With all this in mind, you would have expected some big transfers coming in to England. For me, this current transfer window has been poor. Liverpool have signed Joe Cole and Chelsea ludicrously replaced him with Benayoun from Anfield. However, at the time of writing, the blues are about to snap up the impressive Ramires for £17 million. Arsenal have done it predictably...signed two unknowns from France. Wenger will probably sell them on in three or four years time for £17879 million each, is such his talent in the French transfer market. I am looking forward to seeing Chamakh...he seems to be full of pace, power and instinct...everything which Adebayor is not. Sir Alex Ferguson has been canny in one signing and misjudged in another. The Little Pea 'Chicarito' (ridiculous that his shirt will have that on the back of it!) was signed before the World Cup for an encouraging in-todays-market-a-cheap-snip-at £7m....the same fee paid for then club record signing Andy Cole in 1995. The other was Chris Smalling from Fulham for £8m. He played one good game against Chelsea and United signed him. He then went on to have a calamitous few months after confirming the transfer where he scored own goals, was badly caught out of position and I believe sent off.
These two transfers signify two things. Ferguson's ability to purchase a hidden talent at a cheap price (yes, 7 million is cheap today) and the ability to take a chance on someone and hope it pays off. Over the years, Ferguson has been great at buying on a relative shoestring - Schmeichel, Irwin, Bruce, Solskjaer, Ronaldo and even Rooney. Javier Hernandez (that's what his birth certificate will say) may certainly fall in to this category if he continues to perform the way he has done in his fledgling career with fantastic goals against a Major League all star team and then against United in a friendly for his previous club Chivas. He scored two cracking goals in the World Cup to show he could cope on the world stage. By getting him before the World Cup, Ferguson saved himself about £10m at least. He is all set to become a wonderful player and a new Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - what a legend! If he hits it off with Rooney and they both stay injury-free, then United may have a new Yorke and Cole, Law and Best and Gamble and Haw (ask Southport fans on that last one).
Chris Smalling on the other hand has a lot to answer for! On the United tour to America this summer he gave away a penalty, got outpaced for a goal and was constantly bullied by more bulkier front men. However, he did score a headed goal from a corner against Chivas and shows he could be destructive at set-plays...if he plays. Vidic, Evans, Brown, Ferdinand and O'Shea will all be ahead of him should that quintet stay injury free. I believe the fee was too much and United fans will remember one signing, although a trialist, who came with a good reputation but was atrocious - William Prunier. He could not defend his house from a lego soldier. I really hope Smalling does not fall in to this same trap. I hope he proves me wrong. I hope he scores fifteen goals this season. I hope he keeps a clean sheet in every game. I hope he likes sitting on the bench though.
Where United are particularly weak on paper right now is in the middle of the park. Carrick looks half a yard too slow and was at fault for two of the goals in the quarter final against Bayern Munich. He needs to have a big season or else he may find himself sold next summer, if not in January. Paul Scholes is a United legend and the complete midfielder. Inevitably at 35 his legs are going and can only play one game a week-ten days. When on song, he is untouchable - the best midfielder in the league. This was proved by Capello's rather embarrassing begging to bring him back in to the international fold. Owen Hargreaves is crocked which is a shame because, along with Ronaldo, he was probably United's most consistent performer in the 2007-2008 season. A great midfielder who can tackle, pass, graft and score, his absence has been sorely missed. Darron Gibson is a player who likes to pass the ball forward and shoot on sight. If he could add an engine to his game he could be a great player. Darren Fletcher has turned in to a superb player and the second one down on the team sheet. What he does well is that he can turn creative when things are not going right. He ripped Man City apart at Old Trafford last season in the league. His power in running late in to box earned him a few goals too.
Why haven't United bid for Mesut Ozil of Werder Bremen? He was arguably the best player at the world cup. Not only is he as white as a sheet, his nickname is actually 'the ghost' (!), as he runs in between the two banks of four and pretty much in behind anyone he can. He creates and scores and is a menace. He plays like Scholes did in 2003, breaking lines and constantly being in areas where he is unmarked. If this guy doesn't have 'Man United player' written all over him, then Eric Cantona was shit.
One thing which has come out of the recent tour is United have all of a sudden, got some fresh youth in the ranks - this may explain why Ferguson has not bought. Every team in the Premiership now has to register 25 players - 8 of which have to have played 3 or more years in thats clubs youth section. Cleverley was outstanding, quick, linked up well and got a couple of goals. Macheda smashed two in against the all star team and Ferguson declared him 'United's best finisher. I expect him to score when he gets in one on one positions'. No pressure Federico. He is still only 18 and is well built. He could be United's joker this season and I expect to see him play more. Rafael and Fabio are one more season mature which is good because Rafael may not get sent off this season for petulant offences. They both need to stay fit though.
With the addition of Ozil, I think United may have a squad that has a mix of everything - old heads, youth, talent, determination, aggression, goals, clean sheets and athleticism. If Nani can continue where he left off and Valencia can continue to place every cross on Rooney's head, then with Ozil, United have that creativity from the centre of the park that they need to unlock stern defences. My dad keeps raging that United need to spend big but if Ferguson is canny, he may be able to get Ozil on a good deal as he is a player with only twelve months left on his Werder Bremen contract.
Of course, he could sign for Arsenal tomorrow and this blog would have been a waste of time.
