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Manchester United owners told who they must bring in this summer
MANCHESTER UNITED must make some key appointments this summer to help improve their chances of success on the pitch, claims Liverpool legend Steve Nicol.
Man United are an 'absolute shambles' says Steve Nicol
Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has often come under criticism during his time in his current role.
Woodward comes from a business background and had no experience in football before taking charge of new player signings from the summer of 2013.
He also has the final say on the future of managers, including the sacking of Jose Mourinho last December.
But Nicol believes United’s owners, the Glazer family, need to make changes as soon as possible by bringing in people with more of a football background to be in charge of on-field matters.
You have to bring in people who know about football in order to get it right on the field
“[The Glazers] want to make money, right,” Nicol told ESPN FC.
“You also want a good team.
“So you have to bring in people who know about football in order to get it right on the field.
“And then you bring in people to work on the money side, so you keep it apart.
“You don’t have the guy that’s good at getting money in but knows nothing about football making football decisions.
“It shouldn’t be that difficult.”
Meanwhile, ESPN reporter and European football expert Gabriele Marcotti says Woodward does not deserve all the blame he has received.
He says the Glazers are content with Manchester United’s performances, where they missed out on Champions League qualification, as long as the business side is running smoothly.
“I think United have made a ton of mistakes,” Marcotti said.
Man United: Woodward's transfer approach is 'weird' says pundit
“I think Ed Woodward is a very convenient lightning rod - I’m not suggesting that he hasn’t made mistakes because he obviously has - but I think in some ways it kind of suits them.
“The Glazers are business people.
“Yeah they want to see United do well and maybe if United do well they’ll make even more money.
“But until this starts really affecting their business, and thus far it really hasn’t, I don’t necessarily think they’re going to make sweeping changes.”