Why 80 Million Pounds isn't really worth anything

OK, the title is a bit misleading because surely if someone gifted me 80 million pounds, I would save the 70 million quid and spend wild on the remaining 10 million. Oddly enough, that's what Manchester United are doing, but not exactly by their own volition. Flash back nearly a month ago and here's what I said about just how hard it is to recoup 80 or even 100 million pounds in quality from the Ronaldo sale:

Last Summer, I ran into an expatriate United fan at a pub I seldom patronize but for the heck of it I drank there... Well, at any rate, this United fan was one of those really disgusted with Ronaldo's request to leave to the point he should've been sold for the 80 million quid and go out and buy three players in particular: Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery, Lyon's Karim Benzema, and Roma's Daniele de Rossi. He had a great point, but... it's difficult to replace Ronaldo, not just because of his one-off skill set, rather it's because it's difficult to turn that 80 million quid into a three-headed monster that will add the same or more of a dimension as Ronaldo would on top of what's established at Old Trafford. It doesn't help matters when 80 million quid won't be enough to get all three if their clubs are so adamant to sell those players at "the right price".

Most importantly:

In short, replacing Ronaldo will be very difficult when you have the likes of Ribery, Benzema, and de Rossi intent on playing elsewhere, which makes an 80 million pound purse a moot point.

Personally, I would only deem it a good summer for United if 1) they don't fall in the Ribery trap and pay too much for a winger who isn't really a match-winner, 2) they spend big on Benzema, and 3) they get a healthy box-to-box destroyer roaming the midfield.

United got point #1 right in signing Antonio Valencia for a rather reasonable 16 million pound fee instead of shelling out much of the purse for 50-60 million quid on Ribery or even forking up 30 million for David Silva. One thing we know about Valencia of all three is, simply he's a proven performer in the Premier League. Shoot, I even rated him to the point I slightly reached on him in our draft-and-trade fantasy Premiership league. Valencia has all the facets of a very solid winger in this league: power, pace, endurance, great workrate, possesses upside as a 23 year-old, as well as his underrated ability in playing on the defensive side of the coin. I think the best thing that comes out of this signing is it doesn't totally overshadow Nani to the point he's tossed completely out of the mix, whereas a Ribery signing would otherwise cement his place in the starting XI and left Nani out in the cold as normal. I believe the hype train on Nani being "the next Cristiano Ronaldo", as labeled on many a Youtube highlight compilation, was a bit much. The fact is, he can't be Ronaldo when he's interchangeable on both flanks and up front and can score in a number of ways. Rather, I see Nani as falling in more as an Antonio Valencia type, but with the differences lying in greater upside, a more explosive step, and an array of trickery. The fundamental difference between Nani and Valencia is what Nani hasn't done as Valencia has been shown to be capable of: the ability to track back and consistency. It should be interesting now that Valencia is at United if he sheds a bit of his defensive responsibilities aside from his dual role at Wigan for a tad more commitment on the attacking end. However, I reckon that's an innate part of Valencia's game and he should link up well with the right-back on both sides of the ball.

Here's a highlight video of Valencia's stuff. Again, he's not the match-winner as a number of these Youtube compilations make certain players out to be, but he's surely quality. Not world-beating quality, but quality nonetheless.

So, phase one of the plan was complete. Some would feel disappointed that United didn't bring in that marquee name, but I was very pleased with this signing. Smart money for a smart player and now, it was time to pony up the big bucks in a bid to land the player who for me is the best Ronaldo alternative, Karim Benzema.

Although true to my point that it would be hard to lure Benzema over to United, I couldn't help but feel a bit deflated that Real Madrid outbid for Benzema's services. After all, getting Benzema to Old Trafford was the most important piece of the three-pronged puzzle in my opinion. United relied on Cristiano Ronaldo to supply a heavy chunk of their goal scoring output in the last couple of years. Now, Wayne Rooney will be relied on most to come through in the central role and he needs to last a full season. You might say, well, United also have Dimitar Berbatov, aren't you forgetting him? No, I haven't, but I've always seen him as more of a facilitator, a retainer of the ball, and a striker who isn't exactly a true #9. What you have is a precarious situation where that burden of scoring goals fall on Rooney's shoulders and boot, which inevitably means, can he shake off the nagging injuries that have plagued him in a few stretches. Are Danny Welbeck and Kiko Macheda really capable of filling in the void so quickly? The lads are talented, but they're works in progress whereas Benzema has proven to be that big-game performer, judging on how he's fared on the Champions League stage. I think the reason for my disappointment in Benzema signing for Real Madrid isn't because of his priority of moving to Spain, primarily Real, but because supposedly United were reluctant in bidding more to woo the 21 year-old prodigy striker from Lyon. Like I said nearly a month ago when the Ronaldo transfer broke out, there were two names I wouldn't mind seeing United overpay for: one of them was Benzema. However, had United exceeded 45 million and got suckered into a bidding war with Real, signing Benzema for a king's ransom could've been setting up for disappointment. That said, what I see in Benzema is like the Fernando Torres situation two years ago when if Fergie ponied up a more daring bid for Torres, he'd be a Red, just not of the Scouse variety. In hindsight, a Rooney-Torres partnership would've been not only a deadly one, but one that would jive well. Surely in this scenario if Ronaldo exited for Real, none of us would be stressing the situation and called it a day with the Valencia signing. Now, with Benzema off the table, those true world-beating quality options dwindle down to about next to nothing. You want Ribery? Well, he's licking his chops over a Kaka-Ronaldo-Benzema ensemble at the Bernabeu and wants nothing less than being part of the Galacticon Circus. David Villa? No chance, he wants to stay in Spain and the only place he'd play outside of Spain is technically Spain, but isn't in spirit: Barcelona. David Silva? No, Valencia want to hang on to him feverishly. Samuel Eto'o? He's in a transfer stalemate with Manchester City and his first priority is Barcelona. I don't believe United will give Eto'o the wages City are willing to shell out for him nor do I think he's worth extra for a striker in his peak years, nearing 30.

The other guy I mentioned as a player I wouldn't mind seeing United overpay for is Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero, who I fancy as that last ditch option, well behind Karim Benzema. Why's that? Think of Aguero as a lot like his Argentinean compatriot, Carlos Tevez. Only difference between the two is Aguero can actually lead the line. However, he's come off only a sub-par season and two, Atletico will only sell him for no less than 45 million quid. Absurd for Atletico to assess El Kun that way? Yes and no. Yes, the price is too much. No, because while Atleti are technically a top 4, Champions League qualifying side, they're not quite of that quality without Aguero and Diego Forlan and I'd hazard to say, they're basically no better than Tottenham. The popular analogy as to describe what's going on in La Liga is Spain is becoming like Scotland where the league is nothing but Celtic and Rangers contesting it, which leaves Real Madrid and Barcelona as the usual "Old Firm" for old times. Sevilla and Villarreal are good sides, but by England standards, they're within that 5-10 range while Valencia are facing financial problems which would keep any hopes of challenging at bay. That leaves Atletico, who fall in that Sevilla/Villarreal mold, but they also have a future superstar in El Kun, which is why they're desperate to cling on to him. Investing a top price on Aguero isn't exactly good business for the risk of shelling out, but I'd say he's the next best thing after Benzema. Actually, third-best when you consider Milan's Pato, but in spite of their financial struggles, they see Kaka's sale as the only sacrifice they're willing to make with Pato being the cornerstone of the next Milan side.

When the Ronaldo sale happened, the only good reason I could think of as to why United "caved in" and sold him to Real for a handsome sum, is because he didn't want to play. Nearly a month after the fact, I believe what's transpired has pretty much sealed that line of thinking. No one player or set of three players can replace Ronaldo, a once-in-a-generation talent. Likewise, no sum of money can buy one or three players that can make up for the sum of what Ronaldo brings to the table. It's not that quality players are scarce, but the scarcity lies in the quality of players that are worthy of playing regularly for a big club. Kaka? Gone to Real. Benzema? Gone to Real. Ribery? All he can think of is going to Real. Villa and Aguero want to stay in Spain. Daniele de Rossi is Roma's loyal terrier even though it won't surprise me if Real want to bid on his services. Edin Zdeko? Wolfsburg are clinging to him like glue and for good reason, their first ever Bundesliga title and they're set to appear in their first ever Champions League. With Real inflating the market as they have, I doubt Zdeko goes anywhere but Wolfsburg, maybe Milan but those chances get more slight by the day. Oh, and United can forget about Udinese's Alexis Sanchez, who the club regards as their future and should he succeed, they can sell him for much more, but here's a player I'd say who can develop into a Ronaldo-like player a few years from now.

So... how do United salvage the Summer? The focus should be on fetching those two key ingredients: a top-flight defensive mid and another goal scorer in concert with Rooney/Berbs. If no de Rossi can be had, I think Lyon's Toulalan or Milan's underused Mathieu Flamini fit the bill. Both are tough, physical tacklers, but they've held up better than Owen Hargreaves, and give a sense of uniformity to the midfield, a characteristic that was lacking and exploited in the European Cup final loss to Barcelona. Neither should be as expensive as de Rossi, methinks, which is also a fine bonus. As far as attackers go, the Galactico makeover at the Bernabeu might mean Klaas Jan Huntelaar could be expendable and he's been a United target for some time prior to moving to Real, but I don't see him fitting in the United system. The same goes for Zlatan Ibrahimovic who in some respects reminds me of Ruud van Nistelrooy (you'd think he'd be expendable too) but the latter's presence slowed down the attack some in his later years and I don't see Ibra being the most optimal fit for United's system.

Whatever the case, the pending Karim Benzema transfer puts a downer on the transfer season. A number of United fans will tell you that they're glad Benzema wasn't shipped to Old Trafford because of his similar self-entitled temperament to Ronnie and his ultimate dream of playing for Real Madrid. Nonetheless, it still means one dynamic scoring alternative crossed off the shopping list and it's back to the transfer drawing board for United, barring some minor miracle of someone rejecting the Galactico Circus.

Alright, it's now time for something completely different and let's look on the bright side of life. The most celebrated transfer didn't take place in Spain, but in Turkey, as Ankaragucu secured the greatest English footballing genius of our times... Darius Vassell. Now, say what you will of Turkish fans, but you don't see this kind of loyalty and enthusiasm for even fodder like Vassell, seeing how they seriously view their players as one of their own. Just look at the reception Darius Vassell got, my goodness, was he mobbed. It's like Pele arrived at the airport. Take a look at this, I can't stop ROFLMAO right now since the 1:40 mark when the Vassell chant breaks out. Effin' mint!