United's "Immunity" to the 25-man squad rule
With the Premier League’s 25-man rule coming into existence from the start of the season, rumour mills have been overloaded with reports that a number of clubs are looking to sign “homegrown” players. However, while our neighbours from the blue half of Manchester face paying hyper-inflated prices for English talent (James Milner), it is clear that the new squad format- similar to the one used in the Champions League and identical to the one used in La Liga- will not affect our squad composition at all next year, even though we have not spent a penny on homegrown players likely to be registered so far. Yes, we signed Chris Smalling, but as he was under 21 on January 1st 2010 he does not need to be registered.
The squarer the head, the bigger the price.
And this is where the strength of our academy makes the Red Devils almost immune to the new regulations. Whilst Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville - the three remaining from the ‘golden’ academy generation that also produced David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Phill Neville- come to the twilight of their careers, people like Darren Fletcher, John O’Shea and Johnny Evans have already made a name for themselves at the club while Federico Macheda, the Brazilian twins Fabio and Rafael, Danny Wellbeck and Tom Cleverly have already shown potential to become legends at Old Trafford.
Federico thought no one had heard him fart...
Incredibly, the five youngsters mentioned were also under 21 on January 1st 2010, so they will also be able to play without being registered as part of the 25. This also applies to Gabriel Obertan and Ben Amos, meaning that there is space in the 25 to even include people like Owen Hargreaves (long term knee problem), Anderson (coming back from a ligament injury) and Michael Owen (injury prone). These are high risks that not many, if any, other clubs could afford to take.
So, while some fans’ frustration at the lack of big-name signings is understandable, it must be pointed out that Sir Alex Ferguson has yet again been doing what he is best at. He has kept the club competitive at all levels- winning 3 League Titles, 1 Champions League, 1 World Club Championship and 2 League Cups in the last 4 seasons- while he builds probably his last United team, saving the club money in this difficult financial climax and also leaving his eventual successor solid foundations to take the club forward.
Submitted By Giancarlo Fiesco
29/7/2010
