Ferguson Forging United a Good Deal

So with Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo gone, the chasm left in Manchester United’s triple winning Premiership squad is a vast one to say the least.

With the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City pricing most clubs out of this current transfer market, United have gone about there business in a slightly reserved manner, while still attracting some of Europe’s biggest names.

Antonio Valencia, a player who has been much coveted by Sir Alex Ferguson has been acquired for an estimated £16 million.

Gabriel Obertan has been purchased from Bordeaux for around £4 million.

The most high profile signing however was that of England striker Michael Owen, who joined the club on a free transfer after a four-year spell with Newcastle United.

Despite this triple signing, many United fans and football fanatics across the world would have been expecting United to invest some more of the £80 million from the sale of Ronaldo on new players to replace the Portuguese winger and his Argentine counterpart.

But according to Ferguson; United’s spending spree may well be over, something that has raised eyebrows across the football world.

Filling the void left by Ronaldo and Tevez is a difficulty in itself, and it would have been unrealistic to expect Ferguson to replace them both and still keep the coherent classy team we saw last season.

But in terms of what Ferguson has brought in, it doesn’t seem to come close to what has gone before and with the constant improvement of Liverpool, United fans have a reason to be worried.

The Scotsman admitted himself that United had been priced out of the market for a number of players included Lyon’s Karim Benzema, a player who I personally feel would not have fit into the United set-up anyway.

Maybe Ferguson didn’t want to spend money just for the sake of boosting the squad, especially with the Old Trafford club’s crippling debt.

As a United fan I would appreciate a little bit more honesty from the owners, who put their backing behind Ferguson to spend almost all the money gathered from Ronaldo’s transfer, something I was against from day one.

Maybe keeping back some of the money and easing some of the debt, albeit only slightly, is the logical thing to do especially with prices rocketing in the transfer market, something that for years United has been guilty of doing.

The club is now paying the price for their escapades in previous years, and the result is the signing of three players that are unlikely to strike fear into their Premiership title challengers.

Valencia, after a three-year spell at Wigan, has moved to United after over a year of being tracked by United scouts and on the face of it looks like a direct positional replacement for Ronaldo, but in truth the Ecuadorian is far from the finished product that United fans would want to replace last season’s top scorer.

The Frenchman Obertan is ever further from a potential Premiership star, as a littered career in France meant his transfer was seen as something of a surprise in his home country and his appearances this season are expected to be limited to cup competitions.

And while these two talented midfielders may have been expected to join United, the signing of Owen is at the other end of the scale.

The former Liverpool striker had seen constant injury concerns and a lack of form engulf his attraction in world football, but Ferguson has taken the punt on the England striker.

His recent injury history is a huge concern to every United fan, and with no other players set to join the club along with Owen the workload the he might have to undertake might be a case of too much too soon.

With the sale of Frazier Campbell as well, United is short on strikers, with Danny Welbeck set to play a greater role this season after breaking through to the first team last term.

Don’t think I’ve forgotten Owen’s underlying quality, and despite his injuries when fit he is a quality goal-scorer, and with the like of Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick around him chances will be aplenty.

The move is obviously partly motivated by next summer, and the World Cup in South Africa which Owen will aim to be a part of, and he’s given himself a great chance after joining the Premiership champions.

The free transfer means the risk for United is very little, and given that, it’s a no lose situation, but without another striker on board maybe United are a little short on the ground.

I’ve never been one to question the decisions of Ferguson given his impeccable record in the transfer market and I have faith that he’s called this correctly, and that United won’t be staring down the face of a trophy-less season, and even worse a club on the brink of liquidation.

You only have to look up the M62 to Elland Road to see the results of what misguided transfer money and ongoing debt can do to a club, and United aren’t a far cry from their rivals from Yorkshire.

And at the end of the day isn’t that the most important thing.
 
Forget the constant success and league titles. The club’s future is the big picture.  

With savings and the relative cutbacks United have made in the transfer market this summer, our future can be secured.

Another Ferguson masterstroke? Not half!