined his own players. Despite the Club insisting they were working on deals they could find no value in the market and Mourinho was left incandescent. Understanding a title challenge was now little more than a pipe dream and as the realisation that the Clubs ambition did not extend beyond a top 4 finish began to sink in his mood darkened and the rest is history.

The Chosen One also endured his own mid summers nightmare as Ed Woodward jetted off from the pre season tour on urgent transfer business. That summer the Club were seduced chasing shadows in their failed pursuit of Gareth Bale and Cesc Fabregas. In a deadline day panic stricken frenzy Utd signed Maureen Fellaini paying almost £10m more than his release clause which expired two weeks previously. Little did we know then that this would set the precedent for yet more transfer ineptitude in the years to come.

Whilst some may continue to argue that Ole lacks the knowledge, tactic ingenuity or experience to be the coach of such an illustrious Club, surely even the most enlightened supporters will understand that a team that finished 3rd and so far behind their rivals could not improve or close the gap without significant investment in the squad. A more talented manager could conceivably have the team playing better football or even producing more consistent results and performances but to close the gap on Liverpool and City the squad requires both intelligent recruitment and significant investment. Those that yearn for a change in manager seek a miracle worker and how long will it be before the atmosphere turns toxic when another manager is hung out to dry.

A better manager may keep us in the top 4 but as Poch came to realise if the ambition of the Club doesn't extend beyond the riches of Champions League participation then everything's is built on a house of cards and destined to implode.

The Club have two weeks left to demonstrate their commitment and ambition to bring the top honours back to Old Trafford. If significant investment is not made in the squad and the Club fails to deliver its principle transfer targets then yet another manager is destined to fail and the whole process starts again. This may please some but for me it's just another example of history repeating. The manager might be the symptom but he's certainly not the cause. Tick tock, tick tock!

1.) 22 Sep 2020
22 Sep 2020 07:57:41
While Ole may have his faults, our current problems cannot be solved by changing manager, the problems are too deep.
Honestly I am more worried about Bruno's lack of form. He looked shattered towards the end of last season when he was carrying the team. Now with two weeks rest and a new child he still looks like he hasn't recovered properly and when Bruno struggles, so does this United team.

2.) 22 Sep 2020
22 Sep 2020 07:57:47
The Manager always get the blame its a results business 😁😁.

3.) 22 Sep 2020
22 Sep 2020 08:22:47
Grim

Let me update your statement, I think it should say “our current problems cannot ONLY be solved by changing manager” . Other things need to happen but why bumble along with someone inadequate as well, only makes matters worse.

4.) 22 Sep 2020
22 Sep 2020 09:07:21
We all know the club is rotten from top to bottom. Nothing will change until the club is restructured. But come on how many of this current bunch of players are really worthy to put the famous red shirt on. NOT MANY. Most are so overrated it’s laughable.

5.) 22 Sep 2020
22 Sep 2020 09:08:34
DLIB. Good post but the truth is that we actually do have a very talented bunch of players who should be performing better. A manager / coach should have a vision of how a team should play and be flexible during games so as to alter tactics as and when required. Ole seems to have only one mode of playing. Counter attack at pace. When teams sit deep they blunt his plan easily.

George Graham at Arsenal drilled his defence so they were always in the right positions to defend. We have international class defenders who are consistently caught out of position. So yes the management structure above Ole has a lot to answer for but ultimately is Ole good enough to get us back to where we need to get! I don't think so. We need a really strong manager who has the strength of character to make the board/ upper management realise they have to change and act professionally.

If I was in a job and was not able to do it properly because I was hamstrung by my employers I think I could justifiably claim constructive dismissal. That's maybe what needs to happen and a full disclosure in the media by a manager or ex manager might make those in charge finally accountable for their amateurism.

6.) 22 Sep 2020
22 Sep 2020 09:55:18
If and that is a big if, we were looking at a change in manager. I would personally like to see Allegri rather than Poch in the hot seat.

7.) 22 Sep 2020
22 Sep 2020 09:56:27
Red Man/ Salford - your concerns regarding our current manager are well documented and in many ways your arguments make sense however after nearly 8 years of Woodward control I now think there is compelling evidence that despite several managerial changes the real problem lies at board room level.

I don't think we even need to debate that there are numerous mangers available with superior credentials to Ole and could probably do a better job however to challenge the consistency of City and Liverpool the team requires significant and more importantly sustained investment.

I have absolutely no confidence that if Ole was sacked the Club would appoint the right manager and whilst they may be initially supported with a injection of cash once performances began to improve the purse strings are predictably tightened.

Unless the Club has the desire and ambition to strive for more than merely Champions League qualification then the same mistakes will continue to happen. We are not actually seeking a new manager but a miracle worker, who can somehow construct a team capable of challenging but without the ambition or support of the Club. Of course Utd have money to spend but the recruitment process appears complicated, convoluted and confused. The negotiators have no sense of urgency or don't appear to exhibit any kind of understanding or have any regard to timing nor understand the consequences of not delivering on their targets.

In my opinion it would take a very special kind of manager to work within the confines of this current regime and deliver any kind of meaningful or long term success. I think we are all sensible enough to realise that a managerial change is unlikely to deliver any success unless accompanied with significant change at board room level.

8.) 22 Sep 2020
22 Sep 2020 10:19:37
DLIB,

It’s a bit of both, I have said for 10 years on here about my thoughts on the ownership and structure (and before that elsewhere) . There was no value in the market in SAF days under this administration and we failed to buy well then. Ole is a symptom of the malaise and mismanagement higher up, but is still part of the problem.

I do wonder if they look at the manager and don’t believe that whatever they buy he can make work, so why spend too much. There is likely a financial balance, the owners will have little input but will likely set financial parameters such as dividends must be paid and the financial gurus have to deliver from there.
Your assessment is good, Mourinho had the same issue, the hierarchy seem to think get top 4 and now the manager should be good enough to keep us there, after all SAF did.

It’s a sad position, I can’t see a change in ownership as yet, therefore the decision makers will bumble on but we can get a better coach. That is within even their ability, although they saw the vitriol to Mourinho and that may have made them choose the sentimental emotional heart string tugging choice to enable them to continue for two more years as they were and it worked.

9.) 22 Sep 2020
22 Sep 2020 10:22:24
Red Man, would you trust the merchant bankers to pick a new manager again?

The Glazers need to be put under pressure so they move their bankers to the finance department and let them get on with what they are good at. Yes Ed can still be VP or whatever but he is not a football man and neither is his mate Matt.

The club desperately needs a DoF, to run the football side of the business, as football is what the business is.

10.) 22 Sep 2020
22 Sep 2020 10:29:50
Dlib. Of course there is issues in lots of areas. But the question remains for all managers. Is he getting the best out of what he has?
Leaving all other issues aside. Is ole getting the best from his players?

11.) 22 Sep 2020
22 Sep 2020 11:40:19
All i can say about this Mou flashback is that he did spend to sign 2 CBs and then wanted to sign another? Whereas Ole hasn't signed a RW.