The Likely Transfer of Ruud Van Nistelrooy - So Bonkers It Must Be True! …
Newspaper rumours, fuelled by the supposed comments of a close family member, hint strongly that Ruud Van Nistelroy will leave Manchester United this summer.Nine goals in ten starts would seem to vindicate Sir Alex’s decision to put Louis Saha in the first team ahead of RVN. But to sell the Dutch master? Surely some mistake.Ruud has to come back because he is the O.T goal king. A special player was needed after Fergie dispensed with Andy Cole and RVN has stepped up in spectacular fashion over the past five years. The newspapers must be bonkers. His brother, quoted by a pub source, must have been extremely tired and emotional. Coach Carlos Queiroz also put a knife to the story on the eve of last weekend’s match against West Brom. “It has been spelt out to Ruud that he is part of our plans in the short, medium and long term,” said Queiroz. “He is part of our family and nobody should be in any doubt about that.” Yet those same doubts remain because reading between the lines, decoding the body language and using the dead hand of history as a rough guide, it appears that this story has form. It carries an all too familiar Beckhamesque quality that should have RVN fans worried.
The Ruud tale began, following the rules of the Beckham’s transfer play-book, with a reported cooling of relations between star centre forward and manager. Informed sources spread word of disappointment with the player’s commitment to the cause. Another clear Beckham echo. Ferguson has spoken of squad rotation and healthy competition for places and left RVN to his own thoughts on the bench. Press speculation and denials followed quickly. Yes, there’s that name again, as clear as thunder in the night. Beckham, Beckham, Beckham.
Should the Beckham transfer manual be followed to its conclusion, in the coming months, fans can look forward to official disinformation and double-speak from the agent, which will create more speculation and further denials. Behind the scenes, a transfer abroad will be arranged and crocodile tears of regret will smooth the passage of the fallen idol to a foreign rival. Given the reported penny-pinching at Old Trafford, which has staff buying their own Cup final tickets, the suggested 13 million pounds of encouragement needed to spring RVN’s release, looks like the kind of ‘revenue stream’ of which the Glazers might approve.
Ruud must have worried for his future once Beckham opted for life in Madrid, for who would provide the killer early balls and angled crosses upon which his impressive goals return relied? Few players have Beckham’s skill range and United’s inability to find a like-for-like replacement has affected RVN’s game. His hands-on-hips exasperation at the missed opportunities caused principally by Ronaldo’s dallying or failure to spot a breakthrough, give expression to a growing disenchantment.The changing personnel in midfield can not have improved RVN’s demeanour either. Without a dominating presence in midfield and shorn of the creativity that a 1990’s model Paul Scholes might have provided, Sir Alex has had little choice but to adopt a ‘make do and mend’ policy, with centre halves, full backs, wingers and converted strikers asked to do turns in midfield.
A creeping tendency to by-pass midfield in favour of a long ball to pacy and inventive forwards is the consequence of such forced experiments. A busy player with the speed of Saha, who can run for 90 minutes, hold up the ball and lay it off to arriving team mates, now looks like an attractive option, despite his relatively high shots to goals ratio. Tellingly, it was RVN’s failure to chase a loose ball late on in the Cup defeat at Liverpool last February, that apparently persuaded Ferguson to give Saha an extended run in the team.
Despite holding United’s European goal-scoring record, RVN is seen merely as a taker of chances. Similarly, the big teams shied away from signing England’s Michael Owen last summer because, amongst other veiled criticisms, he could only put the ball in the opposition’s net. Not for him or Ruud for that matter, the mazy runs from the half-way line à la Thierry Henry or the versatility of the magician Rooney. These days, a forward player has to do so much more than simply score goals.
The talented but injury-prone Saha is not in the class of an on-form RVN. A player, said to be on his way out just two months ago, now gets the glad eye of the manager who clearly sees the Rooney-Saha partnership as currently more productive and better suited to the team’s shape. This change in direction has left the Dutchman with little more than walk-on parts since the Carling Cup final. Ruud has said nothing on record to suggest he is maddened by the manager’s decision but for a player of his reputation and record, this would seem one humiliation too far.
Ex- players and television pundits repeat as if it were religious dogma the prime importance of pace in the Premiership. It is said that RVN has lost some of his speed and appetite since returning from injury. Now in his 30th year, injuries may blight his game still further. The glimpse of a hard cash return for a proven 25 goal-a- season striker soon to be on the wrong side of thirty, might be too much for the United bean counters to resist, especially given the heavy investment a rebuilt United midfield will require.
Tactically, the transfer could make sense too. In recent weeks, United have returned to the 4-4-2 formation of their heyday. Yet, a defensive re-think might just be in order should United trail in some 15 points behind Chelsea at the season’s end. The dreaded 4-5-1 system, blamed by some for United’s stagnation, might then recover some of its early season attractiveness. Such a game plan would do nothing for RVN’s footballing joy but would play to the strengths of Saha, well used to the lone forward role during his Fulham days.
So, crazy as it might seem, this story is unlikely to go away. The crunch will come next month when United play Arsenal and Chelsea. Fergie will play his big guns. If Ruud doesn’t start in those games, then the ink will probably dry on what looks now like a done deal.
But what signal would such a transfer send to the fans, who are expected to pump into the club a near 6 million pounds in home game receipts from next season? How great would be the damage to United’s prestige and public relations strategy at home and abroad? Moreover, what message would be conveyed to current players and to those tempted to join? The answers, in the short term, can only be negative. AU
