(Football news) After the optimism of signing Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United hierarchy are going to announce Richard Arnold as Ed Woodward’s replacement. United had announced that Woodward would step down at the end of the year after the European Super league (ESL) debacle. Woodward was appointed as the clubs Vice Chief Executive after taking over the post from David Gill in 2012 post Sir Alex Freguson’s retirement.

Richard Arnold currently holds the post of Group Managing Director at the club and will be promoted to one of the most powerful positions in British sports. The Glazers are under a lot of scrutiny when Ed Woodward announced that he would step down after the massive protest held by United supporters in the wake of the European Super League where the fans raided the Old Trafford pitch, forcing them to postpone the match against Liverpool in early may.

The Glazer family, since purchasing the club in 2005 have taken more than 500 million in dividends as the club debt stands at 450 million as of now. The United owners Joel Glazer and Avram Glazers take 8 million from the annual shareholder payout which constitutes to 10 million per year. Manchester United being the biggest club in the world get a lot of sponsorship deals which in turn makes a lot of money but instead of investing it in the clubs infrastructure, development and recruitment of players the owners are just keeping the money in their pockets.

Also read: Back where it belongs: Cristiano Ronaldo reunited with the iconic number 7 Manchester United jersey

Ed Woodward, an investment banker who worked at JP Morgan and had no previous experience in football was handed the most important position in the club as he had to look after the recruitment and development of the club. He not only failed miserably but quickly became a scapegoat for the incompetence of the owners. In his 10 year tenure, Woodward spent around a billion on transfers but the quality of players that he bought were all inept and not suiting the team ethos. The reason he was holding the post for so many years is because Woodward brought in tremendous numbers of sponsors which kept the shareholders and owners pockets happy.

Now that the club have appointed John Murtogh and Darren Fletcher as director of football and technical director respectively, the pressure on Richard Arnold might be less but the very fact that he has been in the club since 2005 when the Glazers bought the club gives an indication that not much will change in terms of the post. The club is heading into a new direction especially when you see the clubs recruitment this season as the fans will be hoping that Arnold doesn't repeat the same mistakes as Ed Woodward.