Reality checks tend not to arrive when all is going well, but Manchester United could really have done without discovering the cost of five years of mis-investment and cautious spending on the day they obliterated the British transfer record by lavishing £59.7m on Angel di Maria.
The outlay on the Real Madrid winger may yet prove to be too much, too late, if United’s Capital One Cup capitulation at the hands of MK Dons offers a true barometer of the current state of health at Old Trafford.
Many will bear the brunt of criticism for United’s 4-0 surrender at Stadium:mk. Louis van Gaal, David Moyes and Ed Woodward, the club’s executive vice-chairman, will all find condemnation heading their way, as will many of the players – the experienced ones – who failed to justify their wages or reputations against League One opponents.
But the paucity of United’s performance can be traced back to the summer of 2009 and the direction taken by the club, under Sir Alex Ferguson’s charge, in the summers following the world record £80m sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real.
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Carlos Tevez also passed through the exit door that summer, controversially heading to Manchester City at the end of his two-year loan at Old Trafford, and the Argentine’s departure has proven to be just as significant as Ronaldo’s.
Tevez’s move heralded the beginning of City’s rise and, at the same time, the birth of a strangely meek transfer policy at Old Trafford, with Ferguson decrying the spending of United’s local rivals at the same time as insisting he and chief executive David Gill would only pursue ‘value in the market.’
Tuesday night in Milton Keynes showed us the long-term return on the ‘value’ policy and it is left to Van Gaal and Woodward to somehow breathe new life into a squad which is now not even good enough to defeat a team from the third tier of English football.
A year on from the departures of Ronaldo and Tevez – United recruited Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia and Gabriel Obertan that summer – Ferguson sat alongside Chris Smalling, Javier Hernandez and Bebe at an Old Trafford unveiling press conference and decried the ‘kamikaze’ spending of the club’s rivals in that same transfer window.
City had just spent £110m on the likes of Yaya Toure, David Silva, James Milner, Mario Balotelli and Jerome Boateng, an outlay which dwarfed United’s £24m spending spree, but four years on only a fool would argue that United’s money was invested more smartly than City’s.
Toure and Silva could have ended up at Old Trafford rather than the Etihad Stadium, but the ambition and long-term view of City’s owners caught United, hampered by the debt-servicing of the Glazer family, out of step.
The trend continued 12 months later, with City landing Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri while United brought in David de Gea, Ashley Young and Phil Jones.
When United and Ferguson finally threw off their spending shackles and overcame City to signing Robin van Persie in the summer of 2012, the outcome was the club’s 20th league title, but the damage had arguably already been done by the time of Van Persie’s arrival.
A succession of transfer windows had seen United chase ‘value,’ but the defeat at Milton Keynes was the football equivalent of discovering that your pension fund has been stuck in a scheme offering one per cent interest for the last 20 years.
Keith Gillespie, the former United winger, offered a pertinent assessment of the club’s current predicament via his Twitter account following the MK Dons defeat.
“Man Utd squad players have to be viewed as being able to play at Premiership level,” Gillespie tweeted. “If they can't, they shouldn't be there. No excuses.”
Too many of those on duty against MK Dons were found wanting, but the young players given their opportunity by Van Gaal were asked to fill holes created by the ‘value’ policy.
At City, the club now has at least two Champions League-class performers in each position as a result of their policy of pursuing signings at the top end of the market.
United, in contrast, now have a squad which, prior to Di Maria’s arrival, possesses perhaps just three players who could sit comfortably in City’s squad – Van Persie, Wayne Rooney and David de Gea.
It is why Woodward, Van Gaal and, previously, Moyes, have overseen a 12-month spending spree that reached the £196m mark with the signing of Di Maria. United are playing catch-up and it is costing them a fortune.
From Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata, through to this summer’s acquisitions of Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo and Di Maria, United have been forced to pay over the odds for players who have all arrived at Old Trafford with inflated price tags. It is because United no longer have a squad capable of competing with the likes of City and Chelsea.
The ‘value in the market’ policy has failed and it is United who are now embarking on ‘kamikaze’ spending.
- £213.7m of signings = 35 starts and only 7 goals
- Shambles! Man Utd crash to 4-0 defeat at MK Dons
- Van Gaal: It will take a year to sort out this mess
- Henry Winter: Di Maria is no panic purchase
- Di Maria joins the top 20 most expensive players ever
- How the British transfer record has evolved from £100
The outlay on the Real Madrid winger may yet prove to be too much, too late, if United’s Capital One Cup capitulation at the hands of MK Dons offers a true barometer of the current state of health at Old Trafford.
Many will bear the brunt of criticism for United’s 4-0 surrender at Stadium:mk. Louis van Gaal, David Moyes and Ed Woodward, the club’s executive vice-chairman, will all find condemnation heading their way, as will many of the players – the experienced ones – who failed to justify their wages or reputations against League One opponents.
But the paucity of United’s performance can be traced back to the summer of 2009 and the direction taken by the club, under Sir Alex Ferguson’s charge, in the summers following the world record £80m sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real.
Related Articles
Van Gaal: It will take a year to sort this mess 27 Aug 2014
United crash to humiliating defeat 26 Aug 2014
MK Dons v Manchester United: as it happened 26 Aug 2014
How United's fringe players fared against MK Dons 27 Aug 2014
Van Gaal 'not surprised' by United's defeat 27 Aug 2014
Who United could splash out on next 27 Aug 2014
Curtis Strange: ‘Emotions run freely at The Ryder Cup’ Standard Life
Carlos Tevez also passed through the exit door that summer, controversially heading to Manchester City at the end of his two-year loan at Old Trafford, and the Argentine’s departure has proven to be just as significant as Ronaldo’s.
Tevez’s move heralded the beginning of City’s rise and, at the same time, the birth of a strangely meek transfer policy at Old Trafford, with Ferguson decrying the spending of United’s local rivals at the same time as insisting he and chief executive David Gill would only pursue ‘value in the market.’
Tuesday night in Milton Keynes showed us the long-term return on the ‘value’ policy and it is left to Van Gaal and Woodward to somehow breathe new life into a squad which is now not even good enough to defeat a team from the third tier of English football.
A year on from the departures of Ronaldo and Tevez – United recruited Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia and Gabriel Obertan that summer – Ferguson sat alongside Chris Smalling, Javier Hernandez and Bebe at an Old Trafford unveiling press conference and decried the ‘kamikaze’ spending of the club’s rivals in that same transfer window.
City had just spent £110m on the likes of Yaya Toure, David Silva, James Milner, Mario Balotelli and Jerome Boateng, an outlay which dwarfed United’s £24m spending spree, but four years on only a fool would argue that United’s money was invested more smartly than City’s.
Toure and Silva could have ended up at Old Trafford rather than the Etihad Stadium, but the ambition and long-term view of City’s owners caught United, hampered by the debt-servicing of the Glazer family, out of step.
The trend continued 12 months later, with City landing Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri while United brought in David de Gea, Ashley Young and Phil Jones.
When United and Ferguson finally threw off their spending shackles and overcame City to signing Robin van Persie in the summer of 2012, the outcome was the club’s 20th league title, but the damage had arguably already been done by the time of Van Persie’s arrival.
A succession of transfer windows had seen United chase ‘value,’ but the defeat at Milton Keynes was the football equivalent of discovering that your pension fund has been stuck in a scheme offering one per cent interest for the last 20 years.
Keith Gillespie, the former United winger, offered a pertinent assessment of the club’s current predicament via his Twitter account following the MK Dons defeat.
“Man Utd squad players have to be viewed as being able to play at Premiership level,” Gillespie tweeted. “If they can't, they shouldn't be there. No excuses.”
Too many of those on duty against MK Dons were found wanting, but the young players given their opportunity by Van Gaal were asked to fill holes created by the ‘value’ policy.
At City, the club now has at least two Champions League-class performers in each position as a result of their policy of pursuing signings at the top end of the market.
United, in contrast, now have a squad which, prior to Di Maria’s arrival, possesses perhaps just three players who could sit comfortably in City’s squad – Van Persie, Wayne Rooney and David de Gea.
It is why Woodward, Van Gaal and, previously, Moyes, have overseen a 12-month spending spree that reached the £196m mark with the signing of Di Maria. United are playing catch-up and it is costing them a fortune.
From Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata, through to this summer’s acquisitions of Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo and Di Maria, United have been forced to pay over the odds for players who have all arrived at Old Trafford with inflated price tags. It is because United no longer have a squad capable of competing with the likes of City and Chelsea.
The ‘value in the market’ policy has failed and it is United who are now embarking on ‘kamikaze’ spending.
- £213.7m of signings = 35 starts and only 7 goals
- Shambles! Man Utd crash to 4-0 defeat at MK Dons
- Van Gaal: It will take a year to sort out this mess
- Henry Winter: Di Maria is no panic purchase
- Di Maria joins the top 20 most expensive players ever
- How the British transfer record has evolved from £100