Manchester United have confirmed Richard Arnold will become the club’s chief executive officer from 1 February, taking over from Ed Woodward.
Woodward does not officially leave Old Trafford until April, but it has been an open secret that Arnold, formerly Group Managing Director, was in line to replace him.
“I am honoured to have the chance to serve this great club and its fans,” Arnold said. “I am determined to return that honour in any way I can.”
Executive co-chairman Joel Glazer described his arrival as the start of “a new phase in the club’s evolution, with ambitious plans for investment in Old Trafford, the strengthening of our engagement with fans, and continued drive towards our most important objective – winning on the pitch.”
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The order of those priorities tells you everything you need to know about how United have been run in the years since Sir Alex Ferguson, and perhaps of similar significance, David Gill, stepped down.
By that measure, Arnold seems an appropriate fit. The commercial specialist attracted the derision of fans when, upon the signing of Odion Ighalo, he was most excited not by the striker’s ability but by the fact that “Ighalo” was the top trend on Twitter that day.
Like Woodward, he has impressed the Glazers not with football nous but by attracting the shirt sponsors TeamViewer, working on brand partnerships, and opening club offices in various cities around the world.
United appear to have opted for more of the same, unconscious of the very real issues with the club’s direction and the relationship between success on the pitch and off it.
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A new manager
The board will have the input of interim manager Ralf Rangnick, who is expected to move upstairs at the end of the season. The fact a short-term appointment was made at all summed up the dearth in the current market and finding a long-term successor won’t be easy – by the summer, Mauricio Pochettino will still have a year left on his PSG contract, they have missed out on Antonio Conte, and Brendan Rodgers’ stock may have fallen even further.
What happens to Rangnick?
This week has been littered with reports that United players are underwhelmed by Rangnick, unconvinced by his profile and his training methods. That could make it problematic if he continues to wield influence at board level.
A (sensible) transfer list
Once again, United spent big in the summer but failed to prioritise. The return of Cristiano Ronaldo was a huge PR coup, yet one which seemed totally at odds with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s system, dependent on a high-pressing forward, and is absolutely incongruous with Rangnick’s approach. Jadon Sancho was another big move on paper, but United were not short of wide men and the England international has not yielded the same results as in the Bundesliga.
“Engaging” the fans
On this point, Joel Glazer is onto something. The fans do need winning over – not necessarily with trending tweets and sanitised speeches from the board, though. By vision and ambition, and a sense that even if United aren’t winning trophies, they are on the right track.
Redeveloping Old Trafford
Gary Neville is among the high-profile voices who has questioned the state of the ground. It has undergone some developments in recent charges, expanding the supporter access section and adapting ahead of the introduction of safe standing. Yet there remains a sense that Old Trafford looks outdated, particularly in comparison to more modern European stadia.
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Woodward’s legacy
The party line from United has always been that Woodward’s exit had nothing to do with the botched European Super League, but the timing was conspicuous. He has become the fall guy and his departure is unlikely to be mourned by the fans.
Since picking up the job in 2013, he has spent £1bn on transfers. In some cases, United have paid over the odds – see Harry Maguire and Paul Pogba. In others, they have rushed towards the other end of the spectrum, luring Amad Diallo from Atalanta before he was equipped to make any kind of impact.
It has in many ways been a thankless task presiding over the post-Fergie years, so where Woodward can fairly be judged is not in Premier League titles – United won zero in his tenure – but in whether they have made progress in the last nine years. Whatever his credentials in the boardroom, in football terms, it is hard to see how they have moved on.
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