Where to start I can't understand. Guess it's only the belief that kept us going throughout the season but now it has disappeared. I'll come straight to the point. Back in 09 when we sold Ronaldo, Fergie started his mumblings about value in the transfer market. We had money back then but we spunked it on those donkeys Obertan and Owen and a winger who will never replace CR7. My point is that you just can't win everything with kids these days. In 93 it was ok but not now. Barcelona won the sextuple in 09 but still spent big. Last year they won the european double yet spent big on Sanchez(40m) and Cesc. Why didn't we spend on superstars? Yes we spent 50m but that isn't enough. Young wasn't the solution. All our signings shouldn't have cost more than 10m each but that's a different matter. We need genuine superstars that are on their peak i.e 25-30 age. In these days titles can't be won by youth. Even Madrid at last have shown finally by spending big that success is guaranteed when you spend big. They didn't rely stupidly on their academy like we are doing to break Barca. We pay huge money to watch United. But look at our signings. Hernandez,De Gea,Jones,Smalling,Bebe,Owen,Obertan. All cheap signings bar GK. Where are the big signings who will create a fear in the opposition mind like a Toure?? My only point is that if we want to win titles,spending big is the only option because our academy hasn't produced a genuine world class players. Get the checkbook out SAF and buy genuine quality players on their peak and not youngsters.
Ah......one thing to consider. When the FFP rules come in its clubs who are able to operate within their means who will benefit. United have not spent big as the huge sums flying around wee alway going to flag up in the minds of FIFA and UEFA and it was a certainty they would address the issue. 2/3 years from now, when City and other clubs are banned from signing players and have to mass sell them we will still be doing what we do best. Building. A quote this week said Fergie is always looking 2/3/4 years ahead aswell as the next game.
They know it aswell. Is it totally insane to think that Citys owners want the title now, CL next year and then they will be off? Thats not to unlikely is it?
Sorry for not using paragraphs but I was on my age old handset So couldn't. Nevertheless like someone above said about the FFP, I don't think it will stop the big clubs from spending big in future. Do you honestly see Real Madrid or Barcelona or Munich not spending big? No!! Madrid especially will spend on superstars every year. The recent Etihad deal has caused me to lose all faith in FFP. My only point is that currently we lack players on their peaks i.e age 25-30 who win you titles. Either we have very young players or too old players and both sets don't win you trophies single handedly. Players on their peak do. We only have Rooney, Young, Valencia, Vidic, Nani who are on their peaks in a squad of 25. That's not good. I mean it's a worrying sign that Arsenal spend more than you. Last summer they did after we tonked them and now they have already signed Podolsky and hopefully Vertonghen and will spend more. I hope we buy genuine quality in summer.
Podolski is a good player. However should I be worried they have spent money on Mertesacker, Santos, Chu-Young, and Arteta? Are you serious?
Mertesacker is a very good defender. Yes he is slow but there is a reason why he has earned more than 60 caps for Germany. It is the typical British attitude that pace and power and last ditch tackles make you a good defender. He has played in world cup semis, Euro finals etc etc and played very well. Whereas the english world class defenders in Terry and Ferdinand what have they done at International level? Andre Santos is a regular for Brazilian team. Need I say more? He has been injured most of the season So how can we judge him. Also we have no right to criticize him when we have one of the worst LB in the league in Evra. Finally Arteta would walk into our midfield. Period.
Lol its a bunch of players who meet up a few times a year and generally play like they dont have a ****ing clue who each other are. The odd team, like Spain click together brilliantly but for the most part, the best national sides in the world would get battered by the best club sides. Why? because a club has a choice in the players it uses, national sides have a much smaller choice. The quality is awful, so bad at times some international games are like watching non league or even sunday league. Some of the players actually are pub players ffs. Its no longer the pinnacle of football.
So what? Sorry you mentioned pace, power and tackling, qualities us Brits look for in defending. Apart from positioning, reading and heading, what else do you normally look for? Anyway Mertesacker has none of these qualities at all! Furthermore Kléberson has over 30 caps for the Brazilian national team. Need I say any more? Also if you are going to talk about international caps as some form of arbitrary test for how well a club is spending their money, dare I mention one Emile Heskey who managed to pick up 60 odd caps for England. While Arteta is a good player, given his age and injury problems, the fact he cost about 10 million (though officially not disclosed) that's the kind of spending I'd rather do without.
hmmmm. Smart business men with connections and wads of cash . Orrr The Over opinionated gasbags sitting at their computers ranting off nonsense like an old mental geeezer shouting at clouds. I know who I'd bet on being right I agree with OP. All of the top sides almost are spending, how you expect to get a full team almost of talented young players every decade is beyond me as that was essentially the catalyst in low spending, came through on low wages compared to money signings, that kept the wage structure low, needed less transfers as most stayed their whole careers. This is no poorly attempted criticism whatsoever, it is just part of the reason cash spent to titles is so low. You need to spend to compete, not every find will work out and the margins for error now are slim, 17m for de gea when ye turned down hart for 100K that was a €16900000 difference
and they will be severely punished for it. Any club who attempts to exploit the rules will be punished ( I did write punched for some reason lol ) accordingly. These rules are not just for show, if clubs try and take the piss Uefa will have no issue showing them who has the power. Lets be honest here, no other club is going to support Chelsea or City if they attempt to break the rules everyone else follows are they. Chelsea are making a big effort to comply with the rules, City are not. They will be banned from europe.
Wishful thinking methinks. Do you really think UEFA would stop their darlings of Europe stop spending loads? Doubt it.