Good afternoon all. I heard news today that United are still being linked with a £25million move for Karim Benzema. Now dont get me wrong, i would be the first one to welcome Benzema with open arms but my question is…..is he REALLY neccessary????? I’m sure all United fans would look at me now and think i’m mad for asking this question but there is logic to my madness.
This is how i see it! Say we do buy Benzema in the summer for a large sum of money- who would be starting upfront for us? Can we really drop Rooney or Tevez?? Yes both players may pick up an injury or two during the season but can we really buy someone of Benzema’s undoubted quality and for that much money, only to put him on the bench? I am sure most United fans or just general football lovers would say there would be squad rotation but in my eyes there is no way that would work with these three players! Another alternative is possibly to play 3 upfront but then that poses another problem with our midfield. We have five different class centre midfielders and four class wingers. Who would be dropped and can we adjust to 3 in midfield……in my opinion no! Another option is to play Rooney in midfield which Sir Alex seems to have done during games this season but that has only been when we are leading. In my eyes why spoil something that works, with Rooney and Tevez complimenting each other brilliantly. Also you have to remember we have Louis Saha (if he is ever fit or can be bothered) who can be very effective, as he showed against Newcastle when coming off the bench and we also signed 24 year old Manucho in January. Manucho, who is now on loan with Greek side Panathinaikos, had a brilliant African Cup of Nations with four goals in as many games and could possibly turn into a very good backup striker for our team, that is if we are able to gain a work permit for him. People also seem to forget that United have a rich history in bringing in players from their youth system to the first team. This season we seemed to have a gem of a player in Danny Wellbeck. Having only seen him on a handleful of occasions this season, i believe he has the talent to break into our first team sooner rather then later. As the old saying goes- if they are good enough, they are old enough and with Wellbeck only being 17 he has plenty of time to prove to Fergie he is good enough. It would be brilliant if he managed to make the step p from promising youngster to pushing Roo and Carlos for their spots upfront!
The same arguement above also applies to the speculation about us buying Berbatov, as much as i would love to see him in a united shirt, i just dont think it will work. If we were to then go for a striker in the summer i believe it should be for someone young and talented like Benzema, but with less of a reputation and a lot less of a price tag, like maybe Huntelaar.
In fact i would not be upset if we didn’t go for a striker at all and instead spend our time looking for a replacement for Gaz Neville at right back. His injury saga seems to be ongoing and that void needs to be replaced. Wes Brown has been brilliant this season but his contract problems are starting to really piss me off! How can he ask for more than the £55,000 a week we have offered him when he has the injury history and inconsistent form he has had throughout his career. I personally blame his agent but thats a whole new and long post. If Wes cannot deal with that much money a week then he knows where the door out of Old Trafford is. We also do have youngster Danny Simpson but i believe that he is not ready to step up to first team football yet, although i do think that maybe he will do after being backup for a few seasons. Hence the reason to find someone to cover that position. We have been linked with a move for a number of right backs lately such as Phillip Lahm (pictured above), Dani Alves and Porto’s Jose Boswinga. I would love it if we bought Phillip Lahm as i personally think he is world class and Bayern Munich would be willing to let him go for around £8.5million. At 24 he is close to reaching his peak and would easily give us atleast 7-8 years of service at the highest level if he stays that long. This would give Simpson enough time to develop into the player Sir Alex hopes he can become, while being under the tutorledge of hopefully Lahm.
Some more good news for all United fans and a possible new dilemma for Fergie is Ben Foster’s near recovery from his injury. Foster had surgery on a cruciate ligament injury on his right knee in July 07. His recovery has been a long winded one but now that he is nearly back i wonder who will be in United’s number 1 jersey next season. Van Der Sar has been a great servant to the United cause but at 37, i cant see him lasting more than next season at most. With that said i hope Fergie puts his faith in Foster because from what i have seen from him, he seems like a solid keeper and a sure contender for England’s Goalkeeping spot. Lets just hope this is the end of his injury problems and the start of what good potentially be a fantastic career with the Devils! For more info on Foster’s recovery go to:
Thats my piece for today……i’m out!!!
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Dude, where is today’s blog?