Manchester United: 3 things Ed Woodward must do to steady the sinking ship

By now, the footage of Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho's clash in training has been viral enough for everybody to know that there are significant issues to be addressed behind the scenes at Old Trafford.

The new season has not brought about much to cheer for the fans, with the Red Devils already trailing their arch-rivals Liverpool and Manchester City by 9 points, their latest defeat coming at the hands of West Ham United.

The problems just don't end there. Key players like Alexis Sanchez, Eric Bailly and Marcus Rashford, to name a few, are woefully out of form with the media looking overly obsessed with the club and its ongoing internal feuds.

Jose Mourinho might say that he had predicted a "bad season" as early as July in one of his press conferences during the pre-season tour of the United States, but truth be told, the Portuguese has too much on his plate right now to be dealing with all the problems at the club by himself.

Hence, Ed Woodward, the right-hand man of the owners, the Glazer family, must make sure that he intervenes and helps Mourinho douse out the fires that seem to be arising at the club each day.

#1 Back Jose Mourinho till the end of the season

Zidane is being touted to replace Mourinho at Manchester United

Zinedine Zidane has been repeatedly linked to taking over the managerial role at Manchester United ever since he has been a free agent. But Zidane, with all of his Champions League titles, might not be the solution to the issues that need to addressed at the club.

No manager is going to come to a club as big as United and transform the style of play so drastically that the team is immediately seen as contenders to the EPL and Champions League trophies. Might United fans be reminded, Jose Mourinho was seen as the man to lead the club to new heights after the Lous Van Gaal era.

He did, of course, win 3 trophies in his first season but has not one any ever since. Any new manager who comes in, be it Zidane or anyone else, will take time to adjust to the physicality and pace of the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola, finished his first season at Manchester City in 4th place, barely qualifying for the Champions League, and it wasn't until his second season in charge of the club and a huge amount of investment in the team, that he was actually able to implement his style of play and win the EPL.

Jose Mourinho's job is also not made easy by players like Eric Bailly, Paul Pogba, Fred, Alexis Sanchez, Anthony Martial, Juan Mata and Marcus Rashford underperforming. The manager can only coach his team so much before the match, it is the players who have to show character on the pitch which frankly, none of them has been able to exhibit since the start of the season.

Also, the team is largely made up of players signed by 4 managers, suited to their own style of play, hence the players lack chemistry on the field. Ed Woodward needs to ensure that Mourinho stays till the end of the season and not risk making any managerial changes which might destabilize the club even more.

#2 Solve the dressing room crisis

Pogba is clearly unhappy at Old Trafford

By now, it is becoming increasingly clear to everyone that Jose Mourinho is slowly but surely losing the dressing room, with an increasing group of players growing frustrated with their manager being too critical of their performances in public.

The video footage of Pogba and Mourinho arguing over an Instagram story that the midfielder posted in the aftermath of the defeat to Derby County in the League Cup gives a rare insight into the relationship that the Portuguese manager shares with his players.

Alexis Sanchez too is reportedly unhappy at being dropped for the West Ham clash while Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial have been publicly criticized by Mourinho a number of times since last season.

Even though it is justified that the manager is unhappy with a player's performance on the pitch, there are better outlets than the media to outline their mistakes. Mourinho is rumored to be at war with a number of players in the team, which leaves Ed Woodward with a crucial decision to make on whether to side with the manager or the players.

However, in a situation like this, the manager is thought to be easier to replace than upsetting squad harmony. Mourinho's mood looks like it is deteriorating with each passing game, a new player being singled out for criticism after each match.

Woodward needs to step in and act as the peacemaker between the players and the manager or risk the season going from bad to worse.

#3 Appoint a Director of football

Ed Woodward needs to appoint a director of football

Almost every big club in the world, apart from Manchester United, has a director of football in their ranks. Post Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, there have been 3 managerial changes at the club. Each new manager, be it, David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal or Jose Mourinho has signed new players according to their own philosophies about football.

Added the players who are from Sir Alex's last team at the club, there are players who have been signed by 4 different managers, each trying to implement a different style of play. This is one of the reasons why a successful manager like Jose Mourinho has found it tough to really get going in terms of titles at Manchester United.

Jose usually likes players who are tall, physically strong and in their prime years (26-30). LVG, on the other hand, wanted players who can play in more than 1 position on the pitch and can pass the ball around effortlessly. David Moyes did not stick around long enough for us to understand his philosophy through his 2 major signings in Fellaini and Mata are still at the club. Surprisingly, Fellaini is the only player to have been favored by every manager who has succeeded Sir Alex.

It also speaks volumes about the quality of the players that have been signed when we have often seen a back 5 of David de Gea, Valencia, Jones, Smalling and Young, players who are all from the Ferguson era.

In short, there is no continuity at the club in terms of the signings they want and the style of football they want to play. Each new manager who comes in has his own philosophy, rather than implementing the "United" style of play that the fans want to see.

The appointment of a Director of football will ensure that players are signed according to the club's philosophy, irrespective of who the manager is with an expectation, that the team will always play the way they have throughout history. This will ensure team chemistry with like minded players on the pitch rather than the disjointed team currently at the club.

Talks of appointing a Director of football are firmly undergoing, with many candidates already being evaluated.