How Manchester United's dignity went out the door after Sir Alex Ferguson left Read more
Whoever
is to blame for the David de Gea shambles, and heaven knows there was
enough finger-pointing on Tuesday, the unseemly end to it all does not
reflect well on two of the world’s biggest clubs.
United, for their part, have neglected the goalkeeper situation for far too long. It was a problem waiting to happen.
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David de Gea's move to Real Madrid fell through after the paperwork wasn't submitted before the deadline
Manchester United completed the £36m signing of French Under 21 international Anthony Martial
Instead
of being seen to be strong in their dealings with Real Madrid, they are
left with a disillusioned player who will leave for free next summer,
United having failed to secure either a world-record £35million transfer
fee or Sergio Ramos in return.
Confirmation
of the collapse of De Gea’s move came hours before United confirmed the
signing of little-known French teenager Anthony Martial from Monaco in a
staggering deal that could be worth up to £58m, despite assertions from
Van Gaal that they would not panic buy.
No-one
saw it coming, least of all captain Wayne Rooney who was credited by
his manager at the weekend with having an input into everything from
team selection to the players’ dietary requirements.
United were linked with a move for Sergio Ramos, but he signed a new contract with Real Madrid
Manchester United's Ed Woodward with co-owner Avram Glazer (right) and Sir Bobby Charlton (left)
On
the flight home after United’s defeat at Swansea on Sunday, Rooney went
to France international Morgan Schneiderlin. ‘Wayne asked who Martial
was, because the English press had started to speak,’ said Schneiderlin
on Tuesday.
Both
issues have left United and their chief executive Ed Woodward facing
serious questions — and not for the first time in the two years since he
took over the role vacated by David Gill. The folly of allowing Gill to
leave at the same time as Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013 has been well
documented. Woodward, like David Moyes, was stepping into some very big
shoes.
Nor
would anybody suggest that United did not make mistakes in the market
before then. It is an unpredictable place. But there was a way of doing
business, a quiet dignity that reflected the club’s stature. But it is
one that seems to have been discarded in the past two years.
Sir Alex Ferguson once said that Manchester United identify their targets and do their business swiftly
New signing Memphis Depay in action for Manchester United in their defeat at Swansea on Sunday
‘We
try to identify players as quietly as we can and do the deals as
quickly as we can,’ Ferguson once said. Quickly and quietly are not
words you associate with United these days. ‘There is no value in the
transfer market’ was another Ferguson mantra at Old Trafford. Indeed,
eyebrows were raised when he eschewed United’s cautious approach to sign
Robin van Persie for £24m in 2012.
The
summer after he left United took the unusual step of identifying some
of their top targets — Cesc Fabregas, Thiago Alcantara and Leighton
Baines — and ended up with only Everton’s Marouane Fellaini for £27.5m,
£4m more than his buyout clause.
Then
there were the scattergun attempts to sign Fabio Coentrao and Sami
Khedira from Real Madrid in the final frantic minutes on deadline day,
and the bizarre sight of lawyers turning up at Spanish League HQ to
conclude a deal for Ander Herrera even though United had refused to meet
his £32m release clause at Athletic Bilbao.
Woodward’s
response was to shoot for the stars. Juan Mata arrived the following
January for £37.1m. United then spent a British record £59.7m on Angel
di Maria last summer, and stole the headlines in another last-day drama
by signing Radamel Falcao.
Angel di Maria signed for a British record £59.3m last year (left) but was moved on to PSG this summer (right)
Chelsea beat Manchester United to the signing of Barcelona's Spanish winger Pedro
Javier Hernandez joined Bayer Leverkusen after falling out of favour at Old Trafford
Falcao
and Di Maria have since gone along with Van Persie. Van Gaal insisted
that he had Javier Hernandez and Adnan Januzaj as back-up for striker
Wayne Rooney, but both left in the last 48 hours.
‘I
want to go back to feeling important and happy,’ said Hernandez after
joining Bayer Leverkusen for £12m, 24 hours after Di Maria admitted to
having a difficult relationship with Van Gaal.
United
began this transfer window well. Memphis Depay, Bastian Schweinsteiger,
Schneiderlin and Matteo Darmian all look like good signings in key
areas. But they have been undermined by the goalkeeper issue and glaring
gaps in attack.
Woodward
flew to Barcelona to sign Pedro but was gazumped by Chelsea. Now he has
splashed a world record fee for a teenager to land Martial. It’s a
high-stakes game, and one that United can ill afford to lose this time.
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