Woodward Out? Oh yes!

[imat16]

I always believed that Woodward was smart and that if things proved to be not working he'd institute the required changes. I don't think that anymore because anyone with a brain would have realized that Mourinho needed to go because him staying any longer would be far more disastrous from a footballing perspective and will ultimately cost money. He is at war with his star player who will have just two years left on his deal come the summer and would actively want out meaning that we will have a wantaway player who hasn't played much football so his value will shoot through the floor. The Pogba mess is just one example and he would cost lots to replace.
As an accountant he should know that we haven't gotten anything close to value for money for almost all our post Fergie era signings which points to a serious rot having set, we are now a graveyard for talent. Something needs to change majorly and it should start with getting rid of the current manager so we should get rid, bring in a DOF and caretaker manager, recall all of our loanees and start planning for a major rebuild over the next few years. We need to sort out our recruitment strategy and have people with connections in the game and who can identify talent because I am of the view that our level of spending on transfers should be enough with better scouting and better negotiators running our recruitment.

[Bestie]

Dec 17, 2018 7:15:19 GMT . said:

www.sportsjoe.ie/football/old-trafford-will-graveyard-managers-footballers-ed-woodward-steps-aside-187956

Got a new phone so I haven't mastered copy and paste yet, but this article scared the shit out of me!! ^ 😧

Old Trafford will be a graveyard for managers and footballers until Ed Woodward steps aside

There has been one common denominator at Old Trafford over the struggles of the past five years.
Throughout the painful tenures of David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho; among the criticism of the managers themselves and the sub-standard performances of players, one shadow has loomed large in the background.

It is the shadow of Ed Woodward, a man who has his fingers in all of the pies at Manchester United and is a trusted confidante of the owners, the Glazer family.

Ed Woodward is a good businessman who has achieved success outside of football. He was given a role in Manchester United's financial department after advising the Glazers during their takeover of the club, before assuming the lead operational role at Old Trafford following the retirement of ex-CEO David Gill.

But being a good businessman does not render him or anyone else qualified to oversee football operations at any club, especially one which has for decades considered itself the biggest and best in the world.

Woodward's tenure at Old Trafford has made it clear that he believes this mantra; he believes that Manchester United are the biggest and best club in the world.

The problem however is that Woodward's tenure at Old Trafford has also made it clear that he is significantly more concerned with making sure as many people as possible know that Manchester United are the biggest and best club in the world, rather than ensuring that it remains true in any way whatsoever.

To people like Woodward - people with no history or experience of football - the brand is everything. What's the point in winning the league if you've got fuck all followers on Twitter to tell about it?

It is a scourge which is gradually taking over football, it can be seen on the identikit social media accounts of the world's biggest teams, and it is creating an environment in which Impressions and Engagement appear to be almost as important as what happens on the pitch.

But while the world's other top clubs (if you can even call Manchester United that anymore) have proven they can manage brand growth alongside success on the pitch, Woodward's time at Old Trafford has shown that he is incapable of doing that.

This is evidenced by pretty much every decision made by the club's hierarchy since the departure of Gill. The football side of things takes a backseat to commercial dealings, and it results in a team containing talent such as Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford making Alexis Sanchez their highest paid player.

It leads to short term thinking, no further than the next quarterly results meeting at least, and it is the reason that anger at the players and the managers will be futile and misguided while Woodward remains at the club.

Are the players underperforming? Yes. Is Jose Mourinho the right man for the club at this time? Certainly not. Will replacing either truly change things? No chance.

There is a place for people from outside the world of football at football clubs. They can broaden the thought processes of previously insular institutions to see the bigger picture.

But when expansion comes at the cost of what made that club an institution in the first place, it is not worth the sacrifice, no matter how many noodle or premium petrol partners you have.

That is the state of things currently at Manchester United, and the club will continue to be a soulless husk, wandering through a fog of mediocrity and record revenue until there is a fundamental change from top to bottom.

[Karma]

He needs to fuck off full stop. Any 'benefits' the club has had from him in a commercial sense have been vastly outweighed by his dithering, ineptitude ,incompetence.

I don't like using the phrase but what him and his paymasters have done to this club is cancerous!

I hope Magnier and McManus can sleep easy in their beds and all the other toads who facilitated this 'operation' to happen including the football authorities!

[Rustin Cohle]

I get angrier at MUST by the day. How the fuck have they not started a co-ordinated campaign against the boardroom? Even just bringing Green and Gold back would be a great start.

[mightyez]

anyone thinking anything other than football style etc will change is in line for some pain.
the top end of the club will not really change in the way we all hope unless the owners sell up.
the price of that sale would be huge and not even for 100% it would be 75% as 25% of shares are on the stock market.
all in all unless you have a few billion you won't miss or just want to show you have a a nice exclusive toy we are not very attractive financially, it's not a buy a club with potential etc etc, at the going rate breaking even for any buyer will take some major doing, granted there is the sort the club out and sell but realistically it's not that type of gig

[Karma]

After the Van Gaal December of Doom is anyone surprised ?

He practically begged him to stay by all accounts. The bloke is a complete and utter bluffer!

[Bestie]

Dec 17, 2018 11:30:13 GMT Rustin Cohle said:

I get angrier at MUST by the day. How the fuck have they not started a co-ordinated campaign against the boardroom? Even just bringing Green and Gold back would be a great start.

They're too busy congratulating themselves for complaining about European away ticket prices in the media.

[.]

Don't forget that, Ed the goon, decided to tell our shareholders that we had 'a mixed start' to the season.

The Woodward school of bullshit prevails at the club.

[JamBritRed]

Dec 17, 2018 20:16:07 GMT . said:

Don't forget that, Ed the goon, decided to tell our shareholders that we had 'a mixed start' to the season.

The Woodward school of bullshit prevails at the club.

to be perfectly honest, and i will be guided by the legal minds among us on this, his whole spiel about how 'performances on the pitch have no effect on performance off of the pitch' is frankly disingenuous and were I a shareholder I would seriously challenge him on it.

how can that be true when: if events on the pitch go badly the club will take a financial hit through the marketing revenue, which would then in turn directly adversely affect the club's profitability and therefore share price?

THAT is the DickED school of BS right there..... but since it's his friends that mostly own the shares, i really couldn't give a fuck less.

[Tatty]

Can we not just get Russian hackers to upload some unsavoury images and plant some dodgy Google searches?

[gdmm]

Three managers in four and a half years. Go-on Woody, lad.

[Karma]

Can't wait for the dirty laundry moment from Jose!

Only a matter of time! Because Ed's worth it!

[JamBritRed]

Dec 18, 2018 13:03:26 GMT Karma said:

Can't wait for the dirty laundry moment from Jose!

Only a matter of time! Because Ed's worth it!

not if speaking out will cost him his severance, Ed ain't worth that much.

[Karma]

Dec 18, 2018 13:57:42 GMT JamBritRed said:

Dec 18, 2018 13:03:26 GMT Karma said:

Can't wait for the dirty laundry moment from Jose!

Only a matter of time! Because Ed's worth it!

not if speaking out will cost him his severance, Ed ain't worth that much.

The last 2 didn't keep quiet. I can't see this being any different.

[JamBritRed]

Dec 18, 2018 14:20:14 GMT Karma said:

Dec 18, 2018 13:57:42 GMT JamBritRed said:

not if speaking out will cost him his severance, Ed ain't worth that much.

The last 2 didn't keep quiet. I can't see this being any different.

very valid point, i didn't remember that.