I would rather we paid what we can afford. Least we know we can afford it off our own back. Wages are whats going to kill off City.
I hear you - and Man United are hardly going to turn into a small club overnight: Honestly, can you see anybody in the current UNited squad becoming the next Ronaldo?!!? My concerns were, and still are, that in the current Man Utd squad there are nowhere near enough matchwinners. Matchwinners were what pushed you over the edge in 07/08/09. Thats not to devalue the job Sir Alex Ferguson did and continues to do, but he had no right on paper to beat the Chelsea team that had had a quarter of a billion pounds spent on it. Honestly, objectively, I cant see many matchwinners in your current squad (Rooney and possibly Nani aside). The top top players who have and continue to leave will need replacing. And I can see top players being very sceptical about going to you over City. They can get twice as much money at City, City are (most likely) going to be the premier league champions and whilst you undoubtedly have the best manager in the country he will not be around for more than a couple of years..... Footballers are motivated by money and the promise of success/. To repeat, Im not for a second am I suggesting you wont be there or there abouts next year, fergie would allow no less. Just that there arent enough matchwinners, not enough difference makers in your squad for you to go the distance next year with City.
Sir Alex will know this, if you can figure this out why can't he?.. he is great at rebuilding, he will buy new players and change the team.
Obviously he knows it - knowing at and fixing it are different things though. To fix it he has to be able to convince top player to choose united over city. not impossible, but will take all his ability. and even then city will probably be even stronger next year. If Fergie was 10 or even 5 years younger id be agreeing with you. I just think even he cant take on city in the current financial climate. But we shall see! I certainly hope there is a good old slog for the title next year!
Well that's the challenge. I just don't see this sudden drive for top players to go to City. For one, not every top player can play for them and for another we are still a very attractive package that has form (taking the title race to the last game and a good European pedigree - obviouslt not this season!). I think Rooney has negoitiated a pretty good package and so I don't see why we can't do that for other top players as required. Sure we have a structure to stay within, but with the prestige of playing for a club of United's standing I feel we can still attract the talent we require. I do think that other team's fans will only start to tire of City's financial clout if they have a sustained period of success, maybe then they will have a differnet opinion on the need to address the current situation. I'm aware that you can't mention this without sounding bitter currently.
The problem United faced last year, when SAF clearly thought he had Nasri sewn up, was City offered him another £2M a year. This time, it's not just money they have to offer, it's the realistic proposition of joining the most ambitious Club, with the best Squad in World Football.
A squad which will need to be severely trimmed wage wise if they don't want to fall foul of FFP. Not to mention in 2-3 years time when all those mercenaries are up for contract renewals, agents will start touting and players will be demanding more money. Won't be pretty.
UEFA cannot fight a Club with the resources of Manchester City and retain their status as the Governers of European Football, because, like Fergie, they don't have enough money. And it always comes down to money. Barca, Real Madrid, Both Milan Clubs, Liverpool, Chelsea & many others will lose more than €45m over three years, are UEFA really going to operate the Champions League without the above? The TV Companies, the Sponsors, and oh yeah, the Fans, might just have a dim view. If your plan to combat City's wealth is FFP, think again.
I'd love to know who you think has a stronger, deeper and better balanced Squad than them. As far as I can see they are short of 1 Centre Half, Savic is poor, and need a properly defensive alternative at Left back. Other than that?
That's the same problem we faced in 2005 when Chelsea offered Essien massive wages. Or in 1996 when Newcastle bid 25% higher than us for Shearer. Or in 1987 when Liverpool beat us to Beardsley. For all the chat about how much we've spent in the PL, there have only been a couple of seasons when we've been the highest spenders and haven't been outbid by someone for a player. And of course you are quick to forget that in 2005 Chelsea actually were the most ambitious club with the best squad in world football. City are a loooooooong way behind Barca and Real right now. Why do they need to fight City? That's like saying the EU cannot afford to fight Microsoft. They don't need to fight them, they just set the rules and if City break them then they are out. Barca, Real and both Milan clubs already meet FFP rules. Chelsea and Liverpool can meet them with the right financial planning, as can City. Do you really think if Barca, Real or Milan went into administration UEFA would change the rules just to keep them in the CL?!?
Barca's 1stXI No argument. Squad? Behave. You don't play Mascherano at Centre Back, if you have a strong squad.
Barcelona are famous for having a very thin squad, which is probably why they are now slipping from their lofty pedestal.
Consider City will find it impossible to offload deadwood for any fee then the chance of them complying with FFP is about as likely as Liverpool winning the Champions League this season and next.
