For Manchester United, season 09/10 was very much a transitional year. Before they began the first year ACR (after Cristiano Ronaldo), United was looking like a headless beast, in danger of unraveling from within. There was a whole lot of bluster about spending that 80 million pounds that Ronaldo's departure had netted the club, but in the end, 17 million was spent on Antonio Valencia from Wigan, but not a lot else. And Valencia was always going to be a very poor mans Ronaldo on that wing.
Dimitar Berbatov, arrived from Tottenham for a grossly overpriced 30 million quid, and promptly proved the exception to that hard-and-fast rule that Sir Alex is a shrewd and cunning individual when he dips his toe into the transfer market.
So hypothetically, I'm asking you to imagine a Manchester United world where Wayne Rooney didn't exist. Just imagine it. If you come from the red half of Manchester, then pictures don't get much grimmer than that. Because, even though I know whenever anyone scores a goal in the Premier League a rumor springs up, there have been rumblings about a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid and a decent climate.
When Rooney left Everton as really just a boy, everyone said that no matter what Everton offered him, he was just to good for them. In the same way that Torres was at Athletico (sorry Nando), even the clubs own fans had to recognize that their talisman had outgrown them. But is this what has occured at Manchester too? Rooney props the team up, week in, week out, he picks them up off the floor with match saving goals, and even when he's not scoring he's providing assists, or drawing two or three defenders to allow teammates to score. There is no denying how solid the backhalf of the Red Devils equation is, they have the best back four on paper in the league, but without Rooney in the front half, they look slow, unimaginative and lacking in firepower.
I do not for one second believe that Rooney will leave this summer. But it should serve as fair warning to Fergie and the fans of the club if their talisman allows the rumors to stretch a bit further, just avoid the question, and up the speculation, because I think they take his loyalty for granted somewhat, and Rooney deserves better. Manchester United need to strengthen their squad, if not to make a run for the title, to have something to point to when Rooney reasonably inquires 'what are you doing to keep me here?'
So far, I have been all doom and gloom for United. It's all negative, all down in the dumps analysis. Its true, its fair and its undeniable that United have had a sub-par season that has provided none of the silverware that they so desperately desire. But there have been definite, undeniable positives also.
Rooney is first and foremost among these. He is, without a doubt (apologies once more to Nando), the greatest striker in the world at the moment. Drogba may score more goals, but when you look at the players he plays with compared to that in Rooney's team (because that is essentially what United are) there is no comparison to be made. He has carried his team on his ample shoulders, dragging them kicking and screaming to a second in the league and a quarterfinals appearance in the Champions League.
Nani. He is either loved or hated by Manchester United fans, and up until a couple of months ago, nine out of ten fell into the latter category. But then it began to click, and up and down that left side, Nani rained fire and brimstone upon right-backs with his array of fancy step-overs and exquisite crossing and finishing to back it up. While he will forever be compared (unfavourably) to his Portuguese teammate and predecessor, Ronaldo, he is growing in stature with every game, and may yet become an actual good footballer, something that no Manchester United fan could have foreseen at the beginning of the season.
The Glazers look like they're are on their way out. Before, they were simply a pair of yanks who everyone in the club hated, but couldn't really do anything about. Now, with the club forced to put its massive 800 million pound debt into bonds, they have something to aspire to, something to hope for in the form of the Red Knights, who reportedly have tabled an offer of 1.5 billion pounds for the club, and would have them purchase the entire holding without incurring debt. For Red Devils' fans, its light at the end of a very long, black tunnel.
-- CESC --
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