Just when David McNamee thought he’d shaken off the dark horse tag for Kona, Alistair Brownlee decides to show up and steal the spotlight. Not that the Scot minds. Despite two third places in Hawaii and an ability to run a marathon in the heat that’s only surpassed by reigning champion Patrick Lange, his demeanour doesn’t change. McNamee just goes about his business and, come October, works his way through the field and onto the podium.
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Can Lucy Charles-Barclay win Kona 2019?
What are Ali Brownlee’s chances at this year’s Ironman world Championships?
His success on the Big Island has come as little surprise to two former coaches. “Dave was always somebody who could recover well between sessions and was looking to do more,” says Malcolm Brown, who coached McNamee in Leeds during his ITU days. “To win at ITU level, you really had to commit from the B of the bang, but Dave
wanted to measure his energy expenditure over the race, which I thought was potentially a massive asset at long distance.”
Joel Filliol, McNamee’s coach when he first stepped up to long-course racing in 2015, concurs. “He has a remarkable ability to focus and work consistently for long periods on his own, which lends itself to Ironman-specific training. He’s also physically robust and his steady rhythm – that threshold diesel pace – is perfect for Ironman. Taking the next step is possible. It’s about being closer to the front, off the bike, which is no secret.”
Not least to McNamee himself, and it’s partly why, away from the cameras that follow stronger cyclists such as Australia’s Cameron Wurf and Germany Jan Frodeno at the front of the race, the 31-year-old also retains such a low profile.
RUN TO THE PODIUM
In Ironman South Africa this year McNamee lost 29mins on the bike to eventual champion Ben Hoffman; in Challenge Roth – albeit after suffering a puncture – it was 18mins to winner Andreas Dreitz. The flipside is that both times he ran 2:41hr marathons, a similar pattern to the last two Ironman world champs, where he’s run from outside the top 10 to the podium.
“Ironman South Africa was a bad start to the year, but at least that was me qualified for Hawaii,” he says. “In Roth, the puncture happened 90km into the race. I ride tubeless and the hole sealed eventually, but I lost too much pressure and rode 25-30km on 25psi.”
“The focus now is on bike strength, including gym work, where I’ve been a bit lax in the past. Raising FTP is good, but I need sheer leg strength at the end of an Ironman race. When I’m tired, the cadence drops. I can get away with it at 70.3, but not Ironman. I ride about 95rpm, but keeping it at that level throughout is difficult, especially in Hawaii when my heart rate is already high. In the past few years the cadence has fallen on the way home to 80-85, and that’s when the watts drop off.”
As for his rivals? “Patrick [Lange] rode very strong in Hawaii last year – people overlook that. He’ll run low 2:40s no matter what. I feel like I’m in shape to run 2:42-2:43, so it’s about focusing to stay in the top 10 on bike.
“Jan [Frodeno] changes the race a little because he’s a very strong rider and Seb [Kienle] will be a much bigger threat than he has been in the past couple of seasons. Alistair [Brownlee] has won two Olympic golds, but it’s a very different sport. I think Javier [Gomez] realised that last year. I’m sure he’ll be going to try and win.
After all, you don’t win two Olympic golds and turn up
just to complete.”
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As Brown suggests, McNamee sees his own strength as his ability to recover quickly, even within the race. “Because I’m less of a strength athlete, but more aerobically conditioned, it allows me to go over my limit at times. Performance-wise if I could put myself in a position that after the bike I could win, I’d see that as a success. That would open the possibility of going back for the next six-seven years and having a chance of taking it.
2019 Ironman World Championships predictions: Who will be crowned queen of Kona?
Just when David McNamee thought he’d shaken off the dark horse tag for Kona, Alistair Brownlee decides to show up and steal the spotlight. Not that the Scot minds. Despite two third places in Hawaii and an ability to run a marathon in the heat that’s only surpassed by reigning champion Patrick Lange, his demeanour doesn’t change. McNamee just goes about his business and, come October, works his way through the field and onto the podium.
Advertisement
Can Lucy Charles-Barclay win Kona 2019?
What are Ali Brownlee’s chances at this year’s Ironman world Championships?
His success on the Big Island has come as little surprise to two former coaches. “Dave was always somebody who could recover well between sessions and was looking to do more,” says Malcolm Brown, who coached McNamee in Leeds during his ITU days. “To win at ITU level, you really had to commit from the B of the bang, but Dave
wanted to measure his energy expenditure over the race, which I thought was potentially a massive asset at long distance.”
Joel Filliol, McNamee’s coach when he first stepped up to long-course racing in 2015, concurs. “He has a remarkable ability to focus and work consistently for long periods on his own, which lends itself to Ironman-specific training. He’s also physically robust and his steady rhythm – that threshold diesel pace – is perfect for Ironman. Taking the next step is possible. It’s about being closer to the front, off the bike, which is no secret.”
Not least to McNamee himself, and it’s partly why, away from the cameras that follow stronger cyclists such as Australia’s Cameron Wurf and Germany Jan Frodeno at the front of the race, the 31-year-old also retains such a low profile.
RUN TO THE PODIUM
In Ironman South Africa this year McNamee lost 29mins on the bike to eventual champion Ben Hoffman; in Challenge Roth – albeit after suffering a puncture – it was 18mins to winner Andreas Dreitz. The flipside is that both times he ran 2:41hr marathons, a similar pattern to the last two Ironman world champs, where he’s run from outside the top 10 to the podium.
“Ironman South Africa was a bad start to the year, but at least that was me qualified for Hawaii,” he says. “In Roth, the puncture happened 90km into the race. I ride tubeless and the hole sealed eventually, but I lost too much pressure and rode 25-30km on 25psi.”
“The focus now is on bike strength, including gym work, where I’ve been a bit lax in the past. Raising FTP is good, but I need sheer leg strength at the end of an Ironman race. When I’m tired, the cadence drops. I can get away with it at 70.3, but not Ironman. I ride about 95rpm, but keeping it at that level throughout is difficult, especially in Hawaii when my heart rate is already high. In the past few years the cadence has fallen on the way home to 80-85, and that’s when the watts drop off.”
As for his rivals? “Patrick [Lange] rode very strong in Hawaii last year – people overlook that. He’ll run low 2:40s no matter what. I feel like I’m in shape to run 2:42-2:43, so it’s about focusing to stay in the top 10 on bike.
“Jan [Frodeno] changes the race a little because he’s a very strong rider and Seb [Kienle] will be a much bigger threat than he has been in the past couple of seasons. Alistair [Brownlee] has won two Olympic golds, but it’s a very different sport. I think Javier [Gomez] realised that last year. I’m sure he’ll be going to try and win.
After all, you don’t win two Olympic golds and turn up
just to complete.”
Advertisement
As Brown suggests, McNamee sees his own strength as his ability to recover quickly, even within the race. “Because I’m less of a strength athlete, but more aerobically conditioned, it allows me to go over my limit at times. Performance-wise if I could put myself in a position that after the bike I could win, I’d see that as a success. That would open the possibility of going back for the next six-seven years and having a chance of taking it.
2019 Ironman World Championships predictions: Who will be crowned queen of Kona?
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President Trump said he doesn’t want war with anyone, even as tensions are running high in the Middle East after a drone strike over the weekend on Saudi oil-processing facilities. The president added that the U.S. is nonetheless more prepared for war than any nation. He also hesitated to place any blame until a full review has taken place.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon during a meeting with the crown prince of Bahrain, the president said he isn’t looking at response options right now and wants to first determine “definitively” who is responsible for the attacks. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is blaming Iran for the attacks. The president said later Monday that he and Pompeo are on the same page. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility, and Tehran has denied Iran is to blame.”Certainly it would look to most like it was Iran,” Mr. Trump told reporters Monday, and he said that “we pretty much already know,” though he did not say definitively that the U.S. believes Iran is responsible.
Pompeo and other top U.S. officials will be visiting Saudi Arabia soon, Mr. Trump said. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Mr. Trump was briefed Monday at the White House on the attack on the Saudi oil facilities. Esper also tweeted that the U.S. military and interagency team are working to address the “unprecedented attack and defend the international rules-based order that is being undermined by Iran.”Mr. Trump said the Saudis would have a lot to do with any response the U.S takes.”Look they’re very upset, they’re very angry,” the president said of the Saudis, adding he didn’t think reporters would be surprised to find out who’s behind the attacks.President Trump on Sunday had said the U.S. was “locked and loaded depending on verification,” but added that he was also waiting to hear from Saudi Arabia about who it thought was responsible.The drone attacks have driven up oil prices, and Mr. Trump announced late Sunday he has authorized the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, if needed. “PLENTY OF OIL!” the president tweeted in all-caps Sunday.
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Iran’s foreign minister warned Thursday that any attack on his country over a drone-and-missile strike on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry will result in “all-out war,” further pushing up tensions across the Persian Gulf. The comments by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif represented the starkest warning yet by Iran in a long summer of mysterious attacks and incidents following the collapse of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Zarif’s comments also appeared to be a response to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who a day earlier while traveling to Saudi Arabia referred to Saturday’s attack on a major Saudi oil facility as an “act of war.”Asked by CNN what would be the consequence of a U.S. or Saudi strike, Zarif said: “All-out war.”
It would cause “a lot of casualties,” he stressed.”I am making a very serious statement that we don’t want to engage in a military confrontation,” Zarif said. “But we won’t blink to defend our territory.”He added that any sanctions placed by the U.S. on Iran after pulling out of the nuclear deal would need to be lifted before any negotiations could be considered.”They’ve done whatever they could and they haven’t been able to bring us to our knees,” Zarif said.The recent attack on Saudi oil facilities was approved by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, but only on the condition that it be carried out in a way that made it possible to deny Iranian involvement, a U.S. official told CBS News.Pompeo, who had just arrived to the United Arab Emirates, did not immediately respond. He met earlier in the day with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jiddah about the attack on a crucial oil processing facility and oil field, which cut the kingdom’s oil production in half. Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have claimed the attack, but the U.S. alleges Iran carried out the assault.”The U.S. stands with #SaudiArabia and supports its right to defend itself,” Pompeo tweeted. “The Iranian regime’s threatening behavior will not be tolerated.”
Pompeo did not elaborate. President Trump has been noncommittal on whether he would order U.S. military retaliation. He said separately Wednesday that he is moving to increase financial sanctions on Tehran over the attack, without elaborating. Iran already is subject to a crushing American sanctions program targeting its crucial oil industry.Pompeo met Abu Dhabi’s powerful crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The UAE is a close ally of Saudi Arabia and joined the kingdom in its war with the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The 4-year-old war has killed tens of thousands of people and destroyed much of the country, with millions more driven from their homes and thrown into near starvation.The UAE said Thursday it had joined a U.S.-led coalition to protect waterways across the Middle East after the attack in Saudi Arabia.The state-run WAM news agency quoted Salem al-Zaabi of the Emirati Foreign Ministry as saying the UAE joined the coalition to “ensure global energy security and the continued flow of energy supplies to the global economy.”Saudi Arabia joined the coalition on Wednesday. Australia, Bahrain and the United Kingdom also are taking part.Pompeo tweeted his appreciation for the UAE and Saudi Arabia joining the coalition.”Recent events underscore the importance of protecting global commerce and freedom of navigation,” he wrote.
The U.S. formed the coalition after attacks on oil tankers that Washington blamed on Tehran, as well as Iran’s seizure of tankers in the region. Iran denies being behind the tanker explosions, although the attacks came after Tehran threatened to stop oil exports from the Persian Gulf.Iraq said it would not join the coalition. The government in Baghdad, which is allied with both Iran and the U.S., has tried to keep a neutral stance amid the tensions.At a news conference Wednesday, the Saudis displayed broken and burned drones and pieces of a cruise missile that military spokesman Col. Turki Al-Malki identified as Iranian weapons collected after the attack. He also played surveillance video that he said showed a drone coming in from the north. Yemen is to the south of Saudi Arabia.Eighteen drones and seven cruise missiles were launched in the assault, Al-Malki said, with three missiles failing to hit their targets. He said the cruise missiles had a range of 700 kilometers (435 miles), meaning they could not have been fired from inside Yemen. That opinion was shared by weapons experts who spoke to The Associated Press .”This is the kind of weapon the Iranian regime and the Iranian IRGC are using against the civilian object and facilities infrastructure,” Al-Malki said, referring to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.He added: “This attack did not originate from Yemen, despite Iran’s best effort to make it appear so.”Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian similarly was skeptical of the Houthi claim of responsibility.
“This is not very credible, relatively speaking,” he told CNews television. “But we sent our experts to have our own vision of things.”Separately, a U.N. panel of experts on Yemen arrived in Saudi Arabia to investigate the attack, U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said.
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Tokyo — All around the world, young people are having less sex than previous generations. At the forefront of the so-called global “sex recession” is Japan, which has one of the lowest fertility rates on Earth, and it could serve as a cautionary tale for the U.S. and other industrialized countries.
Shota Suzuki works as a building custodian in Tokyo. After work, he likes to hang out in an area known for anime and manga with his friends. But at 28, Suzuki has never had a romantic relationship, and he’s pessimistic that he ever will. “Yes, I’m a virgin,” he told CBS News. “I would like to get married, but I can’t find a partner.”
Suzuki is far from a rare case. It’s not difficult to find other young adults, like 27-year-old Kakeru Nakamura, who are surprisingly candid about their sexual inexperience.”My parents want me to hurry up and get married,” he said. “I tell them I’m too busy.”A review of Japan’s National Fertility Survey reveals virginity is on the rise; one out of every 10 Japanese men in their 30s is still a virgin. That puts Japan’s virginity rate well ahead of that of other industrialized nations.”A large proportion of these individuals cannot find a partner in the market,” Peter Ueda, a public health researcher at Tokyo University, told CBS News. He’s sounding the alarm about Japan’s surging virginity rate, which he notes is, “actually the highest ever recorded in a high-income country.”For Japan, already well into an unprecedented population decline, the sex drought is more bad news. If current trends hold, Japan’s population will collapse by more than half over the next century. The drop in both sex and births is often blamed are long working hours, too much time spent online, and the Japanese fetish for digital companionship, which manifests itself in the popularity of robots and holographic “partners.”But Ueda said he suspects financial and job insecurity are what’s really fueling Japan’s sex recession.
“Compared to men who had a regular employment, those with part-time or temporary employment were four-times as likely to be heterosexually inexperienced in ages 25 to 39, and those who were unemployed were eight times more likely,” he told CBS News.Shota Suzuki has a regular job, but said he still feels disadvantaged in the mating marketplace.”I don’t make enough money to get married, only enough to support myself,” he said. “My friends are in the same boat.”Researchers have already warned that this problem isn’t unique to Japan, and the U.S. could be next. The issue was also explored in the CBSN Originals documentary “Replacing Humans: Robots Among Us.” You can watch it in the video player below:
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Oslo — The Nobel Peace Prize for 2019 was awarded to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali of Ethiopia for his efforts to end his country’s two-decade border conflict with Eritrea. The Norwegian Nobel Institute also praised the “important reforms” that Abiy, Ethiopia’s leader since April 2018, has launched at home.
The Nobel committee acknowledged there was still much work to be done to see democracy thrive in Ethiopia, but said Abiy had taken great strides in the right direction and they hoped the Peace Prize would help him push further democratic reform.”Prime Minister Abiy’s achievements have not been completed,” the committee said. “We recognize that it might be debatable whether it is too early or not… but the committee believes now is the time to recognize, and to encourage.”
Last year, Abiy and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki formally restored relations, ending 20 years of enmity and severed ties between the East African nations. They signed agreements to open embassies in their respective capitals, restore flight services and use port facilities in Eritrea. Citizens from both counties immediately began phoning each other to get back in touch.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Abiy was “one of the main reasons” he believes the “winds of hope are blowing ever stronger across Africa.””His vision helped Ethiopia and Eritrea achieve a historic rapprochement,” Guterres said. “Prime Minister Ahmed’s leadership has set a wonderful example for others in and beyond Africa looking to overcome resistance from the past and put people first.” At home, Abiy has offered one political surprise after another. He released tens of thousands of prisoners, welcomed home once-banned opposition groups and acknowledged past abuses. People expressed themselves freely on social media, and he announced that Ethiopia would hold free and fair elections in 2020. Media groups noted last year that for the first time, Ethiopia had no journalists in prison.The new prime minister also announced the opening-up of Ethiopia’s tightly controlled economy, saying private investment would be welcome in major state-owned sectors.Abiy now faces pressure to uphold the sweeping freedoms he introduced, and critics warn that his ability to deal with rising domestic unrest may be slipping. Ethiopia is facing rising ethnic tensions, as people once stifled by repression now act on long-held grievances. Some 1,200 people have been killed and some 1.2 million displaced in the greatest challenge yet to Abiy’s rule. Amnesty International secretary Kumi Naidoo said the award should “push and motivate (Abiy) to tackle the outstanding human rights challenges that threaten to reverse the gains made so far.”
“He must urgently ensure that his government addresses the ongoing ethnic tensions that threaten instability and further human rights abuses,” Naidoo said. Other names flying around for the award included 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; and activists in Hong Kong.
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London — British lawmakers have rejected the government’s attempt to pass its Brexit bill within days. Legislators voted 322-308 Tuesday against a timetable that gave the House of Commons just three days to debate the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
The vote likely makes it impossible for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to fulfill his vow to take Britain out of the European Union on the scheduled date of October 31. The outcome means lawmakers want more time to scrutinize the complex legislation, and it throws Johnson’s exit timetable into chaos.
Johnson said he will now “pause” the government’s planned Brexit legislation, and told Parliament the government will accelerate plans for a “no-deal” Brexit in light of the defeat.Johnson rebuked Parliament for “voting to delay” Brexit once again. The national referendum approving the U.K.’s departure from the European Union was held in 2016. It is supposed to happen by October 31. The prime minister said he will consult with EU leaders and urged the EU to “make up its mind” about Britain’s request for a possible delay of Brexit. Johnson had already asked the European Union for an extension to the October 31 deadline in a letter sent over the weekend, though the bloc has not yet responded. Withdrawal Agreement Bill
Bills to turn European treaties into domestic law often take several weeks to get through Parliament, sometimes longer. Lawmakers saw the text of Johnson’s legislation, called the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB), for the first time on Monday evening. Johnson was asking for them to take no longer than three days to pass that bill into law.Leader of the opposition Labour party Jeremy Corbyn called the attempt to speed up the passage of the WAB “an abuse of Parliament and a disgraceful attempt to dodge accountability, scrutiny and any kind of proper debate.”
Tuesday’s vote came after a failed attempt to get Johnson’s Brexit deal passed in a special session of Parliament on Saturday. Johnson had been seeking Parliamentary approval for his agreement with the EU in a so-called “meaningful vote,” which was part of what was required for the U.K. to leave the EU and would have allowed lawmakers to agree or disagree with the terms of his negotiated deal.However, the Prime Minister canceled Saturday’s scheduled vote when an amendment was passed. The amendment withheld Parliamentary approval until the legislation associated with the deal became domestic U.K. law. Lawmakers behind that amendment feared that if the legislation took too long to make its way through Parliament, the U.K. could accidentally crash out of the EU on October 31 “on no-deal terms.”
Johnson’s attempt to hold another “meaningful vote” on Monday was denied by the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, who said he had his chance over the weekend. Haley Ott contributed to this report.
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London — Seventy-two women lawmakers from across the political spectrum published an open letter late Tuesday to Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, expressing their support for her “taking a stand” against some coverage she receives in the British press, including stories which they said had “outdated, colonial undertones.”
“Although we find ourselves being women in public life in a very different way to you,” the letter said, which was posted online by Member of Parliament Holly Lynch. “We share an understanding of the abuse and intimidation which is now so often used as a means of disparaging women in public office from getting on with our very important work.”Earlier this month, Prince Harry announced he and Meghan were taking legal action against The Mail on Sunday newspaper and its parent company for publishing some of Meghan’s private correspondence with her father. The lawsuit was a break in practice by the Royal Family, which more traditionally tries to avoid legal action.
“I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditized to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person,” Harry said in a statement attacking the British tabloid press, when he announced the lawsuit. He compared the treatment of Meghan to the coverage of his mother, Princess Diana.Since Meghan was first linked to Harry, her supporters have criticized some of the media’s coverage of her. In 2016, Harry publicly denounced harassment Meghan was receiving online, as well as the “racial undertones” of some of the tabloid stories written about her.”She would have expected a level of press interest and public interest,” Lynch told CBS News. “What she wouldn’t have expected was xenophobic undertones to that interest. It doesn’t matter who you are in public life, you should never be subjected to that on an almost daily basis,” Lynch said.In a recent documentary, the royal couple spoke about the difficulties they’ve had with media coverage of them.”I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair, and that’s the part that’s really hard to reconcile,” Meghan told the documentary makers, British broadcaster ITV News.”I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces,” Harry said.Later on Wednesday, Lynch told British broadcaster ITV News that Markle had called her to thank her and the other authors of the letter for their support.
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Mercedes’ secret floor design on its W12 that the team conveniently masked at the launch of its 2021 car was unveiled for all to see in Bahrain on Friday morning.
Although F1 teams have carried over their 2020 chassis, a tweaking of the technical rules has to changes to the cars’ bargeboard and brake duct elements as well as to the floor, which now follows a more tapered outline.
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But the all-important aero component has been trimmed and now stops 10 cm ahead of the rear tyre, while holes and slots are banned, with the end result producing an approximate 10 per cent drop in downforce.
At the car’s launch, Mercedes technical director James Allison said the team was keeping its fllor design under wraps until the start of pre-season testing.
“The bit we are not showing you is down along the edges of the floor, that area is the area that was most affected by the regulations, where they tried to pull performance away from the car by changing the floor regs,” he said.
“And down there, there is a bunch of aerodynamic detail that we are not quite ready to release to the world, not because it’s not there, but because we don’t want our competitors to see it, we don’t want them starting to try and put similar things in their wind tunnels.
“It just buys us a couple of weeks extra. We all look very closely at what our competitors do, so we know our competitors will be looking, and we don’t have to show it yet, so we’re not.”
There’s no doubt Mercedes’ rivals will be peering over the Brackley squad’s W12. The game is on!
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Former midfielder Darren Fletcher has been named as the first ever technical director at Manchester United as part of a shake-up that has seen John Murtough promoted to the role of football director.
There has been years of talk and speculation regarding the absence of a director of football at Old Trafford, but the club have now announced two new roles that “will further strengthen the club’s football operations”.
Fletcher returned to Manchester United in January as part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching set-up and the PA news agency understands that his work in that role impressed the powers that be both in terms of his attitude and aptitude.
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The 37-year-old will now step up to become technical director focusing on “a co-ordinated and long-term approach to player and squad development”, while adding “technical input and direction into all football and performance areas” by working closely with football director Murtough.
Having been with the club for seven years, most recently as head of football development, United say Murtough will “have overall leadership and responsibility for operations and strategy across all football functions”.
Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said: “These are hugely important appointments that reinforce the progress we have been making as a club in recent years in our relentless pursuit of success.
“We have already made great strides forward in the way we run our football operations, and the benefits are visible in the resurgent pipeline of academy talent reaching the first team and through our improved recruitment record.
“John has been integral to our progress in these areas and his deep understanding of development ensures the club’s traditions of bringing young players through from academy to first team will continue.
“This new position is a natural evolution that harnesses his leadership qualities and his years of experience in the game.
“Darren’s stellar achievements as a player and his own journey from academy to Premier League and Champions League winner means he naturally commands respect and understands this vital part of the club’s DNA.
“In this new role, the first in our history, he will deliver technical advice across all aspects of the football department as well as contributing to the communication and delivery of our football philosophy across all areas of the club.
“I am delighted that John and Darren have accepted these roles and I look forward to the contribution they will make, together with Ole and the rest of the staff, as we build toward future success.”
Manchester United said in a statement that football director Murtough “will work day-to-day with Ole to align recruitment and other strategies and to ensure that the first team has the best-in-class operational support it needs to succeed”.
The change is understood to be considered as evolution rather than revolution on the recruitment front, with the club saying: “Ole will continue his role in the recruitment process, supported by extensive scouting and data analytics functions that will continue to report to John.”
Matt Judge, who has the new title of director of football negotiations – albeit with unchanged responsibilities – will also report to football director Murtough.
The ex-Premier League head of elite performance has impressed with the work he has overseen across various areas of the club, including overhauling the academy and recruitment department, since joining under David Moyes in 2014.
“This is such an exciting time for everyone at Manchester United with the first team, academy and women’s team all performing strongly, and plenty of development still to come,” Murtough said.
“It’s a privilege to be part of that process, and an honour to lead Manchester United’s football department, working alongside Ole, Casey (Stoney) and so many other truly outstanding staff all dedicated to delivering success to this club.”
Fletcher has had a close look at the way things operate in recent months and knows what it takes to succeed at Manchester United, where the academy graduate won five Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2008.
“It is great to be back with the club and I am delighted to be taking on this new role,” he said.
“We are moving in the right direction and I am looking forward to continuing to work with Ole and his coaching team, and now with John as the football director, to help bring young players through and further develop the football side of the club.
“It’s fantastic to see that all the staff here are driving Manchester United forward towards a new era of success.”
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