1)
I’m not unhappy with what we did or didn’t do.
I’m just devastated by the way we did or didn’t do it. And I’m not just talking
about that farce of a transfer window (which lasted for three long, torturous
months) – I’m talking about the football as well. Yes the football. I am
drawing no conclusions from our first three games. I am trying desperately to
not let the disaster that was yesterday colour my view of our squad (which
remains strong). I’m attempting to silence the noise that would have you believe
the club is about to implode because of a bad few months. It’s not. But it has
been a bad few months compounded by a poor start to the season. Those are the
facts. I’m not jumping to dramatic conclusions – but those are the facts. The
disgrace of the transfer window aside I remain relatively relaxed. This was
always a transition season. Mistakes were bound to be made and there are
unquestionably more (painful) learnings to come. But therein lies the key word.
Moyes has to learn. He could never
have known everything he needed to know about being united boss. It’s unfair to
expect him to walk through the door and understand the intricate dealings of
the top end of the market, or to master squad rotation (especially when
Chelsea, Liverpool and City are in the first five games) while still producing
three big performances in a week. He is still getting to know his squad.
Everything is new to Moyes. He wasn’t appointed because of his proven record.
He was appointed because of his proven character. Once he understands what United
is all about he will fly. Just like Ferguson did. So mistakes will be made and we
will have to accept that. In the meantime what’s important is not what we do
but the way that we do it. If we want to go for a win at Anfield then we do it
the United way. If we want to get stuck in and soak up pressure and spring on
the break then we do it. We do not succumb to a first half beating, conceding from
a corner after four minutes. If we want to sign a player then we go hell for
leather to get it done. We don’t under-pay, we don’t negotiate release clauses
and we don’t make our business public. Whatever Moyes and the board want to do
I’m behind them. But all I ask gentlemen is simple: do it like you mean it.
2)
I had a thought (inspired by a piece Jamie
Jackson wrote in the Guardian) that the end of Ferguson signalled the start a
new attitude. Instead of being hostile to the world’s media, now seemed a good
time to open up. Why? Simply put: if the Premier League is the greatest show on
earth, United should strive to be the star attraction – on and off the pitch.
So they (Glazers et al) decided the club was going to use their gravitas to
dominate headlines and bring the press on side. There will be news on transfer
targets, a twitter account, briefings with the boss (on and off record) – in
short if you want a story United will give it you. We are open, transparent and
the main attraction in the spectacular global franchise that is the Premier
League. That’s great in theory. But in reality it has turned us into a farce. I
want the best players in the world at United. But I accept when they don’t want
to come or we can’t afford them. You make an enquiry, you get told thank you
but no and you move on. It happened under fergie, it happens under the Sheikh and
it will happen under Moyes and Woodward. The difference is now we have decided
to tell everyone our business. We have thrown caution and discretion to the
wind. We have become an open book and people are taking pages out of us. We
managed to alert the whole of Europe to our desperate need for a midfielder. We
also told them that we couldn’t get the deal done for a pack of crisps. It is
truly the blind leading the blind. We made two bids for Fabregas, both were
rejected before he stated his love and continued commitment to Barca. Our
response, instead of keeping it in-house was to release the most bizarre and
seemingly non-ironic statement telling the world we respect cesc and we respect
his contract. And then we moved on. If we had moved on to no one I’d have
understood it. I was ok with that. Either they’re world class or they’re not
good enough – there is no in between. This logic I understand. We wanted Bale
but he didn’t want to come. That’s completely understandable. But we didn’t try
and sign Theo Walcott instead. Good. Yet when it came to the central midfield
position we’ve so desperately since Keane (we haven’t) we decided that we would
adopt a new scattergun tactic around Europe. Maybe this is standard practice. I
don’t know. But because we have now decided to tell the world our business and
drip feed it to the press, we looked desperate. And we were. We refused to meet
release clause valuations raising the question of whether or not we understand
how release clauses work. We were scrimping and saving on baines, raising the
question as to whether or not we had the money we said we had. And finally we
were bidding for short-term solutions such as De Rossi and Khedira raising the
very valid question - just how desperate are we? Maybe there’s an explanation
for everything. But there is no explaining the timing of events and the sheer
strategic failure that took place behind the scenes. Either we have long term
targets we want to pursue or we don’t. But to find ourselves in a blind panic a
week before the window shuts is wrong. It is not the way to do business. To
read the papers and see we’ve bid for three players in the same position on the
same day was shocking. Where is the planning? Who’s to blame? The Glazers?
Woodward? Moyes? In reality it’s probably all three. But how did it come to
this? The Glazers buying the club had many negatives – but it did give us a
sense of professionalism that Edwards and Kenyon could only dream of. We were
savvy, smart and astute. We knew full well we couldn’t compete with Abramovich
and the Sheikh. So we did our business early and we did it on the quiet. We
invested in young players and reaped the rewards of continuity which brought
with it a simple ethos: team > individual. Nothing has changed. The market
is even harder to crack now with PSG and Monaco determined to crash the party. So
what gave Moyes such confidence we’d pull off any signings? Why was Woodward so
smug? And why oh why did we feel the need to flaunt our business all over
Europe? In a few short months we have lost all the respect painstakingly
accrued by Gill and Ferguson. Now, all because we wanted to be known as the
greatest show on earth we’ve turned into the soap opera we thought we’d never
become. To play on Barca’s motto: we are in serious danger of becoming ‘just
another club’.
3)
It takes spectacular work to make a £28million
signing seem like a disaster. But United have managed it. The players must have
watched deadline day unfold – who knows what this has done to them. And amongst
it all is a 6’4 Belgian lad who’s walked unknowingly into an utter mess. I feel
sorry for him. Firstly let’s put to bed this ‘overpaid’ nonsense. We have not
overpaid for Fellaini. Each player has his own, independent worth. It’s based
on his existing contract (plus any clauses), his club’s needs, their valuation,
the buying club’s needs and their valuation. It is stupid to say ‘Spurs signed
eriksen for £11mil and United signed fellaini for £27mil therefore united are
mugs.’ We are mugs - but not for this. Fellaini is a proven Premiership player
whose standout performances have been against united, arsenal and city. He has
done it for five years and had several years left on a big contract. Everton
paid £15million for him in 2008. I am no financier but I’d want at least a ten million
pound profit on that investment given the success he’s been. So the price is
the price. Young, proven premiership players will always come with a premium.
That’s life. That is the sort of player we have always signed and always will.
It’s why I’m so angry about the last week of the window trying to sign every
tom dick and harrydinho. We don’t need to be desperate. Fellaini is a very
un-Ferguson player for sure. But this is Moyes’ side now. He needs to work with
players he trusts and who he feels he can improve. Fellaini fits this bill. What
he lacks in pace (and he does lack pace) he makes up for in skill, strength and
goals. No one can say he doesn’t add something we don’t need. I envisage him
playing deeper than he did for Everton (given Rooney is still here) and he’ll
give us a presence we so desperately missed against Liverpool. Put simply: if
he becomes a valuable part of our side, he’ll quickly become priceless.
4)
But it works both ways. Every player has a
value to his current and prospective club. For united to pull out of the
Herrera deal because they didn’t agree with the valuation of his club is
ridiculous. To not pay the Baines money because they don’t think he’s worth
£20million is to completely miss the point. Those players are worth that amount
to their clubs. Neither club needs to sell. Atletic Club are very wealthy and
find it hard replacing players as they can only recruit from Basque. Everton,
just like the rest of the Prem, are flush with cash due to the new TV deal.
They have no need to sell to pay Bill’s bills anymore. In fact they’ve got
money to burn. So while United might not value Baines at £20mil they do. And
that’s what matters. So united had a simple choice: stump up the cash early on
or move on. Whatever you do don’t leave it until the last minute. I think
there’s some serious explaining to do on both these deals. If Moyes wanted to
sign a left back because he doesn’t rate Evra, fair enough. That’s his
prerogative. But for god-sake just do it. Do not find yourself looking for a
working fax at half-past ten on transfer deadline day. These two deals in
particular need explaining. And I’ll be furious if the club attempts to sweep
them under the carpet.
5)
And amongst all this there has been some
football. It started well (lovely chip Daniel), dipped slightly (hit the target
Daniel) and reached rock bottom in the first half at Anfield (we’re in blue
today Daniel). It is pointless trying to work out the new manager after three
games. It’s unfair and constant questioning will only lead to misery and more
questions. We have to trust Moyes and give him the time he deserves. However,
he needs to know that the first half performance against Liverpool was
completely unacceptable. And conceding goals from corners against a side hardly
full of 6 footers is not good enough. Now, the short termers remember every
ferguson performance at Anfield as heroic and impeccable. They are wrong. Last
season we stole victory against ten men while the previous year we nicked a 1-1
draw that was the equivalent of losing on points having not raised a glove in a
fight. There is no cause for alarm. But there is cause for improvement. The
second half hinted at it but the damage had been done. In a couple of weeks we
go to City. If we start like we did at Anfield we will be on the end of worse
beating than we took in the transfer market yesterday.
6)
Out of the darkness there must come out the
light. United are better than Chelsea and Moyes is not inferior to Mourinho.
That I learnt after 90 long minutes last Monday night. United were the better
side and deserved to win the game. OK we didn’t and Chelsea got their draw, but
I was fairly happy with what I saw. It always amuses me how neutrals take it
personally when there’s a bad game or a nil-nil draw. It’s as if the players
have let them down. The papers were tearing into the clubs the day after. So it
was nil-nil so what? I actually enjoyed that game. It was intense, played at breakneck
speed – it was fascinating. Yes it missed genuine quality in the final third
but this is football. If every game finished 5-5 it wouldn’t be long before
people were bemoaning the lack of defensive nous. Take the game for what it is.
Love the highs and live the lows. Marvel at the spectacular and deal with the
dull. Love it all – it’s a beautiful game.
7)
A brief aside from the Chelsea game: that was
a handball by Lampard. It was a definite penalty. Where has this new
post-modern revisionist interpretation of the handball law come from? It’s
painful. If the ball strikes someone’s arm and blocks or diverts its path it’s
a handball. He may not have done it on purpose but so what? If I slide for the
ball, miss it and take the man out it’s still a free kick whether I did it on
purpose or not. It doesn’t matter if I’m a nice guy, if I pay my taxes, if I
robbed an old lady or punched a nun – it’s still a foul. Using your hand or arm
is an unfair advantage. Intent is utterly subjective and impossible to prove. Please
can pundits and officials alike stop over-complicating a simple rule and start implementing
one of the oldest rules in the book? Handball!
8)
All we need is {to stop hyping} Shinji Kagawa.
He’s a good player but he’s missed most of pre-season – he deserves his spot on
the bench. Anyone turning him into the saviour we’re missing is going to be
seriously, seriously disappointed. I like him as a player but I worry he’s not
strong enough. Many disagree and I am desperate to be proven wrong but my gut
is telling me he’s not a moyes’ player and he’ll be gone next summer (probably
really cheaply to a rival who goes on to win loads of European cups).
9)
Bale to Madrid is wrong. It’s wrong, wrong,
wrong. British footballers (pre-peak) just don’t go abroad. I can’t help but
feel that he has somehow distorted the natural equilibrium – the world’s
balance has been destroyed. He is a British star – he should be coming to
United. Or at the very least we should be slagging him off for choosing Chelsea
over United. The natural lineage from Sharpe and Giggs has come to an end. This
was the player to take the mantle and run with it, all the way down the wing.
We said a while back that if we can’t sign Bale (and as an aside I think he’s a
good guy and hope he does well in Spain – he seemed buzzing yesterday) we have
to sign the next Bale. The jury’s out on Zaha but with our recent transfer
record I hope Ferguson saved his best pick for last.
10)
I wrote last season that
Ferguson was an attacking manager (and an attacking player). He took risks. He
would not go gently into that good night. Moyes is a defender. You can see it
straight away. He needs to adapt. Not because it’s what Ferguson did – but
because you don’t win anything without taking risks. Work-rate and discipline
alone cannot take you into glorious new territory. It requires inspiration,
genius and fortune. The three usually go together.
11)
Is Ryan Giggs. I don’t need
to extol his virtues here. But Moyes needs to learn to trust other players
regardless of whether we’re playing Liverpool away or Hull at home. If Giggs
plays forty games this season the squad system has failed (and he’ll be
knackered).
