It's been a surreal week for me in terms of not only personal but also as a Manchester United fan. You never generally have this level of excitement in a transfer season when you are this team's fan. And it tells how the club fell in terms of overall talent in the squad. But that is just partly the reason.
Manchester United have never had the history of spending so big in a single transfer window which is commonly found for clubs like Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barceelona and PSG. These clubs have the big money to spend on through their owners. The Glazers on the other hand have always brought debt rather than money to the club which is also one of the reasons for the downfall. Now since we are talking about the big transfer window, let's look into it a bit closely.
We made 6 supposed big transfers in terms of not only quality but the also the requirement for some positions the club had after the departures. Now, the departures, god, that's a long list. Let's start of with the old guard - Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Ryan Giggs (retired) . I still remember 2007 when the first three became the core of the defense. Barring injuries and suspensions, this was a very stable defense. Although as age caught on to them, you knew they had to leave some time. But then, most expected it to be a smooth transition. And normally, you would think of keeping one or two and getting young talent in so that the newcomers can settle in quickly. But, then the club lets all the three leave which was very surprising. Although, letting Evra go was out of respect for service he gave to the club, it is still baffling to see the amount of experience we let go. Add, to that not getting suitable replacements for everyone, or at least getting some experienced backup in the squad.
Apart from that, the departure that fans really loved was that of Tom Cleverly, and to be honest, I was one of them. I was impressed with Tom Cleverly after he came back from his loan spell at Wigan Athletic and really looked the deal in the first team squad. But that was just for a few games. My understanding was that, since the injury he had in the Bolton game in 2011/12 was serious, it would take him a bit of time to get back 100%. But then, after that, he never really came back. Fans saw a few bursts. But that was about it. Even then, the amount of abuse he has had is way over the top. Criticizing is one thing, but abuse is just plain wrong. No player deserves that regardless of how he plays. But then, now each of the fans hope that either he comes back as a better player or doesn't come back at all.
Danny Welbeck, was, in my terms, a good transfer for Arsenal. Mainly because of their style of play. The idea of a striker for fans is that a striker must score a lot of goals and Welbeck has the ability to but may not necessarily return many goals. The link up play on the other hand is fantastic and with the midfield Arsenal have, it will be no surprise to see Danny Welbeck perform well there. But, it is always disappointing to see any academy player leave the club.
Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez. I still remember the decider Chelsea game in his first season. I got a bit late in reaching home and by the time I reached, he had already scored within the first minute. Chicharito had both sides of the coin in him, the excitement as well as the disappointments. The fans loved the player who could score a lot of poacher goals. But, since the start of last season, regardless of how many opportunities he got, his poaching ability has just not been up to the mark. At times, he looked totally out of sorts, like someone needing help. So, in that matter I agree that a change of scenario was required. Given that, I am still not sure Real Madrid was the answer. Given that he's still young and can still grow, there's not much room for development in that club. Looking at that, he is still a player who could have developed a lot but then lack of opportunities and then not taking them prevented him from becoming a regular starter. As a fan, I hope that he gets his scoring touch and the ever so potent poacher instinct back at Real Madrid. The other transfers of the window had to be done. But then again, there are some players present in the squad that have to leave mainly because of the performances. Popular among those are Ashley Young and Anderson. Fans can only hope for it to happen as soon as possible.
The signings on the other hand were, in some parts, excellent and in some other ways, surprising. You generally at signings like Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw as quality and ones for the future. Daley Blind, at 14m, in my opinion is a steal. People, search for videos on him on youtube and you will understand what I mean. The player has talent and one of the necessities the club needed. Marcos Rojo is a signing which can either become a steal or can prove expensive. It all depends on how he develops. The two big transfers of the window - Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao. Now, from march till july, everyone around the world, but mostly non-united fans were confident that Manchester United would not be able to attract big players. A lot of the club fans too had the same opinion. So, for that reason, it certainly looks surprising but also amazing. To be able to get such world class players without actually being in europe is a huge thing for any club. Plus, the club played well by giving them numbers 7 and 9 as all the fans have a sentimental feeling towards them.
But then again, the overall window looks quite unstable considering what we lost and not really replacing all of them. Louis Van Gaal has always been known to be a genius and somewhat of a risk taker. So I don't think the fans would be too worried of that. It does seem as though our attack is going to be the best form of defense with the array of talent like Mata, Di Maria, Falcao, Rooney, Van Persie and Januzaj. It is a kind of talent most teams will fear. There are still doubts about the way the team will set up. There is a possibility one or two might be dropped. But, there is a belief that LVG will pull this out. Only time will tell whether all of this works out. As fans, for now, all we can do is Hope.
Manchester United have never had the history of spending so big in a single transfer window which is commonly found for clubs like Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barceelona and PSG. These clubs have the big money to spend on through their owners. The Glazers on the other hand have always brought debt rather than money to the club which is also one of the reasons for the downfall. Now since we are talking about the big transfer window, let's look into it a bit closely.
We made 6 supposed big transfers in terms of not only quality but the also the requirement for some positions the club had after the departures. Now, the departures, god, that's a long list. Let's start of with the old guard - Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Ryan Giggs (retired) . I still remember 2007 when the first three became the core of the defense. Barring injuries and suspensions, this was a very stable defense. Although as age caught on to them, you knew they had to leave some time. But then, most expected it to be a smooth transition. And normally, you would think of keeping one or two and getting young talent in so that the newcomers can settle in quickly. But, then the club lets all the three leave which was very surprising. Although, letting Evra go was out of respect for service he gave to the club, it is still baffling to see the amount of experience we let go. Add, to that not getting suitable replacements for everyone, or at least getting some experienced backup in the squad.
Apart from that, the departure that fans really loved was that of Tom Cleverly, and to be honest, I was one of them. I was impressed with Tom Cleverly after he came back from his loan spell at Wigan Athletic and really looked the deal in the first team squad. But that was just for a few games. My understanding was that, since the injury he had in the Bolton game in 2011/12 was serious, it would take him a bit of time to get back 100%. But then, after that, he never really came back. Fans saw a few bursts. But that was about it. Even then, the amount of abuse he has had is way over the top. Criticizing is one thing, but abuse is just plain wrong. No player deserves that regardless of how he plays. But then, now each of the fans hope that either he comes back as a better player or doesn't come back at all.
Danny Welbeck, was, in my terms, a good transfer for Arsenal. Mainly because of their style of play. The idea of a striker for fans is that a striker must score a lot of goals and Welbeck has the ability to but may not necessarily return many goals. The link up play on the other hand is fantastic and with the midfield Arsenal have, it will be no surprise to see Danny Welbeck perform well there. But, it is always disappointing to see any academy player leave the club.
Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez. I still remember the decider Chelsea game in his first season. I got a bit late in reaching home and by the time I reached, he had already scored within the first minute. Chicharito had both sides of the coin in him, the excitement as well as the disappointments. The fans loved the player who could score a lot of poacher goals. But, since the start of last season, regardless of how many opportunities he got, his poaching ability has just not been up to the mark. At times, he looked totally out of sorts, like someone needing help. So, in that matter I agree that a change of scenario was required. Given that, I am still not sure Real Madrid was the answer. Given that he's still young and can still grow, there's not much room for development in that club. Looking at that, he is still a player who could have developed a lot but then lack of opportunities and then not taking them prevented him from becoming a regular starter. As a fan, I hope that he gets his scoring touch and the ever so potent poacher instinct back at Real Madrid. The other transfers of the window had to be done. But then again, there are some players present in the squad that have to leave mainly because of the performances. Popular among those are Ashley Young and Anderson. Fans can only hope for it to happen as soon as possible.
The signings on the other hand were, in some parts, excellent and in some other ways, surprising. You generally at signings like Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw as quality and ones for the future. Daley Blind, at 14m, in my opinion is a steal. People, search for videos on him on youtube and you will understand what I mean. The player has talent and one of the necessities the club needed. Marcos Rojo is a signing which can either become a steal or can prove expensive. It all depends on how he develops. The two big transfers of the window - Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao. Now, from march till july, everyone around the world, but mostly non-united fans were confident that Manchester United would not be able to attract big players. A lot of the club fans too had the same opinion. So, for that reason, it certainly looks surprising but also amazing. To be able to get such world class players without actually being in europe is a huge thing for any club. Plus, the club played well by giving them numbers 7 and 9 as all the fans have a sentimental feeling towards them.
But then again, the overall window looks quite unstable considering what we lost and not really replacing all of them. Louis Van Gaal has always been known to be a genius and somewhat of a risk taker. So I don't think the fans would be too worried of that. It does seem as though our attack is going to be the best form of defense with the array of talent like Mata, Di Maria, Falcao, Rooney, Van Persie and Januzaj. It is a kind of talent most teams will fear. There are still doubts about the way the team will set up. There is a possibility one or two might be dropped. But, there is a belief that LVG will pull this out. Only time will tell whether all of this works out. As fans, for now, all we can do is Hope.
