Fergie's raw deals
By Wang Meng Meng
November 13, 2005
FIRST, the good news: Sir Alex Ferguson has been promised money to spend when the transfer window re-opens in January.
And now, the bad news.
What in the name of Zeus is he going to buy with just 10 million ($28m) guaranteed by the Glazers?
That could get you approximately one and a half Peter Crouchs. Or maybe Ronaldinho's used boots on eBay.
Jokes aside, perhaps Sir Alex Ferguson's transfer kitty will only provoke Jose Mourinho into saying 'mine is bigger than yours'.
But like all good managers, they have to cut the cloth as they see fit and no amount of whining will get the new owners to dole out more cash from their handbags.
Or maybe he will beseech the Americans. Though it is highly unlikely that we will see Fergie on his knee-pads begging Malcolm G to add a few more zeros to the cheque.
As the Scotsman surveys his squad, currently fourth in the Premiership, 10 points behind Chelsea and their European hopes in the balance, uppermost on his list of priorities is to find a decent left-back and a strong central midfielder.
Gabriel Heinze, a revelation at Old Trafford since his arrival last season, is expected to be out for the rest of the season after busting his cruciate ligaments earlier against Villarreal in the Champions League.
Roy Keane, the man who breathed fire into the Red Devils' erratic campaign with a well-timed tirade at his team-mates, is not expected to last forever at the age of 34.
Expensive experiments with Eric Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson and Liam Miller have floundered.
Even though Alan Smith was voted Man of the Match in the skipper's role against Chelsea, we have not seen enough to be absolutely sure that he is The Special One.
Also, with Paul Scholes' form sinking to new depths, maybe the manager would be looking to replace the ginger-haired one as well.
Another big problem is: Who wants to do business with the Red Devils?
Premiership clubs with title aspirations will not want to sell, unless for a ridiculous fee.
That will probably rule out a move for Bolton's Kevin Nolan, whose current form suggests that he is an England midfielder in the making.
Now that the size of Fergie's transfer kitty has been leaked to the press, you can expect clubs to inflate the valuation of their players once the Scotsman comes a-calling.
West Ham left-back Paul Konchesky at 10m. Any takers?
Fergie is a known admirer of Bayern Munich's Michael Ballack but with the German club still in contention for the Champions League, Man U ought to be looking elsewhere.
Where does that leave the poor devil?
Nothing much, really.
He can scour the Coca Cola Championship for some bargain buys but who was the last good player that emerged from that Division?
Probably only Jermaine Jenas can claim to have made such an impact in the last five years.
A more possible target would be Ian Harte.
Remember him?
The former Leeds left-back with that wicked free-kick just cannot wait to get out of his pain in Spain with relegated Levante.
Celtic have shown but not followed up on their interest and that leaves the door wide open for Man U to make their move. Provided they see Harte as an ideal stop-gap solution.
Ditto Thomas Gravesen, who can be offered a lifeline out of Real Madrid as Wanderley Luxemburgo aims to import the entire Brazilian national team into the Bernabeu.
Lest we forget, the Hairdryer's recent record in the transfer market is not one to be be proud of.
For every Heinze, there is Kleberson.
For every Ruud van Nistelrooy, there is a Diego Forlan.
For every ... you get the idea.
His recruits this season, Edwin van der Sar and Park Ji Sung, have been smash hits so far but Fergie will be under intense pressure to deliver two quality signings on such a tight budget.
It will be the title or the Champions League.
Or else...
only 10 million?
i find that as good as no money.
10M?? that's double of what bolton can do now
Matthew taylor from portsmouth
papa bouba diop from fulham
Gravesen from real
10m is enough.
10 million they have to wait for chelsea to finish everything before they bid.