Not wanting to sound like a prophet of doom, and I'm sure most of you would chastise me for saying this, but these past 4 months off the field activities by United have left me to question where the club is headed over the next few seasons. Before I continue - and prevent the wrath of Peter and co. - I'm just going to say that I'm full of faith in the manager, in the team and the team's ability to sustain their successes in the future. However, the rational side of me questions the wheelings and dealings of United and where this is going to lead them to.
Firstly, the sale of Beckham to our most dangered (and feared perhaps) rivals in Europe - Real Madrid. Some may argue that we are better off without him. Some may argue that his personal life conflicted with his responsibilities for the team and he simply had to go. I on the other hand have judged him as a player for United for the past 9 seasons and my only conclusion is that he has been a pivotal player for us and in many ways contributed to the successes that we have experienced over the course of the past 10 years. He has been an integral player to the squad and I'm sure I speak on behalf of many people who would say that United should not have sold him. But be it as it may, we don't control the club and it was down the powers that be that he was sold. And so we shipped him off to our fiercest rivals who, as history would have it, will continue to prevent us from achieving the European glory that we strive for. But hold on, we not only sold one of our keys players to our main rival, we also allowed our coach and assistant manager to follow our prized asset across to the Bernabeau. And I always felt that Carlos Queiroz would be the ideal replacement for Fergie one day and United have lost this perfect replacement - someone who would simply carry on the mantle when Fergie retires, ala the Boot Room scenario in the Liverpool era of Paisley and co. But, in the midst of these devastating losses, there was a certain red revolution (albeit in blue) taking place in London when Roman Abromovich (sp?) bought Chelsea and fulfilled his promise of signing the best players in the world with no worries over their transfer costs. So now United are faced with two real (mind the pun) threats on both fronts - Chelsea in the domestic league with by the far the best players on paper compared to the rest of the premier league, and Real Madrid in the Champions League with possibly the best players in the world based of talent, skill and experience. So how do we respond? After dispatching two of our key club personnel to Real, we further improve the competitiveness of our rivals by selling Veron to Chelsea and then allowing our Chief Executive Officer, Peter Kenyon, aka Cuddly Pete to join our potential main rivals who, barring the reported secrecy agreements et al, will be able to impart the secrets of our successes to a team who is itching to overtake our brand name as the leading footballing franchise in global soccer. Now, I'm sure many of you will respond to my grievances with your arguments and your rhetorical statements about this happening before and keeping the faith etc. etc. etc. But please save yourself the hassle. I'm sure many intelligent minded folk out there would realise that from a pure footballing point of view, we seemed to have sold our souls, if you like, to those enemies at the gate. For what its worth, Peter Kenyon - to me - did not represent someone who had United flowing through their blood. I agree with Pete by saying that if Martin Edwards were offered to join the enemy, he would have turned down the offer immediately without hesitating - ok this is yet to be proven but you get the picture. I'm not saying that these events are going to signal the end of United's dominance and their successes. I'm not saying that we should abandon all hope in the face of these events. I for one will carry the flag the highest and will never lose the faith. But I will be doing myself a disservice by not asking myself whether these events will influence the future of the club and if some people out there feel necessary to question my allegiances etc., then go right ahead. I rather open my eyes to these events and question their motives and reasoning, rather than carry on being a supporter and having blind faith into a team that we all love. Regards Himal ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for Your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at Myinks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/l.m7sD/LIdGAA/qnsNAA/GtUolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Subscription info WWW http://red11.org/list Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] = subscribe to the list. [EMAIL PROTECTED] = unsubscribe from the list. Post message [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
