Quote from United Rant

Haven't made my mind up on Ferguson's antics yet but I just have to quote this passage from United Rant by The Editor as food for thought:

Has the world gone insane? Correction, has Fergie gone insane? Not just a little mad either. We're talking about the bouncing off the walls, frothing at the mouth, tied down, straight jacket wearing, valium for breakfast, several sandwiches short of the full picnic utterly fucking demented kind of insane. Because if the reports in today's press - and as predicted by Redissue two weeks ago - are true then Fergie must have joined the nut-club big time.

Consider the evidence. Fergie takes United's top goalscorer, with 150 goals in 200 games, first drops him then treats him with utter contempt, as good as throwing him out of the club. Maybe Fergie doesn't rate the player anymore - that's fair enough. But at least he's got a great strategy for selling the striker at the highest price, to a non-rival club, and bringing in a top class replacement, right? Wrong!

In fact the truth is this. Ferguson has no strategy for dealing with the Ruud situation whatsoever, bar getting him out of the club. Leighton, McGrath, Ince, Kanchelskis, Stam, Beckham, welcome your newest club member. Face, there's nose. Goodbye.

That United may well be in a position where they can only sell to Chelsea is quite ludicrous. But that is exactly what will happen should Ruud decide that the London club is the best option. And why wouldn't he... better wages, more trophies, and a manager who commands the respect of his players. The striker won't move to Lyon just because Fergie wants to use him as a make weight in a deal for Mahamadou Diarra. Why should he?

The frustrating thing about the situation is that United will almost certainly find themselves worse off come the summer's end. Strikers in van Nistelrooy's class are a rare breed, commanding massive transfer fees and attracting the interest of more successful, richer clubs than United. The kind of fee that is unlikely to be put Ferguson's way anytime soon that's for sure. So with Ruud on the way out, and the penny finally having dropped regarding the midfield, the team will be a striker light come August.