Manchester United
It seems almost a distant memory now, but Manchester United were the Premier League champions last season, and they did do it at somewhat of a canter thanks to a marquee signing the previous summer that gave everyone present at the club a huge fillip.
Change in management, not just the manager but also the Chief Executive, has led to indifferent form in the first half of the season, with January being especially disastrous, as United have exited two Cup competitions in quick time, struggling to cope with the losses of the two big names at Old Trafford in Ferguson and David Gill.
United are seventh in the table and though well and truly out of the title race barring a major slip-up from their rivals, the quest for the Champions League spots is very much still on; only six points separate teams fourth to seventh, with Liverpool currently occupying that last spot in 4th.
The signing of Mata is to some a ‘desperate signing’ by a club clutching at straws, clueless in how to get out of its current predicament; it may be, but it sure is one heck of a desperate signing. And what it does provide is an opportunity for the club to rectify the mishaps of time gone by and resuscitate the club’s flagging Premier League campaign.
As the player’s availability met the club’s need, it made for a win-win situation for all parties involved. Not forgetting Mourinho’s willingness to let go the club’s once best player to a direct rival, and suddenly United have a new deck of cards to play with to try and change the game. Apart from the obvious impact to be had on the pitch, the signing also will serve to resonate United’s ability and, more importantly, interest to compete for the signatures of some of the best players in the game, thereby reinforcing itself as a sought-after destination for other talented footballers.
One signing cannot single-handedly drastically change the fortunes of a struggling club, but what he can do is have enough of an influence rubbing off on the other players that would cause them to raise their levels of play. It happened with Eric Cantona, it happened with Robin van Persie, it could well happen with Juan Mata.
More than the results, this process that Mata, Moyes and Manchester United have undertaken should serve to restore something more intangible that has been eroded over the last few months – faith – a component that seemingly the club’s fans never ran out of in the past, but one that got desperately short as the games went by this term.
Coincidentally, for player, manager and club, this move is a chance to salvage what was looking like a lost season, with an idea to kick on and move forward come next season. For fans of the club and the game alike, there is expectancy in the air that this 3M company can lead to a fourth ‘M’ on the field – Magic.