Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Thu Jan 09, 2014 5:44 pm
carl_spackler wrote:
Only if you're solely blaming Woodward. I'm simply saying that he should be included in any criticism of Moyes, as the root of the problems were not addressed in the summer, and from the outside it is impossible to know how much was down to which of the two so you can't really pick one out to criticise for it.
I don't remember the MDs of Manchester getting gushing praise for Man United's success over the years. I don't remember anyone praising Everton's MD for his work in keeping Everton in the PL. But when Man United hit the wall after appointing Moyes it's time to question the work of the main man behind the scenes? I just don't buy it.
But also don't forget that Fellaini had a release clause of about £22m at that stage, so they possibly would have had to. £17-18m for a 29-year-old Baines with Oviedo already there and a couple of months to spend the money could well have appealed a lot.
I think Everton losing a manager to Man United for nothing, plus losing their "best" player due to a release clause means they don't allow Baines to go unless there's an element of extra compensation for the other two.
I don't think Everton would have flogged Fellaini on the last day without Fellaini asking them to let him go. Don't forget Moyes's utterly pathetic "If I was still Everton manager and players were asking me to let them go to Man United I wouldn't be able to stand in their way".
Firstly, I'm not saying they should have signed Fellaini.
I do think that they had other players that they wanted before Fellaini but because they didn't happen they ended up grabbing him.
The level of doubt about them in the summer was huge, so IMO they needed to get some business done quickly to show that they were still (at least intent on being) top dogs. When they didn't, they effectively just strengthened the impression in prospective signings' minds that their star was on the fall, and the longer it went on the harder they were making it for themselves.
In the summer David Moyes was The Chosen One. Jose Mourinho was mortified about not getting the United job and spending all day calling the reception at Old Trafford and crying on the phone because they'd picked Moyes ahead of him.
There were doubting voices about Moyes. I always thought it was a terrible appointment and even I've been shocked about it turning out this bad. But most of the noises from Manchester were that they were happy that they'd got Moyes and they'd rejected Mourinho to get him.
Secondly, Manchester City showed how not spending comparatively much after a title win can blow up in your face. This time around they spent over £90m, Chelsea brought back Mourinho and spent £55-60m, Spurs £105m (albeit losing Bale), Liverpool about £50m and Arsenal bagged one of the players Man Utd should have been after for £42m. Having just lost the biggest asset at the club, the best player of his generation retiring, and arguably their best remaining player seeming to want out as well as age catching up with several others, if they genuinely didn't think they needed to spend big with the squad they had then they're morons.
When United sold Ronaldo to Madrid they pretty much banked the money and made do with small scale replacements.
If they're not willing to spend fees they get to replace an on field talent like Ronaldo then it's not likely they're going to be overly willing to spend 80m adding to a title winning team, especially when they've appointed a manager like Moyes who has virtually no experience of top level players.
And while Man United are utterly terrible right now, they are not anywhere near as bad as they look right now. I think they would have fully expected Moyes to deliver a problem free top 4 finish without any new signings.
Also, looking at things now, how much would missing the Champions League cost them? Along with the knock-on effect on recruitment/retention/transfer fees? Not spending enough last summer will cost them at least as much money IMO, whether it be directly in terms of prize money/CL revenue, or indirectly in having to offer bigger wages and clubs raising their prices as Man Utd get increasingly in need/desperate for quality players.
Daniel Levy was a genius before the season started with the awesome way he managed to spend the Bale money. Right now he's a moron because most of the money has been wasted and he's having to appoint Tim Sherwood as manager because AVB's been canned.
The only signing United made in the summer was Fellaini. According to most United fans opinions I've read, he's been a bust and simply not Man Utd standard. So they've possibly blown 10m on that wrong signing when loss and wages are considered.