When money's no object you end up spending £25 million on sh*te like this
Wading through the thousands of transfer rumours surrounding potential United targets only one thing becomes clear amidst all the uncertainty.
If United are to add to the squad with a ‘big name midfielder’ then it seems Sir Alex is going to have to pay at least 200k a week to tempt the likes of Wesley Sneijder or Samir Nasri to Old Trafford.
In the case of Nasri, certain media outlets are reporting that the French midfielder is now leaning towards a move to the Easyjet Stadium after being tempted by the ‘astronomical wages on offer’ believed to be around the 250k a week mark.
While I’d welcome Nasri at Old Trafford, if he wants to earn a million pounds a month then I think he’d be better off plying his trade for Stockport’s finest. The Frenchman’s a talented player with a proven Premiership pedigree but I thought the whole point of United’s pursuit was that with only a year left on his contract he’d be available at a reasonable price.
Should United match City’s figure then paying around £12 million a year- say over three years -plus £20 million in transfer fees means a player that was considered a bargain would end up costing over £50 million. Now I’m no accountant but even if United do have that sort of money to spend surely it would be better served elsewhere.
Investing in a couple of less proven players for half the money may be a better bet than spending the cost of the entire 1999 team on one player which seems about as wise as buying a long haired chav for £35 million.
City can offer silly money because they’ve got it and seem to have a buy now think later policy when it comes to certain players. I don’t even think they need Nasri and wouldn’t be surprised if they did get him, and he ended up on the bench, but they can afford to be so wasteful while United cannot.
When it comes to Sneijder, it’s almost as though we’d be doing what City do in terms of spending a lot of money on a player who wouldn’t necessarily get in the first team if everyone was fully fit. That may sound somewhat ridiculous but if as was the case at the end of last season, Wayne Rooney drops into an almost attacking midfield role, then Sneijder may not be as indispensable as some believe- certainly not vital enough to warrant a £30 million plus transfer fee, then around £9 million a year in wages.
The latest reports suggest Sneijder, like Nasri is hoping his transfer could lead to mega money wages, although the Dutchman has Malaga not the World’s Richest Club TM as his other suitors so may find it difficult to convince United to pay him the astronomical type wages on offer at City.
The Alexis Sanchez saga- which is becoming almost as tiresome as the Nasri one, seems to have died down somewhat although there’s still enough United transfer rumour embers aglow to keep the smoke going.
The Chilean at one point seemed destined for the Nou Camp and will more than likely still end up there although some reports seem to indicate a deal with United is still possible.
Sanchez almost certainly won’t be hopping on a free flight to The Jet2.com stadium any time soon after Roberto Mancini revealed the winger had turned down a move to City.
There’s no doubt that City told him the wages they were willing to pay to make him part of their ‘project’ whether he’d expect the same terms at United is debatable but it wouldn’t surprise me if he demanded them.
Sanchez is an awesome talent but is it really worth spending vast amounts to acquire a player we may not even really need? I’d argue not. With all the wingers available at United, plus Rooney’s ability to play ‘in the hole’ pursuing Sanchez may be a frivolous endeavour.
It’s obvious there is room for improvement at United, no matter how strong the squad is another top quality player could only elevate it, however any new signings should be made without breaking the club’s wage structure or handing out Rooney type terms.
Part of the problem may be the seeming lack of truly world class players available, which can make breaking the bank for one who is one the market, seem all that more acceptable.
People tend to forget that United have since the Premier League began, never been the richest club and have lost out on certain players because of that.
In the early years it was Blackburn Rovers who were able to offer the sort of wages United weren’t hence their acquistion of Alan Shearer. Although they won the title in 1995, they were never able to successfully maintain a challenge to United’s dominance, partly due to the fact that certain players would rather have earned less playing at Old Trafford each week.
More recently it was Chelsea who had bottomless pockets and were able to convince the likes of Arjen Robben and Jon Obi Mikel that the sun shone brighter in West London than it did in Manchester.
Chelsea may have had success but four titles in five years plus three Champions League finals, tells you which club’s remained the dominant force in Englsih football.
The point I’m making is that United don’t need to try and equal any of the top spender’s wages in pursuit of players, we never have done. Should Sneijder, Nasri or whoever feel they’re worth more than they can get at Old Trafford, I’d be happy to see them sign for City or anyone else for that matter.
I disagree. I think with Financial Fair Play now monitoring, and City seeing “beating” us in the transfer market as one of their famous smalltime wins, it makes great sense for us to be linked to every player they’re interested in. Even if we’re not and it’s just media speculation it makes sense for us to remain tight lipped and let them believe that is the case. Nothing is funnier than seeing City offer another mediocre player £170k a week just because they think United may also be interested in him. And no matter what they claim to the contrary, every penny really does count for them now that Mansour’s wallet can’t be claimed as their own any more. For the players we really are interested in we should put our offer down on the table and say that we’re not going to beat City on wages, and let the player choose whether he wants to join a big club or just earn the most money. Players who are only interested in the money are best avoided anyway as Adebayor and Tevez are testament to. At the end of the day, the more money City waste trying to beat us to a signature, the less that can be spent elsewhere.
I understand your point, but I think that these regulations will prove pointless. The £400 million Etihad deal has already been exposed as a way around them as now City can count that as part of their turnover and therefore it will enable them to spend more money. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had other moves up their sleeves to ensure they can still waste millions on rubbish like Edin Dzeko.
If they get away with it of course. The opportunity for them to exploit sponsorships from related parties has also now been substantially reduced as the real money earners are shirt and stadium sponsorships, and an extra £40 million a season (with tax to be deducted of course) isn’t going to give them the kind of revenue they’d need to keep outspending every other team in the world. They’ll still be over £100 million a year behind United in revenue and not even up to Chelsea’s level yet. Yes Dzeko makes me laugh, they still don’t realise that he had exactly the same goals to games ratio as Bebe who they enjoy making fun of.
Of course they will get away with it. bernstein will see to that
Great article and completely agree. We should only sign those who want to be at United, not want the highest wages. Been our philosophy always and should continue.
United have been the highest wage payers for years and years and years………players have gone to United for the money in the past aswell as playing for a big club. Rooney….don’t tell me he didn’t say all he said not to get more money….money, money, money……football is all about money….the richest always end up on top…look at Real Madrid, United, Chelsea, Barca, Milan, they have been so sucessful over the years because they’ve had money. Now City have got it, they’re just trying to match united’s ambitions.
And to all who say city are wasting money left, right and center, they’re not at all, some players don’t materialise into great signings and most do, look at past flops united have wasted 10’s of millions on, Veron springs to mind, city are just following suit of the rich clubs only they’re doing it ata more accelerated pace…
Also,
I suppose Clichy at £7mill is a waste
Kompany (‘best central defender in the league’, m.keown) at £6 mill a waste
A.Johnson at £6 mill a waste
De jong (1 of best def mid’s in world) £18 mill
Silva (1 of best creative attacking midfielders in the world and world cup winner) £24 mill
United are throwing big money just like city at potential flops…Phil Jones £17 mill cud be one of them.. euro u-21’s absolutely shocking, not even that good, can’t pass and make silly mistakes. De Gea, oh my god, a replacement for VDS, nahhhh, he’s had one full mediocre season for mid-table spanish team and has bout 12 clean sheets in 60 games for A.madrid, waste of £18 mill, , but at least he’s pretty good at saving penalties, but then again United never get penalties against them.
City are doing everything right and are going in right direction, worry bout your own team.
Funny how you mention cheap bargains you’ve bought whilst comparing them to players we wasted money on. Veron however was one of the best players in the world when we bought him and unfortunately he didn’t adapt as he would have wanted to the league. But for every Veron there are four Cantona, Evra, Vidic or Hernandez-like signings, player who were bought for little and went on to achieve a lot. Whereas for every Adam Johnson at City, there are two Lescott’s. So let’s not alter reality about the success of the signings at our respective clubs. Even players we have paid big transfer fees have largely paid back the investment several times over. By the time Rio and Rooney retire they’ll have spent over 10 years at the club, won numerous trophies and have ended up costing us less than £3 million per season based on their transfer fees. Oh and Clichy is an awful player, he was the defender that United targetted for the past few years and the vast majority of the times we won at his expense. I for one am extremely glad you’ve bought him to replace Kolarov … who was another world beating signing.
I’m a City supporter. Just a quick note…why oh why do you rags go on about Lescott, he’s a player who had a very strong second half of last season, I wouldn’t want rid of him at all – solid signing. As for Dzeko – watch and learn next season, the only reason he hasn’t returned more goals is because he has been made to play a different role than he is used to (playing with his back to defenders rather than side on to them attacking balls from delivered from the byline). The guy is class and will come good.
As for the article – joke. If so many people want to play for united because of who you are – where are they all now?
Come on guys get real – you just ain’t used to being treated as second or third choice.
We go on about Lescott because he’s useless, we could say exactly the same about Bebe as you said about Dezko, and of course you’re a Citeh fan, the bitterness and smalltime is just seeping through your keyboard.
For starters United are not the biggest wage payers and have always had a structure that isn’t at the top. Rooney could have gotten more money at City, that’s without question. Yes he said what he did for more money but that still doesnt make United the highest payers. As for Veron who is mentioned every time someone wants to question United’s transfer policies. Yes he struggled but he still won the Premier League, how many ‘flops’ have done that at City? Plus he was sold on for £16 million.
Now we’ll look at your list,
Clichy – good price but yet to kick a ball so why don’t you wait to see what happens before you get carried away. Maybe if he is a bargain it’ll make up for the £20 million you wasted on Wayne Bridge and Jerome Boateng.
Kompany, a very good signing but who are his partners? Joleon Lescott £25 million absolute sh*te. Kolo Toure £16 million for a player who’s so past it he now needs his mrs’s slimming pills to perform.
Johnson -unproven, goes missing against the creme de la creme and is a one trick pony.
De Jong, a good player only £18 million more than we paid for Darren Fletcher, so well done.
Silva £24 million, a good player but hardly a bargain.
Phil Jones you say was ‘absolutely shocking’ in the Euro Under 21 yet Martin Keown – who you quote- praised him highly.
As for De Gea, he’s not played for United yet, so lets see how he does first eh?
If you bothered to read the article it’s my own team I am concerned about, I don’t want them ending up with the likes of Jo, Adebayor and Craig Bellamy for over £40 million?!
Stop pretending you can compare City’s spending to United or even any club in history. Sure United have rarely been underdogs when it comes to players wages (though that has been the case for a few seasons now); but at least they can offer what they do because of legitimately being a large, income generating club. The only precedent City can look to when it comes to such a spending disparity is Chelsea; and even then City have set new heights (or lows) in that regard.
Sure City have had some cases of value in the transfer market; but you quite literally listed EVERY example which becomes quite insignificant when you compare it to the whole squad. Try listing every signing the past three seasons along with their fees and wages and I’m sure you’ll embarass yourself quite quickly.
Finally, if City are going through more flops at “an accelerated pace”; that does imply their wasting money left, right and centre. If I wanted to hear doublespeak, I’d read 1984. The fact that the first expensive flop from United that came to your mind was Veron from a decade ago should illustrate the differences between our clubs; wheras there are numerous expensive City flops every transfer window.
When classy City were bought in Sept 2008 we were not in a league position to sign any player we wanted and had to pay over the odds because of it.
There was bound to be wastage because every club and player we approached knew that we needed them badly so were able to demand higher transfer fees and wages as a result. If you are realistic, most of the players signed have been terrific. City are now definite title challengers for 2011-12, it’s taken 3 years – not bad.
I hope you still have the same opinion re spending , if/when you get bought out by Qatar Holdings
Here’s a piece I wrote back in March on how I’d like to see United spend money http://redflagflyinghigh.com/2011/03/blogs/a-better-way-for-united-to-spend-the-100-million-transfer-kitty
If we get bought by Qatar or even floated on the stock exchange, we won’t need someone elses money to fund the running of the club. We will more than able to fund massive investment in the team with the £100 million+ annual operating profits we make.
Although i completely agree with the point raised . I feel its a little late Citeh are going to buy there way in the sleazy jet stadium is just one angle they will come from . UEFA are not going to miss there bit of the pie !
am glad you are not the manager coz you are full of crap.we need better midfielders nd you know it.if we dont win trophies you wil be critising the club so shut up coz if we have the money then we should spend it!
Not on players we don’t need for far more than they’re worth.
Good article, good points made. I have to agree with most points and thats the problem. I am one of those who have been saying it’s about time MU spend to bring in quality, like Sanchez, perhaps Sneijder,( I’m not 100% sure about him, I know everyone is raving including MU Dutch coach)Nasri is another Tevez, Rooney cry baby, pay me or I’m OFF.
I agree with the author, if a player wants £££ then go to EasyJetArabia. If they want prestige, history, honour, trophies and WORLD admiration, go MU. As Sanchez has done and turned down EasyJetArabia, no matter the amount of money being offered.
The previous season when Ronaldo went for E80m, all that came back was Bebe and Obatan,(others I don’t recall or care not to) So my argument is why pay peanuts and get monkeys? As these players cannot even get into the B team? Why not use the money and buy 1 world class player? While we the dirty, unwashed supporters quibble about pennies, the Glazers have been lining their own pockets with millions with loans for their families on the back of MU. Why shouldn’t SAF try to bring in world class players? BUT of the right caliber. I know players of this sort is hard to find, as ALL clubs are looking. Gems are hard to find, striking lucking with Ronaldo, Chicarito etc isnt worth the risk when trying for Euro domination. It’s ok for the Prem, I think SAF and MU know how to win that…
p.s Malaga is owned by another “sheik” worth 2.5 Bn, so can afford Sneijder’s wages.He belongs to the family who wanted to by MU for 1.5 bn
That probably explains why all of a sudden he seems to be asking for silly wages.
Can’t wait to get an Arab billionaire with their oil money in for United. The Glazers were a massive mistake to begin with. Let’s face it, money talks.
Citeh is spending silly money on potential because they lack the history. And all modern players are mercenaries. Imagine if Barca’s gone bankrupt. I’m sure they’ll be selling Messi to the highest bidder. Would Messi still play for Barca if they could only offer him 20grand a month?
In the end, we shouldn’t think too much about those who doesn’t wanna come for us or those who wanna leave. It’s their career, their rice bowl, their families and their retirement.
Sorry to deflate your hopes but it’s a fact that in general Arabs tend not to tread on each others toes – it’s not the way things are done in their culture. The only reason Qatar is an exception to the rule has to do with an esoteric long standing rivalry between UAE and themselves. The purchase of PSG has probably put an end to any deal which may have been done in your direction. The point being – there aren’t any rich Arabs out there who wish to challenge UAE.
Without a doubt, value for money is becoming increasingly important especially with new financial regulations coming into force. It will be interesting to see if City get away with their ploy of giving themselves money to get round them. If so, are UTD going to rename Old Trafford the GlazerBowl or something equally rubbish sounding as the Etibad stadium.
Getting back to the point, from a spectator’s point of view I would love to see the likes of Sneijder of Nasri in a beautiful RED jersey. However, I was of the school of thought that Rooney should have been offloaded after he spat his dummy (as much as his goal against Shart tempted me to change my view) because If a player cares about playing at the top level and competing in top European competition season in and seaon out then Utd is the obvious choice, even if on a more modest salary. We have played in the European cup every season since I can remember (I’m 23). How many other clubs can boast such consistancy at the pinnacle of world football? On this alone, the world’s top player should be begging to play for us. And if they would rather have the rich clubs battle for their signature by waving bills with some sheikh or other on them then I would rather they did not step onto the blessed Old Trafford turf other than to lose at the hands of Giggs and Chicharito.
Nuff said!
Some of what you’re saying here isn’t sensible. I appreciate the idea that we should sign players who want to play for Utd but football is a global game and money talks. This is the Nasri problem.
We have NO BUSINESS digging our heels in over the transfer fee when the difference is 5 million quid and the player is of key importance. It’s a false economy as we end up spending top dollar for players later on (e.g. Berba from Spurs). Our question should be, is Nasri cheap at 25M quid rather than are we being screwed buying a player with a year left on the contract. If we’d offered 25 mill instead of holding firm at 20 then the Gooner board would have just accepted it. Now we’ve opened the door for Citeh to offer the lad even more money/week. When Citeh want the same player we do, we have to compete. Not saying we should match them to the pound in salaries but we can’t have all our best transfer targets moving to Citeh. If we let them sign all the best players, we won’t be able to play the kind of attractive and winning football our fans are used to, they’ll embarrassingly beat us and you’ll have to write a new post suggesting why we need to compete with Citeh in the transfer market.