Replacing Ronaldo & Tevez with Valencia & Owen

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

What on Earth were we thinking here?

To many this is where our decline as a powerhouse truly began. Of course we had the brilliance of SAF to guide us to 2 more titles & a CL final. IIRC Robben, Ribery & Sneijder were all available that summer. Unbelievable negligence by us back when we were the consensus 2nd best team in the world. Did we not realise losing the best player in the world & another top player & not replacing them would see us decline? I was quite young back then, what was the fans view at the time?

 

[red_de_pologne]

Have a feeling we will similarly „replace” Pogba

 

[Mr Pigeon]

Maybe the players you mention just weren't interested in moving to Manchester?

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

Have a feeling we will similarly „replace” Pogba

Big Seany Longstaff

 

[Rhyme Animal]

Should also be noted that we didn't even properly sign Tevez!

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

Didn't Real sell Robben to fund Ronaldo? Should have tried to get him in as a trade.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

I was quite young back then, what was the fans view at the time?

That everyone at the club, SAF included were complete idiots for not saying to Madrid, if you want Ronaldo, include Robben & Sneijder in the deal. I knew we’d missed a trick.
I think the club cared so much more about saving face with a World record deal.

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

Didn't Real sell Robben to fund Ronaldo? Should have tried to get him in as a trade.

They signed Ronaldo first. Robben didn’t leave till late August.

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

That everyone at the club, SAF included were complete idiots for not saying to Madrid, if you want Ronaldo, include Robben & Sneijder in the deal. I knew we’d missed a trick.
I think the club cared so much more about saving face with a World record deal.

Well they were right. Was this where the “no value in the market” crap started then I assume?

 

[MikeUpNorth]

To be fair, we also signed Gabriel Obertan.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Should also be noted that we didn't even properly sign Tevez!

Also Tevez was never as good for us as he would later become

At the time he wasn't a giant loss.

 

[Adisa]

The summer that started our decline as a club.

 

[JPRouve]

This thread is an example of the mentality around United, reminiscing about summer 2009 and linking it to today.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

To be fair, we also signed Gabriel Obertan.

No. That most definitely wasn't fair.

 

[Sandikan]

We did very well to keep Ronaldo that extra year, in such supreme form. Compare that to what we're getting out of Pogba's last year!
80m was a massive world record at the time.

Tevez's loan was coming to an end, and the actual reported price City paid was £42m which was whopping at that time.
Let's not forget he wasn't "that" great for us, he wasn't scoring the numbers he did for City, and wouldn't have done with Rooney the main man ahead of him.

Valencia was superb for us the first couple of seasons.

And I dare say Schneider/Robben would have led to loads of moans about how we were taking their "rejects" etc.

 

[2 man midfield]

For me, this is the main reason we’re in the mess we’re in now. And I agree OP, it started with that window.

Sir Alex papered over the cracks for a while by squeezing the absolute most out of a great but ageing team. Giggs, Scholes, Van Der Sar, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick etc were the spine of that great side but were all in their 30s and 40s by then, and were able to give it one last push in 2013 with the help of RVP, but it was clear there was no-one ready to take the mantle due to years of underinvestment. We’re still seeing the results of the void that left.

I know people shit on Woodward, but for me the Glazers penny pinching from 2009 onwards, and as a result our average recruitment since, is the sole reason we’re in this mess. Sir Alex would struggle to get 3rd with this squad, and I mean that.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

Berbatov was Tevez replacement, we just brought him a year early. I think towards the end of Tevez first season Sir Alex decided he preferred Berbatov and as it was a 2 year loan we just went and signed him. I am sure we wouldn't have minded keeping Tevez but never seemed like a priority to Sir Alex.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

For me, this is the main reason we’re in the mess we’re in now. And I agree OP, it started with that window.

Sir Alex papered over the cracks for a while by squeezing the absolute most out of a great but ageing team. Giggs, Scholes, Van Der Sar, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick etc were the spine of that great side but were all in their 30s and 40s by then, and were able to give it one last push in 2013 with the help of RVP, but it was clear there was no-one ready to take the mantle due to years of underinvestment. We’re still seeing the results of the void that left.

I know people shit on Woodward, but for me the Glazers penny pinching from 2009 onwards, and as a result our average recruitment since, is the sole reason we’re in this mess. Sir Alex would struggle to get 3rd with this squad, and I mean that.

Our 2013 team was still very very good.

A better manager who made better signings and we'd have been fine.

That's where the decline started for me... Mr. Moyes

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

This thread is an example of the mentality around United, reminiscing about summer 2009 and linking it to today.

Absolutely.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

That's where the decline started for me... Mr. Moyes

Obviously it started there but considering the money spent since, had the club made better decisions we’d have been fine. Remember that Klopp came to Liverpool after Moyes.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

They signed Ronaldo first. Robben didn’t leave till late August.

Alright. Still would have made sense to try. Robben could have been insane for us and helped us to maybe win another CL.
Instead he knocked us out from it for Bayern.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Obviously it started there but considering the money spent since, had the club made better decisions we’d have been fine. Remember that Klopp came to Liverpool after Moyes.

Also true.

 

[Maluco]

I think a trick was missed by not signing Tevez permanently. Having Rooney, Berbatov and Tevez as attacking options would have kept us as one of the games really scary attacking lineups.

Ronaldo was going anyway and Valencia was a good player at the time, so it was always going to be a downgrade.

Having Tevez and Rooney harassing opposition forwards for years to come after he left, would have kept us at the very top table.

 

[Catt]

Everyone's forgotten Mame Diouf.

It simply didn't happen.

 

[JPRouve]

Alright. Still would have made sense to try. Robben could have been insane for us and helped us to maybe win another CL.
Instead he knocked us out from it for Bayern.

The problem with Robben is that while everyone rated him, he was already injury prone and a lot less consistent than he became at Bayern. People would have hated him and his recurrent injuries.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

It makes Rooney’s transfer request to be a sensible move.

If we keep Tevez at least, we would have win the league in 2009/2010 which lead us to our 4th PL title in a row and also very likely 5th PL title in a row.

 

[arthurka]

Anyone feel that the Glazers had their hand in this?

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

It wasn't that bad, Rooney was world-class and ready to be the main man. He was one of the best players in the world before his injury at the worst possible time, who knows what might have happened if he'd been fully fit for the Bayern games. Valencia was a very good winger for United then and in the next few seasons.

It was a different team, but still very effective. They beat a decent Milan team 7-2 on aggregate. They were unlucky against Bayern as it happens in the CL, it was a similar exit to some of the 90s/early 00s teams losing on away goals, where on another day they would have won. They lost the league by a single point, where Chelsea scored a clear offside goal at Old Trafford that wouldn't have counted in VAR days. Won the League Cup. The following season they won the league and made the CL final. What I felt they could have done is bought a top-class centre-midfielder to go with Carrick. Giggs did a great job on that CL run but didn't have the quality at that point in his career in CM against the very best. A young Arturo Vidal or Bastian Schweinsteiger before he was crocked would have been perfect. But United still would have probably went to shit when Ferguson retired regardless.

The idea that this was the decline is revisionism, just like people that say Ferguson's last team was no good. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, the decline started the day Ferguson left, Gill left, Moyes arrived and cleared out the backroom staff and an investment banker Ed Woodward took over football affairs.

 

[Irwin99]

Berbatov was Tevez replacement, we just brought him a year early. I think towards the end of Tevez first season Sir Alex decided he preferred Berbatov and as it was a 2 year loan we just went and signed him. I am sure we wouldn't have minded keeping Tevez but never seemed like a priority to Sir Alex.

I thought that was a mistake at the time and I still do. Berba was a fantastic player but our football got worse from 08-09 season onwards and in his first two season he really wasn't that great. Worth remembering that Tevez was much more of a fan favourite back then, with the crowd chanting 'Fergie sign him up' constantly.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

It wasn't that bad, Rooney was world-class and ready to be the main man. He was one of the best players in the world before his injury at the worst possible time, who knows what might have happened if he'd been fully fit for the Bayern games. Valencia was a very good winger for United then and in the next few seasons.

It was a different team, but still very effective. They beat a decent Milan team 7-2 on aggregate. They were unlucky against Bayern as it happens in the CL, it was a similar exit to some of the 90s/early 00s teams losing on away goals, where on another day they would have won. They lost the league by a single point, where Chelsea scored a clear offside goal at Old Trafford that wouldn't have counted in VAR days. Won the League Cup. The following season they won the league and made the CL final. What I felt they could have done is bought a top-class centre-midfielder to go with Carrick. Giggs did a great job on that CL run but didn't have the quality at that point in his career in CM against the very best. A young Arturo Vidal or Bastian Schweinsteiger before he was crocked would have been perfect. But United still would have probably went to shit when Ferguson retired regardless.

The idea that this was the decline is revisionism, just like people that say Ferguson's last team was no good. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, the decline started the day Ferguson left, Gill left, Moyes arrived and cleared out the backroom staff and an investment banker Ed Woodward took over football affairs.

We had one of the best teams in the world and thus should have pushed for another CL with a big signing. Someone like Robben, Sneijder or maybe Aguero.
Still a great side of course, but we lost that edge in CL games. Although had some bad luck against Bayern. Totally dominated them, but somehow they managed to win after the red card.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

I thought that was a mistake at the time and I still do. Berba was a fantastic player but our football got worse from 08-09 season onwards and in his first two season he really wasn't that great. Worth remembering that Tevez was much more of a fan favourite back then, with the crowd chanting 'Fergie sign him up' constantly.

Tevez was a superior player to Berbatov. Berbatov was classy and perhaps the best first touch of any player ever to play for United but you couldn't ever play a pressing game with him, whereas Tevez was a one-man hassling show for defenders. Tevez had a much more varied skillset than Berbatov. In the end Berbatov's lack of athletism stopped him from being a world-class player, there was a reason why Ferguson played Hernandez over him in big games even when Berbatov had been top scorer in the league.

 

[Josh 76]

Also Tevez was never as good for us as he would later become

At the time he wasn't a giant loss.

WTF ?
Rooney said Tevez was his best striker partner he ever played with.
That should tell you what a loss he was.

 

[::sonny::]

There started the decline

 

[Annihilate Now!]

WTF ?
Rooney said Tevez was his best striker partner he ever played with.
That should tell you what a loss he was.

Yeah because Tevez was extremely selfless and he ran around like a crazy person for him/the team.

In terms of actual performance on the pitch, he wasn't THAT good. Very good team player, but definitely room for improvement as a player. I mean for a start, his first touch was reminiscent of Lukakus...

Also be acted like a giant twat towards the end too

 

[Josh 76]

We did very well to keep Ronaldo that extra year, in such supreme form. Compare that to what we're getting out of Pogba's last year!
80m was a massive world record at the time.

Tevez's loan was coming to an end, and the actual reported price City paid was £42m which was whopping at that time.
Let's not forget he wasn't "that" great for us, he wasn't scoring the numbers he did for City, and wouldn't have done with Rooney the main man ahead of him.

Valencia was superb for us the first couple of seasons.

And I dare say Schneider/Robben would have led to loads of moans about how we were taking their "rejects" etc.

I have to disagree with your comments on Tevez.
He was awesome team player. A bit like Frimino is for that lot. Goal stats are not that great, but a vital clog in Fergies greatest ever teams 2008.

 

[Jibbs]

Of course hindsight is 20/20. But we should have bought Suarez and Aguero to replace them. That would have been proper replacements. I didn't say Bale because nobody knew he would turn into such a prolific winger from being a left back.

 

[Josh 76]

Yeah because Tevez was extremely selfless and he ran around like a crazy person for him.

In terms of actual performance on the pitch, he wasn't THAT good. I mean for a start, his first touch was reminiscent of Lukakus...

Well we won 2 PL titles , 1 CL and 1 league cup in his 2 years. The most successful period in United's history.
I get the hate for Tevez on here as he went to City, but come on give him more credit than comparing him with Lukukka.

 

[JPRouve]

I have to disagree with your comments on Tevez.
He was awesome team player. A bit like Frimino is for that lot. Goal stats are not that great, but a vital clog in Fergies greatest ever teams 2008.

Is that why he got the boot?

 

[TheRedHearted]

When you’re great you can maintain greatness by attracting greatness. When you’re great and you attract mediocrity or something that’s good, it all goes down by there.

 

[norm87cro]

Tevez is obviously a little overrated over here. Granted he scored a few important goals but his goals per season stat wasn't that impressive. Replacing Ronaldo was always going to be mission impossible so it doesn't matter who we got in. Valencia gave back 15 to 20 assists in his first season and we got Owen for free or little money if I remember correctly. The problem was that SAF really didn't bother to fill our midfield with quality in his last three seasons. We still had quality up front with Rooney, Nani, Berbatov, RVP and Hernandez in his latter years. It was the midfield we never invested in with the aging Scholes and Giggs, Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson and later Cleverley: a midfield far from convincing.