AHEAD OF THE GAME: Woodward will NOT delay Man United departure

AHEAD OF THE GAME: Ed Woodward will NOT delay his departure to hire new Manchester United boss… but executive vice-chairman is likely to be offered a consultancy role

  • Ed Woodward to leave his position at Manchester United as planned in April
  • Managing director Richard Arnold has been lined up to succeed Woodward
  • Meanwhile, Brentford’s boffins have concluded that they should finish 15th 
  • And Derby are willing to gamble on Wayne Rooney’s £90,000-a-week wages

Ed Woodward is set to leave his position as Manchester United’s executive vice-chairman as planned in April with managing director Richard Arnold lined up to succeed him. 

While Woodward took a hands-on role in last week’s dramatic events at Old Trafford with the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and recruitment of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager, he is not planning to stay on until a permanent appointment has been made next summer. 

Managing director Richard Arnold (L) is lined up to succeed Ed Woodward (R) at Man United

Arnold is understood to want to take charge as soon as possible, although a final decision regarding the timing of the transition rests with the Glazer family.

Woodward is likely to be offered a consultancy role at United whenever he finally departs, with the club eager to retain his contacts and influence in the industry. 

WE’RE STAYING UP, SAY BRENTFORD!  

Brentford’s ground-breaking mathematical approach to the transfer market and performance analytics has enabled the club to punch above their weight, and fans will hope the boffins continue to deliver. 

Having studied the latest data after 12 Premier League matches, Brentford’s team have concluded that they should finish 15th, which should give Thomas Frank’s players some confidence ahead of Sunday’s game against Everton following a run of five games without a league win.

Brentford’s boffins believe they should finish 15th in the Premier League this season

NEW PREM DIRECTOR LOOKS TO DELAY INDEPENDENT REGULATOR  

The Premier League’s recently appointed director of policy and corporate affairs, Helen MacNamara, has emerged as a key player in the top flight’s attempts to delay and dilute the recommendations of Tracey Crouch’s fan-led review, which this week called for the creation of an independent regulator and greater redistribution of money to the lower divisions. 

The former deputy Cabinet Secretary, who is effectively No 2 at the Premier League to chief executive Richard Masters, has impeccable connections in Government after spending 20 years in the civil service and is well-placed to make the big clubs’ case that major reforms will damage the competitiveness of the league and its global standing. 

MacNamara has already made her presence felt in robust negotiations with the EFL , and will lead the Premier League’s attempts to delay any major changes until after the next General Election.

ROONEY’S WAGES ARE OFF LIMITS!  

Derby’s administrators Quantuma are resisting the temptation to save money by cutting Wayne Rooney’s salary as they regard the manager as the club’s biggest asset in their attempts to find a buyer. 

The former England captain is still receiving his £90,000 a week wages in full despite Derby’s perilous financial position, which includes debts of £83m, a further £153m ‘soft loan’ due to former owner Mel Morris and cash assets totalling just £630,000. 

Wayne Rooney is still receiving £90,000 a week despite Derby’s perilous financial position

Quantuma reason that retaining Rooney will create more interest in the club, a gamble that looks to be paying off as a Malaysian-backed consortium have emerged this month to rival a £50m offer for Derby from American businessman Chris Kirchner. 

EFL LEFT IRRITATED BY VILLA CHIEF  

EFL clubs have been irritated by Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow’s erroneous claim this week that the Premier League have lent the lower divisions £250million to help them through the pandemic. 

The borrowing Purslow referred to as he argued against calls for greater redistribution was a £117.5m loan to the EFL provided by MetLife Investment Management that was agreed in March to be distributed among the Championship clubs. 

The Premier League were involved in the process, but their only financial contribution was committing to make payments of up to £15m to help secure the lending facility. 

EFL clubs have been irritated by Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow this week 

The Premier League have also provided £50m in aid for struggling clubs in League One and Two, as well as up to £20m in monitored loans, so their total aid to the EFL throughout the pandemic is about a quarter of the £250m cited by Purslow. 

Perhaps he was thinking of the estimated figure EFL clubs have lost due to missing gate receipts over the last two years. 




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