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New plan to keep Wayne Rooney

Rooney ponders starting new scoring streakAlrighty then, another day…..another disappointment. No signings and a major rebuff from Barcelona who told Dave Moyes and company to lay off pursuing Cesc Fabregas. Take the hint boys and move on. So where do we go from here? Well we do need a midfielder but as far as I am concerned that boy will be Marouane Fellaini, it has to be, nobody else is coming. It’s time to see how serious Team Glazer is and how willing they are to splash the cash?

Just on the minuscule chance they are serious about offering Moyes “unlimited financial resources” this transfer window, just how far are they willing to go? Also, what is to become of Wayne Rooney? I have some suggestions that could work and one theory that allows United to keep Rooney and would make Wayne a happy camper.

We have failed in our attempts to get Thiago, Fabregas looks to also be the lost cause I predicted he would be. Instead of going after other sure signing failures like Gundogan, it’s time to pursue more realistic targets. Do I mean, Fellaini, Cabaye or can we expect the return of Paul Scholes (that one would not surprise me in the least)? No I will be bold and come across as a member of the lunatic fringe with this but I say we pursue Crisitano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale.

Just how serious are United and their owners? Well men, I have a cunning plan and a sure way to call the Glazer bluff once and for all. Cunning Plan one, you try for Gareth Bale because he has the greatest chance of failure. Offer Spurs 60 million and wait and see. MADNESS? Well before you start spitting at your screens just hear me out. Spurs GM Daniel Levy came out today and placed a 103 million pound price tag on Bale to ward off Real Madrid once and for all. Of course we cannot, will not and should not spend that kind of money on a player who is excellent but is hardly God. But fear not, that price was put there as a scare tactic. Spurs don’t want to sell and they know that when push comes to shove, Bale isn’t that eager to go to Madrid. What Bale is waiting for and hoping for is that Manchester United makes a serious attempt to obtain his services.

How do we secure Gareth Bale then? Well if the rumours are true and Bale fancies a move to United than all it would take is a bid resembling the player’s true value. I put that value at around 60 million pounds. The clincher here is that if Bale wants to come to United he and his agent will say so to Spurs and force them into action. We know better than anyone that trying to keep a player who wants to be elsewhere is not a good nor is it a healthy thing for a team to be dealing with, especially when his contract hasn’t got long to go. If Bale is insistent, then Spurs will have no choice. This is the same tactic we used to get Dimitar Berbatov, Robin van Persie and even Wayne Rooney. None of these players were for sale but we got them because all of them were highly interested in playing for the League’s best club.

Bale scores v United at OT 2012Bale is no different. Yes he will cost way more but as he has improved dramatically over the past few years, I can say without reservation, he is worth 60 million. So I would have a go at trying to get him. Wait to see Bale’s reaction and go from there. If Bale does not insist on a move, then it’s off to cunning plan B. Bale is a British born lad. Most British born lads dream of playing for a club like United the way German lads dream of Bayern Munich and Spanish speaking lads dream of Madrid or Barcelona. Believe it or not, for once we are in an advantageous high leverage position, should we choose to utilize it.

Cunning Plan B is no less audacious in nature and in line with United’s latest pursuits for the seemingly unattainable. The difference is that Cristiano Ronaldo may very well be attainable, for the right price. We all no that Ronny’s heart lies at Old Trafford. He may have become a football God while playing for Real Madrid but his time there has been an unhappy one. He has never felt the love or respect from the supporters, his peers or from management. Above all, he is incensed at the amount of money he is losing in brand name and number rights to Madrid. Financial issues perhaps but his feeling of no support in his battle with Lio Messi for hearts and minds have left him disenchanted and disheartened. No matter what he does, it’s just not good enough in Spain.

I believe Ronaldo would come back to United if they made the bold commitment to get him. A bid would trigger intent and thus force Ronaldo and his agent to demand a transfer. Again I believe the cost would be around 60 million pounds, maybe a bit more but for God’s sake, if there was ever a player who was worth twice that much, it’s Ronaldo. A phone call from friends like Rio Ferdinand and especially Sir Alex Ferguson I feel would urge him out the door. The bottom line is he has wanted to go for a while. Why do you think he has refused to sign a new contract for over a year now?

If 60 million still isn’t enough for Madrid and they are willing to do a Lewandowski like Dortmund and keep him, then perhaps offering Wayne Rooney and say 50 million might do the job. Madrid needs another striker now that they have sold Gonzalo Higuain to Napoli. If they feel they can outlast Barcelona with only Karim Benzema, they are sadly mistaken. So before they go after an Ibrahimovich, we should offer them Rooney, who I know Carlo Ancelotti covets.

Another more intriguing scenario would be to buy Ronaldo for the 60 million+ and then not sell Wayne Rooney. You see, for the past two years Rooney has been a problem. Many people feel he is being selfish and greedy and all he wants is more money. I disagree. I feel that Rooney’s lone sin has been his ambition for silverware and the feeling that many of us struggling supporters have that United are not doing enough in the transfer market. Yes he is also unhappy about being moved around and also benched for RVP, but hear me out for a second. Rooney would gladly play Attacking midfielder or Right Attacking Midfielder if he knew the club he was playing for was stacked with talent or especially if they added that one star talisman that would put them over the top and make them contend in Europe once again. Gareth Bale could do that but Cristiano Ronaldo would guarantee that. Ronaldo and Rooney are friends. Imagine what kind of a message acquiring a Ronaldo would send to a malcontent like Rooney? He would have to be the dumbest whack job ever born if he still wanted a transfer. Then again he is Wayne Rooney, nuff said.

I really feel that being bold in the transfer market is not a bad thing. But one has to be smart about it to. It’s all about knowing which targets are the most willing to come to your club and which teams are the most willing to sell when push comes to shove. Barcelona is not a team that can be bullied to sell. They don’t need the money and in the case of Cesc Fabregas, they have an asset they cannot afford to let go, especially having allowed Thiago to slip away due to a contractual fubar. United should have been smarter than to pursue this hopeless cause. You all know my reasoning for their pursuit but I won’t go into that again. Suffice it to say, they need to stay ambitious but they need to target attainable players. If it’s just a case of money then Ronaldo, Bale, Ibrahimovich, De Rossi, Fellani, Modric and others are out there ready to be had. No real obstacles exist when a player wants to come and insists on it to his present club.

MAKE IT SO DAVE. Force the hand of Team Glazer. Lets see if their promise to you was just a bluff or not. Go after Ronaldo or Bale and watch Wayne Rooney fall in line and beg forgiveness to all for his past trespasses.?It’s like getting two players in one deal. Ronaldo or Bale and a rejuvenated and highly motivated Rooney.

In closing I offer this message to Team Glazer. To make money, you need to spend money. Fergie is gone and so is his magic. This club needs an injection of new high priced talent if you expect this club to maintain the marketing allure and revenue stream it has had up to now. Allow this club to slide due to your inability and unwillingness to spend, and the revenue machine will start to squeak and skip a track until it derails completely like Liverpool. Your competitors are working overtime to dethrone your club once and for all. Now is not the time to slowly and cheaply retool with reserves. Manchester United has been top dog for twenty-five years now. We do not rebuild, we do not retool, WE RELOAD. That’s a warning and good advise all in one. Take it as you see fit or do us all a favour and sell the club to somebody who cares about the tradition of excellence, the product on the pitch as well as me and the millions of other supporters who have had just about enough of this dog and pony show. That’s my cunning plan. Hope that Baldrick is proud of me. It was either this or the use of really large turnip (see Blackadder for reference).

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