Boss braced for Italians' effect
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Sir Alex pens his thoughts before every home game for United Review. Even after the event, it's essential viewing. Read it in full on ManUtd.com, the day after the game...
Welcome back to Old Trafford for what I think will be another hotly contested season. It’s certainly our intention to challenge for everything on offer and I feel we are well placed to take on all-comers. I say this despite a summer of unprecedented spending in the transfer market with Real Madrid and Manchester City in particular racking up the inflationary spiral, while we more or less stood aside and let them get on with it.
I know there will be some fans who are disappointed that we didn’t spend the princely £80million we got for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid on another superstar. I would have done had I felt we were getting value for our money, but this close-season some crazy things went on and the price of the game’s major players went through the roof.
The asking price for players we were looking at just wasn’t realistic and we held off. I think we have shown over the years that we are not afraid to spend big and we have in fact frequently created transfer fee records, but only when we felt the business made financial sense. The level of the fees being demanded in recent months just didn’t add up.
So we stood off, but what you must remember is that we are working from a position of strength. We don’t suddenly have to splash out to try to compete at the top. We are already there, thanks to a long-term strategy of buying mostly young players, who we feel have the potential to become top performers. Cristiano Ronaldo was a case in point. We spotted him and bought him for a modest £12m. You know the rest. In the six years we had him he became the world’s best player, and we certainly wish him well with the rest of hiscareer. Of course we will miss him, especially his phenomenal scoring and the way he put the opposition under pressure with the brave way he attacked defenders.
We were never a one-man team, though, and we have other players who will rise to the occasion and fill the gap, of that I am sure. So pay no attention to the cynics who have suggested our owners stopped us spending. Believe me, it was purely a football decision. Maybe it’s the Scotsman in me, but I believe in value even when I am spending someone else’s money! I am more than happy with my squad and the players we have brought in who all, incidentally, represent value. We tracked Gabriel Obertan for a long time. He is a French Under-21 international winger who cost us £2m from Bordeaux, a player we know will develop. Antonio Valencia, our £15m signing from Wigan, is another wide man of great potential.
Perhaps our most controversial summer signing was Michael Owen, a player who I believe will continue to surprise people. He may have reached the stage of his career where he won’t figure in every game, but he’ll score a lot of goals for us in keeping with his tremendous record throughout his career for England, Liverpool and Newcastle.
There seems to be constant debate about the injuries he’s picked up over the years, but you look at Paul Scholes, who’s had two or three bad injuries, and he’s always come back. So we are not worried about Michael. If players have the resolve to get back then they always will, and there’s no doubt that Michael still loves the game of football and is hungry to play. But my belief in the strength of our squad goes a lot deeper than our recent additions, including now another for the future in Mame Biram Diouf.
We have some terrific young players who are breaking into the side at the moment – players like Federico Macheda, Danny Welbeck, Darron Gibson, Jonny Evans and the da Silva twins. So we’re in very good shape. And don’t forget Anderson and Nani – they’re also young players who are nowhere near their peak. They’re going to develop and mature. Their best years are still to come. To balance that, we have Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand and Edwin van der Sar, who give us experience and stability. We might not have spent the £80m, but there’s no need to panic.
Now we welcome Valencia to Manchester, as we step up the intensity of our pre-season preparations. The Asia Tour was good, but we definitely went up a notch when we played in the Audi Cup last week in Germany and met Boca Juniors and Bayern Munich. Valencia is a similar test. We’ve played against Valencia four times in Europe over the years, and they’ve always been very challenging games. The one thing you can be sure of with Valencia is that they know how to defend. No matter who’s been in charge, whether it was Rafa Benitez or Claudio Ranieri, they were always difficult to break down. I expect the same again this evening. -
New Chelsea boss Carlos Ancelotti won’t be the only Italian on Sir Alex Ferguson’s radar this season.
Young striker Federico Macheda is also in the United manager’s mind, having carried his form from the crucial cameos of last term into the pre-season campaign. Kiko scored twice in Asia and looked menacing as a second-half substitute against Valencia in midweek.
“I actually thought Macheda was brilliant on Wednesday night,” enthused Sir Alex in his Community Shield press conference.
“For his age he's exceptional. He's going to give me a real (selection) problem.”
Chelsea, meanwhile, are widely expected to be Sir Alex's biggest problem as he pursues United's 19th league title. The criteria cited are Ancelotti's arrival and the fact their players have been kept out of the clutches of big-spending Manchester City and Real Madrid.
“There's no doubt John Terry staying there keeps them strong,” said Sir Alex. “He's their captain and he's a good centre-half, no question.
“I think Carlo Ancelotti will pick up the baton that Guus Hiddink carried for them from February to May, when Chelsea were galvanised, but he’ll do it with his own system, the midfield ‘diamond’ he used at Milan.
"So Chelsea will be strong. They have a lot of experience and some terrific players."