I’M BACKING OLE 100%, INSISTS WOODWARD
MANCHESTER UNITED chief Ed Woodward has backed manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer going into Sunday’s Liverpool clash. Defeat would pile more pressure on Solskjaer after the club’s worst start to a season in 30 years but Woodward has given the Norwegian ‘100 per cent support’ to turn it around. ‘Ole’s vision maps exactly to the core three objectives we have,’ said United’s executive vice-chairman. ‘We must win trophies, we must play attacking football, and we must give youth its chance. Ole has also instilled discipline back into an environment where we may have lacked it in recent years. The middle section of last season, after Ole’s arrival, feels most relevant. ‘We saw a team playing fast, fluid football.’
ED WOODWARD has defended his record as Manchester United’s executive vice- chairman and insisted that making money will never come before success on the pitch.
The team have been in decline since Woodward replaced David Gill in 2013 despite spending close to £1billion on new players.
United have not won the Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson departed that same year. They currently lie 12th in the table after their worst start in 30 years under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Woodward’s role has come under increasing scrutiny as the delay over appointing a director of football continues.
The 47-year- old has also faced criticism over the plethora of commercial deals worldwide on his watch that have boosted United’s revenue in stark contrast to the team’s dwindling success.
However, Woodward said: ‘What’s important is that the commercial side is never allowed to take priority over the football side. There is a myth we have non- football people making football decisions, and it’s insulting to the brilliant people who work on the football side in this club.
‘The reality of Manchester United is we are a club in two parts. First of all, we are an incredible 141-year footballing institution with all that history, all that legacy, all that tradition and tradition of success. That can never, ever change. We need to keep that protected.’
Woodward feels much of the criticism is unfair and it has also hurt his family. His wife, Isabelle, is said to have stopped reading articles about him.
But the United chief accepts that mistakes have been made during his six years at the helm, not least in the recruitment process.
He accepts it was unfair to expect David Moyes to inherit a unique scouting structure set up over many years by Ferguson. While Ferguson relied on a network that included his brother, Martin, and just 12 full-time scouts, Moyes was used to a different set-up and should have been allowed to get on with his first-team duties while the job of recruitment was shared among other staff.
Louis van Gaal was hired with one eye on his ability to identify signings but in hindsight the club realised some of them did not fit the mould of a Manchester United player. Now United have as many as 60 scouts and a huge database that means more than 800 right backs were scrutinised before they bought Aaron Wan-Bissaka for £50million in June.
‘We’ve expanded our recruitment department in recent years and we believe this now runs in an efficient and productive way,’ said Woodward, who pointed out again that he only has a limited say in the process.
‘Player recommendations and decisions are worked on by this department and by the first-team manager and his staff, not by senior management.’
Having delivered Solskjaer’s three top targets by also signing Harry Maguire and Daniel James in the summer, United hope to bring in up to five more before the start of next season.
There is the possibility of an arrival in January if the deal is right, but a bid for Mario Mandzukic of Juventus seems unlikely as United try to fill a yawning gap up front. They have faced criticism for letting Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez leave without signing a replacement striker. However, Woodward and Solskjaer knew it could leave the forward line thin on the ground, but thought it was the right decision to move the club forward in the long run. They did not foresee an injury to Anthony Martial that has kept the Frenchman out since August and further depleted the attack, nor the raft of other injuries sidelining half the team that beat Chelsea 4- 0 on the opening weekend.
Woodward is said to view United’s position in the table as false and is optimistic it will improve over time. Sources close to the United chief say he is happy with the mood around the club. There is certainly no appetite to make Solskjaer the fourth managerial casualty since Ferguson retired six years ago.
United understand the Norwegian has been asked to oversee a rebuilding job and produce a better, younger team. They are determined to give him time, despite stuttering form that has carried over from the end of last season into the start of this one.
‘Cultural reset’ has been the buzz phrase around the club under Solskjaer, and Woodward understands United are making a fresh start. ‘The changes we saw over the summer have resulted in a very young squad,’ he said.
‘But it’s also a squad, with the players and the culture, that provides a base camp for us to grow from as we start our new journey.’ PICTURES emerged last night of Paul Pogba speaking with Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane after the two met in Dubai over the international break.
It comes after the French midfielder was heavily linked with a move to Real in the previous transfer window and further increases speculation.
Pogba was in Dubai recovering from an ankle injury which will rule him out of Sunday’s showdown with Liverpool at Old Trafford.