We've already posted this in discussions, but thought it could spark a positive discussion away from the doom and gloom of influencial players leaving.
I am completely in the opinion that this is the first season in 20 years that we are going into the season on par, if not stronger that our rivals.
United have just lost their best player since George Best and Bobby Charlton, they’ve also lost another influential player (albeit with more splinters in his arse) in Tevez. Fergie has lost out on all of his major transfer targets this summer (Benzema, Villa, Ribery and even Tevez). So far, they’ve replaced Ronaldo (currently the best player in the world??) with Valencia (a player who couldn’t even light up a mediocre team). They’ve also panicked about losing out on the top strikers in Europe and signed Owen.
Chelsea, who have one of the oldest average squads in the league, have just gained a new manager and are therefore in a complete state of transformation (like we were 5 years ago, but not as severe because of the quality players they already have). Players like Carvalho, Deco and Boswinga are being linked heavily with moves away from the club and their captain and heartbeat is reportedly unhappy that he wasn’t informed about the bid from City (City also appear to be encouraged in their continuous efforts to sign Terry).
Arsenal, who apparently play the most attractive football in the league, are progressively moving backwards. A lack of high profile, world class signings, coupled with Wenger’s continual belief in his under achieving youngsters, are accounting for their demise. Their captain Fabregas is being courted by the two big guns in Spain and they still haven’t replaced the gap left by Flamini and Silva in the middle. On top of this, the excuse of ‘but we’ve got a young team’, is beginning to wear thin as the average age of their team isn’t as low as some people may think (theirs is 25, ours is 26).
In the case of the other 3 teams, they’ve all already taken a step back or are currently in the process of doing so. We have strengthened this summer by brining in arguably the best right back in the country in Johnson. If Alonso and Mascherano leave, we too will be making that step backwards and moving further and further away from that 19th title, that is how important it is to keep our spine and in particular our midfield engine. Thank goodness for RAFA's hard stance with RM and Barcelona and Alonso/Mascherano, like RAFA says they owe us....
I am completely in the opinion that this is the first season in 20 years that we are going into the season on par, if not stronger that our rivals.
United have just lost their best player since George Best and Bobby Charlton, they’ve also lost another influential player (albeit with more splinters in his arse) in Tevez. Fergie has lost out on all of his major transfer targets this summer (Benzema, Villa, Ribery and even Tevez). So far, they’ve replaced Ronaldo (currently the best player in the world??) with Valencia (a player who couldn’t even light up a mediocre team). They’ve also panicked about losing out on the top strikers in Europe and signed Owen.
Chelsea, who have one of the oldest average squads in the league, have just gained a new manager and are therefore in a complete state of transformation (like we were 5 years ago, but not as severe because of the quality players they already have). Players like Carvalho, Deco and Boswinga are being linked heavily with moves away from the club and their captain and heartbeat is reportedly unhappy that he wasn’t informed about the bid from City (City also appear to be encouraged in their continuous efforts to sign Terry).
Arsenal, who apparently play the most attractive football in the league, are progressively moving backwards. A lack of high profile, world class signings, coupled with Wenger’s continual belief in his under achieving youngsters, are accounting for their demise. Their captain Fabregas is being courted by the two big guns in Spain and they still haven’t replaced the gap left by Flamini and Silva in the middle. On top of this, the excuse of ‘but we’ve got a young team’, is beginning to wear thin as the average age of their team isn’t as low as some people may think (theirs is 25, ours is 26).
In the case of the other 3 teams, they’ve all already taken a step back or are currently in the process of doing so. We have strengthened this summer by brining in arguably the best right back in the country in Johnson. If Alonso and Mascherano leave, we too will be making that step backwards and moving further and further away from that 19th title, that is how important it is to keep our spine and in particular our midfield engine. Thank goodness for RAFA's hard stance with RM and Barcelona and Alonso/Mascherano, like RAFA says they owe us....
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