I have written about this in the past but I have to address it again. Clubs like United need a soccer philosophy that is followed from the U8’s right up to the first team. Why is that important? Simple. Set your style of play, bring in players to fit your style and develop the youth players to fit the style (bring in the ones that fit). Have all the coaches on the same page in the entire club. The club should operate like a well oiled machine without a first team coach even present. The first team coach is nothing more than a person who overseas that first team. He doesn’t go out and buy whatever player he wants, he doesn’t have the freedom to play direct long ball soccer because he wants to. The manager who comes into Barcelona can’t do that! My point is if you want to risk a multi billion-dollar publically traded company like Manchester United, fine than do it. Hire some manager to do whatever he likes with your club and money. Let him train the players in old school methodologies and buy subpar players. I know they beat a greek team to advance in the Cup, but let’s not be fooled. United has fallen.
I am not picking on United or Moyes. What I am saying is “how outdated” is that method! You are risking so much by doing business in that way. Can Sherwood really build Spurs into a top three club? Its just way to much to ask of him! The game and the business of soccer is getting far to complex and scientific. In my opinion the future of soccer will be a team of soccer experts along with the club officials/directors making decisions together. The club will have a developmental and soccer philosophy in place. The specialists will run their departments (video annalists, doctors, fitness experts, set play specialists, scouts) and the head coach will be the figurehead. He will do his coaching and talk to the media but he will not be capable of ruining the club or putting it off track into another direction. His power will be limited. The strength of the club will be in the infrastructure and the quality of the entire team of experts that the club employs. These clubs are worth way to much money nowadays to rely on coaches with gut feelings and ideas about players and tactics. Like I always said at Ajax the head coach can come and go but the methods and systems stay the same. The academy and youth coaches stay the same. United has fallen. They need a better business plan.