The Man Utd and Madrid Merry-Go-Round

The Grass is Always Greener, Eh?

'Tis the stuff the tabloids thrive on: the latest round of player swaps and transfer market speculation concerning these two European titans has Real president, Ramon Calderon, professing the club's "obsession" with signing Wayne Rooney for upwards of 80 million pounds.

Meanwhile, Madrid's other 80 million pound, former Man Utd man does not seem to enjoy heading the Madristas. In what has been a subpar season so far (the recent CL exit to Lyon, coupled with the ignomious defeat fourth division Alcorcon in the Copa del Rey to name but a few low lights), the squad, which was supposed to be invincible following the 250 million pound summer outlay on new personnel (C. Ron, Kaka, Alonso, etc. quickly add up), has been dutifully cut down to size as quickly as they were built up by the Spanish media.

When contrasted with Manchester's recent successes and C. Ron's continued affection for his former colleagues, it is not hard to see why number 9's eye may rove back in the direction of the northwest.

And, not to be outdone, Fergie is playing on the seeds of discontent by asserting that the final chapter of Ronaldo's Red Devils career may not yet be written. In the end, my money's on Sir Alex. Ronaldo, Rooney, Calderon and all the others are just the bit players, where SAF is the star actor/director/producer in world football.

And he will always pull the strings.

United's Young Guns

Not too long ago I was bemoaning the failing, flailing underperformers at Man Utd (Scholsey, Berbatov, Carrick...). But all was not lost as today's 5-0 thrashing of Wigan proved in spades.

United's play was marked by a fluidity and crispness that has been lacking from many of their recent performances. The architects of this improvement were none other two young Red Devils, 16 million pound man Antonio Valencia (himself a former Wigan player) and Rafael da Silva.

Valencia's pace and vision proved too much on the night as he set up three goals and scored the fifth himself for good measure. While Rafael provided Rooney with a wonderful service (leading to his 14th league goal) and scored the third to boot. Even Berba got his scoring on...for the first time since Halloween, but still! Old Trafford faithful rejoice!

P [dot] S Who'da thunk it? Ronaldo misses Man Utd, though you shouldn't expect a reunion anytime soon. And the way Valencia's playing perhaps Old Trafford soon won't be missing him as much. He is SIR Alex Ferguson for a reason, you know....

Miserable Man Utd

In the past, Femme-Football has been cautiously optimistic about Man Utd's future without Cristiano Ronaldo. SAF obvi has this whole Premier League management thing pretty much down. But just as the Reds are suffering from not having found an adequate replacement for Alonso, so are United in regards to their former talisman.

But it's more than that, if Saturday's game at Craven Cottage showed anything, it was Manchester's stunning lack of depth at the back. Because of injuries, Sir Alex had to switch to his less-preferred 3-5-2 line-up and the results were disastrous. Moreover, even at full fitness, the partnership between Ferdinand and Vidic, which, in title-winning years past, has been solid, seems to be suffering under the weight of Rio's declining form (bad news for both England and Man Utd).

Speaking of declining form, it seems time that Paul "I Never Met a Tackle I Didn't Like" Scholes hang up his professional boots. Actually, it's long overdue. While Ryan Giggs relishes in adjusting his play to the reality of his potential, and has been justly rewarded another Old Trafford extension, the pace of the game has just gotten away from Scholesy, and he doesn't seem willing or able to remodel his pugnacious play based on his physical limitations. Which wouldn't be so bad, if his errors didn't often lead to wide open opposition scoring opportunities deep in the United half (witness Danny Murphy's goal in Fulham's win).

Man Utd in Trouble?

In happier, title winning times.

Maybe not trouble, but a Nathan Lowe article points to some troubling personnel problems.

Nani is no Beckham, Berbatov is no Van Nistelrooy, and no one is the next Ronaldo, who, Lowe points out, is "the difference between United's last three winning seasons and now."

While Fletcher and Carrick endeavor admirably, Scholes and Giggs have slowed understandably and there has been no midfield player sufficiently skilled to drive play in their places.

United lacks an irresistable attacking force. Actually, to be honest, they lack anything that resembles attacking fluidity and tend to rely on capitalizing on chances that they luck into, which can work for a while with players like Rooney and Vidic, but will do little in the ways of guaranteeing hardware at the end of the season. Add to that defensive frailties and a retiring number one keeper and major titles next season look even less likely.

So, while Ferguson has ruled out big signings in the January window, the question is: can he afford to do so over the summer signing period? Or will Valencia and Obertan et al have to develop alongside a new big name?