Manchester United's Short-Term Policy a Long-Term Risk

Wayne Rooney found himself at the centre of yet another media storm this week after lashing out at West Ham United’s Stewart Downing.

The straight red he received sparked dramatic outcries for him to be stripped of his international and club captaincy. In actuality, it was an extremely common foul aimed at halting the opposition’s counter-attack that was simply executed poorly and aggressively.

There is a fitting parallel to be drawn between Rooney’s impulsive, unmeasured reaction and the way that Manchester United have conducted themselves in the transfer market recently.

If we put ourselves in Wayne Rooney’s shoes, it is easy to see that, in the heat of the moment, it was an act of pure desperation. United’s tentative 2-1 lead, given their recent defeat to Leicester City, had all the markings of another game getting away from them.

As Downing broke away, Rooney made a rash decision to stifle the attack, but he was poorly positioned, stretching too far and earning himself a red card and three-match ban. It was a short-term decision with long-term consequences.

Rewind to September 1, 2014, and the Red Devils' chief executive, Ed Woodward, found himself in a similar predicament. After two decades of Premier League dominance, the Reds finished seventh under David Moyes, who was swiftly sacked despite signing a seven-year contract.

Having waxed lyrical about their desire for stability, United backtracked by bringing in Louis van Gaal. While undeniably qualified, the 63-year-old Dutchman has never managed a club for more than four years, leading to many, such as Eoin O’Callaghan of thescore.ie, labelling him a hired gun.

As the transfer window drew to a close, as with Rooney watching the West Ham game unfold, Woodward could see two outcomes: a successful campaign to reinstate United as title contenders, or a second failure that would place the club in a hugely vulnerable position, not least because of the clause in their lucrative contract with Adidas, as reported by The Independent’s Maria Tadeo.

As the window drew to a close, Radamel Falcao became available. Like breaking up the play, splashing out on a proven goalscorer can often be a smart move. But not this time.

It didn’t make sense for Woodward or Rooney to force the respective situations. They acted out of impulse, out of a fear of what could potentially go wrong, and as a result they achieved short-term gains while placing the club’s future in jeopardy.

For Rooney, this means missing out on three games, including a crucial encounter against table-topping Chelsea, leaving United short on striking options. For Woodward, the potential repercussions are even more worrying.

Building on a year that saw two quick-fixes in the form of Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata, the United board should have learned their lesson. The purchases of Radamel Falcao and, to a lesser extent, Angel Di Maria are littered with problems.

In the short term, it looks promising: A front five of Falcao, Rooney, Robin van Persie, Di Maria and Mata is something most clubs can only dream of. But these signings fail to address the real, incredibly obvious problem of a distinct lack of experienced, quality defenders.

Luke Shaw was signed at a rather excessive £30 million and has even drawn comparisons to Gareth Bale, as per Eric Roberts’ SportsBettingOnline column, but he is just 19 years old.

With the mass defensive exodus of Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, it was blindingly obvious that experienced heads were needed to fill in.

As reported by The Telegraph, United moved for Mats Hummels over the summer, but a deal never materialised. Thomas Vermaelen reportedly favoured a switch to United over his eventual transfer to FC Barcelona, as per Metro's Lee Hurley, but the Reds were not willing to match the £15 million asking price.

This seemed reasonable at the time, under the assumption there were other deals in motion, but with the amount of money eventually splashed out on unnecessary attacking options, the deal would have represented a tiny proportion of the overall expenditure for a proven Premier League centre-back.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Many have pointed to the fact that Falcao is only at United on loan as a point of justification, but it is highly unlikely that he will fail to sign on a permanent basis at the end of the season for an additional £46 million, a fee reported by the Mirror.

It is not simply a manner of money, however. It is not simply about his £350,000 per week wages, as reported by Ben Jefferson of the Express, which may upset the dressing room (Van Persie won the Golden Boot in 2012/13 and averaged more than one goal every two games in an otherwise dismal 2013/14 season).

And it is not simply about the £59.7 million spent on a winger Real Madrid deemed expendable, as cited in Liam Prenderville’s Mirror column. It is about a change in philosophy that threatens to tarnish the soul of the club irreparably.

As Falcao swiftly deleted his "hala Madrid" tweet, as reported by MailOnline Sport and passed on by Bleacher Report’s very own Mark Patterson, and threw on the nearest United shirt, a Manchester-born England international was given his marching orders.

Danny Welbeck had been at the club since he was just nine years old, progressing through the Reds’ famous youth academy and blossoming into a passionate, versatile and talented forward.

As Falcao was brought in, Welbeck was cast aside, making a mockery of United’s rich history of nurturing their youth products and doing all they can to integrate them into the first-team, epitomised by the Class of ’92.

In Welbeck and Tom Cleverley, United got rid of two players who would give their all for the club at the darkest of times, and in return they signed two players who are openly desperate to represent Real Madrid.

This spells disaster for the long-term prospects of United. In just two years Falcao will be in his 30s and Van Persie will be 33—and both players are notoriously injury-prone. Welbeck would have been an ideal replacement, yet it is difficult to see what options Manchester United have left themselves.

Similarly, Adnan Januzaj has found himself demoted to the under-21s. He has applied himself at this level thus far, a hat-trick against Sunderland and wonder goal against Tottenham Hotspur among his immediate achievements, but if he is not integrated back into the first-team soon, United risk losing one of the hottest young prospects in Europe.

It was easy for Manchester United to look down on the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea as they gifted unfashionable choice David Moyes a long-term contract and spoke of the great heritage of the club.

But actions speak louder than words, and if United continue employing such an erratic policy, they risk losing everything that once made them great.