Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal feels Ed Woodward’s departure will help incoming United manager Erik ten Hag’s rebuilding ambitions.
After arriving at Old Trafford in 2012, Woodward resigned as United’s vice-chairman and chief executive officer this year. Richard Arnold, the club’s current Chief Executive Officer, took his post.
The club has struggled on the field since winning its last Premier League title in the 2012-13 season. Many of the Red Devils’ transfers have been a failure, and Woodward has taken the brunt of the blame.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013, they’ve also hired and fired four different permanent managers. In nine years, Ten Hag will be their fifth full-time boss. However, Van Gaal feels that Arnold’s arrival as the CEO could make a difference for Ten Hag.
As reported by SkySports, he said:
“There is now a new leadership. It was Woodward and now it is Richard Arnold and that can make the difference. So we have to wait and see. He (Ten Hag) has a lot of confidence. So who am I to say something about that?”
Van Gaal was in charge of Manchester United for two years between 2014 and 2016. The head coach of the Netherlands made numerous statements regarding Manchester United before his team’s UEFA Nations League match against Wales.
It’s worth mentioning that Van Gaal earlier cautioned Ten Hag about taking over as manager at Old Trafford. He labelled Manchester United as a “commercial club” in March of this year, and suggested Ten Hag would be better off heading to a “football club.”
