Man United fans will rage after Ed Woodward’s Man City & Liverpool confession
Man United fans are sure to be hugely unimpressed with the latest revelations to have emerged around the club’s former chief executive, Ed Woodward.
Having taken on that role in 2012, the now 53-year-old left his post in 2022, having been roundly criticised for the job he did.
Following the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson as manager in 2013, the Red Devils drastically diminished as a force in English football.
They have not won the Premier League title since then, and have even struggled to get into the Champions League on numerous occasions.
Many, both Man United fans and outside observers felt the way Woodward ran the club, including the how he oversaw transfers, contributed to those struggles.
These latest claims to have emerged around his running of the club are unlikely to help his image in the eyes of the club’s supporters either, as it emerged the Red Devils were “waiting” for Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola to leave the Premier League before they could rise again.
Ed Woodward Man United resurgence plan has backfired badly
In the years since Ferguson’s departure, it is Man City and Liverpool who emerged as the dominant forces in England.
Under Guardiola, who has just extended his deal at The Etihad, and the now departed Klopp respectively, the two sides have been streaks ahead of the United in terms of success and league standing.
It seems as though Woodward’s plan to move Man United ahead of those sides, was far from revolutionary as well.
Speaking on the It’s All Kicking Off Podcast this week, the Daily Mail journalist Ian Ladyman revealed in the wake of Guardiola’s new contract: “I remember having a chat with Ed Woodward at Manchester United when he stepped down as Chief Executive at Old Trafford three or four years ago now.
“He said to me that one of the things that United were waiting for, was the end of the Jurgen Klopp era, and the end of the Pep Guardiola era, which would give them and other clubs a chance to roll around and come back to the surface and have their time in the sun again.
“Well, they’ve got rid of Klopp and his replacement has got Liverpool top of the Premier League, and when they think they’re getting rid of Pep Guardiola, he ain’t going anywhere, so good luck Ruben Amorim.”
Jurgen Klopp gone at Liverpool, Pep Guardiola remains at Man City
Not only has that plan not worked out on Merseyside, with Arne Slot making an excellent start at Anfield, but Guardiola has trashed it across the city, and it is far from inspiring either.
As one of the biggest and most successful clubs in the history of world football, to simply wait things out and hope for others to move on elsewhere feels like an incredibly underwhelming stance, given the resources they had available to make an effort to challenge.
It also feels rather naive to think that the departure of one manager would simply bring about the downfall of one club after they had been allowed to lay such foundations, as Slot is now proving with Liverpool, in stark contrast to the post-Ferguson collapse at Old Trafford under David Moyes.
This will also hurt even more for Man United fans, given it is their two closest rivals that have been allowed to enjoy this period of dominance, while their club has been left to languish in mediocrity.
Woodward’s reputation among the Red Devils faithful was far from positive even before this, and it is certainly hard to imagine these comments will have done it any favours either.
Fans will have to hope that with him gone from the club those who followed have a more ambitious plan to challenge in their own right, but it might explain why United continue to cycle through manager’s as they fail to get back to the top.
In other news, Man United are plotting to sign a new striker for Ruben Amorim.
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