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Let's All Laugh At... Let's all wonder what's going on at United?

Haddock

Captain
Oct 16, 2017
2,032
6,377
Mourinho said something about his greatest achievement as a manager was finishing second in the league with United in 17/18. Due to how sh*t their squad is. I have no love for Mourinho but that made me crack up.
 

'O Zio

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2014
7,405
13,785
Herrera and Ramsey leaving Utd and Arsenal respectively is a result of money mis-management. Both teams absolutely smashed their wage structure for players who don't deserve to be paid that much in comparison to their team mates and what's happened is that naturally other players are asking the club for more money on the back of that, the clubs refused to hand it to them and are both leaving as a result.

This is why it's so important to have a sensible wage structure at your club. There were calls not so long ago for Levy to 'just pay the money' to a few players who we were linked to or contract extensions which would have broken our wage structure and those that opposed it were rightly warned that other players who felt were being under paid would be banging on the chairman's door if they knew the club had money to spend.

These instances are the perfect examples of how not to run a football club and if Levy caved in and started to pay high salaries to those who didn't deserve it you'd be seeing something similar now, it would have been chaos.

Absolutely spot on mate. Nail on head.
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,687
104,969
Poch would have been mad to go there. I suspect lots of managers would stay clear if this kind of thing is going on, which I suspect it might be.

 

Krule

Carpe Diem
Jun 4, 2017
4,534
8,687
IMG-20190514-WA0002.jpg
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,687
104,969
What's wrong at Man Utd....this state of affairs.....
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/man-utd-could-forced-pay-15836822
Makes a mockery of the game.

It’s brilliant isn’t it? They will have a whole summer of turmoil involving transfers. They need a big rebuild but neither the owners or the fans will have the patience for it (much like arsenal) and it will be harder for them to get the very best players because of not being in the champions league, the manager and what seems to be happening behind the scenes. It’s not going to help attract the most commuted players, just those that want huge wages and know Man U can/will pay them the money.
 

hellava_tough

Well-Known Member
Apr 21, 2005
9,429
12,383
It’s brilliant isn’t it? They will have a whole summer of turmoil involving transfers. They need a big rebuild but neither the owners or the fans will have the patience for it (much like arsenal) and it will be harder for them to get the very best players because of not being in the champions league, the manager and what seems to be happening behind the scenes. It’s not going to help attract the most commuted players, just those that want huge wages and know Man U can/will pay them the money.

Makes you wonder how far they'll fall

I mean, they should be able to turn things around with the vast budget they've got, but stranger things have happened...
 

Col_M

Pointing out the Obvious
Feb 28, 2012
22,786
45,888
If it’s in the paper, chances of it being true are slim. Papers have to be sold and stories have to be invented to keep the gullible outraged.
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,687
104,969
Makes you wonder how far they'll fall

I mean, they should be able to turn things around with the vast budget they've got, but stranger things have happened...

I’m sure they’ll be alright but it would be amusing to see them fall further away.
 

hellava_tough

Well-Known Member
Apr 21, 2005
9,429
12,383
I’m sure they’ll be alright but it would be amusing to see them fall further away.

Probably.

Finishing 6th is a 'disaster' for a big club like Man Utd, which gives you some indication of how big a club they are in stature and finances; literally hundreds of clubs across Europe would love to be in that position. So, yeah, they have the resources to halt the decline and build for the future.

The only way they'd fall further is through sustained mismanagement, including making a mess of their recruitment and squad restructure over the next 3 or 4 seasons. An Everton or Wolves challenging the 6th-placed PL team might also be interesting.
 

JamieSpursCommunityUser

Well-Known Member
Jan 27, 2011
1,904
10,052
From David Ornstein's BBC Football roundup, made me chuckle.

Gone are the days of cockney reds arrogantly expecting us to deliver a gift wrapped Kane to their doorstep.


The big signing they had been hoping to land was Jadon Sancho.

I'm told he was the Red Devils' top attacking target and that they were his preferred option if he was to return to the UK from Borussia Dortmund this summer. A couple of months ago, he was open to the transfer and those involved felt it was nailed on.

But United's terrible end to the season has changed everything. Sancho is reluctant to give up Champions League football and if he is to move he wants to play for a club where stability, progression, development and a chance of winning trophies is guaranteed.

The 19-year-old England forward now harbours severe doubts that United can offer any of those assurances. I'm told 'never say never', but as things stand it is looking highly unlikely.

PSG, Barcelona and Real Madrid want Sancho, too, but there has been no contact from other Premier League clubs. The transfer fee to prise him from Dortmund this summer would be in excess of £100m, though he is not agitating for a move. It's looking 50-50.
 

'O Zio

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2014
7,405
13,785
From David Ornstein's BBC Football roundup, made me chuckle.

Gone are the days of cockney reds arrogantly expecting us to deliver a gift wrapped Kane to their doorstep.


The big signing they had been hoping to land was Jadon Sancho.

I'm told he was the Red Devils' top attacking target and that they were his preferred option if he was to return to the UK from Borussia Dortmund this summer. A couple of months ago, he was open to the transfer and those involved felt it was nailed on.

But United's terrible end to the season has changed everything. Sancho is reluctant to give up Champions League football and if he is to move he wants to play for a club where stability, progression, development and a chance of winning trophies is guaranteed.

The 19-year-old England forward now harbours severe doubts that United can offer any of those assurances. I'm told 'never say never', but as things stand it is looking highly unlikely.

PSG, Barcelona and Real Madrid want Sancho, too, but there has been no contact from other Premier League clubs. The transfer fee to prise him from Dortmund this summer would be in excess of £100m, though he is not agitating for a move. It's looking 50-50.

If he's got any sense at all he'll keep well clear of man utd or Chelsea at the moment. Honestly at his age he may as well carry on doing what he's doing in Germany for a couple of years.
 

Marty

Audere est farce
Mar 10, 2005
40,200
64,024
I was privy to some ITK on Man United the other day, I can't relay it all on here and a lot of it wasn't hugely surprising but it very well described where that club is at the moment and it made me very optimistic that we can stay ahead of them for a more few years yet.

The least surprising thing is simply that Woodward is the Glazers' guy. In his former job as investment banker helped them with the takeover, they brought him in as commercial director shortly after that, and because he was so successful there they promoted him when Gill left. Nothing new there at all, that's all public information, but it was confirmed that as long as the club makes money, Woodward won't be let go because of what happens on the field. On field performances are almost inconsequential to the Glazers.

It was said (partly in jest) that the best season for the Glazers would be a season where Man United finised second in all competitions, which would near maximise their income potential but they wouldn't have to fork out millions in win bonuses. But that's more or less where they're at right now.

Another bit of not surprising info is that Woodward wants to do everything and be in control of everything. They can't attract a "proper" Director of Football because of the demands Woodward has in terms of interference from his part that will diminish the DoF's role. That's the main reason why there are no experienced names in line for the role and they've been sounding out the Man United old boys. The role Woodward wants between him and the manager is only half of the job a Monchi, Begiristain, etc. would want.

This might all be information that is either wholly or partly in the open, but it was nice to hear it from someone who has many, many sources on the inside of the club. And it just confirms that as long as Woodward holds the power he does, that club isn't going to be regularly successful any time soon.
 

'O Zio

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2014
7,405
13,785
I was privy to some ITK on Man United the other day, I can't relay it all on here and a lot of it wasn't hugely surprising but it very well described where that club is at the moment and it made me very optimistic that we can stay ahead of them for a more few years yet.

The least surprising thing is simply that Woodward is the Glazers' guy. In his former job as investment banker helped them with the takeover, they brought him in as commercial director shortly after that, and because he was so successful there they promoted him when Gill left. Nothing new there at all, that's all public information, but it was confirmed that as long as the club makes money, Woodward won't be let go because of what happens on the field. On field performances are almost inconsequential to the Glazers.

It was said (partly in jest) that the best season for the Glazers would be a season where Man United finised second in all competitions, which would near maximise their income potential but they wouldn't have to fork out millions in win bonuses. But that's more or less where they're at right now.

Another bit of not surprising info is that Woodward wants to do everything and be in control of everything. They can't attract a "proper" Director of Football because of the demands Woodward has in terms of interference from his part that will diminish the DoF's role. That's the main reason why there are no experienced names in line for the role and they've been sounding out the Man United old boys. The role Woodward wants between him and the manager is only half of the job a Monchi, Begiristain, etc. would want.

This might all be information that is either wholly or partly in the open, but it was nice to hear it from someone who has many, many sources on the inside of the club. And it just confirms that as long as Woodward holds the power he does, that club isn't going to be regularly successful any time soon.

This is one thing I don't understand about Woodward. He's clearly a very talented/able businessman and not an idiot, so when he's so obviously just not cut out for this DoF type role, why does he still insist on doing it? Surely he's smart enough to know when to delegate some of the more technical responsibility to an expert? It's like a Chief Executive insisting that they also do the CIO role as well even though they don't know the first thing about computers. I just find it odd that you can be so good at something but at the same time have this massive flaw that it clear and obvious to everyone except yourself.
 

rossdapep

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2011
22,271
80,126
This is one thing I don't understand about Woodward. He's clearly a very talented/able businessman and not an idiot, so when he's so obviously just not cut out for this DoF type role, why does he still insist on doing it? Surely he's smart enough to know when to delegate some of the more technical responsibility to an expert? It's like a Chief Executive insisting that they also do the CIO role as well even though they don't know the first thing about computers. I just find it odd that you can be so good at something but at the same time have this massive flaw that it clear and obvious to everyone except yourself.
Perhaps he needs to have total control of budget, etc and doesn't trust others with the money?!

It was no secret Mourinho wanted Maguire and Alderweireld but Woodward was having none of it. Why? Probably because he was unwilling to spend anymore after Mourinho had already spent a fair whack. Whilst they have spent a ton of cash and got no where with it, they still have limitations and I guess Woodward would be worried a DOF may go overboard.
 

Marty

Audere est farce
Mar 10, 2005
40,200
64,024
Perhaps he needs to have total control of budget, etc and doesn't trust others with the money?!

It was no secret Mourinho wanted Maguire and Alderweireld but Woodward was having none of it. Why? Probably because he was unwilling to spend anymore after Mourinho had already spent a fair whack. Whilst they have spent a ton of cash and got no where with it, they still have limitations and I guess Woodward would be worried a DOF may go overboard.
Woodward was worried about Toby's injury record, and a potential cut-price £25m this summer was a factor. Maguire was deemed far too expensive with an inflated post-WC success price. Mourinho also tried for Jerome Boateng but again, Woodward was concerned about his injury record.

What surprised me, from the same ITK session as my above info was from, is that United aren't actively searching for a centre half this summer. Right back, right wing and CM are the prioritised areas.
 
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