Manchester United to skip six rejections and hire seventh-choice manager directly

The portrait wall in reception at Manchester United's training ground came down on Wednesday morning. Fourteen framed photographs of managers who had declined the job were wrapped in bubble wrap and carried to a basement store, closing what staff described as the club's longest-running exhibition.

The clear-out is part of a wider overhaul of how United appoint managers, timed to mark 40 years since Sir Alex Ferguson took charge in 1986, the last occasion on which the club got the decision right. From now on, once a vacancy opens, United will identify the seventh name on their shortlist and offer that man the job immediately.

"We studied every appointment since Sir Alex retired," a club spokesman said. "The pattern never changed. Six candidates said no, the seventh said yes, and two years later we paid him to leave. The board asked why we were still funding the first two stages." The club estimates the new approach will save fourteen weeks per hiring cycle.

The six managers spared a rejection will instead receive a letter thanking them for their customary service. A trial run on Wednesday afternoon met an early setback when the seventh-choice candidate, contacted directly and without the usual build-up, also said no.