Manchester United need to keep spending
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Disclaimer: Its long, but quite a good read
Premiership champions Manchester United may have wasted little time in investing heavily in their squad with a triumvirate of big money deals this summer, but they would be foolish to stop buying now.
Nearly £50million has been shelled out for Portuguese winger Nani, Brazilian midfield prodigy Anderson and clever England midfielder Owen Hargreaves, but Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad still needs a bit of tweaking before it is ready to really challenge in Europe again.
And with Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all desperate to wrestle the title from Old Trafford, they can expect to be matched penny for penny for that £50m sum before the new season gets underway.
There are still areas in FergusonÂ’s side that need strengthening, and while club chief executive David Gill has claimed that the spending is all but over, he and his Glazer pals should make sure that that is not the case if they want the side to gain the sort of respect in EuropeÂ’s footballing circles that United seem to feel they deserve.
Last season was a great one for United and one achieved without too much change. True, Michael Carrick arrived for a sky high fee and goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak and striker Henrik Larsson, albeit briefly, were added.
But it was more a combination of renaissance seasons from Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville and the stepping up to the plate of Cristiano Ronaldo, and more recent signings Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra, that laid the foundations for a super league season and a much lengthier European campaign than in any of the past four seasons.
But nothing stays perfect in football very long and amid many reservations about the strength of his midfield, Ferguson has added quickly to give himself a much stronger pool.
However, he now needs to make sure that the areas in front of and behind that midfield have as much strength in depth, while the exit door at Old Trafford also beckons for several players.
Kieran Richardson, for one, surely needs to move on. The arrivals of Nani and Anderson do not bode well for his future at a club where his game has failed to evolve since he returned from his successful loan spell at West Brom two years ago.
And while he has far too much promise to be offloaded to Championship side Sheffield United, as has been speculated, a move down the Premiership beckons for a player who is not going to learn anything if he continues to win medals by virtue of playing (or at least appearing in) enough games. -
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Up front, despite the warning that the spending is over, there are far more rumours that Ferguson will be bringing in a new striker – and getting rid of one.
The Scot is widely believed to have finally lost patience with Louis Saha. The FrenchmanÂ’s fitness has always been a concern, but many reports seem to suggest that it has been his attitude that has most recently irked Ferguson.
The former Fulham man finally seemed to have found his feet at the club last season, following the loss of Ruud van Nistelrooy, but by the season's end, he was a peripheral figure again, failing to appear in several games that he had been earmarked for, and the number 9 shirt at the club looks set to be passed on before August.
Swap deals involving Saha and either NewcastleÂ’s Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov of Spurs have been mooted, but both are likely to stay at their clubs (the latter has signed a new long-term deal).
Other forwards linked with the club include BerbatovÂ’s Spurs team-mate Jermain Defoe, BoltonÂ’s Nicolas Anelka and Javier Saviola of Barcelona, though perhaps the most likely deal is a swoop for Ajax hit-man Klaus Jan Huntelaar.
This is the type of forward United need, a prolific hit-man that Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney can work off, while he bags plenty of goals himself.
His 33 goals in the 2005/06 Eredivisie campaign were followed up by another 21 last year and more crucially he hit nine goals in nine games in the Champions League and Uefa Cup. He would be an ideal replacement for Saha and a good choice by United, even if the Frenchman stays put.
Alan Smith and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will remain as options for Ferguson, the latter probably for the final season, but these players offer different sorts of options and will be strong squad members, as may be Guiseppe Rossi, though he has been linked with a loan switch to FC Porto as part of the Nani deal.
At the back, while all four of UnitedÂ’s first-choice defenders were named in the PFA Premiership team of the season last year, there were hiccups and there is room for improvement, especially in the back-up ranks which needed heavy exploitation and did not always convince towards the latter end of the campaign just gone.
Neville, Evra, Vidic and Rio Ferdinand were all excellent in 2006/07, something that seems to have cost the popular Gabriel Heinze his position at the club. The hard-man Argentine has lost his place as first-choice left-back to Evra and is expected to move to Real Madrid this summer in a switch that will upset many United fans as the player is a firm favourite.
Less hard to take will be the likely departure of Mikael Silvestre. A good servant to the club since 1999, last seasonÂ’s limited appearances and poor showings when he did play suggest that the FrenchmanÂ’s United days are numbered. And at just under 30, he is still young enough to forge a decent career at a different club.
The dislocated shoulder the player suffered in the Champions League game against Lille will prove an ignominious end if he is to move on, but with UnitedÂ’s back-up options in defence questionable, there was little last season to suggest that Silvestre is at the stage of his career where he can be a help to that.
Wes Brown too may have to finally move on. A change of scene as much as anything else would seem to be ideal for a player who has always offered more promise than substance and with Spurs and Sunderland both believed to have some interest, Brown – at 27 – would best be advised to move on.
It would be sad for some United fans to see the back of this player, who performed so well as a 19-year-old unknown in the treble season of 1998/99, but whose career has been plagued by injury and fluctuating form ever since. He did not look comfortable towards the end of last season, and as sad as United fans may be to see him go, they could end up sadder seeing him in the United team-sheet every week.
If Heinze, Silvestre and Brown all go then there will obviously be the need to bring in several back line back-ups. The sales of Heinze, Brown, Silvestre, Richardson and maybe Saha would also bring in some money in the midst of the heavy budget pressure already applied and would be useful in bringing in the type of defender who can act as decent back up, should the likes of Neville, Ferdinand or Vidic (who will improve further) be injured.
Manchester CityÂ’s Micah Richards apart, there has been little to no speculation linking United with any new defenders so far in the summer.It is questionable whether or not big money would be well spent on Richards and United could do with looking around.
Ferguson has shown a decent eye for a defender in recent years, bringing in Heinze, Evra and Vidic, and it would be a surprise if he has not been scouting for some more stoppers, especially with Heinze, in particular, so likely to leave.
One other surprising transfer link involving United this summer was that they were keen on Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
UnitedÂ’s last line of defence is currently the vastly experienced Edwin van der Sar and while the Dutchman made a mistake or two towards the end of the season, he did have a super year all told and his penalty save from Darius Vassell in the Manchester Derby was key in the title win.
Ben Foster is back from Watford to challenge strongly for the number 1 spot, but with a knee operation ruling him out for several months, van der Sar will remain first choice. No newbies are likely to come in, though FosterÂ’s injury maybe does give Kuszczak a little more time to show what he can do, after he did little to impress in his first season.
United have a strong squad, but Scholes and Giggs are getting old and injuries can always ruin the most promising of seasons.
Chelsea have already signed three players of their own this season, albeit that the additions of Alex, Steven Sidwell and Claudio Pizarro have cost 50p between them, and given the fact that they are a club not without their means, they are sure to not let UnitedÂ’s outlay on Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson go unchallenged because Chelsea will very much want the title back.
Arsenal have plenty of talented players both experienced and not so, but for the last couple of years the sum of their parts has been less than it might have been and they will need to strengthen in each third of the pitch, but cannot be discounted.
Liverpool, meanwhile, have plenty of money to spend and a fine manager in Rafa Benitez who knows what is required to win things. Whether or not he can finally transform the Reds into title challengers will surely depend on his outlay on strikers – the Achilles heel of the club for several years now, but the Reds’ title drought can’t go on forever.
United will need to be wary of all these things, as well as the hiding they got in the San Siro in their Champions League semi-final, second leg. That may give them a better idea of when and when not to put the wallet away for the summer. -
Spend wisely.
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X2. Prioritise i would say, and watch their spending, if not the transfer budget we've saved up in the past 3 seasons will be wiped off before we know it.Originally posted by sand king:Spend wisely.
Get a striker 1st
Then defenders for back-up
And if needed a GK -
Nice analysis of Richardson
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Hopefully, the Glazers know the importance of signing a quality forward. They already have in possesion the most profitable sporting franchise in the world, i believe that this investment to bolster the onfield performance should be viewed as necessary by them, and not as a luxury.
If they give their complete backing to Sir Alex, it's them up to Sir Alex and his coaching staff to sign a forward who can improve United. I believe Sir Alex has the guts to sign a complete unknown if he had to, and he's also one of the few who will not sign a player for the sake of appeasing the fans, so hopefully he signs a quality forward.
Defensively, i think he might let the youngsters take over. Pique should certainly feature more next season, given that he has impressed back in Spain. Who knows, Kieran Lee might also step up along with some others. We'll wait and see. -
We'v got Jonathan Evans in Defence alsoOriginally posted by Othello_Red:Hopefully, the Glazers know the importance of signing a quality forward. They already have in possesion the most profitable sporting franchise in the world, i believe that this investment to bolster the onfield performance should be viewed as necessary by them, and not as a luxury.
If they give their complete backing to Sir Alex, it's them up to Sir Alex and his coaching staff to sign a forward who can improve United. I believe Sir Alex has the guts to sign a complete unknown if he had to, and he's also one of the few who will not sign a player for the sake of appeasing the fans, so hopefully he signs a quality forward.
Defensively, i think he might let the youngsters take over. Pique should certainly feature more next season, given that he has impressed back in Spain. Who knows, Kieran Lee might also step up along with some others. We'll wait and see.
I heard he's better than Pique actually. -
Yup, heard of him before. Hopefully he fulfills his potential. It'd be great to have a back four that matures together, that way, they'll know each other's game very well and will be less prone to errors in communication and those dumb collisions that cost us against Milan.Originally posted by omgukilledkenny:We'v got Jonathan Evans in Defence also
I heard he's better than Pique actually. -
ahh yes,reminds me of "Fergies Fledgelings".Originally posted by Othello_Red:Yup, heard of him before. Hopefully he fulfills his potential. It'd be great to have a back four that matures together, that way, they'll know each other's game very well and will be less prone to errors in communication and those dumb collisions that cost us against Milan.
Beckham , the Neville Brothers , Scholes , Butt and Giggs.
Dang, wonder if we'll produce a team of players like them again..would be awesome. -
MUFC needs a good scorer, and these don't come cheap..
perhaps mUFC can build on this season and then, we can have the funds to do that next season. -
Good scorers don't necessarily cost a lot. Proven ones do. I suspect that Fergie isn't looking for someone to bang in loads of goals. He's more likely looking for someone who can change positions in an attacking quartet of Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs and the forward, and be a point man that the rest of the attackers can play off.Originally posted by iceFatboy:MUFC needs a good scorer, and these don't come cheap..
perhaps mUFC can build on this season and then, we can have the funds to do that next season.
He might not be looking for quite a traditional type of centre forward, but we'll have to wait and see who he'll sign, if any at all. -
I think the squad needs some trimmings. Sell some before buying again.
First to leave: Richardson. Next would be Silvestre, O'Shea and Saha.
I think Brown deserves to stay because he's definitely more mobile than O'Shea and he can play at both Right-Back and Centre-Back, which O'Shea obviously sucked at.
The rest can be cashed in while they're still worth some money. I think what United needs is a pacy and strong striker to replace Saha. Huntelaar and Nugent would be good and wise choices.
Cheers.
CK -
agreed.. but with OwenH coming in, there may be some changes already.Originally posted by Othello_Red:Good scorers don't necessarily cost a lot. Proven ones do. I suspect that Fergie isn't looking for someone to bang in loads of goals. He's more likely looking for someone who can change positions in an attacking quartet of Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs and the forward, and be a point man that the rest of the attackers can play off.
He might not be looking for quite a traditional type of centre forward, but we'll have to wait and see who he'll sign, if any at all.
the big test whether all works are when we meet powerhouse like Milan who will really find the gaps.