Recruiting the recruiter: United set to land star academy boss
Manchester United have reportedly agreed a deal with Cardiff City and Ben Clarke, Head of Academy Recruitment at the club.
Ben Clarke. Photo courtesy of LinkedIn.
---
Football Insider landed the exclusive story through writer Pete O'Rourke, and the reports are that the move is being driven by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his imminent arrival as a shareholder in Manchester United.
Rumours are already circulating about a 25% stake in the club that Ratcliffe may have managed to acquire, as well as talk about Paul Mitchell being brought in as a Sporting Director or Director of Football. Mitchell is highly rated, having been Head of Recruitment for Southampton and Spurs in their most successful periods in recent years, and more recently working for Leipzig and Monaco.
The acquisition of Ben Clarke would tie in with hiring Mitchell, and with Ratcliffe pushing for an overhaul of United's senior and youth recruitment - at a time where United are slowly improving their transfers but still experiencing great wastage: Maguire, Sancho and Antony all being overvalued or underperforming, just to name a few.
United's academy has produced a few starlets lately. Garnacho was a late addition to the academy, but the likes of Mainoo, Hannibal, Gore and Alvaro Fernandez have been through the system a bit longer. There's undoubtedly value to develop talent rather than splash the cash to acquire it, but this could be an anomaly though.
United's - and Ratcliffe's - challenge is to continue this academy productivity. If Clarke could match or even increase the number of talents being developed at any one time then perhaps we could see a new generation gatecrashing the senior side, ala 1992. Here's hoping.
His team such a pesky against us that we have to put our might just to secure a replay..and it did surprised me that he was sacked few days ago.
There's a reason why so few professional players become a manager. The quick turn around, the stress of the microscopic scrutiny they have to endure and even lesser salary that sometimes have to be divide for their assistants.
It maybe also the reason of why the managers are sometimes can be looked as unhinged or even borderline crazy. To survive in the business you have to be like that. You can't be a normal person to be an elite manager.
Championship review: Free-scoring Fulham are back in the Premier League, Nottingham Forest return after 23 years away as Derby are relegated
Championship review: Free-scoring Fulham are back in the Premier League, Nottingham Forest return after 23 years away as Derby are relegated | @JoshStewart47 #EFL
The Championship season came to a close with most of the clubs’ fates having already been decided in a term that saw a huge gap between the bottom and top.
Fantastic storylines were found up and down the table as delight and disappointment etched themselves onto the faces of the different fanbases.
TIBS News reviews the 2021-22 campaign.
Promoted sides
Champions: Fulham
The Cottagers were…