Life After Fergie’s Axe …
Football vultures are now circling Old Trafford in the hope of picking up bargains in Sir Alex’s likely summer sale.
The manager gave the green light for incoming bids by wondering aloud if some players would be unable to accept the squad rotation he is planning next season.
“I don’t expect anybody to leave,” he said. “But it may happen because some players will view the situation and think maybe they won’t get enough games to satisfy them.”
Ferguson added that “there are no decisions made at the moment” but it can only be a matter of time. Few of the players who will leave United can expect to have the last laugh like Ruud Van Nistelrooy or Gordon Strachan.
AbsolutelyUNITED offers counselling to the soon to be bereaved.
Gabriel Heinze: You’ve been on the exit list since the turn of the year. Patrice Evra’s form and your lack of sparkle fuelled rumours that you are not long for Old Trafford.
FIFA rules mean you are in a strong bargaining position as you can buy out your contract for about £6 million and choose where you want to play next. Here’s where the problems start.
Real Madrid look the best option because they need a left back. You were linked with them under the Capello regime. Since he’s been dumped, you might not be a priority. Surely, Berndt Schuster will be looking at a younger alternative.
Which leaves the door ajar for other clubs in Italy and maybe for Liverpool. Your representatives played a blinder with the way that story was spinned, letting it be known that you were not hostile to Scouse overtures. But then Rafa Benitez spiked the whole beauty of the PR offensive by distancing himself from any move in your direction, saying that he really wanted wingers. Reds don’t make such moves and in any case, you’ll be seen as damaged goods on Merseyside. If you do lose your mind, woe betide you make an error that gifts United a goal at Anfield.
You’ve said that you have many suitors and Newcastle appear to be the latest club to show interest but perhaps you really ought to give United a go for another year. The manager says no-one will play every game, so you’ll get your fair share of matches, especially as Fergie trusts you against the big beasts at home and abroad. You’ll need to sharpen up though and “be at it” from the start because Patrice Evra looked sweet at leftback last term and is now first choice. You could have done with a rest this summer but instead, you’ll be late back to start pre-season training after the Copa America. It looks like the end.
Mikael Silvestre: You are alright at left back, I suppose, with a heck of a whipping, cross field pass in you but that’s about it, I’m afraid. There is nothing to be done with you at this stage in your career and for the £3 million Bordeaux are said to be offering, Fergie would be mad not to take the cash before Larry White recovers his mental powers.
There’s talk too of you moving over to Newcastle to be part of the latest Toon revolution. Stay clear. They’ve just seen off Titus Bramble and will look stony faced at any unforced calamities from a new defender. And as we know, … well, you can complete the sentence with a first person report of events at Stamford Bridge 2006 etc etc!
Now what are you waiting for? Make like a tree and leave! Be gone. Scoot! Scram!
Giuseppe Rossi: Meteorologists complain that recent flooding in Britain was caused in part by the tears being shed by fans over your likely departure. You are the Prince, the ‘Future’ , the ‘Presence In Waiting’ but the manager just doesn’t see it that way and would rather have Tevez.
There’s no point you staying at United to play in Carling cup games or against Titus’ new club Wigan, when you’ve known the rigours of Serie A. But with Tevez, Rooney and Saha ahead of you in the pecking order, your future lies elsewhere.
The newspapers say Parma have bid for you and that Milan have made known their interest too. If playing for the European champions appeals, just make sure Carlo Ancelotti imagines a change in formation. It’s hard to see you thriving in a team which requires you to play alone upfront.
I know that you like the more technical style of football they play on the continent but you shouldn’t give up on Blighty just because Fergie has his doubts and Glen Roeder never gave you a decent chance to shine. A team like Blackburn or Portsmouth might be a good next stage for your development.
Alan Smith: You were always doomed once United brought in Wayne Rooney, weeks after you signed in 2004. But with an incredible goal average of just three strikes per season since you joined the club, Smudger, it’s curtains!
Your argument that injury killed your United career, that you’ve not been given a run in the team and that when you did get in the side, you were often played out of position, is sound enough. But United accept no excuses after three years. Three goals a season has deafened the manager and his staff to special pleading!
Wherever you’ll go, you’ll be a hero among the fans with your fondness for badge kissing, the clenched fist of diehard commitment and the sliding tackles. You’ll need a team with good service from the wings and a more direct approach than United’s. Middlesbrough have reportedly matched the £6 million United are asking for you but apparently, you’ve turned your nose up at that option. Why? If you are going to leave, take Gareth Southgate’s call because he’s just signed Jeremie Aladiere from Arsenal and the French lad could do with some muscled protection, especially as Yakubu wants away.
A move to Newcastle would seem an odd choice. They are collecting strikers like George Graham used to amass centre halves. You are Sam Allardyce’s kind of player but he has Owen and Martins on the books already and began the summer by bringing in your old mate Viduka. Owen might not leave this summer as he hoped but Martins is looking to get fixed up elsewhere, so I understand why you are tempted. You and Viduka upfront would be a bit like caveman and clubs after United though.
An intriguing move might be to newly flushed City. Sven will dump all the strikers he inherits after last season’s home shockers, so if he asked for you, at least you’d know you’ll be number one. The fans might do a number on you, as an ex-United and Leeds man..well, you are famous for your courage. Could there be a bigger test?
If Fergie doesn’t hawk you around to other clubs, stay another year. United are not blessed with good headers of the ball in attack and you could offer something different to the trickery of Rooney and Tevez. Don’t forget that Ole will play one in four, leaving you to joust with the top two and Saha. C’mon, you’ve got to fancy those odds!
You should think about the European Championships too. You’ve still kept an England place even though you’ve been a bench monkey at United. Rooney, Owen and probably Crouch are ahead of you and there seems only two more places left for attackers. Darren Bent, will have more media backers now that he’s a Spur and Everton’s Andy Johnson will be looking to force his way into the set up again, if he can stay fit. Being a United player keeps you in the headlines and in the England picture at the very least. Going elsewhere might not!
Kieran Richardson: You’ve been at the club since you were a boy. Fergie even bent FA rules to get you to sign but maturity has not been the making of you. The talent is there but without application and determination, it’s not enough. That said, the OT training looks good on the CV and you’ve got the West Brom loan period plus the marvellous England debut goal burst to put on a show reel to prove that you can play.
There’s no such thing as a soft landing after United, so you might need a transition adviser to help with your adjustment. You are too good to go into the Championship with Robbo at Sheffield United, so Portsmouth’s offer, if it comes, should be studied. If ‘Arry Redknapp can’t get you going, you are done for.
Everton’s rumoured enthusiasm is no real surprise given David Moyes fondness for Carrington cast-offs. Sven’s now got a club too. Do you really fancy City? They’ll tear you to shreds there sooner or later.
