As Sir Alex Ferguson disappeared into Toronto’s Rogers
Centre on the back of a buggy, he had every reason to be
happy.
A Ferguson family reunion in Ontario had been followed by a
satisfying win over Celtic, and the manager could afford a cheery
smile as prepared for Manchester United’s trip to Philadelphia and
the next stage of their North American tour.
Particularly pleasing was the sight of the youngsters in whom he
has placed such faith combining with the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul
Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov to give United a 3-1 win over
Celtic.
Not even a silly foul by new boy Chris Smalling which gifted the
Scots a penalty could dampen Ferguson’s praise as he talked up the
merits of a new generation. ‘We’ve a strong belief in their
abilities,’ he said. ‘They will eventually be the next Manchester
United.’
It has become a familiar message. For the second summer in a row
he insists there is no value in the transfer market. No reason to
spend unwisely or waste the £80million which is supposedly still in
the bank following the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo.
But has Ferguson really chosen to be much more prudent or is
there no money left as the club creak under the weight of debt
heaped on it by the Glazer family?
This, after all, is a manager who has broken the British
transfer record six times, who decided Berbatov was good value at
£30.75m and Juan Sebastian Veron at £28.1m.
Last summer he brought in Antonio Valencia, Gabriel Obertan and
Michael Owen at a net cost of £19m — although the latter arrived on
a free transfer.
United had just won a third straight Barclays Premier League
title and reached the Champions League final, and there seemed very
little wrong with the squad.
But after relinquishing the title to Chelsea at the end
of a season that saw the growing threat from neighbours City, and
seeing his side exit Europe at the quarter-final stage, the
situation has changed for Ferguson.
Yet his stance is the same. He insists there is cash to spend,
and it is a view supported by United’s last accounts which showed
£95.9m on the balance sheet.
But there is a growing concern that cash will be needed to
service the Glazers’ debts and Ferguson’s reliance on youth is born
out of necessity rather than choice.
While £10m for Smalling is far from insignificant, and £7m has
been spent on Javier Hernandez, United again look unlikely to break
the £20m barrier, with Ferguson promoting from the youth ranks.
He said: ‘We have a collection of young players who have been
growing up at the club like Danny Welbeck, Jonny Evans, Darron
Gibson, and Federico Macheda.
‘If you don’t give them a chance they’re going to stagnate and
move to other clubs who’ll get the benefit of the work we’ve
done.’
Premier League history suggests clubs who spend the most
usually succeed.
Blackburn did it with Jack Walker, Chelsea with Roman
Abramovich, and now City are making their bid. It is 15 years since
Ferguson bucked the trend, pitching United’s new golden generation
into the spotlight and reaping instant rewards.
The question now is whether their modern-day equivalents can
emulate Beckham, Scholes, Butt and the Neville brothers — and
Giggs, 36, believes the signs are promising.
‘I’m sure these young players will get better and better,’ he
said.
‘I see their determination. They want to do well, they want to
learn, they want to play for United, get in the team and stay in
the team. That’s what we were like when we were younger and I see
the same desire in these young players.
‘Hopefully their determination and hunger will see them kick on
and do even better, because we’re going to need them.'
