Of all the failures that have seen Manchester United slip into a depressing decline (full disclosure, I’m a United fan) the most visible and frustrating has been the club’s awful recruitment policy since the departure of legendary Sir Alex Ferguson back in 2013.
To be fair, Ferguson had comfortably secured his last title with possibly the least talented squad he ever had at United with the team often leaning on the waning but still prodigious talents of Robin Van Persie as the Dutchman was often the difference between victory and defeat (his game winning freekick against Man City at the Etihad comes to mind. #goodtimes). What that meant whoever was to take over from Ferguson was going to have a major rebuild on his hands.
While we were all aware of Ferguson’s greatness as a manager, it can be argued that the Scotsman is arguably one of the best sporting directors the game has ever seen as he built title winning teams through three decades of football which is unheard of at the highest level. Ferguson was in full control of every aspect of the club as he was keen to make good on his promise when he was hired to “build a football club”.
The success Ferguson achieved is almost impossible without excellence in finance, recruitment, coaching and development, systems and morale (culture and expectations) and Ferguson, as one of the most powerful managers ever, was responsible for four of five areas mentioned. Back to summer of 2013, Ed Woodward came to prominence as chief executive after his successful spell as commercial director and assumed control over United recruitment policy and since then, Man United has been inept to say to the least.
Whether it's the failure to get deals over line, making signings that don’t make sense, clashing with managerial hires (neither Louis Van Gaal or Jose Mourinho are fans of Woodward. We would argue this is down to Woodward having no idea what he wants Man United to look like on the pitch), failing to get rid of deadwood or not hiring a sporting director to handle transfers, Ed Woodward is at the heart of why Man United has declined in comparison to its competitors.
The Jaden Sancho saga was a case study among many on how not sign a player but looking closely, we would argue buying Sancho doesn’t make sense as they have the talented Mason Greenwood on the right and recently added Facundo Pellistri. While there’s no doubt Sancho would improve the squad and is some way ahead of Greenwood and Pellistri as far development is concerned, spending nine figures on one player when other areas of the squad require investment is bad judgment to say the least.
Woodward has made some poor decisions since taking control over transfers but his decision going forward would be to recruit a sporting director who can close deals, make signings that address weaknesses and more importantly recruit players that fit the system being used by the head coach (United have been especially weak mostly because there doesn’t seem to be clear style of play. Watch United on the ball during the 6-1 Tottenham humbling for reference).
There are a number of candidates that United can recruit with former United Goalkeeper and current Ajax CEO Edwin Van Der Sar being a clear target and Zenit St. Petersburg’s sporting director and former United scout Javier Ribalta who both have connections to the club and are both highly rated. However, hiring a sporting director would require Ed Woodward to hire a successor to himself and give up power, something he’s clearly not interested in doing despite damning evidence he’s really bad at recruiting players.
In sum, a sporting director won’t solve all of Man United problems as for all Woodward faults, he’s not the only figure to blame for Man United’s decline but it would represent a major step in the right direction as the club’s poorly handled recruitment policy has been an eyesore to watch for much of the last decade and without a strong sporting director with a clear idea of how to make Man United a powerhouse again, It’s only a matter of time before decline turns into irrelevance.
