Sir Alex Ferguson Not Going Anywhere, Apparently Hates Old People

By: Taylor Rockwell | June 17th, 2009

About two weeks ago, I was all set to post an article criticizing Sir Alex Ferguson for sacrificing the long term stability of Manchester United in favor of his short term goal of becoming the “greatest manager in the history of English football.” My general theory was that, in the past, Fergie had made a habit of getting rid of players who had begun to value themselves over the club. Stam. Becks. Even Keane. They became too big to exist under Fergie, and so off they went. The short term ramifications didn’t matter, as the longevity and stability of the club were preserved.

Then came Slave. He had bitched and moaned and complained and openly criticized the manager throughout the entire 2008-2009 campaign. And yet, Fergie never seemed to care. What could have been the reason for that? Complacency? Boys will be boys? No. Fergie, it seemed, was preparing for his retirement. The 67 year old had conquered all, but still wanted to go out on top, one title clear of Liverpool. However, he didn’t think he could do it without Slave, so he put up with antics that would have gotten any other player booted from the squad. In effect, I thought Fergie was ready to sacrifice the next five years to make sure that he and Slave got one more title.

For whatever reason, I didn’t get around to posting that piece of amazing insight, and was only just about to when news came through that the deal for Slave was done and dusted. That dramatic shift made me reevaluate the entire situation, and today’s comments from Old Trafford have only compounded my confusion. If reports are to be believed and United aren’t pursuing any players over the age of 25, then we appear to be heading down a whole new road… sort of.

I say sort of because this situation would seem to indicate that Fergie isn’t going anywhere, and is hoping to build his fourth great team. In the past, the £80 million for Slave would have allowed United to sign multiple world class players to immediately insert into the starting eleven. Most, myself included, have been refreshing The Guardian/Soccernet/The BBC constantly in hopes of one day seeing that Fergie has gone out and signed someone amazing. However, we live in a world where Zlatan Ibramhimovic is worth €90 million, Franck Ribery is the most sought after man on the planet, and Glen Johnson is apparently worth over four times what he was two years ago. So, instead of signing big name stars for huge sums, Fergie is electing to pursue young players to mould into world class performers.

We all know how divisive the Berbatov signing was this term. We paid a tidy sum for the man and, when he didn’t immediately impress, people were furious. In this day and age of massive transfer fees, the question of economic feasibility reigns supreme. Can big clubs afford to pay these massive transfer fees and, if the players don’t pan out, cover the cost of dumping their salary? Look at Liverpool. For all their talk of signing talented cheap players, they went out last summer and paid £20 million for Robbie Keane. Midway through the season, they sent him back to Spurs for £12 million. An eight million pound loss may not seem like a whole lot, but for a club whose owners are facing a hefty bill requiring immediate payment, every little bit counts.

The same goes for United. The club can’t make a habit of dropping £30-£50 million for star players. Just because Franco FC, Citeh, and Chelsea all seem happy to accrue massive debt doesn’t mean United can… or should. Obviously, we’re already a fair amount in the hole (second only to Chelsea in the EPL). United can’t risk compounding that debt by blowing a large amount of money on unproven stars from other leagues. To be certain, the squad will need a considerable injection of talent for the coming campaign. But reactionary spending in an artificially inflated transfer market won’t get the job done. Staying smart, buying patiently, and avoiding potential landmines might. Only time will tell.

For now, I take confidence in the fact that Fergie isn’t rushing out to replace Slave. He isn’t dropping money left and right to unnecessarily elevate United onto the Franco FC/Chelsea/Citeh platform. He isn’t sacrificing the future of the club to bring in big names to win him #19. He’s staying smart, looking young, and reminding United fans that he’ll be here for a while… even if primadona playboys with questionable morals won’t be.