Why fans are screaming for marquee signing?

Is it really necessary? Truth to be told, a big section of loyal and die hard Manchester United fans know it, marquee signing or not does not really matter.

 

What really matter is how Manchester United goes from here with David Moyes. The squad that he inherited from Sir Alex Ferguson is a title winning squad – fact. In this squad we have players who have “done it” so many times. Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick, the evergreen Ryan Giggs as well as – Wayne Rooney!! These are the veterans of the squad, those who have “seen it, done it”. Adding to this you have players like Nani, Anderson, Rafael da Silva who have at least one (or more) medals, and who have contribute their fair share in Manchester United’s march towards 20 league titles. Therefore the core of the squad is strong, experienced, and “battle-hardened”, not to mention hungry for more success. They know the up and down of a title run, for example winning the 20^th title or losing on the last minutes on goal differences to Manchester City the year before. Even “newbies” like David de Gea, Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverly or Ashley Young can sense the opportunity to add to their medal counts! It is not surprising that David Moyes stated that even if he wins his “first trophy for Manchester United – the FA Community Shield”, it will be Fergie’s trophy – because it’s Fergie’s team to start with. He (David Moyes) should be judge on the next silverware!

 

The fact that this is a title winning squad means that only minor “tweaking” is necessary, not wholesale changes. As Sir Alex Ferguson had done before many times, his famous answer would be “we have a great squad with a great attitude, good depth and mixture of youth and experienced players, why need to change a winning squad drastically?” Fergie further added that it is the current players in the squad that is responsible for maintaining Manchester United’s motivations and hunger for more success.

 

With Paul Scholes retiring and Darren Fletcher undergoing rehabilitation means that only the midfield areas are in need of some reinforcement. Even without any new arrivals in this area the current squad is more than capable of compensating the gap. Players like Phil Jones for example can play in the midfield. He has done it with great effect during Fergie’s time. Even the da Silva twins are capable of midfield roles as all these three players have one thing in common, they are young and capable enough to learn and adapt to more than one position. And with younger and upcoming players like Adnan Januzaj or Davide Petruci, the “creative” part of the midfield areas should also have adequate covers. In addition there are players like Danny Welbeck being used for specific roles in certain important games (vs Real Madrid). In the modern games and in big clubs, unless you are a “Ronaldo or Messi” type, younger players with the willingness to learn and play for the team would stand a better chance of succeeding (Danny Welbeck would be a good example). The thing with younger players is that the manager needs to give them the opportunity, not just to play but also to make mistakes. It is those who can learn from their mistakes that has what it takes to progress into better players. It is up to David Moyes’ ability as a manager and coach to bring these players into his system.

 

Marquee signing is therefore more necessary from commercial and “section fans” perspectives. It is also more important for David Moyes, having taken over the reign of the biggest football club in the world, to show that he has the necessary pulling power to attract star players. To be fair David Moyes has just taken over the hottest seat in the footballing world, it will take at least one full season for anybody who has (or wants to have) a say of whether he is the right man for a job with such big expectation.

 

Die hard Manchester United fans like us here have faith in the system and the culture that the club has put in place. We do get excited when reading or hearing news of players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, or even Cesc Fabregas linking to an Old Trafford switch but at the same time we also believe that every player has a limit to their values (transfer fees) and should not be over-rated. We remember Juan Sebastian Veron and Dimitar Berbatov, and we also remember Rio Ferdinand, Ruud Van Nisterooy and even Wayne Rooney!

 

While waiting excitedly for more incoming transfers there is one player named in the transfer gossips linking to Manchester United – Daniele de Rossi (never mind his age – remember Robin Van Persie?)