Manchester United have moved with military stealth to get David Moyes into the hot seat at Old Trafford. Rarely has a retirement and new appointment been made in such a short space of time. Manchester United clearly didn’t want a speculation frenzy and period of chaos which could have turned many of the players’ heads.
Viewing David Moyes from afar you can see that he’s the sort of meticulous character that will have started planning for his Manchester United even before he got the job. If I, as a football fan, have lay awake many a night imagining my dream team, then it’s a given that Moyes will have done the same – and probably with Manchester United in mind.
Fergie’s departure is devastating for the fans but soon their minds will turn to the new era and all the excitement that comes with it. When Moyes looks at the Manchester United squad he will see a group of myriad talents. But, having floundered in Europe of late, Manchester United will expect to be back in contention for the top gong next season and beyond. Manchester United don’t need a load of new players to execute this plan. Last season they simply lacked that extra bit of fairy dust to put them on the front foot in the big games. Instead, against Real for example, they played a game of containment in fear of a threat which was never that great.
Plundering Everton
Wayne Rooney will come back to the boil and David Moyes may look to bring in two or three more. Whether, at 28 years of age, Leighton Baines represents a top investment is arguable but Moyes may well look to him for improved delivery from the left next season. But Patrice Evra has just had a great season and, even at 32, looks as if he has something left in the tank.
Meanwhile, many Manchester United fans may not immediately be able to envisage a player of Marouane Fellaini’s style coming into the side. He’s not a velvety playmaker like Modric or Muniain. But he is a real physical presence who is a decent all-rounder. I’m still not sure that he would be a player to take this team to the next level however.
Bale
What Moyes needs is a big hitter to add flair to the team and bring immediate success to his tenure. Looking around the football planet you would struggle to find a better option than Gareth Bale. The overall package is probably even more attractive than that of Cristiano Ronaldo at this point. He is 5 years younger and most definitely has his best days ahead. He will improve and he will cost less than Ronaldo to bring to the club. In reality it’s nigh on impossible for United to bring Ronnie back. But, if Moyes put all his transfer eggs in one basket and shipped a few out, the transfer of Bale to Manchester United is within the realms of possibility.
Any player that costs £55m is going to represent a gamble. But, even off form, Bale offers inordinate amounts of energy and a great team ethic. At his best he’s one of the 4 or 5 true game changers that world football enjoys in each generation. His pace, power and fleet feet were evident even at Southampton but, in the last few years, he has added belief and maturity to his natural talent.
Bale may never be quite as good as Cristiano Ronaldo and will never touch Lionel Messi. But there’s no shame in that. What he can do is to nigh on guarantee success for a top side for the next 5-10 years.
Moyes will be assessing his options already and Bale will undoubtedly have come into his thoughts.
Manchester United fans, do you think the club can afford Bale?
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Bright
May 10, 2013 at 12:33 pm
Let wait and see how he will manage the team
Joe
May 10, 2013 at 12:35 pm
Bale would be a great addition to United. But I doubt it will happen for 2 reasons.
1. Levy would need a staggering sum of money to sell to another English team. £55m won’t cut it. He might sell to Madrid or Bayern at that price, but it will be 15 – 20 million more for another Premier League team. Would the Glazers allow a new manager to spend this?
2. Even if you got Levy to agree to a sale. Will Bale take the risk of joining United under Moyes? I think most top players and their agents will shy away form United this summer. Hence today, we have seen a lot of stories about Lewandowski and Falcao joining Bayern and Monaco. People will wait to see how Moyes does before jumping.
SP
May 10, 2013 at 12:54 pm
Why has the author chosen a wholly artbritary sum of £55 million?
Daniel Levy will have some say in whether, and to whom, Bale is sold, and I don’t think he would be happy with a sale to United!
Bale has again stressed, this very week, how happy he is at WHL and wanting his own progress to coincide with the club’s progress.
And much as I personally rate David Moyes, he is being handed the very definition of a poisoned chalice – even if the thought doesn’t occur to Bale (and I think it would), his advisors would be remiss to not advise him to wait and see how Moyes at OT pans out before moving there, even if it was his preferred option.
Reads like United fan’s wishlist – the days when United can bully Spurs out of players may well be over, and United fans need to start adjusting to that possibility rather than composing a never-ending succession of articles like this.
Ohitai John Mario
May 10, 2013 at 12:54 pm
We need Bale and CR7 only for next season b’se attacking wings are a threat to Man Utd squad this season. With that, Moyes regime would be boosted.
Christopher
May 10, 2013 at 1:26 pm
Bale cost £55m two years ago, so United would have to look to add another £15m to that.
Ultimately, he’ll either stay at Spurs or head to Spain as an English team would virtually have to pay for a new stadium for Spurs in exchange for Bale.
It’s ok to dream though
SAJA
May 10, 2013 at 3:30 pm
I’m guessing this article is from a Manchester United supporter and he is hoping, he and MU get an early Christmas Present. Unfortunately because this took him 3 days to write & he hasn’t backed up this information with what Bale has said over the last 3 days its a bit of an embarrassing story.
So I have to presume this article has been written by a 12 year old that has a Man United Shirt at home on his wall with the letters B A L E on the back.
If not then seriously you need to get out more and check the information is correct before you, put this junk online as you may lose a lot of your readers.
Dave
May 10, 2013 at 3:35 pm
I think it would be a good move to see how Bale pans out rather than Moyes. Yes Bale has had a fantastic couple of seasons unquestionably and he looks to be a super player however…….he is now undeniably Spurs’ top dog and main threat. Other teams will clearly know this and probably adapt their tactical game plans to counter him (get 2/3 men in and around him, cut of the supply line to him etc) So let’s wait and see how he copes with this and adapts his game before trying to prise him away from Spurs with the ridiculous offer (probably in excess of £65m) that it would take to convince Levy to sell him to another EPL club.
No telling you!
May 10, 2013 at 4:15 pm
I’m a United fan and I personally believe Bale will stay at White Hart Lane. I don’t think he will go abroad however, when he does choose to leave. When it his time, I think he will remain in England. Hopefully to United.
As for this summer I would love to see Ronaldo back at Old Trafford! I must admit I think it is now looking bleaker due to Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. We will just have to wait and see what happens. It will be an exciting summer throughout European football though!