Every day you open a newspaper from now until the start of the new Premier League campaign, Manchester United will be splashed all over the sports pages for mainly two reasons:
"Is Cristiano Ronaldo leaving?" and "Fergie set to spend £50 million in summer spending spree!"
Although I want to avoid the Ronaldo debate as his departure may or may not influence how much Manchester United spends this summer, I personally think they do not need to spend another ridiculous amount of money.
Last summer they overhauled the team and finally formed a team which could dominate Europe and England for years to come, even drawing comparisons to the great treble-winning side of 1999.
However I believe the money should be spent on trying to tie down the already young and impressive side United already have, instead of acquiring up to three new players when there is already fierce competition for places.
Carlos Tevez is a prime example.
His arrival last summer was a breath of fresh air and his performances throughout the season—although Ronaldo's overshadowed them—were just as influential as the Portuguese talisman.
Tevez is, as many forget, only on a two-year loan and this needs to be turned into a long term contract as soon as possible.
Manchester United already shelled out £5 million for every loan year that Tevez spends at Old Trafford. To tie Tevez down to a full contract could cost up to another £20 million.
So I believe United should at least concentrate on keeping this already fantastic striker before even thinking about potential targets such as Luis Fabiano and Dimitar Berbatov.
United don't really need any bolstering in central midfield with promising players like Anderson, Darren Fletcher, Owen Hargreaves, and Rodrigo Possebon all waiting for their chance, never mind that Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick are more than capable of being one of the best midfield pairings around.
The defence is also similar, with plenty of cover there also.
Rio Ferdinhand and Nemanja Vidic look likely never to be broken up as a duo, while Patrice Evra recently signed a new five-year contract and has established himself as one of the best full backs in the world at the moment.
Wes Brown proved this year that he is, as many have suggested, no weak link in the United defence, proving his worth against the best Barcelona could throw at him.
Manchester United's goalkeeping crisis that has spanned years seems finally over with Edwin Van Der Sar in the form of his career and plenty of reinforcements awaiting in the promising Ben Foster and Tomas Kusczak.
The rest of United's squad is similarly strong with Nani and Ryan Giggs competing for the left side of midfield and Ji-Sung Park also vying for a place in the starting eleven.
Wayne Rooney and Tevez have formed a lethal partnership against all criticisms at the start of the season, and youngsters such as the up-and-coming star Danny Welbeck and the already-impressive Fraizer Campbell are looking to try make a break into the the first team forward line.
So it would make you wonder why United would need to go and spend such a vast amount of money again. Really, it could come down to two reasons.
With Cristiano Ronaldo looking set to leave, Fergie will look to replace the gaping hole left on the right hand side of midfield.
He will also look to, with much more difficultly, replace his fantastic goal rate.
This would be a main reason to spend big on a similar type player to slot straight back into the title-winning team, and would be massively helped by the fact that Real Madrid would need to make a formal offer of up to £60 million to snatch the world's best player from Old Trafford.
Another reason Sir Alex may look to spend big is out of fear of the war chest "Big Phil" Scolari may be handed by Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich at Chelsea.
No doubt Fergie knows how much talent Scolari boasts as a manager, who has a knack for getting big name players to gel, never mind what he might achieve with a reported £90 million budget to strengthen the squad.
So maybe Fergie might look to also bolster his team for what looks like his hardest test yet to retain a Premier League crown and the elusive European Cup.
Although I may be wrong, I think United have more than enough to challenge again on all fronts, and fend off the fresh Chelsea challenge under World Cup winner Scolari.
If Ronaldo by some miracle does stay at United, then that’s another problem solved and less money will need to be spent. Then all United need do is strengthen the squad with some of the youngsters in the reserves and maybe seek to find some bargain buy to replace the departed Gerard Pique.
Manchester United would be far better off using the massive windfall from the Champions League and Premier League glory to take a huge chunk from the debt which has haunted the club since the Glazer family took over.
I'm sure this would surely please the American owners to see that the huge gamble of handing Ferguson a huge £50 million war chest last summer has paid dividends to such an extent that they need not hand it out again this summer.
comments (11) write a comment »
write a new comment
3 months ago
Id go for a winger who unlike Ronaldo will complement Rooney and Tevez. Bentley? or David Silva?
Or Snejder or Van Der Vaart, one is all that is needed to continue their glory.
3 months ago
I've thought and wrote alot about this topic and I'll just say "Fergie knows best". Great work though,Keith.
from 3 months ago
Thanks Salaar, Im sure Fergie does know best...Whatever the situation with Ronaldo etc. every United fan should have faith in the gaffer, especially one as reliable as Ferguson, not too mention the Glaziers who have surprised me as absolutly great owners since they took over. Compared to Hicks and Gillette, I think we can consider ourselves very lucky.
Again, thanks for the comment Salaar, nice to hear from you.
from 3 months ago
Fairly similar topic...
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/25408-Why-Manchester-United-Don-t-Need-To-Go-On-a-Spending-Spree--260508
well covered,Keith
3 months ago
The glazers absolutely great owners? Only if you live the other side of the Atlantic and are not affected by the huge price hikes inflicted on the 'customers'. The glazers still owe about 50 million on last year's buys, so any more signings would be on the credit card as well.
Signings are needed to prevent complacency
from 3 months ago
Again, compared to some, the Galzers have been great owners, who unlike Hicks etc with Rafa, and Abramovich with Mourinho, let Ferguson get on with his job. Also, despite the debt gave him the cash to build the side to win both trophies.
3 months ago
thanks for the great article.. still think that ManU need something in the Defence. Pique was apt replacement and you need something behind Rio and Vidic in case of injury problems. It has been a great season for Van Der Sar, but I feel its time to get a new world class keeper, someone like Cech, who could influence the game a bit more...
On the forward front, ManU has enough resources to plug the Ronaldo gap. Plus no player from ManU has ever been heard of once moving to Madrid - Ruud, Beckhem, Heinze. I believe its the right time to cash in on a not so loyal priced asset, which can help to bring in new players with the price tag.
3 months ago
You have to spend as much as your rivals and if Chelsea strenghten, we need to strengthen,
If Arsenal spend we need to spend, Liverpool......not so much
3 months ago
I agree but if we do lose Ronaldo, plus Saha and Silvestre - as seems likely - then it would be great to get Sergio Ramos and van Nistelrooy from Real in return.
I know Fergie wouldn't want Ruud back but he is still a fantastic player and one of the best strikers we have ever had. Apart from his "offside" goal against Italy, did you see his footwork to set up the second goal against France? Ronaldo would have been proud of that!
If not Ruud, then Berbatov or Benzema to complement Rooney and Tevez.
3 months ago
I agree with anupam
It looks like we are going to lose 3 players, 2 defenders Silvestre, Pique and Saha. Ronaldo all bets are on.
While our first string defense of Brown, Rio, Vidic and Evra, there is very little behind them now.
Silvestre is gone as is Pique, Neville seems more brittle now than ever and that leaves us with O'shea and the young lads to fill in for all injuries. I don't fancy starting Danny Simpson when Evra gets hurt.
Ferguson normally likes to have 4 strikers and were down to 2 already, so at least one more is needed.
I like the idea of selling Ronaldo, getting big money and then getting 3 young talents, that cost less and need a little time to develop. Funnily enough like Pique.
3 months ago
Great article, Keith.
I'd say that Fergie probably needs to re-inforce just a little, whether Ronaldo stays or not. Giggs will be playing a less central role (in my opinion) in the team this year, and as hard as he runs for the team, Park isn't the replacement. Nani certainly could be, although he needs a decent run to show how consistent he'll be.
I'd also go with another keeper - yes, van der Saar had a great season but how much of this was down to the central defence in front of him? There's definitely the need for a world class keeper - do you think that Casillas could be worked into the Ronaldo deal?
Perhaps an out and out striker like David Villa or Miroslav Klose to flesh out the squad. I'm sure Fergie has in mind what he wants to do.
write a new comment