Manchester United: Chinks appearing in the Red Armor

The return of Paul Scholes is a desperate measure

This transfer season has been all about Robin Van Persie and the speculation surrounding his contract with Arsenal. Chelsea have been active in the transfer market, with Roman pressing ahead in his quest to bring ‘Champagne Football’ to Stamford Bridge. Manchester City dont need to strengthen much and they have just ensured managerial stability by tying down Mancini to a lucrative contract.

But what about Manchester United? Having just suffered the embarrassment of losing the title to their local rivals, one would expect them to bring quality in as soon as possible. There was talk of Eden Hazard being brought in, but Chelsea sealed the deal and Ferguson had to settle for Shinji Kagawa. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder may prove to be a valuable addition, but fans have been left feeling underwhelmed.

For a club that spent 30 million pounds on the likes of Rio Ferdinand in 2001, and a similar amount on a luxury striker in the form of Berbatov, recent transfer seasons have been remarkably frugal. Worryingly for ManU fans, Alex Ferguson has begun complaining about a ‘lack of value’ in recent transfer windows. Its worrying, because he almost sounds like a certain Frenchman in north London.

To a great extent, United have been able to fill the void left behind by Ronaldo and Tevez. Shrewd signings such Javier Hernandez and youth players such as Danny Welbeck have made sure that the goals keep coming. Despite this, United rely greatly on the form of Wayne Rooney, and as their rivals spend big, a lack of superstar quality is beginning to show at Old Trafford. Recalling Paul Scholes from retirement sounds a bit desperate for a club that prides itself on producing a continuous supply of quality young players.

It is surprising that no big transfers have been made so far by Sir Alex. The need has never been more evident. Last season was a bad one for United. Yes, it could all have been different had QPR held on for 5 more minutes, but even then it would be hard to make a case for United as the best team in England. If the Premier League was a close call, Europe was a complete disaster. For a team that was supposed to be competing with Barcelona for the European title, getting knocked out of the group stage is not something you would expect. Of course, United are not doomed, they never are. As long as there is Sir Alex at the helm, United will be winning things through sheer grit. But at some point that is not enough. A lack of transfer activity is likely to re-ignite the green and gold anti-Glazer protests. The American owners seemingly had a plan to raise money in the Singapore Stock Exchange. This failed miserably and in desperation, they are hoping to issue in IPO in the USA, a country which has little enthusiasm for ‘soccer’ and IPOs (thanks to Facebook). So, it looks like the debt problem is not going away soon.

Despite the huge debt, Man United are still the most valuable sports franchise in the world and have the largest fanbase globally. This is all very good, but counts for nothing if they cant compete in the transfer market and ultimately on the pitch. In recent years, Man Utd have failed to bring in high price targets like Nasri, Sneijder and most recently, Eden Hazard. The fans may cry sour grapes, but there is no doubt, that the balance of power has shifted to the blue side of Manchester (and London).