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9 months ago
54 Former Tottenham Hotspur director Steve Hitchen has given his verdict on Manchester United’s problem with recruitment.
Poor recruitment has been an issue at Old Trafford for some time, so every man and his dog has an opinion on it.
We are seeing changes being made to the club’s structure following the arrival of Ineos on the board, however, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford have their work cut out for them in order to turn things around at Manchester United.
Recruitment will be a key focus and it’s a topic that has thrown up a lot of criticism for manager Erik ten Hag in recent months. United need to stop overpaying for targets as much as they need to avoid the wrong players.
We can expect to see the addition of proper recruitment staff with proper football experience in the coming months, with suggestions that Ratcliffe and Brailsford are on the verge of naming a new director of football. It remains to be seen what the future holds for football football director John Murtough.
Former Tottenham technical director Steve Hitchen has now offered his take having spoken to BBC Sport.
The Salford-born boyhood United fan, who represented Macclesfield Town during his playing career, is now director of football for the Unique Sports Agency and he represents players like Reece James, Anthony Gordon and Marc Guehi.
Hitchen believes the issues at Old Trafford are down to a lack of constituency throughout the club. He also highlights that Man City have had so many success stories of late because there is a clear vision on and off the pitch, and everyone is on the same page.
“If you have a common way of working, you know your market and the standard of football you are going to play, you are halfway there,” said Hitchen. “Man City’s success rate after Pep Guardiola came in went up dramatically. Why? Because they had a group of people in Txiki Begiristain, Ferran Soriano, Pep and others who all had a clear idea of what type of player they were looking for. So consistency, success and money all combined for them.
“If you look at Manchester United, which is my club from my childhood, they have lost that consistency. You don’t know who the coach is going to be from one season to the next. If you have no clear identity through different types of managers, how can you have a clear philosophy when you are trying to recruit players? Most new coaches want three or four of their own players. All of a sudden you have four different types of players that probably don’t marry with the next coach and what he is looking for. That breeds inconsistency.”
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