23 Sep 2020 20:57:22
Bellingham, wanted by United, turned us down and went or Dortmund. Haaland, previously managed by Ole, wanted by United, went to a Dortmund.

LVG wanted a host of players, didn’t get them, got 5th and 6th choices.

We have signed players like Fellaini and Fred, decent boys no doubt but should never have been near our club.

How did a club that was sweeping all aside and dominating the EPL fall so spectacularly? ‘There’s no value in the market’ said SAF when his view of value was very different to that of Chelsea’s and Man City’s. Whilst we were playing the pensioners that were Giggs and Scholes in midfield, others were hoovering up European talent. What was going on in SAF’s head? I guess we’ll never know but whatever it was, the decline started with him.

We let SAF and David Gill leave at the same time, we appointed a Manager who was clearly unqualified for the job, and then we let him get rid of all the backroom staff and bring in a bunch of people who had never worked at this level. Stunning.

We blundered from transfer to transfer, appointed a manager pas this best and then didn’t back him in the market. We then appointed a man who had no right to be within 100 miles of our club, gave him a new contract, and then sacked him. Crazy.

In any other industry the people in charge would have been marched out of the building: the incompetence on show in recent years has been staggering.

I see no end to this madness. Woodward is so far out of his depth it’s hard to see how he can ever recover. We are faced with swimming upstream for many years until the fundamental structure changes. Get used to it people, it’s going to be a long slog.

1.) 23 Sep 2020
23 Sep 2020 21:10:55
It's funny, that in hindsight maybe the loss of David Gill was a bigger set back than that of Sir Alex.

Certainly both leaving at the same time created a power void and clearly people unsuited to key roles are in positions they ought not be.

If we don't get the structure right off the field then we won't be able to get things right on the field.

2.) 23 Sep 2020
23 Sep 2020 21:15:35
The most staggering aspect is their blatant disregard or avoidance of the problems. Telling us fans to ‘trust the process’. this has been a trying year for everyone both personally and professionally and for the club to use that as excuse for their failings is staggering. They are saying they want to be sensible financially after it was them who saddled the club with 800mill in debt. If the club wants to protect itself then fine but I’d assume the board won’t see their bonuses or the owners their dividends as WE ALL have to accept the difficult situation we are in.

3.) 23 Sep 2020
23 Sep 2020 21:49:59
I see AJH has finally lost hope.

4.) 23 Sep 2020
23 Sep 2020 21:54:29
completely agree AJH. It is the fundamental question of what is the main reason for the club's existance. For us fans it is to play entertaining football and win every piece of silverware available. For the owners and mgmt. it is maximise profits.
We won 5 premier league titles in the 8 years before Ed and his mates took up the top job. In eight years since we have won 0 and are not likely to win another for at least 2 years. That alone should be reason for changing the mgmt. team.
Our squad today is worse than the squad in 2013 despite over £800m being spent. Our wage bill has doubled over the same 8 years.

If results of the first team and proper running of the club were the priorities of the owners and the board, then there is no chance that the mgmt. team would have kept their job for so long.

Unfortunately as long as the club can pay dividends, it will be seen as a performing financial asset and there is no reason for change.

5.) 23 Sep 2020
23 Sep 2020 21:59:23
Trying to answer this constructively it boils down to some simple issues at the club:

1.) There is no defined style of play, since 2013 we've tried:

a. ) moyes - fergie tribute act
b. ) lvg - playing out from the back, posession dominant
c. ) jose - defend deep, counter attack, attacking players make it up as they wish
d. ) ole - counter attack trying to transition to a more dominant team.

2.) Each different style requires different types of players. Its how you end up with teams that have blind, fellaini, pogba and mata in the same team. All good players but all require certain styles to play at their best.

3.) Because we constantly shift styles we are left with a set of players we need to get rid off from the previous manager. These players are on big long contracts which means they are nye on impossible to ship out unless we subsidise the deals.

To solve this would require some sort of director of football and chief executive combo with a clear idea of how they want the club to play/ operate in the market. For example begiristein and soriano at city or edwards/ fsg at liverpool. They would then pick a manager who wants to play that style of football and operate in the market in the desired fashion (city and liverpool have basically signed players between 22-27 in the 30-60m range for example)

6.) 23 Sep 2020
23 Sep 2020 22:38:39
ryan you are kidding yourself if you think we will mount a title challenge in the next two years. we are in for a long wait.

7.) 23 Sep 2020
23 Sep 2020 22:45:31
Ryans left foot won't win a league for at least another 2 years? Another 22 more like with these simpletons running the club into the ground.

8.) 23 Sep 2020
23 Sep 2020 22:58:11
I think we also need to agree on a style of play for the club moving forward. Buy players that fit that ethos. If we continue to buy players which particular managers prefer it will continue to be a cycle of ups and downs with a lot more downs. The club would actually save money in the market this way also which is why it’s mad that they haven’t even put the structure discussed in place. A DOF is a must and it must be someone who can make changes freely to set the club up for the long term. It’s so disheartening to know as fans that the changes required are in front of all of our faces but the men in charge continue to cock things up.
We’ve hired someone to help manage our PR instead of the actual structure of our club. Says it all.
The recent PR briefings are so obvious and they make it out as if we know nothing about our club. The recent ‘trust the process’ crap is a kick in the teeth. What bloody process!? Be open with us. Be honest. Maybe then there won’t be so much uproar.
I don’t let football get me down much but I think we can all agree it has been more difficult lately. We all follow the club on a daily basis. Live for the next match and build excitement only to be continuously let down. I know there are fans on here who have seen worse days but it feels like the club is losing its heart and soul in more recent times and that is what really gets to me. We all love this club and want the best for it. We’re nowhere near where we need to be right now.

9.) 23 Sep 2020
23 Sep 2020 23:42:21
God forbid you post any positivity RLF, we won’t win anything for 25 years mate you know the drill, we lost to palace and didn’t spend £300m.

Who knows what will happen in 2 years time, football is cyclical, the club have purchased a lot of very good youth products so the future of the club looks pretty strong to me and we will supplement them coming through with new signings. 2 years is a long time in football so I know why you said 2 years, I also knew as soon as I read it that the comments would be shooting you down!

10.) 24 Sep 2020
24 Sep 2020 00:33:33
gds do you think city, liverpool, chelsea and all the other teams in two years time are going to say we had better let united win the league or they will throw there toys out of there pram.

11.) 24 Sep 2020
24 Sep 2020 06:39:07
Despite everything I said, I still think we have a decent team and the reaction to a first game loss was ridiculous. I think we will be competitive and may even win a cup, but the endemic issues will likely hold us back from rising to the levels we are seeing from City and Liverpool.

12.) 24 Sep 2020
24 Sep 2020 06:41:14
AJH

If you look back at my posts since 2013 you have repeated some things I said since the Moyes appointment was a rumour.

The bit about Gill is interesting. He said I believe, debt was the road to ruin and yet that happened on his watch and he continued putting up with it for years.

You need to take one step back and realise the big issue there was no plan from Gill or SAF. There was no definition of anything. The reason LvG should have been brought in was to define a plan, I recall he was the one who wrote down Cruyfs ideals of a Barcelona way. We didn’t.

You ask what was SAF thinking, no one knows but my instinct says he knew it could be destructive to the club if he railed against the owners so did what he could to keep everything going. That wasn’t strong enough for me and said many times our on field problems started with SAF.

The investment bankers enabled the owners to buy so have a special place, we are unlikely to see real improvement until the owners and then the structure underneath changes plus the aims of the club. The coach or manager is changeable, giving relative levels of success depending on their skills. Ownership change is needed.

13.) 24 Sep 2020
24 Sep 2020 08:11:58
I still so like the majority of our first team now much more than I used to but behind the scenes we are a farce. Our dealings in the transfer market and the way we do business is a disgrace.

Football, like any industry, is a small one and everyone knows everyone. You soon build a reputation, good or bad. Imagine the reaction when Utd call you about a player. The reaction will be here we go again - hard to deal with, no idea how to negotiate, and the only reason they’re tolerated is because they have vast amounts of cash to blow.

14.) 24 Sep 2020
24 Sep 2020 09:12:38
I don't see a solution Red Man, if we are sold then it will likely be to unsavoury owners. It's tragic that such a successful club steeped in history cann be managed so incompetently.

However, having football men handling the football business might be good start.

15.) 24 Sep 2020
24 Sep 2020 09:19:37
There's only a couple of weeks left in the window and the lack of signings is nothing short of a disgrace, the club is being run like a Sunday league team, it's time the Glazers put up or shut up, I'm absolutely sick of their dithering.