Ex-PL manager questions Rio Ferdinand as sporting director, thinks Man Utd should appoint different club legend

Appearing on talkSPORT radio this morning, Sam Allardyce gave his views on reports that Rio Ferdinand is a strong candidate to become the club’s sporting director.

The news initially came on Monday night has sparked a mixed reaction among United fans, while Allardyce is another that needs to convinced Ferdinand is the right man for the job.

Executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, apparently likes the idea of Ferdinand’s interest in business given how he runs a clothing company as well as a restaurant in Manchester. His history with United goes without saying and there’s a feeling young English players will listen to what he has to say…

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But Allardyce is right to have his concerns. Ferdinand has no experience in this role for any football club, yet he could land such a job at Manchester United only because he was a successful former player.

It’s concerning that United’s thought process is to always look back into the past. No-one is trying to fix this mess with forward-thinking.

“Rio is a fantastic guy but not a lot of experience in that department,” Allardyce told talkSPORT. “Bryan Robson could do the job with his eyes closed.”

Whoever gets the job, someone will have something negative to say… it’s Manchester United and everyone likes to kick us while we’re down, presumably because we dominated for so long.

It needs to be sorted pretty soon or else United run the risk of giving Solskjaer a half-arsed start in his position as manager. He needs to have the right backing and structure around him to build the squad again.

Edwin van der Sar and Peter Schmeichel are two other former players linked with the role, as well as assistant manager Mike Phelan, who also played under Sir Alex Ferguson.

More Stories Bryan Robson Edwin van der Sar Mike Phelan Peter schmeichel Rio Ferdinand Sam Allardyce