Of Manchester United and their CEOs

Ed Woodward (far right) with Manchester United directors at the New York Stock Exchange (Getty Images)

Transfers at Old Trafford have always been characterised by the secrecy and silence surrounding the deals, before they eventually come as a surprise to the world. The last transfer window saw Manchester United fail to nail any of their primary targets, whilst at the same time failing to stop news of their interest in a certain player from spreading.

All summer long Ed Woodward has resembled a punch-drunk boxer, staggering to his feet, trying to overcome the effects of the last crunching hook. Multiple rejections have led to a loss of credibility of the organization, and it would be some time before they regain the trust of fellow operators in the market. Never would it have crossed his mind that getting teams to sell their players to Manchester United would prove to be such a tough ask. A baptism of fire, some would say.

But then, it is unfair to expect anything other than that at United. His Wikipedia page describes his first transfer window as disastrous. However bad the window might have been, calling for his sacking is a little too extreme, too early. It’s not like his predecessors always had it good during their times in charge.

Martin Edwards was great as a CEO, lending utmost support to his manager and players. But his handling of the club was questionable on many occasions, as his interest in running a football club was always doubtful. His multiple attempts to sell the club caused it a lot of instability off the pitch. His listing of the club on the stock exchange failed to achieve the purpose of financially stability. Edwards’s personal life off the field also didn’t help matters as he was constantly in the news, again taking the sheen off of the club and its success.

Peter Kenyon is still known as the Judas who turned his back on the club he supported his entire life. He led United to a period of economic stability, and was responsible for the big money signings of Rio Ferdinand, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Juan Sebastian Veron. That being said, some of his shady transfers include the signings of Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and David Bellion.

Before he jumped ship to Chelsea, Kenyon conducted some of his worst business, bringing the above mentioned players in, and they all went bust. His crowning failure as chief executive though, was the shambolic handling of the potential transfer of Ronaldinho, as it became clear that United lost out on the Brazilian because of Kenyon’s reneging on his earlier offer and sending in an offer for less than what was agreed upon.