WHY SAY ANYTHING?

It has reached the stage, at Old Trafford, where Ed Woodward has to put aside his pride.

Having employed David Moyes who, seven months into his reign, was deemed a failure then surely, eighteen months into his reign and with an inferior record, van Gaal must also be deemed a failure.

Up to now, van Gaal has had eleven months longer than Moyes in the job and roughly £200 million more to spend. Yet his record is worse. Why is he still there?

It has to be an over simplification to think that Woodward’s pride has anything to do with it, yet what is the alternative? It is understandable that he does not want to sack another one of his appointments, it wouldn’t make him look good with his bosses. Yet these are the bosses who put him in charge of football matters so this is also THEIR mistake. He has to do what is right for the club, not what is right for his ego.

Ed woodward is very successful in marketing. He has brought millions into the Old Trafford bank account through sponsorship deals with many multi-national companies around the world. He was responsible for the £750 million deal with Adidas. So his value, in that respect, should not be underestimated.

Where it started to go wrong was when the Glazers assumed, wrongly, that Woodward knew anything about the game.

In his first transfer window he overpaid for Marouane Fellaini by £4 million by missing the date of his release clause. He also, stupidly, announced to the world that Manchester United could afford to buy ANY player, thereby pushing up the price of ANY player in whom United had any interest.

In the next window he vastly overpaid for Angel Di Maria, a fact which was proven when they sold him shortly afterwards for around £15 million less than they paid. So on these two transfers alone, Woodward has cost the club £19 million.

In this respect Woodward is a typical ‘successful salesman’. He makes a lot of money, whether that be personally or for the club, consequently he spends, (some, including myself, would say “wastes”), a lot of money. The salesman will justify his wastefulness by pointing out that HE makes the money so HE will spend the money. Woodward strikes me as being that type of person.

So the obvious answer is to relieve him of his duties on the football side of things. The other obvious answer, which United seem reluctant to consider, is to appoint a Director of Football who would be responsible for all footballing matters.

This does not mean that luminaries such as Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton would not be consulted on important appointments, such as the manager, it just means that the final decision would not rest with the Marketing Director.

Assuming that Woodward isn’t removed during the season, then he has to step up to the plate and remove van Gaal. The team is now being booed at the end of each half in every game, which reflects badly, not just on van Gaal, but also on Woodward.

It is also fairly obvious that the players are trying to carry out the manager’s instructions, but these are just not working and their confidence is visibly draining on an almost weekly basis. It must also be hard on the team when he insists on so many players playing out of position. United are the only “top” club to do this and it is the legacy of failure during the last transfer window.

It has been said that van Gaal is happy to leave at the end of the season. Why make him wait that long?

So, Mr Woodward, do the decent thing. Pep Guardiola is going to Manchester City, unless you know differently, but Jose Mourinho is available NOW,. Manchester United have problems NOW.

You can then hang on until the end of the season before returning to the bowels of the marketing department from whence you came.