Seems a good deal to me. Spend over £250m and win nothing. Excellent work.
Aside from winning absolutely diddley squat, as a team you get dumped out of the Champions League in the group stages and then lose away to a small Danish team. Are you sure we are talking about Manchester United?
Sadly, yes. The country’s most successful football team ever has stuttered, stalled and plainly just fallen over at times, but fans will now point to the fact that United have seemed to pick up lately.
If you look back over the recent games, you would have to be honest and say that they should be beating small teams from Denmark, that the 1-0 win over Watford was more than just a bit fortunate and finally that Arsenal were so poor, that they made Aston Villa look half decent.
United have spent over a quarter of a billion since Louis van Gaal was named manager of the club and that outlay is set to carry on. Manchester United will continue to splash the cash on big name signings and are committed to investing in the squad for next season.
“I do think there’ll be more activity in the summer,” Ed Woodward said in a press conference in February.
“Our strong commitment to investing in our squad, youth academy and the broader club are ultimately underpinned by our financial strength and the hard work and dedication of everyone at the Club. Our solid results off the pitch help contribute to what remains our number one priority – success on the pitch.”
Even though Manchester United we knocked out of the Champions League early, Woodward insisted that the club have had a strong performance financially and leaves them in a good position going forward. ‘
Stars like Memphis Depay and Anthony Martial have arrived at Old Trafford this summer, following on from big name signings the previous year, including flops Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao.
But despite a couple of high profile transfer disasters, United will continue to spend the money required to keep the team at the top of the Premier League.
According to the Daily Mail, Woodward told a fans’ forum event that the club were looking to continue strengthening their squad, while they will reward young talent that comes through the ranks. And the money could be there as revenues are expected to top £500million this year – taking them close to Real Madrid’s world record total.
So what next? More of the same under performing star names or an actual assault on the players that should be wearing the United colours and playing imperiously on the park every week? Providing they do finish in the top four, the odds of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar or Gareth Bale ending up at Old Trafford could depend solely on the whim of whoever is manager.
Whichever manager is in the hot seat by the time the summer comes around, it looks like there could be a massive overhaul of players. The funds are ready to bring in the quality and let the driftwood just, well…..drift away. But Woodward made it clear in that whoever was in charge would be under “pressure” to sign top players, fuelled by what he described in the financial results as “our strong commitment to investing in our squad.”
Responding to a question about why Leicester City were leading the Premier League with a team who cost just £22million – more than 10 times less than sixth-placed United spent last summer – Woodward said: “Some players are bought by other clubs with an eye to them developing into something special in a few years’ time, whereas there’s a bit more pressure perhaps on some of the bigger clubs to bring in players that are going to be hitting the ground running and top players, verging on world-class, almost immediately.”
What about the Manchester United academy, what chance do the youngsters have of breaking through? These are the players with the heart and desire, surely? “The academy continues to be at the heart of the club. Giving youth a chance is part of our philosophy, part of our DNA,” Woodward said.
So, it seems as though in reality, United could win two trophies and end up in the top four, but that won’t be enough to save van Gaal. With the ghostly shadow of Mourinho lurking just around the corner, United fans actually have more to cheer about than suspected. H
However, next season should be the time to dream again and although United have lacked their usual spirit and the usual silverware, next year could be entirely different.
Look out, Premier League.
[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]
