All Utd fans know how competitive SAF is. He's probably the only manager who will never try and cut his losses when behind - he'd rather lose by five goals than roll over and play it safe when a goal down. He's set a retirement date on more than one occasion, but has always come back to face the latest challenge. And I can't ever remember a Utd side under SAF holding it up in the corner for a prolonged period of time when we're a goal up. But does he love the challenge and competition so much that he actually tries to create it for himself? I was thinking about this a bit over the last few days, particularly given all the people who seem convinced this is our worst team since whenever. I don't subscribe to most of those arguments (mainly cos I still remember Silvestre, Miller, Veron etc etc), but I think it's fair to say we aren't as good as we have been in the past. But then again, this is probably the weakest Chelsea have been since Abramovich, Arsenal have never been poorer since Wenger took over, and Liverpool haven't been this bad since the days of Evans or even Souness. So the only real challengers for the title are City, and whilst they have a impressive team it is still not a patch on our teams of 99 or 08, Arsenal teams in 98 and 04, and Chelsea under Mourinho. In fact, given how well we've done with our injuries and CM / GK problems, it's fair to speculate that if we'd bought a ready made GK replacement and a world class CM we'd be way out in front and talking about number 20 already. But then when has SAF ever been happy with strolling to the title? Our most dominant title winning team, in 2001, prompted him to announce he was going to retire, and our next most dominant team, in 2009, prompted him to sell Ronaldo having sworn to never, ever, ever sell him. In contrast, the dominance of Liverpool and the emergence of Wenger in 98 and Mourinho in 04 prompted him to build arguably our three best ever PL teams. So does SAF love the challenge so much that he would rather have a squad that will need to struggle and scrap for honours that one that will just stroll to victory without him need to deploy his full arsenal of mind games and tactics? And is that the reason we haven't signed a world class CM despite having known we'd need one for about the last three years and the reason we gambled on a kid rather than bought a proven GK like we did with VDS? And if so, should SAF stop looking to satisfy his own competitive spirit and just go for pure easy PL dominance and better chances in the CL? I know it's a bit of a wacky theory, and probably full of holes, but it's Sunday evening and I'm bored and I thought I'd share it. What do you guys reckon?
Fantastic article. I think there is some truth in it. But i doubt we wouldn't rather stroll to success. But I like it.
I think there's a bit of truth to it. I'm sure he knows who he could sign that would solve our problems, but he wants to use youth from our academy and players we've developed. He's also probably thinking ahead of about leaving a team that just hit it's prime so the next manager doesn't have to go through a rebuilding phase like AVB does at Chelsea. AVB has the decaying remains of managers past, and he's trying to put his stamp on the team. I'm sure Fergie wants the next manager to be able to avoid that, so he's trying build another team for the history books. Maybe one last hurrah?
SAF does like the challange, he thrives on it, he might get bored if Utd strolled to a title year after year, but i think he also likes to try and prove doubters and nay sayers wrong with the the players that come under fire, ie with De Gea, Jonny Evans, as he will defend them to the hilt, unless they are completely lost-causes like Miller and Double D, and at the moment De Gea is not a lost-cause. So it would not surprise me if he plays against Stoke midweek. Why do it the easy way when the hard way works just as well, and you will get more satisfaction from doing it the hard way. As SAF always says Utd "always make hard for themselves". Great article by the way.
Agree completely that he can be a stubborn fool at times but I’m not entirely sure that he’s doing this on purpose as it goes completely against his usual MO, which is to completely assemble a new squad periodically with some brutal changes. Those brutal changes haven’t come this time, Giggs and now Scholes are being allowed to continue for far too long without being replaced. I know that both of these players are incredibly loyal servants and so deserve a bit of special treatment but they should have been replaced long term by now. You could also argue that Giggs has been replaced in his former natural position with a variety of wingers. However, this complete inability to address the position where we are lacking most, central midfield, and lacking second, right back, suggest more a case of the financial purse strings being tight, relatively, than him thinking those positions are well stocked. I think he knows we need a CM but just isn’t being given the money till summer as he spent this years budget already. In hindsight, he blew £18 mill on De Gea when Lindegaard would have sufficed and that money could have been spent elsewhere. You don’t get many top drawer CM’s for £18 million though. He couldn't have forseen the longterm injury to Cleverly either. I think he’ll (or Mourinho?!!?!?) buy that player this summer and hopefully address the right back spot so our centre halves can concentrate on playing there, where they can develope into a long term partnership.
I don't think he feels those positions are well stocked, I think it's more a case of him being relatively happy with them being under strength, cos it makes it more of a challenge to get results with our current problems there. Likewise with De Gea - I don't think its a coincidence that he was willing to experiment with untested keepers back in 99, 00 and 01 when we were dominating the league, but in 2005 when we were struggling in third he went straight for the proven quality of VDS. Tho it is true that he couldn't have foreseen what would happen to Cleverley, or Fletcher for that matter, what with them only diagnosing his bowel condition this season.
Let me get this right, you think SAF hasn't bought atleast one CM because he wants it to be a close title race and out of all cups by January?
I can't agree that he's done this deliberately as it flies in the face of his usual way for the previous 24 years. I think he had a summer budget and weighed up his options and then bought who he did based on that, unaware obviously that Cleverly and Fletcher would be out long term and Anderson would continue to be **** beyond anyone's belief. I think he will address this in summer. If he is doing this as some wierd challenge in order to toss off in public then the time to change manager is nigh!!
Perhaps he just wants the ethos of Manchester United to survive without him, so he wants to rely on players we've developed and have the United mentality running through their blood.
Close title race yes. I don't think he gives a flying **** about the cups when building his team - the team is always built to win the PL. He learnt not to try and build a pure CL team after Veron. Shame Abramovich can't learn the same! I dunno, he has made some of his strangest decisions when we were clear at the top of the league. Getting rid of Stam was done in 2001 when we'd just won the league by 18 points, and Ronaldo was sold as soon as Chelsea appeared to stop being a realistic threat for the title. And with the keepers - he ****ed around for six years trying all and sundry, but as soon as Mourinho emerged at Chelsea he went straight for the proven quality of VDS. I don't know if it's a concious thing, and I might be completely wrong, but it does seem that we are always challenging for the title even when our team is relatively weak, but even our strongest teams don't just walk off with the title - the 99 and 08 teams only won the title on the last day. So it may just be that he's judging the quality of his team by the challenge he faces in the league rather than actively trying to make it relatively difficult to win the title every year.
Fergie said himself he didn't know why the team kept attacking city, it was not what he wanted, in an interview did he not. Great article and I think he wants to leave United with most titles and most CL titles in English history and go out on top. I think it is more what drives him is his goals, not Uniteds. He's done his bit for the club over and over, spoilt the lot of ye on success after success. Ye are bloated fat on trophies, ****s, and great memories as it is a fantastic time supporting a team that wins, regardless of when you started supporting them, and Fergie has done a job matched by none in the league, not sure what manager has second most titles, not club but manager, does anyone come close? But.. I think he is out for the records he wants to fall, or record really the CL, I think a win last year would have brought him one year closer to retirement, I think matching Liverpools 5 will be good enough for him at this stage so going out was a big disapointment I would say this season. All that and the fact that he is just not ready to go into retirement, his drive is still there even if the football senses are a quantum dulled Oh and the resurgence of City, I reckon thats spurred him on a bit too
I think he said it wasn't a sensible thing to do. But then he's the one who's set the team up to do that when they fall behind, and it's worked on so many occasions that most Utd fans will be happy to forgive the odd shocker that results. Definitely. If my theory is right, he's been waiting for City to stop flattering to deceive and give him a challenge that's worthwhile. In which case now they're showing true quality he'll go the extra mile in the summer to build up another team that can see off the challenge. Fingers crossed...
I think myself there is transfers afoot, I reckon he pulled out good auld Dr Foot and kicked some cash out of the tightwads. I think city are the catalyst for the cash injection meself as well, I mean, who else is a serious threat right now, spurs could and I think are already going 'pop' Again with City, if City are top he cant go out on top, so
I thought his latest challenge was trying to be better than Barcelona, don't see why he would let himself be weakened if that was the case. In my (stolen of our people's) opinion you are weak now because you are going through a transition stage whereby your CM's, CB's, Goalkeeper and perhaps LB needed/need replacing and SAF wants to build a team for the future.
Great read Swarbs. But rather far fetched. I wouldn't have thought he wanted to give himself more problems just for the sake of it. I think currently the team is very vulnerable BUT with all the key players back (Rooney, Jones, Vidic, Cleverley, hernandez, Anderson) United is a match for any team in the premiership.
