11 points that think maybe now is a great time to get into NFL

1) Twelve months ago I nearly wrote an emergency eleven points. We’d started the season like a drain and had lost at home to Spurs for the first time in 24 years. I was worried. Very, very worried. I was, of course, over-reacting. Emotional. Spoilt. Good teams will always experience bad results. They’ll always endure difficult spells. Things will go wrong. Great teams, great clubs come through those spells somehow better off than before. “How much can you really know about yourself until you’ve been in a fight?” (Fight Club) And we’re in a fight right now. Not for form, not for trophies, not for instant success. We are in a fight to remain a club famous for responding to adversity with an even greater show of strength. Since we last met we beat Palace and Leverkusen but took a beating in the derby before reaching a nadir (hopefully) home to West Brom. Oh and we beat Liverpool in the Mickey Mouse Cup. It’s not been good. We haven’t scored a league goal in open play since Swansea. We haven’t looked like scoring a league goal from open play since Swansea. We’re in a fight. Defeat is acceptable. Crumbling on the back of a defeat, feeling sorry for yourself and panicking is not. We have played worse at Anfield and won and that isn’t the first (or last) beating we’ve taken of the world’s most expensively assembled squad. But it was the response (on and off the pitch) that wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t United. Or rather it wasn’t the United we’ve come to know. Because it wasn’t always thus. We are not United because we are successful. We are successful because we are United. We’re not owed anything. The thousand yard stare of anyone over 30/40/50 will tell you all you need to know about the 70s and 80s. We spent the 80s blaming injuries for our failures and spent 1974/5 in division 2. Sustained success and a place at the top table isn’t guaranteed. It has to be fought for. And to win that fight Moyes has to hold on for dear life to that intangible but priceless quality United have boasted for the past 20 years: they may be down but they’re never out.

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2) So to Moyes. I was in favour of the Moyes appointment and I’m not going to withdraw that support now. Christ knows it’s tempting and I’ve thrown a few tantrums these past few weeks, but he needs time. What we’ve seen so far hasn’t been good – on and off the pitch (and I’ll elaborate). But it’s very early days. All big institutions that undergo radical and vast change suffer in the short term. Steve Jobs was Apple. He passed and bequeathed an untouchable legacy to Tim Cook. The share price dipped, Samsung took a huge chunk of their market share and all of a sudden the gloss was gone. Now Apple are open season. But what could they have done differently? Probably not a lot. Great success is something of a poisoned Eden. You wouldn’t swap it for the world but when it’s gone it leaves bitterness and open wounds. So what does Moyes do? Honestly? Nothing. He needs to do and say nothing. He needs to take stock, keep his own counsel, assess, analyse, learn and make judgements as he goes. He is not doing himself any good with rash changes, radical team selections, new training sessions, new coaches (aside – Moyes had to bring his own people in. Apart from P Nev. I don’t get the P Nev thing), new media approach while trying to learn how to be manager of Manchester United. The Ferguson comparisons (he did nothing for 4 years) are laughable. Ferguson inherited a club on its knees. An oil tanker sinking in the Atlantic that he turned round. Moyes has a sleek machine (Apple) that needs fine-tuning. The real change must come from him, not the club. And that’s the crux. In time Moyes has to be his own man, with his own ideas and his own plan. Right now he needs to adapt to Manchester United – not the other way round.

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3) Mistakes have been made – shock. Ferguson and Gill going at the same time had disaster written all over it. Let’s not go into it again (it’s just too painful) but for Moyes and Woodward to spend all summer telling the world how many players you need and how much money you’ve got and to come up with a £28million Marouane Fellaini (more on him later) is nothing short of criminal. It wouldn’t have happened with either Fergie or Gill. It’s something that needs addressing. Yet the noises coming out of the club about spending £50mil in January are terrifying. (It reminds me of a transfer window not so long ago actually.) Shopping in January is the equivalent of resorting to buying a last minute Father’s Day card from a pharmacy on the way home from work. It’s desperate. Mistakes have been made and more will be made still – but making the same ones again would be unforgivable.

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4) To get into the detail is to go over old ground. There have been chronic mistakes with team selection. I’m struggling with the attitude that ‘we had tough games so we needed to play our best eleven’. Firstly, how did that go for you David? Secondly we do not have a best eleven. It’s painful that we are still having this discussion. Ferguson was the master of squad management because he knew the value of every player. He knew how to get players the games and make them feel a valued member of the squad. He pioneered that. When other managers moaned about injuries he saw it as an opportunity to blood a young player. He knew he’d need Park Ji Sung for a European knockout game in March so made sure he had enough football to keep him in peak condition for that time. He wasn’t a reserve. He was a first team player. Jonny Evans isn’t a reserve. He’s a first team player. He’s played 157 competitive games for MUFC. Of course he needs to prove himself to the new manager – but no more so than Vidic or Ferdinand. He needs to play. The manager needs to forget about a first eleven and understand that there are over 20 players who will contribute to a successful season for Man United. They need to be valued and entrusted with more and more responsibility. If they let Moyes down or don’t perform then he should get rid. Until that day he needs embrace the squad. They will respond.

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5) A revisionist media is now saying the squad isn’t so strong after all. Oh here we go! Moyes has spent the weeks since the derby telling the world the squad is lacking. Is the implication that ferguson knew? Are the Glazers are to blame? Or was Ferguson happy with the squad and he and Moyes have differing opinions (that’s fine)? Either way is the squad not good enough to beat West Brom? Even if we over-performed last season, are we not a top 4 side now? I’m utterly confused. Have I missed something? Has new evidence come to light? We have five international centre halves, we have four outstanding (and varied) centre forwards, two wonderful full backs and one of the league’s outstanding players in Michael Carrick. Are we saying that the squad that were all over Real Madrid last season, that won at city, Chelsea and accrued 89 points isn’t actually very good? I’m just not having that. To quote tony Soprano, ‘frankly I’m depressed and ashamed’. We lack a quality wide player as we have known for years – and moyes failure to address that in the summer was startling (more on that) – but the squad is strong. It may not be the best squad of all time and it could have done with more investment in the summer, but the squad is strong. Now it’s up to the manager to get them to perform as a team.

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6) “Just when I thought I was out – they pull me back in.” Every now and then I have a moment of clarity in which everything makes sense. It’s a transition year, it’ll take time – let’s just relax. Then I read the paper. And my Zen is disturbed. Because every day is another Moyes-fed article about how the are players aren’t good enough, how we need to buy better players, how we are after this player and that player etc etc blah blah. In that instance my serenity crumbles, falling to the floor like a broken digestive. Words, words, words. And it’s not just Moyes. The players are at it. Vidic post City, “we’ll bounce back”. Even Buttner is having his say (who gave him a microphone by the way?). And let’s not forget the official United twitter feed. The team behind that could teach Goebbels a thing or two. Everyone at the club needs to take a deep breath and stop. Time to close ranks, have a moment of introspection and go again. As G Nev said, Man United is an island and the rest are all sharks waiting to attack when we step into the water. For now it’s a good idea for Moyes et al to remain on dry land.

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7) My head is telling me everything will be ok. It will take time. It’s the biggest job in the history of football. They have appointed Moyes the man – not moyes the manager. If they’ve got it right it will all click and we could have another dynasty on our hands. I still think that. But my gut – my gut is pointing to Marouane Fellaini. From the first minute I saw him play I was shocked. It’s not like me to make rash statements but he’s not a united player. He’s the sort of player we’d have signed in the 80s. A solid division one player who lacks the pace to make the difference at the highest level. I’m worried we’ve bought a donkey. If Veron and Berbatov weren’t good enough this guy doesn’t stand a chance. And that worries me. If moyes is right and the squad needs work, if he's right that we over performed in recent years and if he's right that we need to spend big money in transfer market - is he the man to do it? Because given the one player he's bought so far I’d be loathed to trust him with another penny. 

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8) OK Glazers if ever we needed you (we don’t and we didn’t) the time is now. )Actually it was the second Ferguson told you he was retiring – but given that didn’t happen now will have to do.) I am not the sort to cry and moan when the £40million deal doesn’t come off. I can only imagine the hoops that need to be jumped through to pull of a deal like that. But some clubs manage it. Yes those clubs are filthy rich but then, according to our very own twitter feed, so are we. Our revenues are destined to grow and grow as the debt comes down and down. Except one problem: we’re tight. It’s as simple as that. The number of players good enough to elevate a team to the champions of Europe (that is what we’re aiming for right?) is small. So throwing money around willy-nilly (as some actually want us to do) would be ridiculous. If people expect us to do this they are absolutely kidding themselves. The Glazers managed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the single-minded policy that they would only acquire players through the draft system or in the free, unattached market. They have brought the same (relative) philosophy to United. We won’t compete with City or Chelsea when it comes to agents’ fees (we don’t even pay as much as arsenal or Liverpool). Fine. But what I thought we did was buy the top talent and develop it in house. It seems we’re not doing that anymore. And given we can’t conclude deals for players that want to come (such as Jim Leighton Orient Baines from Batman) then who exactly are we signing? (Do not mention Marouane. I said no.) If the money was there it’s criminal that it was left unspent. If the money wasn’t there then we’re in big trouble. Because if we’re not willing to spend big money and if our squad isn’t as good as we thought then we’re about to discover it really was Ferguson holding it all together. If that’s the case we’re going to witness the unravelling of the famous MUFC a lot quicker than anyone expected.

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9) I’ve created a new game. It’s called ‘Where’s Wilfy?’. It’s really simple. I show you a picture of the Man united teamsheet (including bench) and you have to point out Wilfried Zaha. First to spot him gets an hour’s coaching with Marouane Fellaini (you are the coach). Interested? No? A trick? Moi? Ho-ho you’re not as gullible as I thought. It is of course an optical illusion. Wilf is not actually there.

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10) Amidst the sea of confusion and pit of gloom there has been an ember of hope. Wayne ‘Wazza’ Rooney. Congratulations Wayne on actually attempting to live up to your potential and maybe enjoy life as a millionaire footballer. When he’s on song he is a wonderful player. But it won’t last. He’s like a recovering crack addict in downtrodden America who’s found god. He’s all energy and intensity – but there’s weakness there. He could slip any second. Any moment he could go back into the sulking ‘I don’t like the gym’ addict that nearly saw him commit career suicide. And if he does don’t be sad. Chelsea will still buy him.

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11) Is Ryan Giggs. Ferguson spoke in America last night, saying that Giggs, Scholes, Becks etc created the spirit at MUFC that is still prevalent in the dressing room today. His role is crucial even today. But he will know that a happy dressing room is a winning one. You could see it in those cold eyes against Liverpool. He had to win that game. He couldn’t lose to City and Liverpool in the same week. That attitude needs to be passed down to the next generation – sooner rather than later.

11 points that just realised international week lasts for ten days.

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).

11 points of a pre-season 13/14

1) Excited, nervous, bullish, bearish, waiting, waiting, waiting, going slowly mad, over-thinking, over-reacting, sweating profusely, checking twitter 10 times a minute – summer is here. While most other blokes were playing upskirt and drinking cider I spent July pacing around a meeting room on the phone to Gabs close to tears about the Thiago/ Cesc deal. When others are relaxing by the pool with their families I’m at Nandos with Segal and DC in earnest conversation about the relative merits of Bale or Ronaldo. I am not good at summer. Nor, I imagine, are any of you. It got to the point where I had to shut down completely before I went mad. And this is no normal summer. This is a post-Ferguson summer. The summer of our discontent. The lack of activity in the transfer market has been well documented but surely not surprising. A new manager, new chief exec, new coaches, new scouts, new targets, new agents, new everything - this was never going to be the big summer of spending. (That summer may never come.) The pre-season form has been more worrying. We don’t usually go to Japan and lose. We certainly don’t lose at home to Sevilla. It’s all very nervy. But then Sunday came and I felt a lot better. Not because we beat Wigan, or won the Mcdonalds trophy. Nor was it because I thought the football was particularly good. I was just happy that the talking could stop and the football had finally begun. We’ve spent the summer feeding off scraps. We’re making it up as we go along. We have a new manager and new coaches, we are right to be nervous. But we also have the same players and a manager chosen by Fergie. He’s learning as he goes and it will take him time to find his feet but surely that’s reasonable. I am not one for big bold pre-season predictions but here’s one: we’ll be ok. 

2) Let’s start with the elephant currently training with the reserves. I could write a book about Wayne Rooney. Or I could write a sentence. I care a great deal – I couldn’t care less. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Has there ever been a more contrary figure in the history of this football club? Two hundred goals, every medal under the sun, goals against city, arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea a-plenty, sublime touches, chips, raking passes and intelligent link play – on paper this is a true great. But the game is not played on paper. It’s just about played on grass but mostly it’s played in the head, and there’s something seriously wrong with that boy’s head. Now make no mistake the ‘Rooney out’ initiative was started by Ferguson. But how did it become thus? The answer to that question lies with Wayne Rooney. At times over the past two years he’s been hard hard to watch. Anecdotes of his gym work are few and far between – because his gym work is few and far between. This is tragic. This guy is a natural athlete. Don’t laugh. Wayne Rooney has the most unbelievable natural engine. Consider his performance at Porto in 2009 tracking the powerful Sissohko at full back. He was disciplined, sacrificing himself for the team, fit as a butcher’s dog to quote you know who. This guy had it naturally. But there comes a point when that isn’t enough. Coaches are taught to focus on players’ strengths and they pass that onto the players. If you’re fast, get faster. If you’re good in the air, get better. Work on your strengths to make them infallible. This is where Rooney has fallen down. When he arrived at the club he was wonderful. A bull-dog. I remember him smashing into Sol Campbell, leaving the Arsenal defender in a heap on the floor. He was 18 years old, an English player with vision and fearlessness he had the world at his feet. Over time he smoothed the rougher nature of his personality and learnt to finish. After the low of 2006/07 he hit new heights. But he couldn’t sustain it. And this was odd. When beckham, Ronaldo, Scholes came of age – they stayed at the top for the rest of their careers. They had some off games but their lowest level was always very high. Rooney by contrast looks schizophrenic at times. Performances in the bernabeu, Swansea, West Ham, Chelsea, City (h) were not just bad – they were excruciating. I used to compare Rooney to Hughes in his ability to have truly awful games. But Hughes never had those games when we needed him most. Cup finals, European final, knockout games, at anfield, maine road, highbury – hughes was a big team bully. Rooney’s record is decent but at times he looks out-classed. I’ll never forget his display in Kompany’s pocket April 2012. He looked weak, like a small boy playing men’s football for the first time. Compare that with the man-child that left sol Campbell in a heap those years before. Something went wrong. Rooney is described as thick. He isn’t thick. He’s no intellect but he isn’t thick. He knows that he is trading on his name right now. Talk early in the summer linking him with barca and Madrid was laughable. Rooney knows this. He has enough awareness to know that – put simply – Robin Van Persie is a better footballer than him. Cast your mind back to the 2005 cup final (united lost – travesty) and watch the performance of Rooney compared with Van Persie. One terrorised the arsenal back four with his powerful running, intelligence and determination – the other was anonymous bar a decent free kick. Yet Wenger talked longingly about van persies’ dedication to his craft, his desire to become the perfect footballer. Ferguson talked of Giggs in the same way. Wayne Rooney is not in that bracket. And therein lies the single reason United decided to get rid – and why Rooney wants to go. He’s not the player we’d hoped he become. He’s not the player he could have become. Whether he stays for another year or not is largely irrelevant. His chance of being a united great has passed. The lad who on paper achieved everything, will leave United with something missing. It’s what Eric would call that ‘je ne sais quoi’.

3) Compare and contrast Wayne Rooney with the recently departed Paul Scholes. Typical Scholes, escaping under the radar. One thing I know about Scholes is that I massively under-appreciated him throughout his entire career. I knew he was a genius but only now will we realise why.  We’ll never replace that range of passing, that football brain and simple, but devastating, two touch play. Only now will he start to be appreciated for the player he truly was. Stats do not do him justice. He controlled games against the world’s best. He was a genius. In the truest sense of the word he was a genius. As Neil Young is the Godfather of grunge, so Scholes is the Godfather of the nouveau footballer. Small with incredible balance he never gave the ball away and he was a winner. Scholes’ abiding memory from his career? The 95 cup final defeat to Everton. I regret not appreciating him more. I don’t think I got it at the time. Though I do have one bug-bear. People say with a wry smile that Paul Scholes couldn’t tackle. They’re wrong. He could tackle. He absolutely could tackle. He could do everything. He was just dirty. Very, very dirty. He had the world (and all its referees) fooled. The referee’s kept their cards in their pockets because Scholes had them in his. With every passing game his passing will be missed and you, me and every United fan will realise what we had. The best.

4) Quality has to be replaced with quality. United have scrimped and saved, invested in youth and polished rough gems for years now. But there is no substitute for quality. It’s right that we went after Fabregas – and we shouldn’t be too down-hearted that we didn’t get him. The manner of the bid was odd but the idea was right. That is the level of player we should be after. I was gutted we didn’t sign him. Quite simply I think we could have won the European cup with a player of his quality. But I don’t blame Moyes or woodward. It is extremely difficult to sign top players. Not even City spent more than £25million (roughly) on a player this summer. Nor Chelsea. We don’t need £20million players – we have enough. We need £30million+ players. We need another Van Persie. But signing a player like that is complicated and, often impossible. How many players could you name that would top your list or realistic targets? Even Modric wouldn’t make my list. Lovely player he may be but would he bring us the European Cup? Would he score 10-15 goals from midfield? Would he be a talisman that would lead us when the going got tough? I don’t think so. We are in the market for the top players. But in the meantime, as fans, we have to be patient. Remember when ferguson signed Djemba and Kleberson? Those signings set us back years. They were poor signings. Moyes cannot afford to make that mistake. I’d rather him be cautious than sign the wrong players. The press are falling over themselves to claim he’s struggling to sign players. He isn’t. He’s struggling to sign world class players. But then so did Ferguson and Gill. United have always struggled to persuade 26 year old Spaniards/ Brazilians/ Argentineans to leave their coastal paradise to uproot to in Manchester. This is not a new phenomenon. Of course the increased competition makes winning trophies harder than ever. And, yes, the oligarchs and sheikhs will always have first dibs. But sooner or later every club will realise they have to develop their own talent and invest in youth to create a sustainable model. And not every club will be able to do it. This isn’t a Glazer-apologist piece but the truth is United created this model and, as a result, are miles ahead of the rest. The squad is a world class player away from challenging in Europe. It could happen tomorrow or in two years time but in the meantime we’re in good shape. There is no cause for alarm.

5) Which leads me to the biggest issue. The fans. The fans are an issue. We live in an age of over-expectancy and over-reaction. Everyone is an expert, everyone has an opinion but no one takes responsibility. We are short-term, impatient and petulant. John Stuart Mill called it an over-assertion of our personal liberty. He’s right. We are bipolar. Shouting black from the rooftop one day, bellowing white from another vantage point the next. The massive u-turn in between is simply written off. We don’t have to justify ourselves to anyone. We are the people and we know best. Therein lies the issue. We do not know best. The people are relevant – but they are not all knowing. They hide behind chants in the stands or demonstrations on the streets. They are angry. But they do not know best. Several years ago, having claimed our record equalling 18^th title Ferguson addressed the crowd. The crowd responded by drowning him out with instructions to ‘sign Tevez up’. It was embarrassing. Trust and patience – these are virtues. And we’re going to need them. David Moyes is the new manager and he deserves our patience. This is a club in transition. We have had one man run the club for 26.5 years. That man is gone. You could replace him with Jesus and this would still be a club in transition. If we were to win the league this season it would be the biggest miracle since the resurrection. It would be astonishing. This is not a one year project. This is minimum 3-4 years. We are in it for the long run. It’s not trendy and it’s flies in the face of current society, but patience, trust and support from the fans are going to be as important as the performances of the players over the next 18 months. In Moyes we trust.

6) Due to a chronic lack of signings the focus, not unfairly, falls on the current squad. Who will make the step up? Because someone will have to. Ferguson and now Moyes has been tasked with putting together another young side that can win in Europe. I’ve said it before but the outstanding performers in the Madrid tie were Welbeck, Jones, Cleverly and DDG (and Carrick) - all young players with the capacity to improve beyond recognition. Forget the Ronaldo example. Think of Beckham, think of Keane, Gary Neville and poor old Darren Fletcher. This is just the beginning for these guys. And the same is true of one Shinji Kagawa. I’ll tell you what I like about Kagawa. I like that he was unhappy with his performances last season. He’s not here to make up the numbers. He doesn’t want to be a squad player. He wants to be one of the best players in the world and he’s not afraid to admit it. I like that. But, for now, he’s a way off. Firstly, he needs to stay fit and establish himself in the side. There’s a lot of talk about what his correct position is but this is a red herring. Top players drift all over, comfortable with the ball at their feet in any situation. ORVP drops deep, pulls wide and doesn’t give the ball away. Ronnie was the same – Eric too. The ball is a magnet to these players. Tactics are largely irrelevant when it comes to the world’s best. High standards yes, but if Kagawa is to join the elite he needs to hit those same heights. And he needs to do it every minute of every game, anywhere on the pitch. Fergie bought Kagawa for a reason. Let’s hope we’re about to find out why.

7) There is not a scenario I can envisage in which it is ok to give back a shirt number allocated to you by the club. Perhaps you were given the number 44, and the number 9 (you are a striker) becomes available. You knock on the manager’s door and ask if you can swap. You’re ready for the step up. He says yes and we all live happily ever after. Fine. But to actively give up a shirt number because it weighs heavily on your back is wrong. Deary me. At United players step up to challenges, they break records, they throw monkeys off their backs, they come back stronger from adversity, recover from setbacks better and more spectacularly than any other side. That is what sets the best apart. Talent is a subplot to the story. Desire and character always steal the show. For a player to hand back the shirt because it carries too much history is unheard of. Firstly, I have to say that shirt numbers and their relative merits are childish at best. The top players make the number their own. Did anyone care who was number 20 before ORVP? Or did arsenal fans care about the number 14 before henry? The number is irrelevant; the player is the issue. Valencia is indicative of the true weakness of our squad – our wide players. We have always boasted world-class wide players. All the way back to the Billy Meredith this is a club that allows wide players to flourish. Beat your man, put in a cross, shoot, put him on his backside – the crowd will love you and the manager will pick you. Name me another big club with that pedigree. None. Our wingers are privileged. They should welcome the challenge and step to it. If they can’t they won’t see out the season. And it won’t be Bale or Ronaldo taking their place. It’ll be Zaha and Januzaj. (Or maybe Baines sitting in front of Evra. Hold me sons.)

8) Here’s why I love Rio Ferdinand. When asked which player he’d have on his side from the current United team he didn’t hesitate. Danny Welbeck. Firstly I agreed with his analysis (and found it insightful to hear it from a guy who plays with welbeck every single day). Secondly, I think it’s pure class of a guy to pick a youngster ahead of the obvious, more established stars. It was the sign of an old pro looking out for the youngsters. If that’s a sign of how the dressing room works then we really will be ok. Maybe I’m reading too much into this but when the entire world would have said Giggs or ORVP, Rio picks Danny. And that sums him up. You think you know these guys. He’s a 23 year old lad who’s just become a millionaire. He likes having a night out with his mates. He’s from London and you don’t trust him. You think you know him. Ten years later and he’s giving an interview to United We Stand on a pre-season tour extolling the virtues of a young player who’s taken a fair amount of stick over the past 12 months. Rio might not be the brightest but he’s a leader. He’s been an unbelievable servant for this club and to my mind the best centre half the Premiership has seen. The way he handled himself over the England saga was pure class. It matched the Rio off the pitch with the Rio on it. Eleven years he’s given us. We should cherish every day more because, ala Giggs and Scholes, when he’s gone he’ll be missed on and off the pitch. Rio, only the best get 10 years plus at MUFC. Charlton, Keane, Robson, Giggs, Scholes, Neville to name a few (post-war). Thanks for the past, here’s to the future. One love.

9) Nostalgia will play funny tricks on you. Your memory will always take you on a journey through time to when life was better, the birds were fitter and United played perfect football. It’s easy to convince yourself that the treble team never played out a dull 1-0 win. But don’t be fooled. Now is not the time to look back misty-eyed lamenting the loss of the good times. This is a good squad. Is it the greatest squad in the history of football? Of course not. But so what? We are not Liverpool. We don’t long for yester-year. We don’t pretend that Ferguson never made a mistake or that Eric never missed a penalty. We look forward, always focused on the next game. We are about winning and being the best. That’s the challenge. The rest will take care of itself.

10) A word of caution. Adnan Januzaj. Some lively cameos in the first team are well and good. But he’s miles off first team action. He needs to fill out physically, possibly go on loan – he needs to go through the process that Welbeck, Cleverly and Evans went on. Only then will he be ready for the first team. Mind you, with only a year on his deal remaining, he might be at Barca by then. Putting your faith in youth is right – but putting too much pressure on them is wrong. Getting the balance right is something Moyes did well at Everton. Doing it successfully at united could be the difference between success and failure at the highest level.

11) Is Ryan Giggs. It’s getting silly now isn’t it? I think he’s improving. So with that in mind here’s other big bold prediction: I don’t think this will be his last season.

Sir Alex Ferguson: A dreamer at heart

Why did he bring on Macheda?

Pouring over everything written about Ferguson in the past 48 hours one thing is clear: the man’s astonishing. Yet amongst his greatness and his triumphs there is one moment I keep coming back to, one question I can’t stop asking:

What made him bring on Macheda?

There are bigger moments in Ferguson and United’s history. In a sea of success this is, after all, a pretty small wave. It’s not signing Cantona, it’s not Keane’s header in Turin and it’s not a wonderful run by Giggs. It’s a small moment. But therein lies the key to Sir Alex Ferguson’s success. Ferguson, you see, has always known that life is only ever about the small things. Lots and lots and lots of small things. Details. Remembering names, making time for people, attending weddings and funerals – these are the small things that, when added up, mean the big things. This is life - and I learnt it from Sir Alex Ferguson.

So why did he bring on Macheda? 2-1 down, a back four decimated by injuries, a title challenge falling apart at the seams, why did he think giving a 17 year old Italian his debut would help?

For that matter why switch Giggs to left back against West Ham 2011? Why play Welbeck over Rooney against Madrid and why bring on Giggs in the 100^th minute of the last ever semi final replay? Why did he sign Ronaldo? Why Solskjaer over any other striker in Europe? Why, why, why?

The answer is rooted in the small, seemingly insignificant moments that happen behind the scenes. Macheda was brimming with confidence and had all the arrogance of a 17 year old who’d just scored a hat-trick in the reserves. Why did he score that hat-trick? Because a certain manager told him that if he scored against Newcastle he could be on the bench against Villa – for the first team. Ferguson knew how to press this kid’s buttons. He inspired him. He lay the foundation for Kiko’s miraculous moment with that one comment. It’s a stretch to say it was all planned. But it was definitely all planned for. You can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket. And Ferguson spent 26.5 years buying tickets to every lottery going.

Ferguson’s success is rooted in traditional values of loyalty, commitment and hard work. But this combined with his Govan roots and early career at St Mirren and Aberdeen, often see him painted as a growling industrialist. A British icon with a shipyard background who flogged his players to death and scared them into succeeding. This is wrong. This is myth. The planning, the preparation, the work ethic – these were the foundations for something bigger, something out of this world. Because the unspoken truth about Ferguson is this: he’s a dreamer. A romantic. He believes in the impossible.

He used to say stupid things about Manchester United Football Club being the biggest and best in the world – in 1986. People laughed – and with good reason. (For comparison imagine the new manager of Everton saying that today.) But Ferguson didn’t laugh. He smiled. He worked, he dreamed and he believed.

Sir Bobby Charlton tells of the time he and Ferguson visited Camp Nou in the early 90s and how they stood on the pitch ogling at the stadium. “This is what we need”, Fergie said. And he didn’t just stare jealously while thinking about what to have for tea. He flew home and drove the chairman mad to increase the capacity of Old Trafford. 45,000 was not enough. 55,000 not enough. 70,000 no, 85,000 no. Nothing would satisfy him. His vision was for the biggest, best stadium for the best football club in the entire world. That was his dream.

And it manifested itself in a team that could make grown men cry. The courage they showed (I remember my dad shedding tears home to Spurs ’99. He couldn’t get over the sheer guts Keane, Beckham et al had shown to get over the line) combined with the style of play brought us more and more success. This is not a coincidence. Style and substance: to a fantasist like Ferguson you can’t have one without the other. He believes in players enjoying themselves, doing wonderful things and “expressing themselves.” He believes in that because he believes that’s what winners do. And he loves it.

Winning in style is so often misunderstood. It’s not just about playing beautiful football. It’s about performing under pressure, or winning when the odds are stacked against you. It’s about going to enemy territory, taking everything they throw at you and coming out on top. Character. That’s what winning in style is about. And that is the fabric of our club. The Busby Babes were a group of young, adventurous men playing with such abandon and expression they changed British football forever. And they were winners. Then out of the ashes of Munich came the swinging 60s lit up by Best, Law and Charlton. When we won the European Cup in ’68 Busby serenaded the after-party with Louis Armstrong’s ‘Wonderful World’.

I see trees of green / red roses too
I see them bloom / for me and for you
And I think to myself...what a wonderful world.

It’s about the small things. And Ferguson, like Busby before him, understood that each small step could one day lead to a magnificent journey. And it did.

Ferguson was an attacking manager. His first great team introduced the world to Giggs, Cantona and Hughes. That team saw this country out of the dark ages and, thanks to a unique brand of counter attacking football, we were champions for the first time in 26 years. This wasn’t a coincidence. There’d been planning from 86-92. From 92 came the adventure.

This was the start of it all. A cycle bookended perfectly by two players: Cantona and Van Persie. Players with exceptional touch, vision and grace, they were/ are, above all winners, scorers of big goals, seemingly born to grace the Old Trafford stage. These two are more than just footballers – they are talismen. Of course, in between Keane, Ronaldo, Scholes, Giggs, Becks (I’ll stop there as the list is ridiculously long) played just as big a role, but these two are the players Ferguson dreamt of when he closed his eyes at night. They were fantasy players with substance. They were United players. They were Ferguson players.

They could make something out of nothing. And that’s what Ferguson was about. Magic. The late goals were not a coincidence. Only a dreamer could have believed we’d win at home to Wednesday, in Turin, in Barcelona and all over for all those years. He believed we could win games we should never have won and that belief permeated through the club. Beckham turned to Gary Neville, 2-0 down in Turin and said, “these have gone, we’ll win this.” Excuse me? Where did that come from? Where do you think?

Ferguson believed we’d win more European Cups. Two is not a disappointment in the modern era but he was left distraught many times. That’s why Madrid (this season) is important. It was unfair. It was injustice. That was Ferguson at his absolute best. Choking Alonso, freeing Nani, shackling Ronaldo and birthing Welbeck - the planning had been immaculate, the magic was imminent. But it wasn’t to be. He deserved better. To say we couldn’t have won the European Cup this season is wrong - and I’ll tell you why. When United reach the quarters of any tournament I think we’re going to win it. I’m not always right (clearly) but I know I’m not alone.

That night in March was the grand statement of a new United side. It was the cutting of the ribbon ahead of a big opening. It was a bright, bold, “Hello Europe, we’re back.” And it was taken from us. So he was distraught. Not only was this his last goodbye in Europe, his dream had been shattered. He was heart-broken. Unfortunately, for romantics, it happens. To quote Tennyson:

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

Sir Alex Ferguson has played a huge part in all our lives. Why and how has been well articulated elsewhere (Daniel Harris especially). He was our manager of our club. I have hung on his every word for most of my life and to the day I die I will never tire of hearing about the great man. I’m so happy he’s gone out on a high – a privilege granted to only a special few. Not only does he deserve it but, selfishly, it makes it all a little easier. It was time.

He is one of the most influential people in my life and I’ve never even met him. So for now I’m going to forget about the future and spend the next few weeks looking back over the last 26.5 years. And while I’ll miss him I appreciate how lucky I was to be there for so much of it. The Oldham semis 1990, the Palace final, Blackburn 93, Wembley 94, 96, Spurs home 99, Barca 99, white hart lane 2001, Anfield 07, villa park 96, 99 & 2004, Stamford bridge 2011, Chelsea home 2011, QPR 2013 and so many, many, many more. They are more than memories. They are my life. And while I’m grateful beyond words for how Ferguson has enriched my life on so many occasions, I also need to say how overwhelmed with sadness I am. Never again will I see a Ferguson side, 2-1 down, having just pulled a goal back with 20 minutes to play, chasing a game and scaring the life out of the opposition. It’s coming, they know it’s coming, but they can’t do anything stop it. Why? Quite simply, they’re trapped in Fergie’s dream.