I've just read the Mail on Sunday and unexpectedly found some answers to some questions I've had.
Why sell Cole? Obviously because Cole wants to leave is one of them, but I was curious to understand why from Alex's perspective. Cole hasn't played recently, wasn't even on the bench the other day - I presumed wrongly that he wasn't recovered from his injury. But Cole said 'But I realised I wasn't going to play for United on a regular basis again.' I was initially shocked by that because Cole always seems to win his way back into the starting line up, a very admirable quality about him, yet it seems that has ended. I don't think we will here Alex saying he had lost his pace a.k.a Stam, so I now think its for other reasons. Although I love Ole, Cole has always been higher in the pecking order than him, and again although Ole has done well with RVN recently, its not the sort of front two that Alex likes. My conclusion is Di Canio is a done deal and the players know it.
I reckon the rumours are true that Alex would have preferred that it was Yorke going, but no one has come in for him yet, and the sod hasn't the ambition to ask to move to another club to start games. However bearing in mind what Alex said in the summer about him being on his last chance, and how obviously he hasn't taken it then I think Alex definitely wants to replace him. Then I read another interesting tidbit, unsubstantiated unfortunately, but very interesting all the same.
'It was only three weeks ago that Cole's position at United changed dramatically - with a place in the stands, and not even on the bench. The club didnot put him on the list, but privately indicated he would be allowed to leave at the right price. It was a development that followed the failure to unload Dwight Yorke for £8m, and the success of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Soljkaeras United's new strike partnership. Yorke's agent, Tony Stephens, failed to persuade Liverpool to buy. Suddenly, Cole was made available as Ferguson - under a boardroom edict to sell first-team squad members before more purchases could be made - enlisted his scouts in a search for a centre-back and left-back.'
I've been of the opinion that Alex had made his last signing because a) the new manager needs a big transfer kitty, and b) the new manager needs the flexibility to make the big signings himself. But if he is allowed to keep the money from sales of first-team members and spend it on relatively small purchases (RVN and Veron are probably now our benchmark for big purchases) then Alex has now got 16m from Stam and 7.5m from Cole = 23.5m to spend on new players. He didn't get his target defenders in the summer, Thuram and Lizarazu, so he got Blanc as a stop gap, and has made some more money to go get a CB and LB. Di Canio will only take about 3.5m out of his kitty, leaving 20m to spend on defenders, unless he can sell Yorke too, in which case he might get around 7-8m again to spend on new players.
We probably know most of his short-list, we've had enough names bandied around recently, and I now understand why the scouts have been so busy, so I expect at least 2 signings during the January window - and they probably won't just be for the Champions League, one might be Cup-tied. PDC is a certainty, and I expect a big bid for Tudor, or Hofland. If/when he sells Yorke then another defender too.
I probably am being too optimistic but this is the first time the whole situation has started to make sense - money for Alex to spend without eating into the new manager's kitty. If we get a new manager that is...
Why sell Cole? Obviously because Cole wants to leave is one of them, but I was curious to understand why from Alex's perspective. Cole hasn't played recently, wasn't even on the bench the other day - I presumed wrongly that he wasn't recovered from his injury. But Cole said 'But I realised I wasn't going to play for United on a regular basis again.' I was initially shocked by that because Cole always seems to win his way back into the starting line up, a very admirable quality about him, yet it seems that has ended. I don't think we will here Alex saying he had lost his pace a.k.a Stam, so I now think its for other reasons. Although I love Ole, Cole has always been higher in the pecking order than him, and again although Ole has done well with RVN recently, its not the sort of front two that Alex likes. My conclusion is Di Canio is a done deal and the players know it.
I reckon the rumours are true that Alex would have preferred that it was Yorke going, but no one has come in for him yet, and the sod hasn't the ambition to ask to move to another club to start games. However bearing in mind what Alex said in the summer about him being on his last chance, and how obviously he hasn't taken it then I think Alex definitely wants to replace him. Then I read another interesting tidbit, unsubstantiated unfortunately, but very interesting all the same.
'It was only three weeks ago that Cole's position at United changed dramatically - with a place in the stands, and not even on the bench. The club didnot put him on the list, but privately indicated he would be allowed to leave at the right price. It was a development that followed the failure to unload Dwight Yorke for £8m, and the success of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Soljkaeras United's new strike partnership. Yorke's agent, Tony Stephens, failed to persuade Liverpool to buy. Suddenly, Cole was made available as Ferguson - under a boardroom edict to sell first-team squad members before more purchases could be made - enlisted his scouts in a search for a centre-back and left-back.'
I've been of the opinion that Alex had made his last signing because a) the new manager needs a big transfer kitty, and b) the new manager needs the flexibility to make the big signings himself. But if he is allowed to keep the money from sales of first-team members and spend it on relatively small purchases (RVN and Veron are probably now our benchmark for big purchases) then Alex has now got 16m from Stam and 7.5m from Cole = 23.5m to spend on new players. He didn't get his target defenders in the summer, Thuram and Lizarazu, so he got Blanc as a stop gap, and has made some more money to go get a CB and LB. Di Canio will only take about 3.5m out of his kitty, leaving 20m to spend on defenders, unless he can sell Yorke too, in which case he might get around 7-8m again to spend on new players.
We probably know most of his short-list, we've had enough names bandied around recently, and I now understand why the scouts have been so busy, so I expect at least 2 signings during the January window - and they probably won't just be for the Champions League, one might be Cup-tied. PDC is a certainty, and I expect a big bid for Tudor, or Hofland. If/when he sells Yorke then another defender too.
I probably am being too optimistic but this is the first time the whole situation has started to make sense - money for Alex to spend without eating into the new manager's kitty. If we get a new manager that is...