On Saturday I published a comparison between Manchester United and Tesco. Hey presto! What appears in the Financial Times today? A comparison between the Red Devils and Tesco.
I can’t decide whether it’s a case of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery or great minds think alike, in this case the Pink Un’s Sporting Life columnist Matthew Engel. The content is actually rather different from my article: it’s a well written but somewhat humourous piece.
On Saturday I published a comparison between Manchester United and Tesco. Hey presto! What appears in the Financial Times today? A comparison between the Red Devils and Tesco.
I can’t decide whether it’s a case of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery or great minds think alike, in this case the Pink Un’s Sporting Life columnist Matthew Engel. The content is actually rather different from my article: it’s a well written but somewhat humourous piece.
Engel’s take home message is that he wouldn’t bet on United being in the top four at the end of the season. If that does turn out to be the case, which is the conclusion one could reach from ‘reading off’ from early results, it would be a real concern as the Champions League is a key income stream but, more importantly, it provides the prestige and profile that sponsors demand.
Football is in many ways a confidence game and it was United, for all their talent, who looked a bit edgy and fearful at Turf Moor. Yet they have splashed the cash. It’s just over 100 days since Van Gaal was appointed manager and in that time their net spend on players has been £149m.
That figure may look a little smaller after movements out today. With only £15.8m recouped through sales, the club is anticipating some more departures before the transfer deadline tonight.
Even so, it is over £60m more than the net spend of Arsene Wenger in 18 years as Arsenal manager. It comfortably exceeds the net spend of Rafa Benitez during his six years as Liverpool boss, even though he was not slow to make transfer deals. It’s not far short of the aggregated total of Jose Mourinho, a compulsive big spender, in his two spells in charge at Chelsea,
Van Gaal has urged the Glazer family to give him time. He said, ‘I think you can only judge after one season and not in weeks or months. I think we have to rebuild a team and that takes time.’ Meanwhile, a win could come in handy, but the international break now intervenes. Whether the formation he has adopted is the right one given the players he has remains a matter of intense debate.
Meanwhile, we can get ready for transfer deadline day frenzy. The final race will be triggered by the now traditional ceremony of Harry Redknapp winding down his car window. Radio 5 will be running a special transfer deadline day programme this evening.