Speaking on ESPN FC, journalist Mark Ogden has delivered his frank assessment on the source of Manchester United’s problems.
What did he say?
The Red Devils have suffered a sharp downturn in fortunes since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson back in the summer of 2013, having yet to win a Premier League title following his exit.
In that time, the club have gone through a few managers and a large turnover of players, and Ogden believes Ed Woodward’s role in this downfall should lead to him changing up his position amongst the United hierarchy.
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He said: “Ed Woodward has been the consistent thread throughout the post-Ferguson years. He’s made some bad managerial appointments, he’s overseen some terrible recruitment of players. He’s obviously a commercial genius, he’s the guy who made the club so much money. Maybe you have to put Ed back in a different role, on the commercial side.
“Then, you bring someone in, a football administrator, who knows how to run a football club. His responsibility will then be to get a new manager, a new coach.”
Responsibility
Make no mistake about it, Woodward’s decision-making over these past few years have been questionable to say the least. His record of appointing managers is frankly woeful, with the Red Devils seemingly unsure of what direction they want to be heading in at all.
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First, David Moyes came in to succeed Ferguson, before the club turned to Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and finally Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. All managers with different traits, characteristics and philosophy, and United are paying big-time right now for that lack of cohesion and structured planning.
Just look at the difference between Van Gaal and Mourinho, with the former preferring possession and the latter more renowned for his defensive prowess. As Ogden suggests, Woodward and the club would simply be better off by him moving to the business side of things, and having someone come in who understands the footballing aspect far better.
Meanwhile, this Man Utd target’s big-game mentality is exactly what they need.