Ed Woodward must stop looking down Man Utd’s Fergie-era memory lane and find a new path as he rebuilds the club… or he could pay the price

MANCHESTER UNITED knocked Liverpool off their perch in the 90’s but are in danger of making the same mistakes their arch rivals made rebuilding the club.

This summer could set United back on course to challenge Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp’s side, who are a cut above the rest in the Premier League.

Or Ed Woodward can get it spectacularly wrong with his choice for the club’s first ever technical director, by getting sucked into romance and mystique of past glories hiring a “United Man”.

Liverpool were in the wilderness for decades staying faithful to the old “Boot Room” way after Kenny Dalglish quit in 1991.

Graeme Souness and Roy Evans came and went leaving Gerard Houllier, Rafa Benitez and Roy Hodgson trying to pick up the pieces.

Only now with Jurgen Klopp’s fresh outlook on a club going nowhere do Liverpool fans feel they are on the verge of something special.

While looking to Bayern Munich who have always hired their own, Woodward wants ex-players who understand United’s history and values.

Mike Phelan fancies it, but his only experience of being a technical director is with A-League flops Central Coast Mariners, yes the team who finished bottom of the league and gave Usain Bolt a trial.

LIVING IN THE PAST

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is reportedly lobbying for Phelan – the same man who can’t stop going on about United’s history.

His refusal to park in the manager’s spot at Carrington formerly occupied by Sir Alex Ferguson, the man he calls the boss shows how ridiculous it has got.

Rio Ferdinand, Darren Fletcher and Nemanja Vidic have all had a cosy chat with Woodward about future roles in the football department.

Modern-day technical directors have a network of contacts spanning the globe unearthing gems with the super-agents on speed dial, that’s the sort of candidate needed if they have any chance of getting back to where they think they should be

DIFFERENT OPTIONS

Respecting United’s history is fine, use it as a reference point to show the current crop of players the standards they need to attain.

But what is required to challenge the top two is not a trip down memory lane, Woodward has a golden opportunity to steer the club in a new direction and inject fresh thinking around the place.

RB Leipzig’s Paul Mitchell was a leading candidate – the Manchester boy would jump at the chance to move to Old Trafford.

But the Leipzig top brass are not daft, they know they have one of the best eyes for talent in Europe and are desperate to tie him down to a new long-term deal.

Former Lokomotiv Moscow chief Erik Stoffelshaus has spoken to Woodward about the vacancy.

Another operator with an excellent track record of spotting and developing talent.

But this pair with bundles to offer United could have their wings clipped moving to Old Trafford with their new transfer chief having to answer to Woodward, his lieutenant Matt Judge, Solskjaer and incredibly, three chief scouts.

All will have a say on player incomings, rendering the technical director role useless as they compete with Europe’s elite for players.

United have cash to burn and burnt plenty since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
While everyone’s voice will be heard, no one will carry the can if recruitment goes wrong.

United need a shrewd operator in the shark-infested transfer market, someone with a real eye for young talent and a technical director with a clear long-term plan.

Woodward is under huge pressure to get this right – Solskjaer is his fourth manager in six years and if he gets it wrong again, it will be a disaster for United that could take decades to recover from.

Making a hash of this would surely mean he must fall on his sword.