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There must be times when Ed Woodward wonders how his work has turned out the way it has.
At around 7:20 p.m. BST on Saturday it might as well have been one of them.
As Manchester United’s executive vice president sat in the Old Trafford directors box to watch the Crystal Palace celebration a second consecutive win at Old Trafford And the best start to the season in the top flight in its history, it will not have been overlooked that one of the main architects of the Eagles’ 3-1 victory, double-scorer Wilfried Zaha, is a player who sold .
Around Woodward, the vast cathedral Manchester United calls home remains closed to the public, while the stadium’s lucrative mega-store remains empty, with boxes quiet.
He couldn’t imagine when he took office in 2013, with the England club champion, that days like this would exist.
Even before United began their season against Palace, Woodward was in a difficult position.
Since the summer of 2019, he has presided over a net expenditure of £ 160 million, which United believes is more than any other major club in the world over the same period.
Yet it remained the target of an increasingly agitated fan base dismissing the numbers and the obvious financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic costing United £ 5 million in lost revenue every time they play a home game. He knew Liverpool had just committed £ 65m to Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota. I knew Tottenham were ready to confirm the return of Gareth Bale.
Woodward really needed United to start his season with a win. They not only failed, they were horrible.
From his seat in the Sky TV studio, former United captain Patrice Evra was furious: “I’m burning inside. There is so much negativity about the transfer window and the club has done nothing about it. I’m exhausted and it’s just the first time”. day of the season “.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team selection was strange. Pairing Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Daniel James on the right when Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Mason Greenwood started on the bench weakened United. As it turned out, Fosu-Mensah was one of United’s best players.
Across the team, United were poor: Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford ineffective in attack, Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes shadows of what they can be in midfield, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof thought and outplayed at the rear.
To be fair, as Solskjaer pointed out, even with a delayed start to the season, United only had five days of preparation time.
“Roy [Hodgson] he said they had four friendlies and this was their third competitive game, “said the United manager.” It’s a huge difference from our only friendly against Aston Villa last week. You can see that we are short.
“We need games, we need sharpness and time to get back to our best level. We are going to improve, but we are trying to catch up.”
In this, of all seasons, time to catch up is limited.
United will go to Luton for the EFL Cup on Tuesday. If they win, they won’t have a week off until just before Christmas, and that depends on cup commitments.
The problem is more fundamental. United just don’t have enough good players.
Addressing the problem is the hard part.
Talk to the folks at United and they can get impressive figures of money invested in the team (£ 900m gross during Woodward’s tenure), a major recent investment in the academy to attract youngsters of the caliber of Frenchman Hannibal Mejbri 17-year-old who was outstanding during a 6-0 victory at Salford in the EFL Trophy on September 9.
United argues that they have a strategy that is paying off. They also note that their self-sustaining business model calls for prudence in these uncertain times.
These are solid points. But what tends to come back from those who dismiss them or simply refuse to listen is what its current model of ownership costs United.
The respected Swiss Ramble blogger said in a recent post that over the past five years, the club had paid the Glazer family 89 million pounds in stock dividends, in addition to 120 million pounds in interest on their debt. What better use, these fans wonder, could United have made of the money?
Meanwhile, as Solskjaer and his staff wait for the newcomers, frustration grows.
Jadon Sancho’s play is stagnant, although given the 20 years kicked off Borussia Dortmund’s 3-0 victory against Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday, he could be forgiven for staying where he is even if United met the £ 100 million asking price.
United have had talks about Porto’s Brazilian defender Alex Telles, but once again there is no agreement on a fee and sources have suggested a deal is not as close as reported.
Each name brings more criticism when it does not follow a signing. It seems unfair, and it probably is, but that’s the landscape all the big clubs operate in when the results don’t go their way.
For now, Solskjaer can only put on a brave face and try to get more out of the players he already has.
“We have to look from the inside,” said the Norwegian, when asked if he needed new signings.
“We can play much better than today. If you look at the players we have on the field and on the bench and not here, we know we can do better.
“We are always looking to improve if something is available at the right price, but we can all look in the mirror.”
