Football News: Manchester United's Summer Was Wasted In Fruitless Chases
Image from: neymarjr.net
One thing that has struck me in particular during the summer, why did Manchester United waste so much time and effort chasing unattainable players from Real Madrid and Barcelona? Is this a sign of Ed Woodward's naivety that he thought he really could get Sergio Ramos and Neymar Jr. to move from sunny Spain to rainy Manchester? Even more to the point, what on earth had him believing that either club would sell those particular players to anyone?
I know people will be mentioning the agents of those two players making the right noises, but every man and his dog knew it was just about getting themselves a bumper new contract where they were. Every man and his dog also knew they would get those bumper new contracts as well, with Florentino Perez set to face an election for the presidency soon, there was no way he would allow Ramos to follow Iker Casillas out of the door. The fans were already turning on him, despite them being on Casillas' back for his truly abysmal performances in recent years, he suddenly became their favourite when he left.
Ramos, on the other hand, truly is a fan favourite anyway, so Perez was forced into a corner by Sergio's brother Rene Ramos, who also acts as the Spain defender's agent, who was making overtures towards Barcelona and then, when that fell flat, Manchester United. Surely Woodward should have taken note of the Barca rumblings and realised that the whole thing was just a shameless bluff to try and get a new contract? Weeks were wasted on the pursuit of Ramos, weeks that could have been better spent trying to find a central defender who would actually sign, to ensure Daley Blind was not the starting centre back for at least the first half of the season.
It was almost embarrassing to see the chase played out in the English media, with such a blatantly ignorant spin based on not understanding the true situation. It just showed how lacking the research is in the modern era for sports journalism, as it would only have taken them a few minutes to check up through Spanish sources to find out the chances of it happening were zero, at best. Instead the English media continued to claim it could happen, with no attempt made to verify the chances, just an assumption that no one could possibly prefer to stay in Spain when the English Premier League was beckoning.
Even when it was announced that a new contract had been agreed between Madrid and Ramos, the chase did not end, still Man Utd kept trying to push for a deal, instead of walking away with their dignity almost intact. All this stems from Ed Woodward, who seems to lack the decisive qualities of the previous incumbent to his role, David Gill, who would never, I believe, have let this happen. To really make matters worse, Woodward decided then to respond to cues from another agent, this time the one representing Neymar Jr., and so begin a fresh chase with no hope of success.
When you would think that a man in his position would have the good sense to learn a lesson and not get caught out twice, Woodward instead falls straight back into the honey trap. Another fruitless chase with about as much chance of success as I have of getting a date with Jessica Alba. It was never going to happen, especially not after the season the Barca front three had just had together, when compared to where Man Utd where last season.
Will Woodward finally learn his lesson after those mistakes left the club short in defensive areas and having to pay through the nose for a potential superstar of the future in Anthony Martial from AS Monaco? While Martial looks to be a good buy, even at the inflated price asked, given more time the club might have been able to add the centre back it needs as well as him, and would have allowed them the time to negotiate a better price, instead of having to agree to whatever was asked just to get the deal done before the window slammed shut. The next couple of windows will be huge for Woodward and the Red Devils, as they need to sign the players to allow them to compete, not just for the Premier League, but in European competition as well.
The midfield has finally been sorted, after years of being a major weakness for the club, but the makeshift defence needs to be repaired and the attack is still lacking a right sided player, those weaknesses need to be addressed, and quickly. More than that, the youth academy needs a major overhaul, this is a club that prides itself on bringing through players that can go on to play at the highest level of the game, even if not actually for United itself. Is Woodward really the right man to lead Manchester United in this new post-Ferguson era? Only time will tell.
Written by Tris Burke October 14 2015 10:18:15
