How Manchester United betrays itself by claiming to be a big club
Somebody needs to tell Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward that transactions speak louder than words.
The investment banker turned soccer chairman last week made the rousing, and very deliberate, claim that Man Utd can still compete with Europe’s elite in the transfer market, even suggesting they could break the transfer world record this summer.
“It’s within our capabilities,” Woodward asserted while on tour with United in Los Angeles. “Are we afraid of doing that? No. The reality is that we’re not afraid of spending significant amounts of money in the transfer market.”
But by trying to sell Manchester United as a big club, Woodward’s words almost had the opposite effect, like a scrawny kid with low self-esteem pleading that they should be taken seriously in an arm wrestle.
Of course, the capture of Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw for close to a combined £60-million shouldn’t be underplayed. Both will be fine players for Manchester United, with clear roles to fill in the lineup, but Louis Van Gaal will be well aware that much more is needed before the start of the new season.
Woodward’s insistence came just days after Real Madrid had confirmed the signing of James Rodriguez, the Colombian rumored to have been a transfer target for United.
Did Man Utd really stand any chance of luring Rodriguez—the shining star of the World Cup—to Old Trafford with Real Madrid in the reckoning? No, they did not. The same goes for Toni Kroos, who was only ever going to choose one destination when the Bernabeu became a viable option.
Despite what Woodward says, United can’t compete with the Clasico giants, or Bayern Munich, in the transfer market. But that’s okay, because that’s something Man Utd have had to deal with long before the ill-fated David Moyes era. It’s something that (for once) can’t be pinned on Woodward.
United were somewhat powerless in their efforts to prevent their best player in a generation—Cristiano Ronaldo—leaving for Real Madrid. And this was at a time when the Old Trafford club was at the peak of their powers, having won two league titles and reached two Champions League finals in as many seasons.
The Clasico rivals—Real and Barcelona—have the pick of the Premier League’s, and Europe’s, best talent every season. Last year they plucked Gareth Bale from Spurs, and this year they took Luis Suarez.
And when it comes to rivaling Spain’s dominant duo in the transfer market, English soccer simply can’t compete. Yet Woodward should harbor scant concern over this.
How many genuinely world-class players have United signed over the past decade? Perhaps Dimitar Berbatov and Robin Van Persie come closest to such a definition, but it’s not in Man Utd’s persona as a club to challenge Real and Barca for the very best, top-tier talent.
That may need to change. Life after Sir Alex Ferguson has left Man Utd just the same as every other big-spending, manager-firing elite club. The man who once made them different is no longer there, and United must adjust accordingly.
For starters, the Glazers’ grip no longer seems so tight on the Man Utd transfer purse strings. The club’s controlling family should never be allowed to forget the summer they sold Ronaldo for a world-record £80-million, then signed Antonio Valencia, Michael Owen and Gabriel Obertan to replace him.
With the retirement of Ferguson, the Glazers have lost their buffer between the boardroom and the fans. The frailty of United’s squad has been brutally exposed and at a club whose brand is based on being the best, that will not do.
Over £120-million has been spent on four players in the past year (Marouane Fellaini, Juan Mata, Herrera and Shaw) trying to make up for lost time in the transfer marker, but United should be wary of spending money for the sake of it. There’s no better way to undermine your big-club credentials.
Context should perhaps be applied to Woodward’s comments. He probably meant that United operate without a budget. That if the right player becomes available, they will pay the required fee to get him. Even if it came out wrongly, that was likely the essence of Woodward’s words.
But it did reveal a certain unfamiliar insecurity about Manchester United at the moment. Are the Red Devils still a big club? When the chief executive has to publically clarify that they are maybe it’s time to consider that question.