What's going on at Man Utd then?

[Robches]

Arginald Valleywater wrote:

> Silence from some Manure fans. Utter bewilderment from others.
> Bloody marvellous!!

It is not complicated. The Glazers drained millions out of the club to fund their debt fuelled takeover. Net, they spent almost nothing on the team for the best part of ten years, the only thing keeping it going was Alex Ferguson's managerial ability. Once he retired the team fell apart. Is this so hard to understand?

[Arginald Valleywater]

It is for their fans who think they have a god given right to win everything all the time and the rest of us will be happy for them. I bet Adidas's lawyers are reading the cancellation clause in their new overpriced contract as I type..

[Porn Baron]

I still say they will stay up !whistle!

[JamesW]

Robches wrote:

> Net, they spent
> almost nothing on the team for the best part of ten years


Not really fair comment, but I suppose it depends what you mean by almost nothing.

In the last 3 seasons befoere this they brought in Phil Jones at ?18m, David De Gea at ?19m, Ashley Young at ?17m, Shinji Kagawa at ?12m, Robin Van Persie at ?20m, Wilfried Zaha at ?15m, Marouane Fellaini at ?27.5m, and Juan Mata at ?37m, and raised virtually nothing in outgoing transfers, the biggest fees received in that time being ?4m for Dimitar Berbatov and ?4m for John O'Shea.

[Robches]

JamesW wrote:

> Robches wrote:
>
> > Net, they spent
> > almost nothing on the team for the best part of ten years
>
>
> Not really fair comment, but I suppose it depends what you mean
> by almost nothing.
>
> In the last 3 seasons befoere this they brought in Phil Jones
> at ?18m, David De Gea at ?19m, Ashley Young at ?17m, Shinji
> Kagawa at ?12m, Robin Van Persie at ?20m, Wilfried Zaha at
> ?15m, Marouane Fellaini at ?27.5m, and Juan Mata at ?37m, and
> raised virtually nothing in outgoing transfers, the biggest
> fees received in that time being ?4m for Dimitar Berbatov and
> ?4m for John O'Shea.
>

By confining yourself to the last three seasons, you have missed out the sale of Ronaldo for ?80 million. During the last years of Alex Ferguson's reign, United's net spending was very low, as the Glazers struggled to fund the interest due on their debt. I am amazed that some people still seem to deny this basic fact.

[Sam Slater]

Or, maybe, Man Utd's net spend was really low because over the last 8 years they've won 5 league titles (could have been 6 league titles all for a 95th minute Aguero goal), a Champions League, 2 other finals, and didn't need to spend.

Now they're going through a transitional period, they've spent over ?200m in the last 12 months.

[David Johnson]

I note Man Utd have signed another striker, Falcao on loan from Monaco. That means they have Rooney, Van Persie, di Maria and Falcao lined up, plus any of the other current forwards that they do not shift out today.

They could still do with a win though. Maybe arranging a game with Blackpool might be in van Gaal's sights.

[Robches]

Sam Slater wrote:

> Or, maybe, Man Utd's net spend was really low because over the
> last 8 years they've won 5 league titles (could have been 6
> league titles all for a 95th minute Aguero goal), a Champions
> League, 2 other finals, and didn't need to spend.
>
> Now they're going through a transitional period, they've spent
> over ?200m in the last 12 months.
>

The ability of some people to ignore the elephant in the room never ceases to amaze me.

[Arginald Valleywater]

Fear not. Van Gaal will only have to ask the great purple nosed one to bung some refs and mid table glory will beckon.

[Sam Slater]

Nonsense. The squad was winning things every season. You do not try and fix something that isn't broken.

After a season with a manager out of his depth, no Champions League and 4 experienced players retiring or moving on, they're spending.

?150m so far spent, not including Falcao's loan and wages. Might be more to come before the night is over.

It's as simple as that.

Still waiting for your definition of a 'fool' re Man Utd owners/prospective buyers.