The Two Key Signings To United's Success Have Already Been Made

by Puneet Singh

With all the hoop-lah surrounding the summer transfer window, with the who goes where and "we should get him" non-sense I'm looking back at the Manchester United squad with content.

Many will believe that I am insane because not only did we sign a little known Ecuadorian in Luis Valencia and a no name Frenchman in Gabriel Oberton, but we let two of our prominent players leave this summer in Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

While Madrid and Manchester City have nabbed everyone anyone could desire in the market, United have addressed NEEDS over luxaries, thus making the signings of Michael Owen along with Valencia all that's required at Old Trafford.

The depth at United is remarkable compared to some other clubs. With versatile players and hard nose grinders, United is composed of every aspect of football, making their strength the ability to change tactics on the fly.

What Valencia lacks in flair that Ronaldo possessed on the right side of the midfield, he makes up with his grit, hard work and constant hustle; something that Ronaldo did not always give us. Back tracking, good dribbling and excellent passing, Valencia has what it takes to fit right into Fergie's plan and thrive at United.

As Owen proved in the friendly the other day, he still has his scoring boots on and knows how to get it done when needed. We don't need him to score 30 goals like Ronaldo, we just need him to chip in in a key situation and not have to worry about carrying a team. This will take the world off his shoulder's and make his job that much easier.

But more essentially than those two signings, our two major signings have been right in front of us all along, in the form of Owen Hargreaves and Nani.

It should come to no surprise that Hargreaves was dearly missed in the center of the midfield. Hargreaves is the white Michael Essien. That is the only way to put it. He can play all over the backline, all over the midfield and he does it bloody well.

He's one of the key reasons why we couldn't hold our own against Barcelona in the midfield during the Champions League final this year; Xavi and Iniesta were driving through the center of the pitch at will without any force. As shown from the previous CL final against Chelsea in which United prevailed in, Hargreaves had done a superb job keeping everyone at bay and orchestrating the United offsense from the back.

Even at times last year, you could tell United missed Hargreaves muscle. Games that should have been won or at least drawn were dropped. A healthy Hargreaves gives us a bigger weapon than any other signing could offer us and it WILL be proven true once "Hargo" comes back at full strength come September. Premier Leagues be warned.

The other signing that ironically came along with Hargreaves in the summer of 2007 was Luis Nani.

After a magnificent 2007/2008 campaign in which Nani not only delivered wonder goals and assists but also the captivating backflips, he flopped during the 08/09 campaign worse than Greg Louganis at the Olympics(google that one up).

He was expected to be CR7 vol 2.0, but looked more and more like Quaresma in a big league as time went on. He was ultimatley placed in the reserves where he featured more there.

Luckily for Nani's case, Sir Alex Ferguson is giving him a 100% chance to prove his worth this time, hoping to yield positive results from the young Portuguese winger.

Now more than ever is Nani's time to rebound and shine. A platoon of Nani and Valencia would provide United with everything they'd need; solid defense and solid offense.

Liverpool fans are all on cloud nine thinking that they just jumped up a peg for the Premier League title (something the Scouser's haven't won in 20 years or in a better way to put it, since I've entered this earth). Well, I have a reminder for all footballing fans from all different teams: Manchester United on a bad day are still better than you on your best. Best of luck to all in the Premier and Europe this year; you will certainly need it.

Get The Lad His Pacifier and Binky

Puneet Singh

The success of Manchester United over all of Europe for the past two years can be pointed to through many different aspects of the team; our great depth of the bench and reserves, Sir Alex Ferguson's unparalleled coaching tactics and mind games, Cristiano Ronaldo's 42 goal tally last year....the list is endless. One of the unsung heroes on our squad who gets lost in all the fame and praise of the other stars at United is none other than "El Apache" Carlos Tevez.

Since arriving at United on a two year loan in the summer of 2007, Tevez has earned a reputation as a bulldog and a grinder. This is evident in his style of play and his never quit attitude on the pitch. Through the 98 games over the last two years that Tevez has featured in, he has netted 34 goals and in the process formed a dynamic partnership with Wayne Rooney, known to the Manchester faithful as RooVez.

He has been unsettled though this year, starting less games because of the signing of Dimitar Berbatov, an in the box monster and front line carrier that Manchester have been lacking since selling Ruud Van Nistelrooy off to Real Madrid prior to the 2006-2007 campaign.

It seems like by not starting consistently at Manchester and United having not secured his long term future from the 3rd party group of MSI by now, that Tevez is now irate and frustrated, thus prompting rumors of his departure. But Tevez has to remember that Manchester United are an elite club, if not THE ELITE CLUB in all of the footballing world. There will be all world talent here and players will want to come and play for Fergie and the Red Devils. Look at the likes of John O'Shea, Darren Fletcher, Park Ji-Sung and Johnny Evans, all role players for United, but could easily be starting for 12 to 13 of the other Premier League teams today. The key is that each of these players is a vital and integral part to our organization and have a certain role, and as long as they do their job, they will continue to have that role. Tevez needs to realize that he too is highly regarded not only by the organization, but the fans that sing and chant his name. He will always have his place at United should he choose to stay here.

If Tevez believes that his situation is unfair and he does not get enough playing time, try explaining it to these players from these teams. In 2005 Real Madrid has Fernando Morientes, Raul, Ronaldo, Robinho and Michael Owen all as their forwards, and all were all world talents at the time. Playing time was beyond scarce for Owen and Morientes whom both would eventually leave after the season while Robinho was in the process of being converted from a CF to a Winger. In 2000 Inter Milan had the dilemma of deciding who to start out of a group that included Hernan Crespo, Christian Vieri, Alvaro Recoba, Robbie Keane and Ronaldo again.

So where oh where could Carlos be headed? The man himself has said he would love to stay in England and in his own words "Any club I join, whether it be Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool or Everton, will be a rival of Manchester United." This all but shows that his mental state has already left United. Outside of England, Tevez is heavily being pursued by Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.

Should Tevez sign with another club it would not be the end of the world for United, but the end of the world for him. There is no bigger of a winning culture in all of Europe than Manchester United over the past three years. Walking away from that to go to a team such as say Liverpool or Real Madrid which has not won much over the past three to four years, would seem questionable. Although he will be getting a great amount of playing time, he will be going to two areas where the culture is completely different. Liverpool is always in a state of panic and breakdown so long as Rafa Benitez is the skipper there, and at Madrid there is no continuity with their coaching carousel. Manchester City can afford to pay him beyond his wildest dreams and start him all the time, but the case comes up that they are at the bottom of the barrel and as far away from winning the Premier League as anyone. In addition to that, they are still a year or two away from Champions League play.

Tevez should know this, although the grass may seem greener outside of Manchester, there is no one out there who can offer him more as a whole than we can. Playing time and a heftier paycheck may be nice, but at the cost of being a legend and a winner, is it really worth it? Carlos should realize, he's not irreplaceable as he thinks in his own mind. If United can replace icons such as Roy Keane, David Beckham and Eric Cantona of recent times, he should feel honored to be wearing the same shirt as that elite company. Playing for United is a privilege one that he should look forward to continuing for years coming. We embrace you Carlos, its time you show us love back.