Manchester United’s thumping defeat to Barcelona on Saturday night threatened to spoil the Reds’ victory parade through the city today. Even so around 150,000 lined Manchester’s streets for the party, which celebrated a 19th domestic title, if not the European Cup. Yet, as United’s supporters delight in another Premier League triumph – the 12th of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Old Trafford reign – questions have inevitably been drawn of the club’s ability to compete at the very highest level. A level to which Barcelona set a new standard on Saturday night.
Indeed, the manner of Barça’s victory at Wembley was so overwhelmingly superior that United’s response cuts to the very heart of the club’s place in Europe’s hierarchy. Runner-up in Europe’s elite competition is no shame, of course, but the gap between United and the best is evidently far wider than hoped. The question of whether United can close that gap is one to which supporters will look for answers over the summer.
The Catalan giant’s success is based on a straightforward two-sided strategy; build the most productive youth academy on the planet, while investing heavily in the transfer market. Indeed, while six of the starting team at Wembley were trained at La Masia, Barcelona’s much-lauded academy, the club has also invested hugely in the transfer market over the past decade, while also baring the largest wage bill of any football club.
In response United has only two options: plan for immediate needs and work towards a better tomorrow. In this United’s historic strategy is not wholly different to Barça’s, with the Reds seeking to augment lavish spending with talented youngsters trained at Carrington. More recent austerity has seemingly curbed the club’s net transfer spend at a time when the academy is producing a relatively limited crop of first-team-ready youngsters.
In this both United’s chief executive David Gill and his club manager offered hope and a prescient warning today. Gill, a staunch supporter of the Glazer regime which has drained around £400 million out of the club in the past five years, hinted at heavy investment this summer. Meanwhile, Ferguson warned that Barcelona will continue to enjoy a structural advantage if the Football Association continues to control youth development policy.
“It will be a busier than usual summer this year,” Gill told MUTV, with United set to confirm deals for David de Gea, Ashley Young and Rafael Varane in the coming week.
“I will be going away at some point in June and be back for the start of our tour but I will be on with player stuff for the next few weeks I am sure.”
The question on most fans’ lips is whether Gill and his paymasters will sanction heavier spending on proven talent, in addition to youth’s promise. After all, while Barça has produced a rash of outrageously talented players from La Masia, the club also spent around €90 million on Danni Alves, Javier Mascherano, Eric Abidal and David Villa in recent seasons. That figure does not include the €65 million largely wasted on Zlatan Imbrahimovic in summer 2009.
Whether United’s response is more ambitious than the aforementioned De Gea, Young and Varane is as yet undecided. After all, while uncontested newspaper reports speculate at heavy summer investment in addition to that trio, recent history suggests otherwise. Gill’s assertion that his summer will be “busier than usual” could yet be another of the executive’s empty platitudes.
Meanwhile, United continues to invest in youth development, although there has been scant reward in the past decade. Of the current first team squad only Jonny Evans and Darron Gibson have emerged from the academy in the past decade; an embarrassing return relative to Saturday’s opponents.
Of course this season’s FA Youth Cup winning side may yet produce rarefied talent to compete at both domestic and European level, although precedent suggests that it is unlikely. United’s two teams to reach the Youth Cup final since the ‘class of ’92′ – 2004 and 2007 – has produced not a single first team regular at Old Trafford, let alone a talent to match Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham.
It is a failure Ferguson blames on the FA’s regulatory framework for youth development in England, especially the so-called 90 minute rule. The regulation stipulates that Premier League academies cannot take on boys that live more than 90 minutes drive away from the club’s base at Old Trafford.
“People have to understand the mechanics of the industry we are working in,” Ferguson said today.
“We are only allowed to coach youngsters for an hour and a half, they [Barcelona] can coach every hour of the day if they want to. That’s the great advantage they have got. It is a fantastic philosophy.
“We hope that in years to come our coaches will be able to spend more time with young kids, to teach them the basics, the technical abilities and the confidence to keep the ball all the time. We are good at it, but not as good as Barcelona at this moment in time. It is a wonderful challenge and we should always accept a challenge.”
Yet, any revision to the rule will bring no immediate reward as United continues to look abroad for the best in world youth talent. Of the Youth Cup winning side seven hailed from the Greater Manchester area, while the other four were brought in from overseas. The trend may yet swing towards ever greater global imports as the club seeks to circumvent FA regulations.
More to the point, despite the talented youth team, none will immediately augment United’s side. If the gap between United and Barça is to be bridged than Gill’s wallet will be in repeated use over the next two months. It was, no doubt, a conversation pondered as United’s victory parade idled past the crowds today.
Gill promises investment as Reds aim to close Barça gap
(65 posts) (14 voices)-
Posted 1 year ago #
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Steve
Member
Posted by unregistered user: SteveI have heard a few people say Varane has outstanding potential. As does De Gea, but please not Ashley Young. Let’s see us go all out to bring in Modric. I would even take Tiote from Newcastle to add a bit of bite to the team, as long as a quality playmaker was purchased. If we aren’t going to do this then let’s get Tunnicliffe and Pogba brought into the squad sooner rather than later.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Alfonso Bedoya
Moderator
sheesh said:
Good article, Ed. Puts our transfer strategy into some perspective. It's not enough to have a squad that is just about good enough to succeed at domestic level. Barcelona have set a new benchmark that all the top club sides in Europe will have to aspire to.As good as Barcas youth program obviously is... it's still a bit fortunate, that they'd have 3 of the top 5 in the world in the team at the same time... it's similar to our class of 92... as much luck as good training.
"Badges, to god-damned hell with badges! We have no badges. In fact, we don't need badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges, you god-damned cabrón and ching' tu madre! Come out from that shit-hole of yours. I have to speak to you."Posted 1 year ago # -
herbie simms
Member Posted by unregistered user: herbie simmsDo we need Ashley Young? Yes Varane is a class player and he is only 18 years old. I would promote Ravel Morrison. He is a class player and also 18 years old. I would bring in Douglas Costa to replace Scholes. I hope SAF has a rethink about Young and pushes for Alexis Sanchez instead, especially if he wants to be in the same class as Barcelona.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Josh
Member Posted by unregistered user: JoshExactly. For our Acdemy to be producing players at the current rate is not really acceptable, though the current Youth Cup team obviously looks promising.
In terms of purchases this summer, I sincerely hope we don’t go for Ashley Young. He’s not particularly young (pardon the pun) and I don’t actually consider him to be all that good, though clearly Fergie is a better judge of player than I.
Aside from Young’s quality (or lack thereof) I’m not sure we need a player like that at all. Midfield is obviously the most pressing concern.
I can’t see Sneijder turning up on two accounts. Firstly I think he’d cost too much and secondly, with Rooney playing so deep I can’t see where he’d fit in.
I’d love to see Modric at United. He passes the ball well, is creative and could fit straight in.
Saturday proved just how far our midfield has to go, as if we didn’t already know. I’ve defended Anderson on numerous occasions (on here – to much chastisement at times) but I’ve well and truly given up on that now. Gibson is so clearly lacking United quality it’s embarassing, and Scholes has obviously now retired.
I am excited/intrigued as to what Cleverley can offer. I’ve always rated him but I suppose it remains to be seen whether he can provide at the top level.
At the moment I think it looks fairly grim, midfield wise, though I still maintain that we’re only a couple of decent CM’s away from being top quality again.
I just hope Fergie is ready to invest in someone suitable for the starting 11 and not merely a squad player. One of the problems at the moment is that we have too many squad players.
Anyhow, excuse the rant.Posted 1 year ago # -
dingleberry
Member Posted by unregistered user: dingleberryperspective … we are english champions and lost to the worlds best team (containing 2 of the greatest players ever in messi and Xavi) in Champs League final. Unless we actually buy Xavi, Iniesta and Messi I dount think it matters who we bring in, we wont be as good.
Love to see modric as scholes replacement, maybe rodwell as hargreaves replacement. but i doubt we have the money.
Posted 1 year ago # -
bman
Member
The closest replacements for the old, attacking Scholes have to be Pastore or Sneijder. Sneijder's a known quantity, Pastore has youth and potential going for him. Either would be around £30M though I'm sure, at least.
For the left side there are some decent options out there, but I think we should go for Dortmund's Kagawa. He'd be relatively affordable, and really looks good. Again, very young with lots of potential, but he's looked aced playing for both Dortmund and Japan before he broke a metatarsal. Hazard's the big name in this position, but I'd be more than happy with Kagawa, and he'd probably be cheaper than blasted Young.
For more central midfield quality, less attack-minded, Modric is obviously class but I also like the look of Pjanic at Lyon.
For strikers, I like both Benzema and Aguero for United -- both are big strong direct strikers, but both have lots of class and technical quality too.
I'm sure four players is too much to hope for, but how about the following:
Pastore, Benzema, Kagawa, and Pjanic. Pastore would be a big £30M signing, Benzema close to that as well. Kagawa and Pjanic I think you'd get for 10-15M each, maybe even less? If you figure we'd probably get 20-30M from selling Berba and others, and we'd probably end up with a substantially lower wage bill, I don't think that's actually financially absurd. Including De Gea it would be a net spend of about 60-70M, plus wage savings which might be even more important. Not that much given all those players are in their early 20s, we've a huge bag of cash in the bank, several cornerstones of our team are retiring, and Barca just made us their bitches before a global audience.
Posted 1 year ago # -
ian
Member Posted by unregistered user: ian (URL)I think that you miss the target by a margin Ed. We are competing at the very highest level. But Barca are a truly astonishing team, with the gap between them & all other teams in Europe probably wider than has happened since Real’s great side of Di Stefano et al. Probably only Real are superior of the rest. I suspect that the quality of the raw material -working class kids who have spent hours from the age of four kicking a tennis ball in the streets- is higher than in Greater Manchester. Much more important the quality of the coaching is light years ahead; basically with an empathis on skill at the expense of winning. I could not distinguish the way the Youth Team played from the teams of 20 or 30 years ago. That can be changed; it will take time; it will not occur under SAF. Yes Barca have top quality players in every position -we have played O’Shea, Gibson, Bebe, Owen, Obertan, Evans & Scholes (a different case)- they might be artistic but they are like a well-oiled machine. Everybody plays the same role -& knows exactly what to do-in every match, Hercules or Real.
It is very difficult to criticize a club’s policy which has bought Ronaldo, Nani, Hernandez & Smalling in recent years. Saturday made clear,even if it was not transparently clear before, that Giggs, Carrick, Fletcher & Park are way short of being good enough in midfield. For God’s sake, SAF must know we need a top quality defensive midfielder; Busquets is the model; he makes nearly as many ACCURATE, FORWARD passes as Xavi; I doubt Rodwell or any other English born player can do that. Pogba looks the part but he has a very long way to improve. Has anyone seen M’Vila play regularly?
If we want significant improvement then a world class creative mid-fielder is a must, whatever the price????? I share the doubts about Sneijder. If it were not for City, Fabregas could be on the radar; if Nasri does not sigh a new contract he would definitely significantly improve the team. If we have £30 or £40m to spend, let’s not waste nearly half of on Asley Bloody Young.Posted 1 year ago # -
triggs
Member
The following deals appear all but finalised: De Gea, Ashley Young and Varane. I think these are promising signings and definitely add to the squad. Young's assist stats are far in excess of Valencia's at Wigan. With quality players around him, I think he could be a really good addition to the squad. Just think who he's replacing in the squad: Obertan and Bebe. If we hold onto Berba, I think Young playing off Berba would work nicely as a second choice attacking partnership.
However, we've not yet addressed the key problem of signing genuine midfield quality that is ready to control games as of now. Now that Scholes is gone, I expect a bid for Modric, yes he’ll cost circa £35M, but his wages will be far more affordable than Sneijder’s. Excellent replacement for Scholes in my opinion, but I think Levy will make it as difficult as possible for us to sign him. Plus Chelsea and City will also be sniffing around him.
Modric quotes that have surfaced today: “I’m happy at White Hart Lane – my status is great, the fans like me and I do have everything I need. But then again – when you experience playing in Champions League, you want to keep playing in this tournament.”
In a perfect world I’d like us to bring in a defensive midfielder too, but if we don’t - I would be happy providing Varane, Cleverley, Tunnicliffe and Pogba with the opportunity to get more game time.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Ashish
Member Posted by unregistered user: AshishThe fact of the matter is that United could have Sneijder and Modric playing in midfield and could have STILL lost against Barca last Saturday.
Two seasons ago,when Barca were due to play Inter,everybody expected Barca’s progression to the finals to be a mere formality but due to the superior tactics of Inter they went through instead of Barca despite the latter having the better team.
Ever since Queiroz has left,United have been lacking that extra edge tactically and our 2 assistants haven’t been able to plot tactics as effectively as Queiroz did.
Which may explain precisely why United were able to beat Barca over 180 minutes three years back.
Also the way Mourinho organises his teams to nullify Barca’s threat is in my humble view,the only way to stop this Barca team.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Real Madrid having the edge over Barca next season.
Posted 1 year ago # -
sheesh
Member
Alfonso Bedoya said:
As good as Barcas youth program obviously is... it's still a bit fortunate, that they'd have 3 of the top 5 in the world in the team at the same time... it's similar to our class of 92... as much luck as good training.What you're saying is true and, as someone on here said, Spanish teams get to pick the elite youngsters from all over Spain and they're not restricted like we are with this stupid 90 mile rule (or whatever it is). As Fergie said, the Spanish coaches get more time with the youngsters as well.
With these sorts of conditions, however, who's to say that Barcelona couldn't go and produce another batch of youngsters that are almost as talented as the likes of Xavi and Iniesta?
I'd say it's probably more likely for something like that to happen in Spain than in England because Spanish players are technically better than English players. Same with Latin American players No wonder clubs like United have such a focus on finding South American players.
That aside, there's no getting away from the fact that Barcelona have set a new benchmark in terms of how the game should be played. The only way other clubs are going to compete is by investing heavily in transfers in the short-term and for there to be a total overhaul of the academy system in the long-term.
Posted 1 year ago # -
sheesh
Member Barcelona midfielder Xavi has revealed that he was tempted to move to Manchester United earlier in his career, according to the Evening Standard.
The Spanish World Cup winner is an intrinsic part of a Barca midfield that won the Champions League is stunning fashion against Manchester United.
And after tormenting United, the maestro says he was close to joining the club sometime ago.
"There was a long time when I genuinely thought about accepting United's offer and moving to Manchester," Xavi told the London Evening Standard.
"I needed a change of scenery and things were not going well for me at Barcelona. I have always felt a real attachment to English football and Manchester United would be my club in England.
"The truth was that for a long chunk of my career, when it looked like I was the successor to Pep Guardiola in midfield, I was made to feel like an outsider, a bad guy for taking over from the legendary captain.
"We are not good at handling change here. The new guy is sometimes looked at like the bad guy. What made the difference is that I'm as stubborn as a mule. I thought about going to United but I dug my heels in.
"I was obstinate and I said to myself 'I need to prove myself here'."
*Cue crywank*
Posted 1 year ago # -
Alfonso Bedoya
Moderator sheesh said:
That aside, there's no getting away from the fact that Barcelona have set a new benchmark in terms of how the game should be played.This is something I keep hearing... "we should all aspire to play like Barcelona"... just my opinion, but that is complete horse shit.
Can you imagine 2 Barcelonas facing up to each other... fuck me... could the game of football get any more boring?
I personally think Ferguson had the right idea... have a go, and see if you can get after their defense... people here such as Cal, think we should have packed the midfield, parked the bus, and HOPED to knick a goal... in other words, combat Barcelonas tippy-tappy possession, with defensive dreck... where is the entertainment?
I keep hearing crap like, we could have had Modric and Sneijder and fuck knows what, and still been taken to the wood shed by this "greatest team of all time"... again I say bollocks... if we'd have had better players in midfield, a more experienced striker, and the confidence and composure to use our own possession better... we could have beaten Barcelona...
Ferguson says the challenge now is to beat Barcelona... given the right players, I think he can do it... but he has to go back to the REAL United... not this half-arsed nonsense he's been playing about with for the past 10 years.
Some will think I'm mad... but I think the team of 99 could have beat Barcelona.
Posted 1 year ago # -
You are mad!!!
Only if that team had Keane/Butt/Scholes starting with Scholes closer to Cole in a 4-5-1. If they are set-up in a classic 4-4-2 Keane or Scholes would have been sent off as they would have lashed out in frustration.
By the way, we have Rooney so we do not need a replacement for Paul Scholes..
Dear Sir Alex Ferguson, the 4-4-2 formation with two strikers and two central midfielders is DEAD. Please stop playing this. Thank you very much sir. Regards,
A Loyal Fan.Posted 1 year ago # -
sheesh
Member Alfonso Bedoya said:
This is something I keep hearing... "we should all aspire to play like Barcelona"... just my opinion, but that is complete horse shit.Can you imagine 2 Barcelonas facing up to each other... fuck me... could the game of football get any more boring?
I personally think Ferguson had the right idea... have a go, and see if you can get after their defense... people here such as Cal, think we should have packed the midfield, parked the bus, and HOPED to knick a goal... in other words, combat Barcelonas tippy-tappy possession, with defensive dreck... where is the entertainment?
I keep hearing crap like, we could have had Modric and Sneijder and fuck knows what, and still been taken to the wood shed by this "greatest team of all time"... again I say bollocks... if we'd have had better players in midfield, a more experienced striker, and the confidence and composure to use our own possession better... we could have beaten Barcelona...
Ferguson says the challenge now is to beat Barcelona... given the right players, I think he can do it... but he has to go back to the REAL United... not this half-arsed nonsense he's been playing about with for the past 10 years.
Some will think I'm mad... but I think the team of 99 could have beat Barcelona.
Well done, Alf. You've completely missed my point. When I said that Barcelona have set a new benchmark in how the game should be played, I was referring to the way they dominate and bully teams - which, funnily enough, is something we used to do. I'm not saying we need to copy their exact style of play (although we could learn a thing or 2 from them about ball retention).
"I keep hearing crap like, we could have had Modric and Sneijder and fuck knows what, and still been taken to the wood shed by this "greatest team of all time""
Who on here has said anything like this? Come on, start naming names before people accuse you of making shit up.
Posted 1 year ago # -
ian
Member Posted by unregistered user: ian (URL)No-one is saying we should aspire to play like Barca; under SAF we never will. What we are saying is that we should learn a lesson or two from them. Have full backs who don’t suffer from oxygen deprivation & brain seizure when they get in the opponents box. Have a defensive midfielder like Busquets who protects the back four, supplements the front five, is always available & passes the ball forwards. Have world quality in midfield. Have the wingers make a bigger contribution than just staying on the whitewash. How much of this do you disagree with Alf?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Alfonso Bedoya
Moderator I didn't miss your point Sheesh... and quit taking things personally ffs...
Just because I quoted YOUR post... you just happen to best represent the point of view, (that many share), that I take exception to.
I don't think this Barcelona team is as good as everyone else seems to think, and I don't particularily like the way they play.
They gave us a right good hiding... absolutely... but any team with 3 of the best players in the world... and a few other good'ns as well... is likely to do that.
I happen to think they're very beatable... and I think we could have done it... if we'df have had a better midfield and a better striker.
And for the last bit...
"Posted by unregistered user: Ashish
The fact of the matter is that United could have Sneijder and Modric playing in midfield and could have STILL lost against Barca last Saturday."But it's not just him... and it's not just here at Rant... the vast majority seem to be in love with this Barca team... I don't get it... and I hope I never do.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Alfonso Bedoya
Moderator Blog Commenter said:
No-one is saying we should aspire to play like Barca; under SAF we never will. What we are saying is that we should learn a lesson or two from them. Have full backs who don’t suffer from oxygen deprivation & brain seizure when they get in the opponents box. Have a defensive midfielder like Busquets who protects the back four, supplements the front five, is always available & passes the ball forwards. Have world quality in midfield. Have the wingers make a bigger contribution than just staying on the whitewash. How much of this do you disagree with Alf?Oh fuck off... you're not saying anything I haven't already said.
In fact I've gone a lot further and claimed we could have beaten Barcelona with a better midfiled.
Posted 1 year ago # -
herbie simms
Member Posted by unregistered user: herbie simmsDo you think also that the main problem could be that SAF is still playing that sixties style football? This is 2011 and the style of football has changed since the 1960′s. Its the style of football that Barcelona play that makes them a great team. Arsenal play that one touch football and if their players were a lot tougher, they would win something.
Speaking of Ashley Young, I hope it is true that he now wants to join Liverpool. SAF can put that 16 million on someone that will really add quality to the team. Its good to hear that Gareth Bale is showing some interest in a move.
Maybe 25 million for a natural left footed winger. It would make more sense to go for Bale instead of Young!Posted 1 year ago # -
bman
Member Alfonso Bedoya said:
I didn't miss your point Sheesh... and quit taking things personally ffs...Just because I quoted YOUR post... you just happen to best represent the point of view, (that many share), that I take exception to.
I don't think this Barcelona team is as good as everyone else seems to think, and I don't particularily like the way they play.
They gave us a right good hiding... absolutely... but any team with 3 of the best players in the world... and a few other good'ns as well... is likely to do that.
I happen to think they're very beatable... and I think we could have done it... if we'df have had a better midfield and a better striker.
And for the last bit...
"Posted by unregistered user: Ashish
The fact of the matter is that United could have Sneijder and Modric playing in midfield and could have STILL lost against Barca last Saturday."But it's not just him... and it's not just here at Rant... the vast majority seem to be in love with this Barca team... I don't get it... and I hope I never do.
Come on, you have to admit that they are a wonderful side. There's a lot to admire about them: they win and they win in some style.
But I agree with you that they're not unbeatable. Unfortunately our team happens to match up against them particularly badly. It's not just the quality of the teams that count, because of the players we have and the way we are set up to play, I think we have a tougher job against Barca than teams like Chelsea and Arsenal that are otherwise inferior to us.
But Rooney's goal, terrific as it was, also showed that they're really not at all watertight at the back, and in fact they've conceded a lot more goals than us in the CL this season.
I think even if we'd had certain players (Modric, Sneijder whoever), Barca would still be better than us in a series of 10 games, but they've been playing together for the long time, and they have the magic combination of a "golden generation" of home grown players plus vast amounts of money to keep them and buy top class talent.
Put it this way: Barca's wage bill is about £240M, which is about £100M more than ours. Barca spent about 70M euro on Ibra (including Eto as a makeweight) then offloaded him after a season for a 50M loss, and bought Villa for 40M at the same time to replace him. Put's our Berbatov situation in perspective, dunnit?
People go on about the magic of Barca, and they do play some magnificent football. But everybody conveniently forgets that the team depends on spending money that would make City blush.
The thing that's annoying is the way the Spanish league is designed to funnel all the cash to Barca and Real, is this going to lead to a permanent Barca-Real domination of the rest of Europe, since the leagues in other countries either bring in less money (e.g. Italy) or divvy up their spoils much more evenly (e.g. the PL)?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Ashish
Member Posted by unregistered user: AshishI doubt whether any opposition team can beat Barca by fighting fire with fire,calling a spade a spade,and by playing attacking football.
There is practically no team capable of beating Barca at their own game.
The fact that Barca didn’t even feel the need to cheat their way to winning against Utd showed just how poor Utd are…..unlike against Real Madrid in the semis.
Posted 1 year ago #
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