It's time for Ed Woodward to swallow his pride and do what's right for Manchester United

Brief escapades can only delay the unraveling of a catalog of errors momentarily. When the epidemic plants its roots in an unceasing cycle, maybe it's time to stop pinning the blame on the peripheries; there's a need to peel the surface and probe deeper, to unbridle concerns that emerge from the nucleus and reach the apex.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's whirlwind impact and subsequent appointment as United's permanent manager on a 3-year deal cannot deflect away from the poignant concerns which are plaguing the club at the moment and drawing a sense of vexation from fans.

Pending contract renewals of key players like Ander Herrera, David De Gea, and Paul Pogba have kicked off a period at the club, wherein chief executive Ed Woodward's actions could either vindicate his public display of boastful egotism, or end up giving him cold feet.

Woodward has astutely maneuvered around a combination of managers, players, marketing deals and social media numbers to digress a substantial amount of blame which should rightfully fall at his feet.

Singing niceties about United's might in the market and how they could do things which other clubs could only dream of was subsequently followed up by the solitary signing of Marouane Fellaini in a window which laid bare the extent of Woodward's naivete in the transfer market.

Yet, a perplexing inflexibility towards surrendering total control, coupled with the disinclination to delegating tasks and assigning them to brilliant professionals who have a rooted cognizance with the game, at football's most powerful organization, is slowly beginning to take a toll on an incredibly venerable legacy of the club.

There's only this much a banker without any significant football nous can do at a club of Manchester United's stature. Louis Van Gaal's tedious football elicited a lot of yawns in the Stretford End but even he acknowledged the fact that Woodward needs a guiding light when it pertains to matters of making erudite decisions that impact the team. He was also conspicuous about the need for the Old Trafford outfit to appoint a director, who is adept at making canny footballing decisions, in an interview with the BBC. The Dutchman said:

"At the moment there is a structure with a scouting division and above that is someone at Woodward's right hand. The structure is not so bad but the right hand has to be a technical director with a football view, not somebody with a banker's role."

United's transfer windows since 2013 have reeked of shoddy target outlining, profligacy and an almost unshakable whiff of incompetence. Woodward's fixation of targeting Galactico signings, which fit the club's giant global standing like a glove, resulted in the establishment of an obtuseness towards making shrewd acquisitions in the market.

Fittingly enough, this counterpoise resulted in United missing out on players who possessed the potential to become big name stars in the future, plugged essential holes in the squad, and made logical sense at the time - all ignored whilst futile chases for ready-made superstars were given precedence.It's almost as if supplicating for system-specific, functional players, who could bolster United as a team on the football pitch was too big a demand for the club CEO to adhere to.

Perhaps there exists a system which the club cleave to. But, for the most part, it seems as though there's no method to the madness. Hence, a deliberately considered ambiguity has set in amongst the United faithful when it comes to discussions about the kind of concerted planning and thought process the members in the upper echelons of the club resort to. This, whilst making contract renewal discussions and deciding whom to target in the transfer windows.

Financially, United haven't been in a healthier condition than what they find themselves in now. The Old Trafford outfit recorded annual revenues of £590 million for 2018 and are expected to shatter the £600 million mark for 2019.

What's been inapproriate is the mobilization of these resources. Take Jose Mourinho for example. The former United manager's self-indulgence, outlandish roughhouse treatment of his own players and a self-inflicted dereliction towards the end of his reign was instrumental in his being expelled from the club.

But, it would be laughable to ignore the role of an underlying sense of frustration with the United hierarchy that played a huge role in his final months at Carrington.

For all of the Portuguese manager's follies, one aspect which he brandished without any sense of intrepidness was the poor backing he received from the club's CEO. For Mourinho, United's problems weren't as much football-related as they were personnel related.

Woodward's arrogance in the face of failures and perpetual dithering when it comes to acquiring targets stretches back to the summer of 2013, when he failed to bring in anyone other than Fellaini through the doors at Carrington. He was further exacerbated by his failure to land targets like Toni Kroos, Gareth Bale and Cesc Fabregas, in spite of being in negotiations with the trio.

Woodward has repeatedly failed in his pursuit of Bale and other big name stars.

Ever since, payouts to managers totaling to £33.2 million as compensation and a series of dubitable transfers have necessitated a sense of conjecture among the fans, who have begun to wonder if Woodward is biting off more than he can chew.

Ominously though, what adds credence to their apprehensions are Woodward's telling failures in the transfer market. Going up to Bayern Munich and signing an injury-crippled Bastian Schweinsteiger for £7 million seemed like a brilliant deal, before it became apparent as to why the Bavarian giants were willing to part with a club legend for such a paltry fee.

Bayern recognized that Schweinsteiger was done at the highest level of European football and happily accepted what they considered a modest sum. In what came across as a monumental scouting and executive failure, it's almost baffling as to how this wasn't blatantly apparent to Woodward and the plethora of scouts available at United's disposal to notice.

Failures congruous to the one mentioned above continued in the form of Morgan Schneiderlin, Memphis Depay, Matteo Darmian, Marcos Rojo and Henrikh Mkhitaryan - all of whom were kindred prospects, who promised so much but delivered scantily. It is this very contemptible track record that has acted as a rabble-rouser and added considerable substance to noises demanding the appointment of a director of football at the club.

Soon after Mourinho's sacking, the media were briefed about United looking to appoint a director of football, and there's seemingly been no progress on that front with one compelled forced to wonder why a club of United's stature are hemming and hawing to such an extent before entering the summer transfer window.

Contrastingly enough, with the transfer window inching perilously closer, traditional football powerhouses like Bayern Munich and Barcelona have already made early moves and secured the signatures of players who could be the cornerstones of their teams for years to come.

Of course, one can go about splashing all the money in the world on superstars but what remains of utmost importance is the presence of a cogent structure which acts as a breeding ground for all these players to flourish in - something which United cannot boast of. The club have all the money in the world, yet have no clue on how to spend it in a way that can improve them drastically on the pitch.

The presence of resources has consequently exemplified the need to effectuate a strategy, which enables the club to resuscitate their squad competently.

The first step towards this will be the appointment of a director of football, who absolves Woodward from making football decisions and helps him ruminate on the financial aspects at the club. This arrangement can thereby further strengthen United's standing as a financial powerhouse and a marketing archetype in the modern footballing landscape.

Rationally speaking, a continuous failure of being unable to concoct and procure a list of befitting targets is reason enough for Woodward to swallow his ego and give up some power at the club by appointing a director of football. This could well be a person who will grant him unencumbered, and potentially beneficial control regarding the financial and marketing facet at the club instead.

With Solskjaer's appointment being made permanent, it's imperative that United now give the Norwegian a solid framework to operate within, in order to have a shot at a certain degree of success in the transfer market.

Shifting sands like these at the Theatre Of Dreams are essential for the greater good of Woodward's currently maligned legacy, the future of United as an omnipotent football force, and to protect the Glazers from the disquietude of supporters.

Whether Woodward does that or not will be instrumental in determining if United reach the zenith of club football again.