NO MORE ARRIVALS AT UNITED, OWEN IS THE NEW NO.7!

When Sir Alex brought Owen to United, surely every United fan must have thought that the boss was not done yet...he went on to sign a little known French kid, Gabriel Obertan, and you can bet that nobody expected Fergie to stop there. The press went ahead to link all sorts of players to United and even today the likes of Douglas Costa are still being rumoured to come to OT, but after presenting the trio of new signings at the club today, Sir Alex has confirmed that United will not be signing anyone else. We still have over a month left in the transfer window but United fans must start picturing a campaign with the current crop of players.

My opinion: Manchester United will be significantly weaker next season especially if they retain the same system but we cannot say that our rivals will be much stronger. There is a big chance that the many of the players will be liberated by the departure of Ronaldo and that we might benefit from having a predator in the box for the first time since the days of RVN. Michael Owen has a lot to prove and that could work heavily in our favour. We might just be as prolific as we were last season so there is no point in writing off United just yet. Trust Fergie to maintain the pride of United!

The boss also spoke about the transfer fees that sky rocketed this summer. I must admit, when in a hundred years Historians and are studying about the current economic recession, it will not go unnoticed that football was not affected. There was considerable pressure on Ferguson to bring in a big-name player after the departure of Ronaldo but I was against it if it was for the sake of spending the 80m we got from Madrid. The gaffer has said that we'll not waste the money and I'm fully behind him--wait till the prices are reasonable and then get more bargains. We've hardly touched that money and I hope that some can even finance our debt.

Lastly but not least, Tevez is a Bitter! He looks bitter alright!

GOING INTO THE WEEKEND...

We're heading into our final boring weekend as far as 'no summer football' is concerned but there are bits of news that need to be touched on.

Firstly, Sky released the final kick-off times for clubs till November and not surprisingly, United have no 3 o'clock kick-offs on Saturdays. There is something about watching United that gets Sky so excited....anyway we have most of our games late on Saturday or early on Sunday! They have denied us Saturday early kick-offs, but you can be sure that when the Champions League gets us tired, we shall have them! So much for fairness!
The big news though is that we'll start, like last season, on a Sunday!

Benzema tells the press and United what they already know..he snubbed us. If I were him, I'd tread softly!
The players returned for pre-season training this week and it was nice to see some of the lads back in business. Owen was in the mix too!
As far as transfers are concerned, Huntelaar, Eto'o, Ibrahinovic are all linked to United while another paper claims Berbatov will make way for Aguero! Quite simply, Not gonna happen!

IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK...

Apparently, United have signed 20 year old winger Gabriel Obertan from Bordeaux. Not much is known about him so he is one of those players we shall have to wait and see what he's made of.
This policy of bringing in young players at United keeps me hoping that Fergie still has a fairly long future at United. I doubt he's building anything for somebody else.

The press claims that United are in the hunt for Huntelaar, I'm not so sure he's the player we'll need after signing Owen.
It's indeed a slow week as far as transfers are concerned. Watch out for Douglas Costa and another surprise form the Gaffer.

Oh and by the way CR9 was unveiled at Real on Monday.

NOW HOW ABOUT THAT! OWEN IS A UNITED PLAYER!

Just so you get the picture here. don't be surprised when one day Wes Brown, in his last moments before retiring signs for Liverpool, and you heard it here first!

So Fergie's second signing is the shock transfer of the summer--well, I must say I was more shocked when Ronaldo joined Real, even though it was a public secret that he would eventually.
Anyhow, Ive already explained my feelings on this transfer in an earlier article so I won't dwell much on it, I'm just wondering how he passed the medical, I mean with such an injury record, you think that the vigorous United medical would keep him out, but it seems the manager badly wanted him anyway..and what Sir Alex feels is good for United, then it is good for United!
If this gamble pays off for United, then I'll worry more about the future of the club when Fergie calls it a day! I mean which other Manchester United manager would have the ** to sign a former Liverpool star, and a Newcastle United reject--no A CHAMPIONSHIP CLUB'S REJECT! Only Sir Alex can do that! ONLY HIM!

AM I DREAMING OR IS THIS LAD ABOUT TO SHARE A DRESSING ROOM WITH NEVILLE!

As much as I know I'm conscious while blogging this, I'd rather hope that this one of those dreams where I get to sleep walk and actually do some 'real' stuff, like blogging!

Regular readers of this blog know that I'm not the kind who will comment about every rumour in the transfer market. In fact I usually get going when United players to be are having their medicals.
I was ready to sleep over the whole Michael Owen story(just like I did to the one of Torres earlier) when I turned on Sky Sports News and red the breaking news---MICHAEL OWEN AT MANCHESTER UTD'S TRAINING GROUND!

I mean WTF?!*#?

Scott http://www.blogger.com/www.THEREPUBLIKOFMANCUNIA.COM explains in detail 29 year old's history and why he's one of those players United fans ought to hate. One goal he celebrated after scoring against us for Liverpool still irks me and here we are about to witness the lad hugging sworn enemy of to the Dippers Captain Gary Neville! Will he be happy to have vermin in our squad?

From another point of view, Sir Alex could be putting himself in a win-win situation. I mean Owen is free, it's a pay as you play contract and it's only 50k, which is by no means close to our top earners. It's only for a year too. I mean, aside the intense rivarly we fans create that extends to players, Fergie has nothing to lose. Fergie cannot let whatever history Owen has against United get in the way of his plans to buy players that can collectively help United hold on to at least their league title. If Sir Matt, the Godfather of Manchester United, once coached the Bitters, if Law once scored a painful goal for City against us and yet he's a United legend, then why not Owen at United? Besides, considering how the Liverpool fans are taking this, I think I'm feeling quite better. They seem to be hurt deeply! And these are the same fans that were excited at the prospect of Tevez playing for them next year!

I still hope I'm dreaming though!

VALENCIA ARRIVES, RONALDO DEAL DONE!

So whilst one player revels at the fact that he will be playing at the biggest club in the world, another leaves in hope of the same. Such is the irony in football.
In the past 36 hours or so, United have announced the signing of Antonio Valencia on a 4 year deal for an undisclosed fee. He's the first of 2 or three signings that the club hopes to make during the summer and I think he's a good buy. Forget all the comments from those thinking he'll replace Ronaldo because he won't but I think he'll suit the 4-4-2 formation that Fergie is most likely to use next season. You see to replace Ronaldo, the lad would have to be given all the freedom that Ronaldo was given. I mean Ron started games on the right, then switched left and usually ended in the middle. Valencia is essentially a right winger (though I've seen him play in the middle as well) so his job is cut out. He's one of those players you can accuse of being out of position but you cannot accuse Ronaldo for that unless you find him defending--and yet we also wanted him to help out defensively.
Anyhow, I think this buy is more of a liberation top Wayne Rooney. I mean he's the one who has been pleading for his central role once more and so this signing means that he will no longer be needed on the wings. We've now got Nani, Park and Valencia who can do the jobs on the wings. Even Fletcher and Hargreaves know a thing or two about wing-play. The transfer window has officially opened for Manchester United!

THE HOLIDAYS ARE FINALLY OVER!

This is the week that I've been waiting for since the end of last season. I knew that sooner or later, the journalists would get fed up of referring to the Champions League final and start 'making' their own news in the name of transfer speculation. Come to think of it, it's funny how some of these papers had quotes from players who were God knows where on this planet.
This week however, the majority will return to their clubs for pre-season and you think that if anything like a transfer is going to happen, it will. We can now get things moving faster.

The press has wasted no time at all. Antonio Valencia is already being rumoured to have flown in last night for a medical at Old Trafford! Right now, I'd think that United fans would welcome any news like that given the club's silence as far as arrivals are concerned. I mean just about every player thinks Madrid are in for the treble next year so they want to be a part of it. That means that if your scouts are not up to the mark, there is pretty much no business going to be done this summer. This is where I think Fergie is coming form. I mean the likes of Evra, Vidic, Ronaldo and the like were got from efficient scouting and not big money moves. His transfer kitty will make it difficult for him to buy from big clubs as they all want a 'share' of the Ronaldo transfer... as though we shared him on pitch!
Anyhow,watch this space from now on as we get into the groove of transfers.

Wayne Rooney reckons that if he plays centre forward, United will not miss Ron and Tevez. He's been singing that tune for quite a while now, maybe Fergie will read this morning's paper today and then maybe, just maybe...you never know!

SO HOW SLOW CAN THE SILLY SEASON GET?

So Tevez leaves United and then he saves the press' 'blank' columns with suggestions that Berbatov's arrival marked his exit. Well he got it all wrong given that and I'm not even going to labour about it as he's no longer a Manchester United player. What puzzles me is that Tevez has left United and is not willing to join Liverpool. That means he's likely to join City, who I doubt will win a trophy for years to come. So it's down to the cash, but that's always the story eh?
Anyhow, United have unveiled a new home kit for next season that will mark the 100th anniversary of Old Trafford, The Theatre of Dreams.
A Manchester United kit has always looked splendid to me so no need to explain my feelings about it. Park reckons the 'V' across the chest stands for Victory so hopefully we'll be more successful in it.

The transfers are still pending for United but you wonder what the manager has up his sleeve as we are closing in on pre-season. It would have been good to finish the market business before pre-season. Anyhow, this blog is back to sleep until we have some really concrete news. And by concrete, I don't mean Pele singing about how United play the best football in England---I mean who doesn't know that!?

TEVEZ FINALLY LEAVES UNITED, HARGO ON HIS WAY BACK!

So finally, we have some concrete news to talk about!

Carlos Tevez has apparently turned down Man United's offer of a five year deal and the club has confimed that he will not be playing for us next season. I'm neither suprised nor sad. You see, I have this belief that every player who puts on the United jersey wants to play for us. It's why I will always give our players a full backing. Therefore, I do not care if we have just 10 players in the entire squad for as long as they are committed to the Manchester United cause.
Tevez clams that he never felt the most wanted player at Old Trafford, well I'd like to think that by the time the club offers 26 million pounds and over 100,000 in wages, you are one of the most wanted players. It's a shame really, because it will appear that he has opted to move to the likes of City or Chelsea for the money. This is the player who the Stretford End disrespected Fergie over. Now they'll probably know where their manager was coming form. Tevez refused to attend our annual Player of The Year gala and his behaviour throughout the season must have irritated Sir Alex to the brim.

I think this is where we miss Roy Keane. He would never allow the players to behave in the way that a couple have made United look so 'small' a club. The good news though is the Fergie, for as long as he lives will always ensure that United is run the proper way and that no player will hold the club at a ransom. What I'm sure of is that Manchester United will always remain Manchester United. What I'm not sure of is if the players who leave us will always remain who they are.

Better news though is that Hargreaves will be joining us by October. The Daily Star reports that he will also be available for pre-season training in July. Hopefully, there is some substance to that because he will be like a new signing for us.

JUST FOR LAUGHS!

REMEMBER THAT?

MORE NOTES TO HELP YOU YAWN DOWN THE 'SILLY SEASON'

In England, I hear they call the transfer window the silly season, so I usually try as much as possible to distance myself from it. It's why this particular blog cannot wait for at least pre-season so that the papers can be filled with more football than 'female' gossip.

So apparently, this past week, the new Premier League fixtures were released--much to my dismay. You see, I feel that they do it kind of too early. We are hardly a month into celebrating last season's title success and there you have it thrown into your face, another gruelling journey to May 2010. Couldn't we just keep our trophy for good?--just kidding!
Anyhow, we start at home to Birmingham and end at home to Stoke, not that bad eh? Well the problem lies in-between those ties. Yet again this term, we have a few away games after Champions League match-days but other than that, it's a rather kind draw for us.
I think our biggest challenge will be how we'll start. The last two campaigns have seen us take ages to get into gear so hopefully, we'll start well this time. We've got the likes of Arsenal, City and Spurs among our first six games so that means we've got to start in third gear. I have utmost faith in our after new-year form, so if we do well early, we'll be just about as good as Champions--is that too optimistic?

Other than that, I doubt we've made any progress in the transfer window since I last blogged here. Tevez and his owners are dragging their feet ( out of OT). Then the likes of Valencia, Ribery, and Benzema are still put. You only hope that David Gilll and Sir Alex can go about their business as soon as possible such that we work out a formula for the new campaign in pre-season.

In the meantime, YYYAAaawn!

RONALDO AND TEVEZ'S PSSIBLE EXPULSIONS SHOW WHY UNITED WILL MISS FERGIE!

For all those who truly over to read a thing or two from this site, my apologies for an impromptu absence but I couldn't help it. The last big news to come from the official United site was the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid so I found no reason to make this blog a tabloid of its own by commenting about all the shameful transfer rumours this past week. For instace, how can a paper dare link United to Fernando Torres? I mean what are the odds of that happening?
Anyhow, United fans should brace themselves for the departure of another big name star in Carlos Tevez. Apparently, it seems the little Argie is not going to stay for he should have settled all this business if he was. I'll definitely welcome him if he stays but Sir Alex will never let a player dictate proceedings at the club. I mean Tevez sulks because he does not start every game for us and I wonder how many players at United do have fixed places in the team. The way he has gone about this is as though he's the only player who has been seated on the bench all season. Disgusting for me!

After seeing off Ronaldo, Sir Alex will not beg Carlos to stay any more than he already has so I think he'll leave...and while the press will have a field day with that story, I must say I have been impressed with the way in which Sir Alex has handled the two cases involving our best players. Ronaldo was clearly one that thought he was bigger than the club and so nothing next to club commitment applied to him. We got the best out of him in his time at United and the only way we could have tolerated him for more years would be if he realised how lucky he was to play for United. Unfortunately, he did not and so he was off in a deal that even profit master Arsene Wenger will never get for giving away his stars.
Tevez, for me has insulted the United fans by even pondering moves to Citeh and Liverpool. No need to elaborate how that goes gown with United supporters.
In the end though, Sir Alex has maintained the virtues and principles upon which our club was built and I hope the rest of the team from now on will realise that nobody is irreplaceable at United--it might not be like for like, but the club will was there, is there and will always be there before, during and after the current crop of players.
I've always thought that United is a club that is bigger than life! The media make me yawn with all the nonsense about how Ronaldo and Tevez's departure will affect United, and then you wonder what some of those journalists would have written after the 1958 Munich disaster. If the Legend that is Man United could live on after such a disaster, then how can the departure of a mere soul affect the Legend? Martin Samuel and co. Think Again!

RONALDO WAS INDEED A VIRUS AT UNITED--INCURABLE!

Cristiano Ronaldo is a hell of a wonderful football player and I have no doubt that he has carried United for the past three years but I doubt having him at OT any longer would be worth it.
Forget the hissy fits on pitch, Ronaldo was a major disease off it. In many circles at OT, you'll find that they loved Ronaldo the player but not Ronaldo the person. Such was his petulance, arrogance and indiscipline that United had to swallow a lot of pride, no, all their pride to keep him. At one point, it was Ronaldo and United vs the rest of the England following his antics at the Germany World Cup in 2006. For some reason, the player loved to be hated and continuously gave opposition fans and some United fans reason to hate him.

They say discipline and talent go hand in hand and Ronaldo was a bit too fortunate that he was at United, where Sir Alex has tamed the most 'wild' of animals. His behaviour off pitch in the bars, night-clubs, with call girls, etc were all watered-down by the United manager. Sir Alex's deepest fear must have been the fact that Ron was a negative influence to Portuguese counterparts Nani and Anderson. However, with Fergie at your side, you'll almost certainly develop your talent to the fullest and that is what Ronaldo experienced in 2008. He reached the apex of his potential and so it was a matter of maintaining it through his prime. This, however, is where it gets hardest. If your head becomes larger than life at this stage, then in all likelihood, you'll dramatically decline. Ronaldo, in all honesty, must have thought he's bigger than United at this stage as he dragged the club into his transfer merry-go-round with Real when the club should have been celebrating one of its most successful seasons.

His body language last season said a lot. There are many things fans and manager alike can tolerate form players, but not to show your disgruntledness so publicly especially when you know that half the cameras in the stadium are focusing on you. The flying track-suit he threw at against City was as disgusting to see as it is to see him in that picture up there, with God knows who? Paris Hilton? You can get the link for his night out in Paris from Scott of http://therepublikofmancunia.com/ .

Sir Matt Busby must be turning in his grave. Ronaldo has been a success on the pitch for United, but that is no excuse to drag the name of the club, that was painfully built, into all sorts of dirty hang outs.
I remember when Sir Alex let the likes of Kanchelskis leave and then fans or the media set a poll to call for the sacking of Fergie.
Nobody knows United any more than the gaffer and he was knighted years before Ronaldo joined United so all those questioning Fergie are either young or uneducated. Morality has won here! He will not let the name of the club be used by the press every summer to sell papers. I've already wished Ronaldo all the best of luck at Real but I doubt he will be looked after like he was at United. Ronaldo might become too big even for the so called mighty Real Madrid. The most recent example of wasted talent was Ronaldinho at Barcelona who after two seasons of winning the World Player of The Year Award, he could not get a place in the team. His antics in the clubs led to a rather steep fall from glory.

GOOD LUCK RON, YOU'LL NEED IT!

He's got to match and better the 8 trophies he won with United at his new club!

RONALDO LEAVES UNITED, BUT WHAT A PROFIT?

If anything, the transfer fee will only serve to make him more arrogant as he's officially the world's most expensive player!
Cristiano Ronaldo has requested to leave United and the Portuguese will now join Kaka in a midfield that is starting to look even more scary than the Xavi, Iniesta one that was praised beyond words in Rome.

I'll not dwell much on this just yet as it's still breaking news at the time of posting but United may have reaped the ultimate from Ronaldo and yet left with a profit of 68m pounds as Real will pay 80 million for him. If Kaka left AC Milan with he funds to survive, the Ronaldo has pretty much financed our transfer budget this summer, it's time for Fergie to act now. More to follow.