MU's weakness

England is the only footballing nation in the world where the head coach is called a "manager"! This might be a tradition, or a detail related to a particular school of thought, but it's never just a matter of wording. The title is closely tied to the job responsibilities.

New owner Jim Ratcliffe has recognized a huge flaw in MU's structure.

In other places, the head coach is only responsible for matches, training sessions, and at most, deciding on the squad list. But in most cases, the head coach only makes suggestions, while the decision to buy or sell players rests with the technical director. The technical director even has the power to choose whether to buy or fire the coach. He decides on the budget as well as medium- and long-term plans… The technical director is a higher-ranking position than the head coach.

In England, the head coach does "everything." He decides players' salaries, who to buy and sell, chooses summer training camps... Previously, Manchester United's Alex Ferguson even dictated where Wayne Rooney should buy a house and what foods he should be forbidden from eating during his summer holidays. Sir Alex was great! The problem here is: Manchester United didn't need a technical director and still dominated for a long time. The consequence: the birthplace of football has fallen behind because of this flawed way of thinking in the development of modern football. And in this respect, Manchester United is the most backward.

Now, every Premier League club has a technical director (or director of football, sporting director, etc.). However, Manchester United only became the club's first director of football in 2021, John Murtough. Naturally, nobody knew Murtough. He worked alongside Technical Director Darren Fletcher (who was promoted at the same time), and many within MU admitted that, in short, they didn't know who did what when professional matters needed discussing. Before that, all professional decisions at a higher level than the head coach (for example, selecting or firing a manager) rested with the executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward – completely "outsider" to football.

Jim Ratcliffe has acquired a 25% stake in Manchester United, and importantly, he's also acquired… the rights to run Manchester United's football operations. Better late than never. Ratcliffe's Manchester United are currently negotiating to bring in renowned sporting director Dan Ashworth from Newcastle. Southampton's Director of Football, Jason Wilcox, is also in talks. We'll have to wait and see what happens next. But for now, these are the right people for the right jobs. In the last decade or so, the role of technical director (or sporting director, director of football) has become increasingly important in English football. Chelsea is famous for Marina Granovskaia. Manchester City has Txiki Begiristain, Liverpool has Julian Ward… These are all factors contributing to the success of those clubs.

The selection of a technical director is a real weakness of English football; this position or role didn't exist in the past. Manchester United, due to their immense success under Sir Alex Ferguson, became complacent, almost failing to recognize the huge gap in the club's structure. After Sir Alex's departure, MU never found a good or suitable manager, because nobody was good at selecting managers. MU fans now have a glimmer of hope, as at least the new owner, Jim Ratcliffe, has recognized this crucial technical issue. For a professional club at the highest level of football, the role of technical director is even more important than that of head coach!

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