Ferguson Needs To Buy Time

Written by RobT | 10 November 2009

By now, you’ve probably noticed I have a slight bias towards Manchester United. I like how they play football, and their squads tend to have the right balance of experience, youth, flair and grit. They move the ball well, but are prepared to scrap for points too.

However, like many predictions I have made, my feeling that Manchester United would win ugly appears to be less accurate. It seems to me that Carlo Ancelotti is bringing a new challenge, someone unusual. Basically, Ancelotti doesn’t seem all that keen on butting heads with Ferguson and is pretty much playing his own game.

With Chelsea’s transfer ban now suspended, it will be interesting to see what they do in January. The flaw in their plan is that two of their key players (Essien and Drogba) are going to be out for several weeks and most likely a couple of months at the African Nations cup.

Whilst Kalou and Obi Mikel are also going there, I think it would be a very generous pundit that would consider them key players. They’re useful members of a squad, but in Mikel’s case he has the unfortunate habit of not being Michael Essien and Kalou is similar to Babel and Kuyt in that I’m still not certain what his best position is and whether he truly adds enough to the team.

If the rumours are true and Chelsea do get in someone  like Aguerro, then this will give them an edge equal to the psychological advantage of being five points clear of Manchester United.

Equally defiant of my faulty crystal ball have been Arsenal. Far from missing Toure and Adebayor, they appear to have become a far more solid team. While it’s unlikely they will ever have that invincible aura again, it’s good to see Vermalen add a bit of grit to the North London smoothness.

This is where I come back to Ferguson – he has received a record amount of money for Cristiano Ronaldo, and quietly let Tevez go. Seeing Manchester City’s recent run of draws, it is arguable that neither Wenger nor Ferguson are having sleepless nights about who they sold on to them. While they lost quality players, they also lost unwanted headlines, unnecessary speculation and dressing room unrest. Their long careers owe a lot to being able to see the bigger picture.

However, the bigger picture for Ferguson is that at some point you have to stop. You don’t want to become the football equivalent of Tommy Cooper – the comedian who died live on stage at the London Palladium.  He could have stopped when he won the treble, but in hindsight he also went on to over see another golden period.

Ferguson’s team is crying out for an equivalent of Torres or Drogba, someone who will give Rooney the freedom he needs to perform, will give scraps for Owen to feed off, who will give Berbatov the kick in the pants to up his game. While Obertan, the Silvas, Ben Foster, Kiko Macheda and Wellbeck may be champions of the future, Ferguson is not a patient manager.

Recent rumours have pointed towards David Villa. Given that Valencia need the money, now is the perfect time to get in there. While Villa has expressed a reluctance to leave Spain, I would argue his options are limited – Real Madrid don’t need him, Barcelona were dumb enough to trade Eto for Ibrahimovich and have an embarrassment of attacking options.

The other problem has been recent struggles have dredged up old discontent towards the Glazers. In fairness to them, they have spent when they needed to and have been sensible enough (unlike Hicks and Gillett) to stay out of the newspapers. However, if results continue to slip up questions will be asked and will have to be answered.

While it is heresy to suggest Ferguson’s position is under threat (and good luck to whoever tries to get his “consent”) there can only be so many excuses and scapegoats.

This is where Real Madrid have a point (though I won’t go into the fact they’re effectively government owned) – a star player brings the money that keeps you at the top, the excitement generated with the fans adds to the atmosphere and then the news stories about ticket prices and dressing room discontent go strangely quiet.

In short, Manchester United have to be bold – Chelsea’s older players are determined to have their careers go out on a high, smaller clubs start sensing they’re more vulnerable and play with more confidence. Pay now, or pay later.

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