Manchester United require a major overhaul. It is a glaring fact that has possibly been overlooked by the club due to the staggering success achieved during the Sir Alex Ferguson era. David Moyes earlier and now Louis Van Gaal have found out that running an institution like United is not as straightforward as it seems on paper. Send the team out and win has become a thing of the past. After the recent home loss to Norwich City, this has only been highlighted further.
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So how do you begin an overhaul of a creaking empire? The first step could well be to hire a dedicated sporting director or Director of Football (DOF). United is not just a football club that sends out a team to win games and trophies anymore. It is an organization with various activities which require knowledge and expertise in varying fields.
At the beginning of his reign, Sir Alex wanted to do everything, almost become an Alexander of the footballing world; responsible for tactics, motivation, transfers, contracts and also scouting. Later, of course, with experience, he learnt the importance of delegating tasks to others.
It is well documented that Mike Phelan and Carlos Quieroz before him ran the majority of the training sessions and coaching while Sir Alex had an overview of things and a primarily hands-off role. This enabled him to run the other aspects of the club too.
“When I was younger I wanted to rule the world and do everything. When I stepped out… Bigger picture. It’s not so much what you see all the time, sometimes it’s what you miss by doing that.” – Sir Alex
For that matter, Van Gaal has also stressed on the importance of delegating tasks.
“I don’t do anything... Nothing! I delegate. I delegate and I earn a lot of money.”
Well, no, not the way one would think. The side’s failures are not attributed to Van Gaal not doing anything at all but the point is that one man cannot do everything. At United, the roles of Van Gaal or executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward don’t seem to be clearly defined – or at least that seems so to the fans and media alike.
Manchester United’s academy in danger of falling behind
The famed academy that gave the world the Class of ‘92 legends is currently without a dedicated head after Brian McClair departed for a job with the Scottish FA. Van Gaal certainly has given the younger players a chance; his hand being forced a couple of times due to injuries, but that notwithstanding he has still done well on that front.
But what about improving the academy? Neighbours Manchester City have built a £200m academy to rival Barcelona’s La Masia. United seem to have lost steam in this department. Post the Class of ‘92, one cannot recall a single United product going on to be a world beater.
A DOF cannot reshape the academy single-handedly nor can a club’s fortunes turn around due to the appointment of one person. A DOF will certainly take the pressure off the CEO and manager with respect to the footballing aspects of the club.
United can learn from Bayern Munich’s club structure
When Van Gaal was hired by the Bavarian giants, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, a footballing man, was the DOF at the time. He envisioned that possession-based football was the way forward for Bayern. What essentially happened was that post Van Gaal, Bayern hired a couple of managers who tweaked the Dutchman’s system ('filosofi’) without totally ripping it apart.
Rummenigge’s presence ensured that Bayern had a fixed way of playing, a path which they have stuck to in spite of having three managers over the last decade. We are seeing the benefits of the continuation of Van Gaal’s regime coupled with a DOF in the current Bayern side under Pep Guardiola to devastating effect.
In the current footballing atmosphere, one expects a manager to last three, maybe at the most five, years at one club. The days of Sir Alex and Arsene Wenger are a thing of the past. A DOF would ensure that style and “philosophy” remain the same even in the worst case of a managerial revolving door.
What happens if Van Gaal is sacked tonight and is replaced by Ryan Giggs, Jose Mourinho or anyone else for that matter? The playing style changes, the atmosphere in the dressing room changes and the club could well end up in footballing limbo. One could argue that United have Woodward, who did commendably during this transfer window and Van Gaal who is a manager with 25 years of experience.
But the problem is that a banker and accountant is the CEO, who is doubling up as a DOF. It is virtually impossible for a man with roots so deep into the financial aspects to have equal expertise or even the time to evaluate the footballing side of the club. David Gill and Sir Alex were an anomaly so there is no point comparing the eras.
Recently, a leading newspaper wrote about Woodward assuming too much responsibility at Manchester United and it is true. As a fan, one would not be too comfortable with the fact that a businessman is making football decisions. That is akin to expecting a Ferrari to do the work of a bulldozer just because it has similar horsepower.
Rummenigge’s area of expertise was and will always remain football. This allows him to be able to view things from the perspective of a player and manager while being the DOF, which is most essential when wanting to retain a certain way of playing.
Bayern have Karl Hopfner as club president, Rummenigge as CEO/DOF, Matthias Sammer as their executive of sport and Pep Guardiola as head coach. In contrast, United have only Ed Woodward as CEO and, so far, Louis van Gaal. This has to change.
