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How Do You Solve a Problem Like Sir Alex?

Let me start by saying that this isn’t going to be a anger filled anti-Fergie tirade like the ones I have become famous for in the past.  Let’s just say that I may be in a small minority of fans who truly are not pleased with what has gone on this off-season with our transfer policies and actions.  And it’s time I had the forum to write about my concerns and discontent in the only way I know how, Grognard style.

 

Respect:

First off I have to set the record straight, I have the utmost respect and love for Sir Alex, for his 25 year tenure with the club and for all the greatness and success he has brought to the club.  But I am also a bloke who believes in two old school adages that go like this.  “What have you done for us lately?”  and “You’re only as good as your last game”.  And if I am to be honest with myself, I have to throw everything Fergie has done for us in the past out the window and concentrate on what he is doing with the club now and for the near future?

 

Transfer activity:

Bottom line is I am perhaps one of the few who is incredibly disappointed in our transfer actions , or inaction this summer and horrified that this club has yet to solve it’s two greatest problems or needs, the lack of a quality central midfield and finding a quality replacement for the useless and highly overrated Patrice Evra at LB.  And the key man in the decision making is of course the Boss.

Any day now we can all expect from Fergie the spirit crushing annual address to the media and fans where he will just come out and stoically say that United are done with their transfer business and that there will be no more new signings.  In the 90’s and early this century I had no real problem when Fergie would come out with that annual customary quote.  Why?  Because by the time that occurred United had truly concluded their off season business and bought all the players they wanted or needed.  That certainly is not the case these days.

These days, or should I say the past three years have seen us all go through very dry and unproductive summers, not coming close to getting our man or men in the transfer market. For three years the most lingering need and definitive requirement this club has needed to address is that of central midfield.  And for three years Fergie has neglected these needs and nothing has happened.  Yes, we still have time on the clock to buy somebody but honestly, how is one expected to purchase a world class midfielder or two when their signing and negotiating tactics used are archaic, and the penny pinching is borderline comical for a club that has just been named the richest in the world.   What a laugh!

Barcelona stack their already world class squad with a Sanchez and possibly even a Fabregas when they don’t even need him, and we are stuck naked out in the wind wondering how on Earth this club will reach the promise land again with no central midfielders of any quality and now no Paul Scholes?  I believe the transfer policy of this club is bordering on absurd.  Wesley Sneijder is too rich for our blood not because of the transfer fee, but because United do not want to match his wage demands.  If I am wrong with this assumption, then why is it Inter keep saying to United to make a move?  What has all the talk been about these past few weeks if both teams haven’t even talked?  It’s been about paying the player’s wages.  That’s a boardroom tactical issue for another time but right now my issue is with Fergie.

How long is the Boss going to go before he finally pulls the trigger in a serious manner on a quality central midfielder?  Sneijder, Schweinsteiger, Hamsik, Modric, Nasri and even Fabregas in theory are available for the right price.  Oh Spurs say Modric isn’t for sale but we all know that Daniel Levy talks from the side of his mouth.  Bottom line is it takes money to buy a world class midfielder who will substantially bridge the gap between us and Barcelona, not procrastination, haggling over pennies and the inability to move on a player before everyone else gets the scent.

 

You are only as good as your last game:

Fergie’s delaying and seemingly incredible lack of reality is mind blowing.  Where has all this denial come from?  As I stated earlier, “you’re only as good as your last game” and the last game we played we got humiliated and dissected by Barcelona in the biggest match of the year.  Twice this has happened in three years and for three years we have been waiting for the answer to our midfield questions and yes, why is Patrice Evra still our Left Back?

It would be far too easy to blame the Glazer’s for all of this and in the previous two years I’d say it was a valid statement, but this season the preseason had a different feel and vibe to it.  The rumours of cash to spend and promises made indicated that players were finally going to be bought, and they were.  We selected the goalkeeper we knew we had to buy due to van der Sar’s retirement, but please everyone explain to me why we would spend so much money on yet another winger and yet another center back, if after that was where we were going to stop?

For the record, I have no issues with Ashley Young or Phil Jones as they are quality players but honestly, is that the best use of our limited finances knowing full well that our central midfield is a shambles and that we have a albatross manning the left back position who is useless both in attack as well as defense?   With players like Coentrao and Baines out there, Fergie instead rewards incompetence with a new three year deal and continues to tolerate diminished return in the midfield rotating the likes of Anderson, Carrick, Fletcher, Gibson and Giggs while Barcelona spend money reloading for yet another free ride through the Champions League trophy. Let’s just say I am frustrated and fed up with Fergie’s inability and unwillingness to fix problems that have been as clear as day for quite a while now. Denial is not a river that runs through Egypt.  And the beat goes on.

Grognard.