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Ferguson prepares to put his faith in youth once again

When Sir Alex Ferguson says that Real Madrid are “not nearly as afraid as debt as everyone else in the world,” is he saying that Manchester United are terrified of their status as the world’s most indebted club?

Those close to him suggest not, saying that the debts incurred by the Glazer family takeover in 2005 do not begin to impact on Ferguson’s day-to-day operations or his long-term transfer policy. The debts of Red Football Joint Venture Ltd, United’s parent company, rose to £649.4 million in the financial year ending July 31 2008, but both Ferguson, David Gill and the Glazers – communicating only through a spokesman – maintain that they are entirely comfortable with their position. The talk is always of “soft borrowings” and “no real pressure” from the banks.

So what is driving the air of prudence or parsimony that has swept through Old Trafford since the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for a world-record fee of £80 million? It would take an almighty leap of faith to believe that the debts are not one factor – last year’s record profits of £71.8 million were almost entirely wiped out by interest payments amounting to £68.8 million – but it is not the only one.

To put it bluntly, Ferguson believes there is no point paying out vast sums of money for players who (a) would not significantly improve United’s squad and (b) would hamper the progress of some of the outstanding youngsters already at the club. There is a strong argument for saying that he did just that with the £30.75 million club-record purchase of Dimitar Berbatov last summer, but, having baulked at the £35 million fee demanded by Lyons for Karim Benzema – a decision that was admittedly made easier by the striker’s desire to follow Ronaldo to Madrid – Ferguson chose instead to sign Michael Owen on a free transfer, leaving that £80 million burning a hole in his pocket.

Celtic losing the battle to compete with the Premier League

Oliver Kay

IT is a story about an English club, a Scottish club, a Welsh club and a Spanish manager – and no, this is not a joke, particularly if you happen to be a Celtic supporter.
 
Wigan Athletic’s imminent appointment of Roberto Martinez as manager is interesting on many levels – not least because Dave Whelan, their chairman, said recently that he “wouldn’t go near” a foreign coach – but it is what the deal says about Celtic and, by extension, Scottish football that is most intriguing.

Martinez did not turn Celtic down. Celtic, having identified the talented Spaniard as a candidate to replace Gordon Strachan, could not even talk to him because, unlike Wigan, they were unable to meet the compensation figure – said to be not far short of £2 million – demanded by Swansea City. West Bromwich Albion hope that a Celtic approach for Tony Mowbray will fall down for similar reasons.

Perez looks for a repeat of Galactico era at Real Madrid

 

Oliver Kay

Florentino Pérez hasn’t uttered the G-word yet, the word that embodies all that is wrong with the modern Real Madrid. But the man who confessed to having made “a lot of mistakes” as he surrendered the club’s presidency has persuaded himself that reviving his ill-fated galácticos project is the only way to restore Real to greatness as he prepares to be re-elected on an inexplicable wave of popular support.

Pérez did some remarkable things as Real president between 2000 and 2006, transforming the club’s commercial profile by luring players such as Luís Figo, Zinédine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham to Madrid. But what had promised to be a golden era — La Liga titles in 2001 and 2003, a Champions League triumph in 2002 — turned out to be short-lived. Pérez, a construction magnate, had built on sand.

You would think he would learn his lesson, wouldn’t you? But, after five seasons without so much as a quarter-final appearance in the Champions League, first under Pérez and then under Ramón Calderón — it hardly seems worth naming, let alone blaming, the coaches, given that they have rarely been given time to make an impression on the team — Pérez has convinced himself, the pro-Real media and, more terrifyingly, the club’s members that he, with his love of commerce, is the man to dethrone Barcelona’s European champions.

It is not infeasible that he could manage it. His list of transfer targets — Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká, Franck Ribéry, David Villa, Xabi Alonso, Maicon — would represent five years’ worth of galácticos in one fell swoop. But apart from Maicon, a flamboyant right back, there aren’t too many defenders in there.

Considering that Real went into their final league match last night having conceded more goals than Osasuna, their relegation-threatened opponents, and that they were thrashed 5-0 on aggregate by Liverpool in the Champions League, you might have imagined that defenders would be a priority.

Pérez, though, does not see their worth. Defenders do not sell shirts or lucrative sponsorship deals in the Far East. Defensive midfield players do not float his boat, either, as he made clear when he sold Claude Makelele to Chelsea in 2003, saying: “His technique is average, he lacks the speed and skill to take the ball past opponents and 90 per cent of his passes go backwards or sideways.”

Pérez did not get it then and there has been no sign that he gets it now. Real are already the most profitable club in the world. What they need is a team to win trophies, not just another collection of trophy players.

Arsene Wenger would be mad to move to Madrid

 

Oliver Kay

Debate: Is it time for Wenger to leave Arsenal?

GUESS how many different coaches have sat in the Real Madrid dug-out since Arsene Wenger took over as Arsenal manager in 1996. Go on, give it your best shot. What’s that you say? Nine? Ten? Try fourteen. That, at least, is my best calculation, based on research that has had to go beyond the usual Wikipedia, which has simply lost count.
 
That list in full (or as full as I can ascertain): Fabio Capello (1996-97), Jupp Heynckes (1997-98), Jose Antonio Camacho (1998), Guus Hiddink (1998-99), John Toshack (1999-2000), Vicente Del Bosque (2000-03), Carlos Queiroz (2003-04), Camacho again (2004), Mariano Garcia Remon (2004), Vanderlei Luxemburgo (2004-05), Juan Ramon Lopez Caro (2005-06), Capello again (2006-07), Bernd Schuster (2007-08), Juande Ramos (2008 to date, though in reality probably only for another week or two).
 
If he truly wanted to coach Real Madrid, Wenger could have declared his interest at almost any stage over the past decade and the job would have been his. That is why it would fly against everything he stands if he were to leave Arsenal for the Madrid madhouse.

If Newcastle United do go down, God help them and their supporters

Oliver Kay

At half-time at St James’ Park last Monday, with Newcastle United and Middlesbrough locked at 1-1 during a match that was billed as a battle for survival, the resident DJ put on a bit of Bob Dylan in an attempt to raise spirits. North Country Blues might have seemed appropriate, ditto Going, Going, Gone, but neither was quite bleak enough, to judge from his eventual choice, which was Beyond Here Lies Nothin’.

There is a school of thought among Newcastle’s supporters, as they face up to their day of reckoning at Villa Park on Sunday, that relegation from the Barclays Premier League might be a blessing in a particularly devilish disguise, that it would force the despised Mike Ashley to sell up and allow the club to start again. It is based on the psychoanalytic theory that you need to hit rock bottom to start the recovery process, but ask supporters of Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday and they will tell you it is not quite as easy as that.

If a club are well run by smart people, as is the case at Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion, they can bounce back. But when was a smart, football-savvy person last seen in the Newcastle boardroom? Ashley admits freely that he did not bother to undertake a period of due diligence when he bought the club in 2007. He bought them on the assumption that he could turn them around and sell them at a profit. Like so many others at St James’ Park, he overestimated his own abilities, ignoring the rot that lay beneath an impressive façade.

Ferguson has good reason to tolerate Ronaldo's antics

Oliver Kay

If there is one aspect of Sir Alex Ferguson's career that puts him head and shoulders above what might otherwise be considered his peers, it is the way that he has adapted his management style across generations, ensuring that nothing can surprise him, be it a tactical innovation or the latest manifestation of player power.

That is why he is unlikely to have been quite as shocked as the rest of us by Cristiano Ronaldo's pathetic behaviour on Sunday, when he threw a tantrum in protest at being substituted during Manchester United's 2-0 derby victory over Manchester City at Old Trafford. That is why, despite the constant headaches he brings, Ronaldo's willingness to stay with United next season will be welcomed by Ferguson.

Ferguson knows what Ronaldo is like. He knows that his most talented player is the type of preening prima donna whom he would not have allowed through the door of the United dressing-room for much of his reign at Old Trafford.

Guus Hiddink will be a hard act to follow

Oliver Kay

Some time in the coming weeks or perhaps even days, a meeting will be held, in a luxurious hotel or perhaps even on board one of Roman Abramovich’s yachts, and someone, most probably either Carlo Ancelotti or Frank Rijkaard, will accept a very lucrative invitation to take charge of Chelsea next season.

Abramovich will smile one of those rather strange smiles, the one that tells the world, via any lurking paparazzi, that he is happy to have got his man, irrespective of any unfavourable compensation clauses that might have slipped into the contract. He will convince himself that this will be the start of a beautiful relationship, one that will make Chelsea great, winning trophies while producing a quality of football that was never seen under José Mourinho.

Ancelotti and Rijkaard are excellent coaches, both having led attractive teams to the Champions League in recent years, but the growing suspicion is that Chelsea’s greatest hope of success lies with the man who will depart the club at the end of the month. Guus Hiddink is not for turning and will without question resume coaching Russia on a full-time basis once his work at Stamford Bridge is done. More is the pity for Chelsea. And Hiddink, for that matter.

Hiddink has not quite been perfect; his excellent game plan over the two legs of the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona was undone, in part, by excessive caution in the closing stages, including the removal of Didier Drogba. But he has shown an immediate understanding of and feel for both English football and the job at Chelsea. No such guarantees can be made of Ancelotti, who has been undergoing a crash course in English, or Rijkaard, whose laissez-faire approach at Barcelona might not sit easily with a driven group of players, many of whom remain disciples of the meticulous Mourinho.

Hiddink has been good for Chelsea and, according to those who know him, Chelsea has been good for him. Even Sven-Göran Eriksson, not renowned for his work ethic, began to miss the day-to-day involvement of club football during his time in charge of England, so how does Hiddink really feel about returning to the international scene, where Russia already look nailed on for a place at next summer’s World Cup finals? To what extent is he in thrall to his job and to what extent is he a slave to a contract, albeit highly lucrative, that no man would dare to break? It is one of those questions that will go unanswered. Hiddink was only ever holding the fort, but the standards that he has set will be hard for anyone else to follow.

Keep Joey Barton's offence in perspective

Oliver Kay

Joey Barton: devil incarnate or anti-christ? Usually you expect there to be two sides to a debate, but, as the world queued up to condemn the Newcastle United midfield player for his red card against Liverpool on Sunday, the only question was about just how far beyond the pale Barton had gone this time.
 
Barton was an idiot on Sunday, inviting a red card for his stupid lunge on Xabi Alonso in the closing stages of his team’s 3-0 defeat by Liverpool, but, at risk of inviting outrage, is there not just the slightest chance that people are over-reacting to the incident because of the identity of the perpetrator?

Will Berbatov prove worthy, or be another Juan Veron?

Oliver Kay

There can be no more difficult signing than the player who represents the cherry on top of a particularly appetising cake. Not the mystical “final piece in the jigsaw”, which has proved elusive for a succession of Liverpool managers over the years, but the player who is supposed to elevate an all-conquering team to even greater heights.

For Manchester United last summer, after two consecutive Barclays Premier League titles and a Champions League triumph, that meant waiting until the final day of the transfer window to fork out a club-record £30.75 million fee to sign Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur. Sir Alex Ferguson felt that he needed another striker, another outlet, more height and, critically, more composure alongside Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tévez.

The Berbatov deal instantly called to mind Sir Alex Ferguson’s £28.1 million capture of Juan Sebastián Verón in 2001. The comparison is hardly a new one, but it was revived last week when Ferguson, in an interview with France Football magazine, explained the deal by emphasising the importance of retaining possession, even if it meant slowing down the team’s play. It was the same rationale he used for signing Verón.

First impressions of Verón proved accurate, that he was a wonderful player who did not fit into United’s team, and there has been a strong temptation to write off Berbatov in similar fashion. Both in the media and among United’s fans, some of whom booed when his name was read out before the recent victory over Portsmouth, there are hordes of Berba-sceptics, all of them clamouring for the inclusion of the more industrious Tévez.

Berbatov is yet to live up to his price tag and at times there is a desperation about Ferguson’s desire to talk up the “magnificent” efforts of a player who has been only the ninth or tenth most magnificent in his team. But it is hard to avoid the feeling, based partly on his contributions against Tottenham Hotspur and Middlesbrough, that Berbatov is about to underline his worth. The United shirt weighs heavily on his shoulders, perhaps reflecting a degree of insecurity, but the feeling persists that he will play a big part in what unfolds over the final weeks of the campaign.

 It has been a season to forget for Micah Richards, but it was still shocking to read reports yesterday suggesting that one of England’s most promising players could be allowed to join the exodus from Manchester City this summer. The only thing more shocking was the reminder that Danny Mills is still on City’s payroll, having made one appearance for the club since April 2006.

Owen has five games to save Newcastle – and his reputation

Oliver Kay

Even in these straitened times, the annual publication of The Sunday Times Rich List does not cease to titillate. Did you know, for example, that Cheltenham Town, just relegated to Coca-Cola League Two, are part-owned by Simon Keswick, who has a fortune of £870 million? Or that the five richest British or British-based footballers are contracted to the Los Angeles Galaxy, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Portsmouth and North Queensland Fury?

The five men are David Beckham, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Sol Campbell and, of course, Robbie Fowler, whose investments in property showed him to be far shrewder than anyone gave him credit for. It is interesting that the biggest fortunes are not necessarily those of the most successful players.

How does an obscenely rich footballer feel when he wakes up each morning, knowing that the sport is passing him by? Beckham, in an effort to salvage his England career, engineered a loan move from the Galaxy to AC Milan, then made financial sacrifices to ensure that the arrangement was extended beyond March. So what will Owen do now that his £115,000-a-week contract with Newcastle is in its final weeks?