Duo leaving Man Utd after combined 30 years’ service
Written by
Simon Austin
May 26, 2025
Manchester United Head of Performance Analysis Paul Brand and Director of Insights and Innovation Richard Hawkins are leaving the club after a combined service of almost 30 years.
The departures come amidst the ongoing restructuring and redundancies at United. Chief Executive Omar Berrada informed staff of the new wave of redundancies in February, with up to 200 set to lose their jobs, following on from 250 last summer.
At the end of a hugely disappointing season, those redundancies are now coming into force. Brand and Hawkins are two of the longest-serving members of staff at United.
Scot Brand (pictured below) joined from Blackburn Rovers in July 2013 as Senior Performance Analyst and has headed up and built United’s performance analysis department. In 2017 he was promoted to Head of Analysis to reflect this.
Paul Brand: Served under 10 permanent and interim Managers
He has worked closely with 10 Managers (both permanent and interim) – David Moyes, Ryan Giggs, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick, Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ruben Amorim – and took a hands-on role on matchdays.
During his time at United, the club won the Europa League, two FA Cups and two EFL Cups. Brand has decided now is the time to seek opportunities elsewhere and has chosen to take voluntary redundancy.
He will help with the recruitment of his successor and perform a handover before leaving.
Hawkins (pictured top) was hired in 2008 by former Head of Performance Tony Strudwick, when Sir Alex Ferguson was United’s Manager, having previously been Head of Sport Science at The Football Association, West Brom and Sheffield United.
His late father, Graham, was a player, amassing more than 500 senior appearances, and also manager of his boyhood club, Wolves.
Speaking in a rare interview in 2022, Hawkins said: “You see some kids want to be a footballer, but I never felt that strongly that would be for me. I always felt a connection to the industry and my pathway was the academic route.”
His initial title at United was Human Performance Manager and he headed up the club’s Human Physiology Testing Lab, as well as overseeing a structured PhD programme with MMU’s Institute of Sport.
Hawkins had been Director of Insights and Innovation at United since March 2023, leading the delivery of performance insights through the use of technology and data-led methods. In short, Hawkins helped to develop sports science as a function at United and continued to develop the area in the decade after Ferguson’s departure.
United have now decided to make that role redundant, with innovation and research activities being integrated across other departments.
Director of Football Operations David Harrison, who joined from Everton in February 2023, is another departure. Harrison spent 28 years with the Toffees, starting as their Box Office Manager in August 1995 and going on to become Director of Football Operations and Club Secretary.
And Director of Scouting Steve Brown is leaving as part of wide-ranging changes to United’s recruitment strategy. The number of scouts employed by United will fall significantly and Brown is the highest-profile member of the department to depart.
Brown joined United in 2016, hired by former Football Director John Murtough, with whom he had worked at Everton. Christopher Vivell is now United’s Head of Recruitment, having joined the club in July 2024.
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