The winds of change are swirling around Old Trafford and depending on which way you're facing there is the sense that either revolution is in the air, or chaos is taking hold once again.
On Thursday night the Manchester United players emerged onto the pitch with the whiff of cordite drifting into the stadium, from the flares being held aloft by protesting supporters in the Munich Tunnel. Those fans are voicing their anger at 17 years of mismanagement by the absent Glazer family and the ultimate aim is a change in ownership, but at ground level in Manchester, there is a sense of a club belatedly trying to get its house in order.
The departures of chief scout Jim Lawlor and head of global scouting Marcel Bout have been followed by the resignation of the director of football negotiations Matt Judge. That was a title given to Judge just over a year ago but the fact he is leaving without being replaced on the eve of a transfer window suggests his role is being phased out.
READ MORE: United to make transfer window changes after Matt Judge resignation
Since Richard Arnold replaced Ed Woodward at the start of February there has been a restructuring of the entire business, of which these are the most high-profile changes. United has been too comfortable a club for far too long and at least there is now some attempt to do something about it.
The changes have to signal a long-term approach being taken at Old Trafford, something that has been lacking in recent transfer windows. The most obvious signifier of change this summer is the appointment of Erik ten Hag but the football structure is being streamlined.
While there are no plans for an immediate like-for-like replacement for Judge, United sources say there is an 'ongoing strengthening and evolution of our capabilities' in recruitment.
That might well be admirable, but it's also not a phrase anyone at the Etihad or Anfield is about to come out with. The fact United are still trying to establish their ideal structure is evidence of the ground they have to make up on Manchester City and Liverpool off the pitch as well as on it, as well as the years they have wasted.
The changes being made now will not bring instant reward. In fact, they might make the forthcoming transfer window a little tougher. Much like the appointment of Ten Hag, this is now a long-term approach.
Judge's departure will place John Murtough front and centre, with the football director in charge of leading recruitment now. Technical director Darren Fletcher will take a step back from a matchday role to help in identifying targets and selling the idea of representing United, a task that would have seemed redundant in the days under Sir Alex Ferguson when everyone wanted to play for them.
Whether Murtough and Fletcher are the best people to fill what are now the most important roles when it comes to signing players for Ten Hag is something we're about to discover and the pressure is certainly on them to deliver now.
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