MU's loophole

England is the only footballing nation in the world where the head coach is called a “manager”! It may be tradition, or a matter of school, but it is never a mere difference in words. The title is closely linked to the job.

New boss Jim Ratcliffe has identified a huge hole 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 the players' salaries, who to buy and sell, where to train in the summer... Previously, MU coach Alex Ferguson even told Wayne Rooney where to buy a house, what foods to ban during the summer vacation. Sir Alex is great! The problem here is: MU doesn't need a technical director but still dominates for a long time. The consequence: the homeland of football becomes backward because of that wrong thinking, in the development of modern football. And in this matter, MU... 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.

Choosing a technical director is really a weakness of English football, the previous football did not have this title or role. MU was so successful under Sir Alex that they became even more self-delusional, almost unable to recognize the huge loophole in the club's structure. After parting with Sir Alex, MU never found a good or suitable coach, because no one is good at choosing a coach. MU fans now have a little hope, because at least the new owner Jim Ratcliffe has felt this highly technical problem. For a professional club in top football, the role of technical director is even more important than the role of head coach!

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