IT’S CERTAINLY A new era at Manchester United. In 1989, following his side’s humiliating 5-1 defeat at Maine Road, Alex Ferguson went home, closed the curtains and lay for hours with his head buried under a pillow.
Over the days that followed, he felt ‘like a criminal’ as he sheepishly skulked around the streets.
It’s different under David Moyes. Two days after his first Manchester derby ended in similar embarrassment, he was speaking to the press and admitting there are likely to be more dark days ahead as the seismic transition continues. And even with a critical midweek Capital One Cup success over Liverpool, it’s been a difficult few months.
After a much-maligned transfer window and an inauspicious start to the Premier League season, the club is ripe for criticism. But speaking to TheScore.ie, Damien Comolli, former Director of Football at Tottenham and Liverpool, says it’s too early to fear the worst.
“I think what people shouldn’t forget is that Manchester United just won the league and they’ve got an incredible team. They’ve got one of the best strikers in the world, they’ve bought a player to play in a position they needed to strengthen, they’ve got a fantastic squad. There is no reason for them to panic. You panic when you’re not competitive but they’ve got an extremely competitive team,” he says.
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Still, the club’s strategy regarding potential transfer targets has appeared more than a little panicked. Possible deals for Thiago Alcantara, Cesc Fabregas, Ander Herrera and Leighton Baines all failed to materialise while a frenzied conclusion to deadline-day saw them lose out on Fabio Coentrao too. With Mesut Oezil having an instant impact at high-flying Arsenal, Manchester City gathering momentum under Manuel Pellegrini and Chelsea digging out results if not performances, United are playing catch-up with their main rivals already. Comolli, who believes United would have benefited from having a Director of Football in place this summer to ease with the transition, thinks the magnitude of changes behind-the-scenes during the summer had a big impact.
“I cannot remember any big club in the top 10 or 15 in the world that has been in a situation where a manager joins on 1 July, there’s also a chief executive and they’re both new to the job. They’ve never worked together before, the chief executive has never done the job before. So, there was definitely somebody missing who could have helped the process. The only club I can remember going through a similarly massive change was Juventus a few years ago.
“They appointed a new chief executive in Guiseppe Marotta from Sampdoria and he brought Fabio Paratici with him as Director of Football. They went out and interviewed for the position of head coach and appointed Antonio Conte the following summer. It was step by step but because there was a Director of Football, it helped. And, they’ve been very successful since then. So, it was a different process. Maybe Manchester United should’ve approached the process differently.”
Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward and Manchester United director and former player Jack Charlton in the stands. Pic: Mike Egerton/EMPICS Sport
Back in mid-July, Ed Woodward, Manchester United’s new chief executive, left the club’s tour of Australia abruptly to deal with ‘urgent transfer business’. It was widely reported that United’s pursuit of Cesc Fabregas was gathering momentum. The transfer never happened. Many suspected United of having been played, a pawn in Fabregas’ attempts to possibly wangle a better deal from Barca. But, Comolli suspects there was a genuine chance of the midfielder moving to Old Trafford.
“Very often, there’s a big difference in what’s actually happened during the transfer window and what’s being alleged. And when you’re a club executive or a club director, it’s often a big frustration but unfortunately you can’t say what’s really gone on.
“I thought Cesc was a possibility. The player is not playing on a regular basis and also, what makes me suspicious in those situations is when the player says nothing. There was this chase, the reports said three bids were made and Fabregas never came out to say ‘I’m staying here’ until very late”.
Another midfield target for United was Athletic Bilbao’s Herrera. A possible transfer was first mooted on deadline day. But with the Basque club notoriously difficult negotiators and with so little time left in the window to work out the intricacies of a complex deal, it wasn’t much of a surprise when the 24-year-old stayed put. It has been suggested that Moyes will make another move for Herrera in January but Comolli has suggested that United may face competition for his signature.
“Herrera is a player that the top 10 clubs have been following for a while. We followed him at Spurs when he was only a kid at Zaragoza and we followed him again when were at Liverpool. Our scout in Spain was a big, big fan. I love the player. But, you never know if he would easily flourish in the Premier League. You just never know what you’re going get when a foreign player comes in. Sometimes they have problems adapting and it’s a very competitive squad at United so it’s not easy to win a starting place. I think they’ll keep an eye on him, for sure. They’ll follow him closely.”
Though Comolli acknowledges Athletic are tough operators when it comes to potentially losing any of their players, he thinks clubs face an even greater obstacle when chasing a Bilbao target.
“Athletic is probably the only club in the world where there is such a strong bond between the players and the club because of what the club represents. When you speak to players over there, they want to play for Athletic Bilbao – that’s their dream. Their dream is not to start their career at Bilbao and then move to a United or a Bayern Munich. They’ve already fulfilled their dream when they play for Bilbao. And that’s why it’s so difficult to get players out of there – they’re that much in love with the football club and the shirt.
Winter is coming
So, should we expect United to right the wrongs of their summer transfer strategy and do some business in January? Traditionally, the club has avoided any major deals in the winter window — the arrivals of Louis Saha in 2004 and Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra two years later proving the exceptions. Unlike his predecessor though, Moyes has a proven track record with mid-season signings in recent seasons. The successful acquisitions of Jelavic, Gibson, Pienaar (loan), Donovan (twice) and Coleman suggest that Moyes’ intensive research on potential targets allows him the confidence to move for players at any stage of the season. Comolli believes Moyes and United will only move in the January market if the club is sitting outside the top four.
“The way I see recruitment — it’s about processes. And when you’ve got processes in place and everybody at the club is comfortable with them, you need to stick to them, no matter if it’s deadline day or not. I think the majority of clubs try to keep a cool head, respect their processes, respect their list, respect the work the scouts have been doing throughout the season and do things the right way. Maybe United will say, ‘There’s an opportunity to make a deal in January, let’s do it’ or they might feel they’re okay. Unless they’re sitting outside a Champions League spot come November or December, faraway from the top. But, I don’t think that will be the case. If they’re in the top three towards the end of the year and still in contention, they won’t make any panic buys.”
Damien Comolli: no need for United or Moyes to panic after cruel summer
IT’S CERTAINLY A new era at Manchester United. In 1989, following his side’s humiliating 5-1 defeat at Maine Road, Alex Ferguson went home, closed the curtains and lay for hours with his head buried under a pillow.
Over the days that followed, he felt ‘like a criminal’ as he sheepishly skulked around the streets.
It’s different under David Moyes. Two days after his first Manchester derby ended in similar embarrassment, he was speaking to the press and admitting there are likely to be more dark days ahead as the seismic transition continues. And even with a critical midweek Capital One Cup success over Liverpool, it’s been a difficult few months.
After a much-maligned transfer window and an inauspicious start to the Premier League season, the club is ripe for criticism. But speaking to TheScore.ie, Damien Comolli, former Director of Football at Tottenham and Liverpool, says it’s too early to fear the worst.
“I think what people shouldn’t forget is that Manchester United just won the league and they’ve got an incredible team. They’ve got one of the best strikers in the world, they’ve bought a player to play in a position they needed to strengthen, they’ve got a fantastic squad. There is no reason for them to panic. You panic when you’re not competitive but they’ve got an extremely competitive team,” he says.
Still, the club’s strategy regarding potential transfer targets has appeared more than a little panicked. Possible deals for Thiago Alcantara, Cesc Fabregas, Ander Herrera and Leighton Baines all failed to materialise while a frenzied conclusion to deadline-day saw them lose out on Fabio Coentrao too. With Mesut Oezil having an instant impact at high-flying Arsenal, Manchester City gathering momentum under Manuel Pellegrini and Chelsea digging out results if not performances, United are playing catch-up with their main rivals already. Comolli, who believes United would have benefited from having a Director of Football in place this summer to ease with the transition, thinks the magnitude of changes behind-the-scenes during the summer had a big impact.
“They appointed a new chief executive in Guiseppe Marotta from Sampdoria and he brought Fabio Paratici with him as Director of Football. They went out and interviewed for the position of head coach and appointed Antonio Conte the following summer. It was step by step but because there was a Director of Football, it helped. And, they’ve been very successful since then. So, it was a different process. Maybe Manchester United should’ve approached the process differently.”
Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward and Manchester United director and former player Jack Charlton in the stands. Pic: Mike Egerton/EMPICS Sport
Back in mid-July, Ed Woodward, Manchester United’s new chief executive, left the club’s tour of Australia abruptly to deal with ‘urgent transfer business’. It was widely reported that United’s pursuit of Cesc Fabregas was gathering momentum. The transfer never happened. Many suspected United of having been played, a pawn in Fabregas’ attempts to possibly wangle a better deal from Barca. But, Comolli suspects there was a genuine chance of the midfielder moving to Old Trafford.
“Very often, there’s a big difference in what’s actually happened during the transfer window and what’s being alleged. And when you’re a club executive or a club director, it’s often a big frustration but unfortunately you can’t say what’s really gone on.
“I thought Cesc was a possibility. The player is not playing on a regular basis and also, what makes me suspicious in those situations is when the player says nothing. There was this chase, the reports said three bids were made and Fabregas never came out to say ‘I’m staying here’ until very late”.
Another midfield target for United was Athletic Bilbao’s Herrera. A possible transfer was first mooted on deadline day. But with the Basque club notoriously difficult negotiators and with so little time left in the window to work out the intricacies of a complex deal, it wasn’t much of a surprise when the 24-year-old stayed put. It has been suggested that Moyes will make another move for Herrera in January but Comolli has suggested that United may face competition for his signature.
“Herrera is a player that the top 10 clubs have been following for a while. We followed him at Spurs when he was only a kid at Zaragoza and we followed him again when were at Liverpool. Our scout in Spain was a big, big fan. I love the player. But, you never know if he would easily flourish in the Premier League. You just never know what you’re going get when a foreign player comes in. Sometimes they have problems adapting and it’s a very competitive squad at United so it’s not easy to win a starting place. I think they’ll keep an eye on him, for sure. They’ll follow him closely.”
Though Comolli acknowledges Athletic are tough operators when it comes to potentially losing any of their players, he thinks clubs face an even greater obstacle when chasing a Bilbao target.
“Athletic is probably the only club in the world where there is such a strong bond between the players and the club because of what the club represents. When you speak to players over there, they want to play for Athletic Bilbao – that’s their dream. Their dream is not to start their career at Bilbao and then move to a United or a Bayern Munich. They’ve already fulfilled their dream when they play for Bilbao. And that’s why it’s so difficult to get players out of there – they’re that much in love with the football club and the shirt.
Winter is coming
So, should we expect United to right the wrongs of their summer transfer strategy and do some business in January? Traditionally, the club has avoided any major deals in the winter window — the arrivals of Louis Saha in 2004 and Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra two years later proving the exceptions. Unlike his predecessor though, Moyes has a proven track record with mid-season signings in recent seasons. The successful acquisitions of Jelavic, Gibson, Pienaar (loan), Donovan (twice) and Coleman suggest that Moyes’ intensive research on potential targets allows him the confidence to move for players at any stage of the season. Comolli believes Moyes and United will only move in the January market if the club is sitting outside the top four.
“The way I see recruitment — it’s about processes. And when you’ve got processes in place and everybody at the club is comfortable with them, you need to stick to them, no matter if it’s deadline day or not. I think the majority of clubs try to keep a cool head, respect their processes, respect their list, respect the work the scouts have been doing throughout the season and do things the right way. Maybe United will say, ‘There’s an opportunity to make a deal in January, let’s do it’ or they might feel they’re okay. Unless they’re sitting outside a Champions League spot come November or December, faraway from the top. But, I don’t think that will be the case. If they’re in the top three towards the end of the year and still in contention, they won’t make any panic buys.”
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damien camolli Interview Manchester United