Starting with saving Manchester United

Manchester United has never been as "lively" as this morning in the last 30 years.

In just one hour, one act ended and another began.

Just as Giggs and the other Class of '92 legends had been suppressed and everyone was still reeling from the shock of the "mutiny," Woodward convened another meeting of all coaches and staff.

As Manchester United's executive vice-chairman and CEO, Woodward has officially appointed Yang Fan to temporarily take charge of Manchester United's first team.

"We will find a suitable head coach as soon as possible."

Despite having received prior notice, and despite Woodward's clear statement that Yang Fan's takeover was only temporary and that he would step down once a new coach arrived, the situation remains unclear.

But it still shocked everyone.

A 25-year-old rookie who has only been with Manchester United for a little over six months and has no professional football experience is taking over Manchester United?

It was clear that Woodward was not there to solicit opinions, but to announce the appointment.

He asked everyone at Carrington to cooperate actively with Yang Fan and work hard to stabilize Manchester United's current situation.

"For us at Manchester United, the most important thing this season is to stay calm and composed!"

score?

After losing 0-3 to Liverpool at home in the 30th round, Manchester United have played one game less and have 48 points, ranking 7th in the Premier League.

Currently, Mourinho's Chelsea are at the top of the Premier League table with 66 points.

Liverpool, thanks to their resounding victory at Old Trafford, have 65 points, putting them right behind Liverpool.

Pellegrini's Manchester City also has one game in hand and currently has 64 points.

Wenger's Arsenal are in 4th place with 63 points.

In other words, Manchester United are a full 15 points behind Arsenal.

Given Manchester United's current situation, it's virtually impossible for them to make up 15 points in the last 9 league games.

As for the last front, the Champions League, they lost 0-2 to Olympiacos in the first leg of the round of 16.

With this kind of performance, who can still have hope?

From Woodward to Carrington, everyone was mentally prepared to end the season empty-handed.

Stability is the top priority right now!

After the general meeting, Ed Woodward called a meeting with the heads of several core departments and solemnly asked everyone to fully cooperate with Yang Fan's work.

Yang Fan read a clear signal from the expressions of these department heads.

Dissatisfied!

This is also normal.

In terms of seniority, all the department heads are veterans.

The youngest head of video analytics, Steve Brown, may be born in 79, but he joined Manchester United in 01 and has been highly valued by Ferguson for over a decade.

He is rarely mentioned by the media and fans, but he is a true confidant of Ferguson.

Head of scouting Jim Lawler joined Manchester United in 05 and had previously been an assistant to Martin Ferguson.

Steve McNally, the head of the medical department, also joined Manchester United in 06.

And then there's Richard Hawkins, the strength and conditioning director, who came in 08.

Not to mention the most senior and most respected David Hobson, who was the founder of the Professional Football Scouts Association of England.

But all of these people have one thing in common: they all came from the Ferguson era.

Here we must mention the management structure of Manchester United during the Ferguson era.

Previously, Manchester United's management was roughly divided into two parts.

David Gill oversaw administration, including operations, finance, and fan services. Starting in 05, Woodward, as the Glazer family's spokesperson, took over commercial sponsorships, marketing, and media relations.

But none of these jobs are held at Carrington.

A key achievement that enabled Woodward to succeed David Gill as Manchester United's executive vice-chairman and CEO was that the club's revenue doubled year after year during his tenure.

This made the American boss very satisfied.

Ferguson personally oversaw Carrington's affairs, including the first team, medical services, scouting, youth academy, transfers, and so on.

Was it the American boss and Woodward's determination to reform that led to Ferguson's sudden retirement?

Ferguson's retirement allowed American bosses and Woodward to seize the opportunity to launch reforms.

Nobody knows.

However, since the summer of 2013, when Woodward replaced David Gill, Manchester United's administrative headquarters have moved from Manchester to London.

Several departments in Carrington that Ferguson previously managed have now been taken back by Woodward.

David Moyes was only in charge of the first team.

This led to the dispute that took place last summer.

Why did Manchester United struggle to make signings in the summer of 2013?

Woodward's side believes it's Moyes's fault: "You reached an agreement with us in May to sign a contract at the end of the season, and then you went on a comfortable vacation. You didn't return to the club until the team's training camp in early July, during which time we could only communicate by phone."

This severely hampered the transfer process.

Moyes, on the other hand, believed that since all the power had been taken away, he was just a manager of the first team and could only offer opinions on transfers. Whether he was present or not, did it matter?

This creates a very fatal power vacuum.

Woodward would find it difficult to manage so many departments and businesses on his own, and he knows nothing about football.

Therefore, in November, Manchester United poached John Mottaf from Everton.

Departments involved in transfers, such as youth training, scouting, and video analysis, were all assigned to John Mottaf for specific management.

In theory, John Motav, David Moyes, and Chief Medical Officer Steve McNally, among others, were all directly subordinate to Woodward and were considered to be at the same level.

However, professional football is also an industry that highly emphasizes cross-departmental cooperation.

Steve Brown's video analytics department doesn't just serve the scouting department; it also provides a full suite of services to the first team, including match analysis and player scouting.

This has led to a significant increase in the cost of internal team communication.

In the past, Ferguson could make all the decisions by himself, but now?

Everyone was at a loss.

But the more important issue is that John Mottaf manages scouting, video analytics, and youth academy, while Alan Dawson manages the operations of venues like Old Trafford, Carrington, and Cliff.

These are all in Manchester.

John Motav and Alan Dawson, however, worked in London from nine to five every day.

This becomes extremely chaotic, with very high costs for internal communication and decision-making.

For Yang Fan, whether he submits or not is not important.

Importantly, after Woodward gave the order to "fully cooperate," he had the authority to act expediently.

Whether or not we went all out is not for you to decide, but for me to decide.

On what grounds?

Just because I'm a member of the process reform team, and our team leader is Woodward.

Identity is temporary, but power is real!

Moreover, Yang Fan immediately put his power into practice.

He immediately requested that the medical department provide a detailed medical examination and rehabilitation report for all players as soon as possible, and that the fitness department provide a fitness report and condition assessment for all first-team players.

He also needed the video analytics department's report, which included analysis of Manchester United's matches over the past two months.

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war. Our match against Olympiacos in Greece in three days is a do-or-die game; we cannot afford to lose!"

Woodward wholeheartedly agreed with Yang Fan's resounding words.

The money you get for reaching the Champions League quarterfinals is much more than that for reaching the round of 16.

Prize money is one thing, but ticket revenue from home games, commercial sponsorships, and stadium closures all cost money.

Through this back and forth, Yang Fan solidified his power.

Having witnessed the "coup" led by Giggs and others, and with Woodward's personal support, he didn't believe these people would dare to outwardly comply while inwardly defying him.

After the core department's high-level meeting, the players began to arrive at Carrington one after another.

They clearly knew some information in advance.

It's no secret that Moyes resigned yesterday.

Given Yang Fan's strong suppression of the mutiny that morning, it's impossible that the players didn't receive the news.

However, thanks to Woodward's personal support, Yang Fan's first meeting with the players as the interim head coach went smoothly.

The only thing that surprised the players and caused a bit of a stir was Yang Fan's announcement of the return of several rules and habits from the Ferguson era.

This includes the champion meal.

But to think that you can win over players and make them truly convinced by these things is just wishful thinking.

It was mostly about reassurance.

As the head coach's assistant, Jackie Kay is the first team's logistics director, and she is responsible for communicating and supervising the implementation of Yang Fan's new regulations.

After seeing Woodward and his group off, Yang Fan returned to his office, where Paul Brand arrived.

He had already accomplished the first task Yang Fan asked him to do.

A player list and scouting assessment report for Manchester United's first team, reserve team, and U18 team.

Yang Fan took a look and immediately started cursing!