Wayne Rooney’s Next Destination

Despite Manchester United having a new manager and a regained Premier League title after a very successful 2012-13 season, all the talk around Old Trafford is revolving around the future of striker Wayne Rooney, who was confirmed to have handed in a formal transfer request to the Red Devils towards the end of last season, for the second time in his United career.

With Rooney being one of the best strikers in the world for a long time now, there has been a massive reaction to the news that Rooney is available for a transfer, with many of the biggest clubs in England and across Europe claiming an interest in the 27-year-old. Since signing from Everton back in 2004, Rooney has gone on to score 141 goals in 278 league games for United, becoming an essential part of their side over the past eight seasons.

Rooney first caught the attentions of England’s biggest clubs in the 2002-03 season, making 33 league appearances for the Toffees aged just 17. He only scored six goals that season, but still grasped the attentions of the big boys. After making 34 appearances the next season, one of those clubs finally decided to make a move, with Manchester United signing him for just under £26m.

Despite the effect Rooney has had at Old Trafford, he is disliked amongst many United fans, as this is the second time he has handed in a transfer request to leave the Reds, with his first coming in late 2010. His representatives stated that the reason Rooney wanted to leave the club was in search of ambition, and not higher wages, but after this statement was made, Rooney changed his intentions and signed a new contract with United, until the end of the 2014-15 season. He then managed to come back into the side and help win the club’s 19th Premier League title, but the damage was done.

Like I said before, many clubs are very interested in acquiring the services of the England star, but who are they? Would he want to join them? Here is an analysis of the clubs who have been heavily linked with a move for the striker, and how likely I think he is to join each team.

Firstly, there’s Paris Saint-Germain, big-spending French champions, who are bidding to become one of the biggest clubs in Europe over the next few years. Considered by many – including myself – as underdogs, they have beaten big clubs around Europe to some of the best players in the game, such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who fired them to the title last summer, and are now looking to poach one of Europe’s hottest strikers from one of the biggest clubs in the world. Rooney could partner Swedish star Ibrahimovic for PSG, and become one of Les Parisiens key men within a couple of seasons, at one of the best projects in European football at the moment.

Another possible destination for Rooney is Arsenal, one of the clubs bidding to reclaim their status as challengers for the Premier League title, having failed to win a trophy since 2005. One of the things that the Gunners now lack is a reliable goalscorer, having lost Robin Van Persie to United last summer. Rooney is exactly the player who could fill this void, and with Arsenal reportedly ready to stump up the required funds to buy Rooney. However, Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain is also being strongly linked with the Gunners, along with Juventus and Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea. It remains to be seen which striker will end up at the Emirates this summer, but both are proven strikers, and joining the club would provide a good challenge for each of these players.

A surprise destination has also emerged as a possibility for Rooney in recent times – Manchester City, who were also linked with a move for him when he handed his first transfer request in back in 2010. The Blues have also been linked with Edinson Cavani this summer as they look to regain the Premier League title next season, but Rooney has once again emerged as a target for the Citizens, with some sources claiming they are set to make a bid in the coming days of around £26m. With both Edin Dzeko and Carlos Tevez expected to leave the Etihad this summer, Rooney could be an important part of City’s title challenge next year if he joins the club. The advantages of joining City are much more than three years ago, when Rooney was last linked with the club too. Not only are City still easily able to afford the player’s weekly wage, but are now also able to offer bigger chances of trophies, and the chance to play with some of the world’s best players, meaning joining the Blues is an enticing prospect.

However, with a new manager coming into United for the new season, David Moyes, Rooney could yet reverse his decision again, and decide to stay on with the Red Devils. When Moyes officially takes over from Sir Alex Ferguson at the start of July, the Scotsman is expected to hold talks with Rooney about his future with the club, and although would like to keep such a big talent, is understood to be willing to listen to offers for the Englishman.

Until speculation about Rooney’s future is resolved, the paper talk will continue to grow, as one of the most interesting stories this summer gets more complicated and more interesting. There’s no real telling at this point in time where Rooney will end up come the end of the transfer window, however with the amount of clubs interested, a high-profile move is very much on the cards. Alongside with the three clubs mentioned in this piece, Chelsea are also rumoured to be interested in signing him, as they look to sign a new, regular goalscorer under Jose Mourinho, and since they have been ruled out of the chase for Cavani, a move for Rooney could be very high on their list. Watch this space, as one of the hottest transfer battles of the summer begins to heat up.

Fergie: Past, Present, and Future

8th May 2013 marked the day when Sir Alex Ferguson finally announced his retirement from management, after nearly 40 years of being in various hot seats from St. Mirren to Manchester United. 26 of those years were spent at English club Manchester United. To stay at any club in this day and age for more than a few years is a very respectable achievement with the amount of time it takes chairmen to lose their patience with the managers now. So to stay at a club for over a quarter of a decade, like Sir Alex has done, is to be truly hailed.

As a Manchester City fan, it pains me to say this and write this, but I honestly respect Ferguson for the work he’s done at United. When he came in back in 1986, United were in 19th place in the old First Division, fighting relegation, and without a title win since the 1966-67 season. Looking at United now, it seems impossible to think that they could go 26 years without winning a league title. Since Ferguson joined the club, United have nearly trebled the amount of league titles that United have, from 7 to 20. Sir Alex has also managed United to 25 other trophy wins, which is almost a trophy a year, and this is not including all the league titles he’s won.

It’s not all about trophies in football. It’s about trying to build a team that can perform well as a unit too. In his time at United, Sir Alex has built 3 or 4 teams capable of challenging for the league title, from the Golden Generation of Beckham and Neville, to the more recent times of Van Persie and De Gea. It takes hard work to be able to continue to build teams and then make them work as a team. Yet another example of why Ferguson is one of the greatest managers ever.

Now that Ferguson has decided it is finally time to relieve himself of his duties with the Red Devils, we have to look to the near future, and who United might decide is the best candidate to take the team forward. Here are some of the candidates, and some of the pros and cons of appointing each:

Jose Mourinho –  as soon as Sir Alex announced his retirement, the name on the lips of many United fans I spoke to at the time was that of Mourinho, and it’s obvious why. He’s one Champions League trophies with Internzionale and Porto, and also won league titles in four different countries. That’s no mean feat at all, and shows he is a very good manager. But I see a problem with United appointing him, and that is that he isn’t very popular in England with non-Chelsea fans. The United fans wouldn’t really accept him as their manager, so would give him the reception that Benitez gets at Chelsea. Mourinho has also managed to get on the wrong side of some of Real Madrid’s key players, like Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas. This means there could always be the risk of him alienating some of United’s key players. Do the board really want that to happen? In my opinion, there are too many negative possibilities for United to appoint Mourinho.

Jürgen Klopp – in recent times, Jürgen Klopp is fast becoming one of the most well-respected managers in Europe, if not the world, with Borussia Dortmund. In 2010-11 and 2011-12, he guided Dortmund to the Bundesliga title, which is not easy when you’re up against the likes of Bayern Munich. Dortmund also have some great young players, like Marco Reus and İlkay Gündoğan, meaning they will be a force to be reckoned with in years to come. Even this year, Klopp has guided his team into the final of the Champions League after beating Real Madrid in both the group stages and the semi-final. They’ll face their big rivals Bayern in the final at Wembley, who have already wrapped up the league title by 20 points this season. And that’s the reason I don’t think United will appoint Klopp, because they don’t want a manager who has finished so far behind the leaders this season (much like Mancini has for City).

David Moyes – at the time of writing, betting companies have stopped taking money on David Moyes to be the next United boss, with the odds of him being appointed lying at 1-50, making him the frontrunner by a huge margin. I have to say, I really like Moyes as a manager. He’s done really well at Everton given the situation he’s in. He’s never been given a huge amount of financial backing by the club, yet still manages to consistently finish high in the table and challenge for European football. It takes a very good manager to be able to accomplish that, and that is why I believe United will want to appoint him to take them forward. However, I do have one argument to make. If you look at the top clubs in the world like Barcelona and Real Madrid, they would never even consider appointing a British manager now. Neither would Chelsea, or City, who both have foreign managers now, and have done for a while. And this is due to one reason: British managers aren’t good enough. There are a few exceptions to this (like Sir Alex), but the majority will not succeed. I couldn’t see City, or Chelsea, or any other top side appointing Moyes, which could make it a risky move for United.

In my opinion, I don’t think that any manager will be able to come into the Old Trafford hot-seat and straight away be as successful as Ferguson has been. No matter whether its Mourinho, Klopp, Moyes, or someone else, there will definitely be a transition period where United won’t be as good as they are now. I think they’ll definitely come out of it just as strong, but it might take them a while to adjust after the reign of Ferguson.

The question I’m now asking myself is whether anyone can match what Sir Alex has achieved. He’s been one of the world’s greatest ever managers, and it will take a very special talent to better his achievements. I find it very odd that I’m able to compliment Ferguson in this way now, whereas in the past I’ve been unable to give him any credit for his ability, mainly because of my City bias. I can’t keep not giving him credit though, and it’s time to face the music that he is one of the best manager’s to have ever graced the game.

Written on the day Sir Alex announced his retirement, before David Moyes was announced as his successor. Republished from fmscout.com (but still written by me)