I haven't been able to put any posts down in a while, main reason due to work. In a nutshell, work is busy at times, its loose at times, but the people are always very nice. I like what I'm doing and I'm excited to see where my project takes me. But anyway, onto more important issues.
Along with the rest of the world, I have witnessed the horrific, conniving, classes Ramon Calderon step down and Florentino Perez take over. Once I saw that happen, and the discussions he had along with his ambitions to sign all the best players in the world, I knew that United's hold on Ronaldo would be slipping. Once Kaka signed for £56 Million (roughly 80-90 million USD), I knew that Ronaldo would be next.
And I wake up this morning with dismay to see the numbers posted up by Los Blancos in order to grab Ronaldo. £80 million pounds for the former Ballon D'or winner, 40 goal scorer. It looks like The Galaticos is returning to the days of Zizou. And while Ronaldo's skillset will definitely be missed in the next season, there is plenty of positives to look at with this transaction.
1. For one thing, Ronaldo near the end of the season was a cancer to the team. Much like Terrell Owens to all the teams he played for, Ronaldo was becoming less of the team player and more of the attention whore that his off-field antics warrant. I thought his fit he threw at the Manchester Derby was because he wanted to stay on and prove to the gaffer that he could play, a fighting spirit. But his attitude after that was just trash, and much like to Beckham's end at Old Trafford - if you mess with the gaffer, you're out. Its better to have him out than stay.
2. Lets not forget that Ronaldo didn't leave on a Bosman Transfer. Thats when he leaves for free, when the contract is over and the player freely moves between teams. £80 million pounds, in the words of Lupe is a lot of "cheese". With that money we can definitely reinvest in the team and recruit some fantastic players that can more than compensate for Ronaldo's absence. Lets consider the players that United could spend that money on.
- Carlos Tevez: he is the first player that we need to absolutely sign and get in a long-term contract. I was never happy with the signing of Berbatov, he just doesn't fit in with our quick, free-flowing attack. He's too slow, his tempo slows the entire rhythm of the team down, and he's not tough in the air and given his role as a target man he's useless. Tevez is a workhorse, and fits so well together with Rooney, who will now be the go to number 10 (and considering his performances for England I am so excited to see him play). He may not have scored as many goals as Ronaldo, but he has scored so many important goals for United at the most crucial times (goal against Liverpool at Anfield in the 07-08 season) he is the new Soklsjaer. I know he's frustrated, but we must show him the respect that he deserves and sign this fan favorite. Spending the required £25 out of our £80million will be crucial if Fergie wants to win the League for the fourth year in a row.
So that leaves us with £
55 Million left to spend. Lets go with the most likely signing for Fergie if he should sign Tevez to a long term deal.
- Antonio Valencia: the winger from Wigan will be a solid replacement in the right side. He definitely can't replace the offensive attack of Ronaldo in one go, but he could definitely provide more cover on the right side in defence and back tracking. The guy has good potential, and though he may not have the goal-output he poses a dangerous threat on the right side and can deliver those killer balls through to Rooney or Tevez to run onto and finish. With his valuation at around £17 million, Steve Bruce would be more than willing to at least give his prized winger to his old manager. But now he's at Sunderland, so they will probably bump up his valuation. Lets assume that because everybody knows about Man United's purse, he gets sold for £20 million.
That leaves us with £35 million to spend. Now here's where we can get creative. That amount of cash is enough to buy the top players around the world. Lets take a look at the two we should focus on.
- Franc Ribery: We know this guy can play. After being discovered in in Berlin while playing for France in the World Cup, he has tore it up in the Bundesliga for Munchen. He is that attacking midfielder that we need, who can realy control the tempo of the game and change it entirely with one strike. He would be a great player, a better team player, and a better passer than Ronaldo. However, rumor has it that he's in talks with Madrid (Perez definitely is spending more this summer), and his valuation set by Munchen is £63 million (apparently set by a bid that United launched for him a few weeks back). Doesn't look possible that we can afford him.
Lets then take a look at how else we could spend the £35 million.
- Karim Benzema: If we could sign this guy, it would be a blockbuster trade for United. The striker has so much upside its just unreal how he is still in Ligue 1. In the games that I saw where he played against United in the Champions League last year, the guy has so much strength with the ball that he even held off Vidic. And the strike that he scored with against United at home in the first leg was a superb and sublime shot, being able to slot that shot with such a little window between Vidic and Ferdinand showed the potential of this great player. This guy is still young, only 21, he should be the priority in new signings once we lock down the other guys. It is true that he is a striker, but he is more than capable in playing on the wing, or we can switch our formation to a 4-3-3, even though we haven't had much success with it in the past.
So with these players, say we are able to sign Tevez, Valencia, and Benzema. I was thinking about this all day, and look at the potential line up that we could throw at opponents during the season.
Now look at that. Brown can still be a solid defensive right back, not as attacking as Rafael, but once that player develops he will be the next Gary Neville for the team. I really liked the way Fletcher has turned into his own this season. He's become a great defensive midfielder and it was unfortunate he wasn't able to play for the Champions League final last season in Rome. He can pair up with Carrick quite well. Benzema can play well with both feet and can be that winger, or slide up and be that third attack in front with Tevez and Rooney, who will be running circles around the competition. If Berbatov plays, he can probably fill in Tevez's role, but like I said before, I really don't see how his style fits into United's attack. Valencia can be that great passer on the right delivering great through balls or taking players on down the line.
That lineup is still very, very competitive without Ronaldo. We won't have those 40 yard screamers or those crazy set kicks (think goal against Portsmouth last year at home), but this team can play better together and attack together, and will score goals.
Lastly, for Madrid, they've spent so much money (and will spend another 37 million for David Villa) for attack they have forgotten about their defense. Sergio Ramos is not a defensive player, he is a attacking wing back. Pepe is not the type of center back that can anchor a defense like Cannavaro could. They need help in the back and in the midfield, and with the spending they are doing right now all teams know that they can get inflated prices for their players. A player like Xabi Alonso could cost up to £25 million thanks to Real's inflated prices.
Last note, the last time a big player for United was sent to Madrid - David Beckham - United picked up a young 17 year old from Sporting Lisbon who would later take the Red Devils to their third European cup. Now that Ronaldo's taking off to play for Madrid, there is also another young 17 year old that started appearing on the United First team this past season, including scoring that crucial 3-2 game winner against Aston Villa. His name is Fredrico Macheda.
over and out.
