There had long been a clamour from Manchester United fans for the club to appoint a sporting director but that ended last year, although not as many would have hoped. There was no appointment of Edwin van der Sar or Michael Edwards and it was no 'sporting director'.
United appointed John Murtough as the club’s first football director instead, alongside the announcement of the appointment of Darren Fletcher as technical director, and the news hardly excited supporters, with the club choosing to promote from within rather than draft in an established name. That promotion policy has not worked over the last 10 years and Murtough was no Van der Sar.
Although Murtough is officially the football director, he is responsible for first-team recruitment and for all football matters, which makes him the de factor sporting director at the club, and that level of responsibility brings scrutiny, naturally.
