Manchester United – life after Ronaldo

The jury is out on whether or not Manchester United should have sold their star player Cristiano Ronaldo this summer. The £80million deal is a footballing world record transfer fee but can any amount of money really fill the void left by the awesome Portuguese play-maker’s presence. Ronaldo was United’s top goalscorer the past two seasons and was undoubtedly a huge part of the reason for their success. At times his playing style would mesmerise players and fans alike. The loss of Ronaldo is not just going to effect United but also the Premier League who have lost an iconic player to La Liga. Perhaps the best player in the world Ronaldo could go on to be one of the best ever.

Life goes on, however, and United have shown time and time again that they can cope with the loss of their main stars. Much was made of the departures of big names such as David Beckham, Jaap Stam and Ruud Van Nistelrooy at their prime but United coped with the losses and continued to build stronger squads. Sir Alex Ferguson is the master of this, somehow despite losing his best players the United boss turns his teams into better sides. This is why Sir Alex is more than happy to let go of players who he believes feel that they are too big for the club. Fergie has made it clear over the years that no player is bigger than Manchester United and that certainly no player is more powerful than the manager. Sir Alex adapts squads time and time again does it by signing great young talents who more often than not go on to produce the goods, the likes of Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Ronaldo himself all have proved wonderful signings. It also helps that United’s world class academy keeps throwing up players, some great stars like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Gary Neville others great squad fillers like Darren Fletcher, John O’Shea and Jonny Evans. So if any fan in the world does not have to worry about the sale of their best player it is a United fan.

The problem this time, though, is that Ronaldo is just that bit more special than any other player who has played under Sir Alex. Never in Fergie’s reign has such a great talent been on show at Old Trafford, so it is a bit of an unknown as to how well United will cope. Yes, the losses of Beckham, Stam and Van Nistelrooy were big news but all of these players were expected to only have a couple of years left at the top level. Ronaldo is 24 and could have another 6-8 years of great football left in him and being so young he could even improve as a player in the next few seasons. No-one has really carried the United team in the same way that Ronaldo has done in certain games and on certain occasions. There were games last season that you felt United definitely would not have won had Ronaldo not been playing.

So the loss is huge for United and worryingly Fergie has not done too much to rectify this. The signings of Wigan’s Antonio Valencia and Newcastle’s Michael Owen are not going to inspire fans too much. Whilst they will be decent first team players, Valencia and Owen can hardly be expected to fill Roanldo’s boots. In watching Valencia’s first game yesterday it became apparent that he would need time to adjust to United, Valencia seemed to drift in and out of the game and was not exactly pounding at the defence of a very poor Birmingham side.

Yesterday’s 1-0 victory at home to Birmingham was less than convincing. Birmingham were very very poor and displayed little heart in their defeat and the fact that United could not score more than one goal will concern the fans. Had Ronaldo been playing yesterday you have to wonder if the scoreline would have read more like 4-0 or 5-0.

However, it is still early days. Rooney looked in good shape yesterday getting on the score-sheet and United will need him to step it up a gear this season and produce a 20 plus goal season. Players like Nani, Berbatov and Anderson all have the potential to go on and do great things but it really is time for them to reveal it. If they don’t then it is tough to see where all of Ronaldo’s missed goals are going to come from. Maybe Sir Alex will buy a forward in January, maybe not but only time will tell if life after Ronaldo will be just as sweet or if it will be sour at least for the next couple of seasons anyway.

Premier League Preview: Manchester United-Sunderland

Manchester United

A strange off season for the ‘red devils’ has seen the world’s most expensive player leave the club. The big talking point of the summer for most United fans has been the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, the footballing sensation leaving for an amazing £80 million. Losing Ronaldo can only be seen as a huge blow to the team, there were many times last season when Ronaldo single handedly won them games and looked the best player in the world. However, £80 million is a lot of money even to a massive club like Manchester United and given Alex Ferguson’s track record of signings the money will almost certainly be well spent. So there are definitely two sides to the argument on the sale of Ronaldo, some fans are gutted at losing perhaps the best player in the world, whilst others believe the money will help Fergie strengthen his squad to be better than it was even with Ronaldo.

The strange thing is Ferguson has had no intention of spending the money this summer. Earlier in July Ferguson announced he had made all the signings he wanted to and was happy with the squad he had. The only really notable signings being Antonio Valencia from Wigan for £16 million and the surprise signing of Michael Owen on a free transfer from Newcastle. Fans are unlikely to believe that either of these players can fill Ronaldo’s boots.

Michael Owen is a world class forward when fit, the problem is he is hardly ever fit. Ferguson has taken a gamble on him but should Owen get injured United’s squad begins to look a bit bare. With the loss of loanie Carlos Tevez, United’s forward line is weaker than it was. Berbatov has not justified his big money move yet and Rooney will need to score a lot more goals if United want to win the title for the 4th season running. Ronaldo’s goalscoring will be sorely missed and some players will have to step up and fulfill their potential to help United lift more trophies this season.

Always strong at the back, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand will be hard to get past, there is no reason to expect any different.

The nucleus of the team has been kept but the holding core has been withdrawn, it is hard to see how this will not draw the other teams closer this year. This season may be one too many for United to win the title and without some more world class signings they may lose out.

Prediction 2nd

Portsmouth

What on earth has happened to this club? Last season talk was rife of massive foreign investment, rumours of an Arab takeover and even talk of Sven Goran Eriksson taking charge. Whilst this has failed to happen the club has hit a downward spiral, reporting massive debts and scrapping plans for stadium expansion, it is tough to see how the tide can turn.

The sale of Glen Johnson and Peter Crouch for a combined £26 million may seem acceptable but none of the funds have been invested in new players. With two star players gone it looks like this season will be a real struggle for Pompey. Fans are seething and with such a passionate following the club will be in for a rough ride should they not perform this season.

A shame perhaps because manager Paul Hart has done such a wonderful job since taking over, he has saved the club from almost certain relegation in the hands of Tony Adams. Portsmouth may just have enough in their ranks to survive this season but their future looks bleak and it probably will not be too long before they are relegated.

Prediction 16th

Stoke City

The heroes of last season return to fight again. Stoke were undoubtedly the overachievers of last year finishing a fantastic 12th having come up from the Championship the season before. Perhaps not the most beautiful football team to watch but they could not be criticized for their resilience and incredible home form. The Britannia Stadium was a fortress last year and if Stoke can repeat this then there is no chance of relegation.

Manager Tony Pulis was probably the manager of the season in the Premier League and although his tactics are not liked by many they get the results and at the end of the day that is all that matters.

Probably the least busy team in the transfer market this off-season, Stoke have only signed Sunderland’s Dean Whitehead for £3 million. The only sale being Seyi Olofinjana to Hull again for £3 million. This will not worry fans however as last years team has more than enough battling qualities in them to survive this league.

Stoke will look to capitalize from some poor sides down at the bottom this season, not just promoted teams but also the Hull’s and Portsmouth’s who really look set to struggle. Staying alive should be no problem for Stoke this year.

Prediction 13th

Sunderland

Sunderland fans should be buoyed by the signing of manager Steve Bruce. One of the best out their with mediocre teams on limited budgets Bruce could finally be the man to help Sunderland reach the heights their fans so desperately crave. With one of the best chairman in the game in Niall Quinn, there is no reason Sunderland cannot start to think about Europe in years to come.

Darren Bent is a great signing for Sunderland, a bit pricey at £16.5 million but he is a proven goalscorer anywhere he goes and guarantees you at least a few each season. Lorik Cana is again not cheap at £5.4 million but the former Marseille player could be a star of the future is he develops well.  Frazier Campbell has also been signed and fans will be hoping this former Manchester United youth starlet can fulfill his promise. Bruce does have the knack of picking out players of great potential, look at Antonio Valencia, Wilson Palacios and Amir Zaki all top class players who were found by Bruce.

Selling Michael Chopra, Dean Whitehead and Greg Halford will not set alarm bells ringing in the North East, Sunderland have done well to hang on to their main stars.

This is a big season fro Keiran Richardson, Manchester United’s academy product has always had the potential to be a quality player and certainly showed glimpses of that last season. If Bruce can get the best out of him then Sunderland will be a creative attacking force. Sunderland should also benefit from Bruce’s defensive knowledge making them a tough team to beat.

Relegation is not an issue that Sunderland will have to deal with but this is a building season and fans should be happy with a mid-table finish looking to push on next season.

Prediction 12th

The Problem With Manchester City

So you are a club who lose your last game of the season 8-1 against Middlesborough. Your manager has just been fired despite getting the club into Europe for the first time in five years. The club’s owner, who may be arrested for corruption, has expressed a desire to sell your club and your captain has voiced huge discontent at the whole situation.

This was Manchester City seven months ago. The club was in disarray and the future looked bleak for their fans.

When highly regaurded young manager Mark Hughes was hired the mood was lifted slightly. But there were still rumblings from skeptical fans who thought Hughes would not encourage his players to play good football. Hughes is a manager who was focused on physical aggression and assertiveness from his players during his time at Blackburn.

There was some light at the end of the tunnel though when Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited completed a takeover of Manchester City. This instantly made the club the richest in the world. Sadly, the deal was made on the transfer deadline day and the club only managed to sign one player Robinho who was previously on the verge of signing for Chelsea. This was a huge coup for the club and broke the British transfer record costing £32.5 million.

So, with a renewed confidence around the club the new season started but Man City have not set the league alight. They are currently hovering just two points above the relegation zone with nearly half the season gone.

With the transfer window opening again at the start of next month the press and the fans are already buzzing with transfer rumours. Sky Sports News reported yesterday that Man City had offered £128 million for Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Iker Casillas. A ludicrous amount perhaps but it is certainly money that the owners can afford to spend in abundance.

The problem is that Man City do not have the pulling power of the big four. They will struggle to attract the huge names they have been linked with such as Kaka and Messi because of the lower prestige of the club. Okay, they did sign Robinho from under Chelsea’s nose but the fact remains that money is not everything in football. Yes, it counts for a lot but Casillas has apparently rejected Man City and many of the big players will follow suit. The club is still considered to be a smaller club than the Premier League’s famous ‘big four’ of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. It is unlikely that players will reject the chance to play in the Champions League to play in the UEFA Cup for City.

It is hard to see how they can break into and establish themselves in the top four with such a high standard of football being set by the ‘big four’. The Man City revolution is not likely to have a big impact for a few seasons yet.

So maybe City should set their sights lower down. The huge European clubs will not sell their best players. Perhaps the likes of Lazio’s Pandev and Weder Bremen’s Diego should be main and realistic targets. It seems a waste of time chasing after players at the top clubs such as Barcelona and AC Milan but there are still great players with huge potential playing for smaller European Clubs.

Who knows if the owners are willing to be patient. Maybe they will get fed up without Champions League football and will sell the club on again. Only time will tell, but City fans should be a bit cautious in their glee. The future may not be as bright as the fans hope, they may not be challenging for the title even with the huge cash injection.