Top of Ed Woodward’s to-do list in the coming months is to appoint Manchester United’s first-ever technical director.
United intend to restructure operations, with the appointment of a technical director and a revamp to the recruitment strategy deemed a priority by the board.
Several ex-players have been linked with roles in the new set-up and Rio Ferdinand is the latest name to be mentioned as a potential candidate for the technical director position.
It’s reported that Ferdinand would turn down any offer for the role and his former long-time teammate, Paul Scholes, has not only doubted whether Ferdinand would fit the bill but actually questioned if there is even any need for a technical director at Old Trafford.
“Whether Rio is the right person, I don’t know. I don’t actually know what a technical director is, what does a technical director do? I don’t know,” Scholes said on BBC 5 Live.
"It seems a waste of time to be honest with you…" 🤔
Paul Scholes tells @RobbieSavage8 he doesn't think #MUFC need a technical director 👇 pic.twitter.com/24haetl2HU
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) May 3, 2019
“I think Sir Alex Ferguson always wanted ex-players involved around the club – whether it was coaching or roles above that – but it never really happened and he never really got his way in that way.
“Rio is a really experienced player but whether he’s got the qualifications to do a role like this, I don’t know. You look at people like Edwin van der Sar, he went to college in Holland to get qualified for the role he is doing now. What Edwin is doing at Ajax has been amazing. That’s always the model Sir Alex Ferguson wanted and never really got.
“It seems like a waste of time to be honest with you. I don’t understand why clubs need a director of football. If you’ve got a manager, he’s the one who buys the players. He’s got a chief scout, obviously, who recommends players and he watches them and then buys them. A director of football role, for me, isn’t needed. It’s just creating jobs around clubs that aren’t necessary. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his chief scout, over the next six weeks, would be best to move in together and nail down everything they want, watching videos, watching games, finding out what positions they need to improve, getting to know each other really well. He needs five or six big players, he knows that, he’s not stupid and hopefully he can improve the squad.”
