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Manchester United have been warned by former goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar that even “one little thing” not working in the club’s hierarchy can have negative consequences.
Van der Sar kept goal for United between 2005 and 2011 in one of the club’s most concentrated periods of success, going on to have a successful post-playing career at executive level.
The Dutchman joined former club Ajax as marketing director in 2012, and then becoming chief executive in 2016. On his watch, the Amsterdam giants won three Eredivisie titles and were within a kick of reaching the 2019 Champions League final.
“It’s of utmost importance that all things are connected,” Van der Sar told Sky Sports, referring to his own experience of running a major football club.
“I experienced at Ajax also when one radar, one little thing is not working, it can have an effect down the line,” he added.
United have had a number of chiefs in recent times, switching from Ed Woodward, to Richard Arnold, to interim Patrick Stewart and now Omar Berrada. The club has hired and fired a first ever sporting director in Dan Ashworth, with a technical director, interim recruitment head and other senior figures coming in at boardroom level on the sporting side.
“I think the football structure and the CEO position has been changed also a few times,” Van der Sar went on to say, with the interview likely recorded before Ashworth’s shock exit.
“I think what I feel, what I hear, what I read, I think they’ve all been signed in a certain way that they can back each other up. Unfortunately for Erik ten Hag, the results didn’t work.
“I think now, let’s say, the people who should appoint a manager have appointed their manager (Ruben Amorim), so that would probably work better than the situation a couple of months ago.”
Van der Sar stepped down from his role as Ajax chief executive in May 2023, citing his “need to take some distance, to get some rest, and to do other things” after a challenging final couple of years. Cruelly, he suffered a brain haemorrhage while on holiday only a few weeks later, but now, 18 months on, feels that he has fully recovered.
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