Bravo Ed Woodward

This topic contains 117 replies, has 21 voices, and was last updated by theMartial Art theMartial Art 5 years, 7 months ago.

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  • #1664026
    Ika
    Ika
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    I am going to go against most people opinions and give Ed a big pat on the back.

    He has shelled out nearly £600 million on helping Moyes, LVG and Jose build a team to win the title and none of these manager’s even came close.

    I am glad he gave Jose the middle finger and told him to start coaching instead of quick fixes all the time. He should be building a team to rule for seasons not one season.

    Wanting another CB when you shelled out £70 million on 2 already is taking the piss.

    You cant keep wanting to replace players you brought to the club like you did with Miki then zero improvement to the team when new boy sanchez came in and expect Ed to keep signing cheques.

    Ed has finally realised that he cant keep signing cheques on players one manager fancies but another doesn’t we will just be in the same mess again again with mediocre players scattered around the squad.

    Ed is only interested in spending big on players who have marketing value so he can milk them and make the club back money spent to sign the player thats why he will never release Pogba hes a marketing gem.

    For me Ed gave Jose the one player we really needed in Fred as we were so weak and short in midfield whereas defensively we had 2nd best defence in the league of course due to Jose tactics so no need for more defensive players but i agree Godin and Auderwerald are top draw.

    For me Jose should see this as a challenge one similar to Porto winning CL and use the media criticism to inspire the team you know a kind of us against the world which he loves to do anyway problem is he’s been feeding the press most of their headlines so not sure how much the players will still respect him.

    #1664027
    MacGuffin
    MacGuffin
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    Whatever way you cut it, Ed and JM are not on the same page and that cannot be good. Let’s assume you are right and Ed doesn’t want JM to be a chequebook manager. THEN this should have been clarified (1) when JM hired (2) when JM gave Ed his list of targets. They should thrash out and agree on the strategy then there is no public moaning from Jose and silence from Ed.

    Ed is only interested in spending big on players who have marketing value so he can milk them
    Sadly true. The BBC made the comment “Paul Pogba, for instance, was bought at huge cost, £89m, and comes with an enormous social media following, 5.62m on Twitter alone. In the modern game, such things matter.” – Clearly a footballers ability off the pitch is considered just as much as his ability on it !

    #1664035
    Wonderfuel Gas
    Wonderfuel Gas
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    Hi Ed!

    #1664042
    hatters
    hatters
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    @ika. I’m inclined to agree with you but for a different reason. Woodward should understand that big money has to be spent if we want to catch up with Manchester City and this should be done continually as well. I look at our team and I understand Mourinho’s concerns about the quality we are working with. Especially in the full back areas.

    That being said. I think Mourinho has had enough time and backing in the transfer market at this point. I want to see him using coaching and tactics to get us functioning as a good football team at this point, if he can’t do so he must be shown the door. If our form and morale is formidable throughout this season, then I am happy for him to get more funds next season or in January. Our team has enough about it to compete, definitely until January.

    Over to you Jose.

    #1664045
    Wonderfuel Gas
    Wonderfuel Gas
    Participant
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    This article popped up on The Guardian last night just after 10pm. Woodward didn’t waste any time in briefing his favourite journos.

    https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/aug/09/manchester-united-veto-jose-mourinho-wishlist-cash-fears

    Think it’s very relevant to this debate.

    #1664063
    Zico
    Zico
    Participant
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    Third season and its up to the manager now. If he dont get the results this can be ugly with Mourinho blaming everyone but himself. Ed must have lined up replacements for Mourinho and saved money for the new manager in January,cant risk top4.

    An underwhelming transfer window for many PL top sides bar Liverpool.
    Its going to be hard to predict this season but City Liverpool first and second.
    Chelsea and Spurs third and forth,United and Arsenal fifth and sixth.
    I very well could be wrong about Arsenal though.

    #1664082

    happyhurling
    Participant
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    Who in their right mind would be predicting Spurs to finish above us this season? Care to explain how Spurs are stronger than last season and we’re weaker? In my eyes City have the only better team than we do. If Liverpool can somehow improve their consistency then they may finish above us too. But i don’t think anybody else will.

    I’m also not convinced Liverpool can be more consistent that they were last season. They were the in-form team in the whole of Europe for 2018 with the player of the year scoring every week – they still finished 4th! Plus they’ve changed their midfield which, whilst not looking great on paper, really worked well with feeding their front 3.

    #1664088
    MacGuffin
    MacGuffin
    Participant
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    @happyhurling – The teams at the top are close – aside from City being a yard or so ahead and Arsenal a yard or so behind. Its not just a case of new signings. Its players playing to their potential, the team having fine tuned tactics and being good at whatever those tactics may be. Then add to that the manager selection, team commitment, motivation etc. Some pundits may feel some teams have the right attitude, balance and are a more cohesive unit. etc.

    https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/45087444

    This report concludes we gained some points due to “luck” and other teams lost points through bad luck. Just a couple of good or bad decisions can mean 3-6 points difference and that’s all it takes to finish 2nd instead of 6th.

    You must admit we are not exactly a happy camp at the moment. Star signings have underperformed and many established players are in a comfort zone being near to retirement or second stringers happy to collect their salaries.

    #1664092
    MacGuffin
    MacGuffin
    Participant
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    @Wonderfuel – Excellent article, thanks for the link.

    The suspicion of United’s hierarchy is the manager is taking a short‑term view rather than thinking more strategically about what would be better for the club in the coming years.

    This is what some of us have been saying, especially when it comes to signing aging players. Some here rubbished that civriticism but it seem the board agrees with us.

    This goes a long way to explaining the disappointing window. Jose gives a wish list of oldies, the board is happy to go along with it till it approaches the players’ clubs and finds they are asking big money for aging players. It farts around hoping the price will come down and when it doesn’t decides its not going to back Jose (especially if he may be off and Zidane is out there).

    #1664108

    happyhurling
    Participant
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    Tommy – I’m not sure about that article at all! Seems to be following the anti-Jose narrative that the press have been peddling all summer. Saying that Alderweireld wouldn’t be an improvement on what we have is bollocks – he’s been voted as the best CB in the league the last couple of seasons. Imagine what he could pass on to Bailly and Lindelof and then TFM & Tuanzebe as he enters the finals years of his career. Then saying they would have paid £100m for Varane but he wasn’t available? Doesn’t every player have their price, spend £150m on him if he’s that good. It just doesn’t make sense, you either want to improve the CB’s that we have or you don’t. Would Maguire not be an upgrade on Rojo? I think Jose knew the business had been done with the 3 early signings, which is probably why he text Luke Shaw over the summer saying he’s going to have a great season if he works hard.

    Whatever has happened behind closed doors no one knows, certainly not these wankers in the media. Jose is still the best manager out there for us at the moment – let’s get behind him and see where he takes us this season.

    #1664118
    redblood
    redblood
    Participant
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    Really glad we stayed away from the likes of Bale,Willian,Boateng,Mina,CR7,and any other oldies out there.I would have accepted Toby OR Maguire but only if it meant the end for 2 out of the 3 in Rojo,Jones,Smalling.

    #1664135
    MacGuffin
    MacGuffin
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    @happyhurling – It’s not the press thinking it, they are reporting what the board thought. As to how would they know what happens behind closed doors, journalists speak with club directors (staff) and those sources tell them. You could argue the same about leaks from the White House, Downing Street or wherever. Journalists cultivate sources, it’s their job.

    And what’s so unbelievable in the boards (reported) viewpoint, especially if you use a bit of nounce to summise the full context eg …… “Alderweireld wouldn’t be a significant improvement given the amount the club would have to pay”. It’s not just a simplistic case of “is he better than what we have”. Its how much does he cost, what’s the resale value, does he have commercial value, how long will he last.

    Let me put it this way. If a young bloke like you is contemplating taking the stunner out for a meal, there’s not much to consider when you’re going to be shagging her all night long. But for old farts like me, the cost of the meal and plonk are not worth it. Either the cost must come down or the old fart has to stay up longer.

    #1664186

    Manthistle
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    I would easily back Ed if it was the case that he refused to fork out more money on short term fixes like Godin, Alderweireld, Willian, etc. Its about time we starting thinking long term and not short term like Jose always does.

    #1664195

    happyhurling
    Participant
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    Mac – I’m just not sure i believe Ed Woodward would tell Jose Mourinho that the players on his list “weren’t good enough”. One is an accountant and one is the most successful manager around. Do you really think that happened? And if so why not when Jose handed him the list months ago?

    #1664201
    Wonderfuel Gas
    Wonderfuel Gas
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    Yes great that a city man and his pal from university are overruling one of the greatest managers on transfers. Fucking marvellous way to run a football club that.

    #1664210
    Ika
    Ika
    Participant
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    Tommy that article goes with what i am saying for me Ed was right to put a stop to this short term thinking.

    Best signing Ed can make next is a director of football to plan the future properly. We got lucky in Fergie we had a manager and director rolled into one.

    #1664211
    MacGuffin
    MacGuffin
    Participant
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    @happyhurling .. Newspapers give just a short comment from what must surely have been a long(er) talk. Journo’s are invited to OT to talk with staff all the time. And journos will be going out for a meal with the press secretary or whoever. You are taking a few words without considering the context.

    As I said in my post, the problem an question is not whether they are better than what we have. It’s how much better and how much do they cost. AND accountants may not know about footballer but they sure as hell know about depreciation. If we sign a 29 year old on a 4 year deal will he be good enough as he nears 33. That’s the question fans like me ask.

    And again as I said in my post (do you read what people write) Ed maybe accepted the list because he didn’t know the fee. I’d expect the manager to give an idea of cost for each player on the list. Did Ed or Jose think Alderweireld would be 70m? They probably had him down on the list for 30 to 40m.

    What Ed is reported as saying is basically a twist on the “no value” comment. The player abilities do not match the fee demanded.

    #1664219
    MacGuffin
    MacGuffin
    Participant
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    PS . You are assuming the “not much better” comment is about Alderweireld, it could be about MacGuire or Mina. And I should imagine Ed isn’t totally dependant on JM for knowledge about football. He only has to pick up the phone and ask the great man himself what he thinks about targets. The paper didn”t mention Ed. It said “club hierarchy”.

    #1664226

    happyhurling
    Participant
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    Mac – Well that’s fair enough then, there’s no value in the market. I can see that.
    But tell me this how would accountants know all about depreciation etc, but fuck all about the price of players? Especially after VVD to Liverpool at £75m and the ridiculous cost of Goal Keepers this summer. Doesn’t add up does it?

    Anyway, it’s time to go with what we’ve got. Time to make better players of what we have and uncover the next stars from the youth academy.

    #1664233
    MacGuffin
    MacGuffin
    Participant
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    @happyhurling .. Erm yes and no. Ed would know the inflation for top players but maybe not the likes of MacGuire. You yourself argued the inflation only affect the elite players. Maybe Eds knowledge of football is the same as yours.

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