da apostaganha： We are a mere three weeks from the start of the Premiership season and there has yet to be any big money signings from some of England’s top sides. Man United, Liverpool and Chelsea have bought but have spent relatively little, buying cautiously thus far. There is obviously a notable exception in Manchester City, who are looking to break all records in terms of spending and wages it seems.
da luck： City aside though, there hasn’t been a big flurry of activity from the heavy hitters. The signings that United, Liverpool and Arsenal have pulled off are good value buys rather than wow factor signings. In a league that was apparently flush with money a couple of years ago, some of the top clubs are not only low on funds but also saddled with massive debt. Manchester United are the most prevalent example.
It is looking more and more likely as the weeks go by that Manchester United will not be embarking on a spending spree this summer or anything of the sort. The noises from Fergie are that he is happy with his squad and there is no value in the market. This may be the case but he would undoubtedly have liked at least one signing. Whatever way you dress up the United midfield, the reality is that it is not good enough to challenge on all fronts. The loss of Hargreaves is a blow while Scholes and Giggs will only start a limited number of games.
The youngsters in United’s midfield have had their golden moments but Gibson and Possebon wouldn’t exactly strike fear into the likes of Michael Essien. The form of Carrick and Anderson has been poor and the latter is struggling with injury.
A creative midfielder must have been high on Fergusons agenda but a purchase seems less likely by the day. It shows have little money was around the Premiership last summer when Wesley Sneijder was available around 15m and no one came in for him. How Fergie would love to pay 15m for Sneijder now.
The point is that Ferguson has his hands tied behind his back to an extent. There is no denying that United lost massive quality when they sold Ronaldo and Tevez two years ago. When you look at that Champions League winning squad of 2008, the standard of the squad was of a higher calibre than the present one, no question. Along with the big departures, Scholes and Giggs are two years older. Fergie has been around long enough to realise that the club has taken a step back since back to back Champions League finals and it is largely due to the financial state of the club
Don’t get me wrong, there are the bones of a great squad at Old Trafford but they appear a player or two light. It will be interesting to see if Vidic goes, whether they delve into the transfer market.
It is clear that United don’t have the financial muscle they used to and the days of 30m signings seem a distant memory. It may be that Ferguson is still scorned by the Berbatov signing and the poor return received from the vast amount of money sent. It would be a massive surprise though if Ferguson genuinely doesn’t want to sign anybody.
Man City aside, the financial state of the Premiership is in a pretty poor state. Even Chelsea haven’t splashed out yet. You feel there may be a marquee signing left in them yet though. There are many contributing factors to the financial woes at Old Trafford but the fact remains that United were not saddled with 700m of debt before the Glazers arrived. Fergie said he doesn’t want to buy and is happy with his lot but somehow you don’t quite believe him.
Written by Tom Fox
Read more of Tom’s work on his blog Glory Glory Man U and head to Simply Zesty for social media news.