|
|
 |
Winning game plan lures Rooney back to Manchester United
|
By Martin Rogers
October 22, 2010
OLD TRAFFORD, England — Wayne Rooney’s dramatic Manchester United U-turn was sparked by remarkable, multimillion dollar spending promises by the club’s American owners.
The Glazer family, which owns both Manchester United and the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, persuaded Rooney to remain at the English Premier League club, even after he had announced his determination to leave, by revealing plans for significant investment in new players over the next year.
According to a well-placed source, the Glazers gave permission for chief executive David Gill to reveal to Rooney’s representatives key information concerning the club’s immediate future. It is thought that information regarded not only the size of the transfer budget that manager Sir Alex Ferguson will have to spend, but also the names of key acquisition targets.
“Things had got to the point where it needed something drastic to turn it around,” said the source. “[Rooney] wanted real assurances, real information and a clear vision that the squad was not going to be allowed to weaken. Say what you like about the Glazers, but they delivered what he wanted to hear.”
Rooney signed a new contract on Friday which will keep him at Old Trafford until 2015, bringing to an end an explosive week in which his relationship with United and Ferguson appeared to collapse beyond repair.
United’s worst fear was that the 24-year-old would cross Manchester’s blue and red divide and leave for big-spending crosstown rivals Manchester City.
Supporters were so incensed by that possibility that around 30 angry fans even turned up at Rooney’s home, while graffiti reading “Join City and you die” was daubed across a huge Nike billboard depicting his image.
Yet just a few hours later, the saga was over and those same fans were handed a resolution better than anything they could have imagined. And the truly remarkable thing about all this is that all parties come out of it smelling of roses, all talk of crisis forgotten.
Ferguson, who could not disguise his hurt when he admitted on Tuesday that Rooney was poised to leave, gets to keep hold of his most talented player – likely for the remainder of his own United tenure.
Rooney himself got the big bucks he craved – in more ways than one. The Glazers have ponied up for a deal thought to be worth close to $300,000 per week and, more significantly, the millions required to boost the squad and keep it at the forefront of the English and European elite. A couple goals sometime soon and any hostile thoughts and accusations of greed will quickly be forgotten.
Incredibly, those who gain the most are the Glazers, a target of discontent from United fans ever since they took over. The Americans were accused of placing the club’s stability in jeopardy with their heavy financial borrowings.
But this action shows that they can and will take decisive action when it is needed, not to mention rescue a desperate situation when all looked lost. Those dissenting voices from the stands won’t be entirely silenced, but the Glazers have certainly bought themselves some time and goodwill.
Of course, words are one thing and actions are another. There will come a time, either in January or next summer, when the Glazers actually have to sign huge checks for new players and back up their promises.
The identity of those players is not known, although rising Tottenham Hotspur star Gareth Bale and a big-name central midfielder are likely targets.
However, that speculation merits another discussion entirely. For now, the focus is all about how United rescued a potentially catastrophic scenario.
A disaster that threatened to rip the club apart has actually turned out to be the kind of galvanizing force that the organization has been crying out for.
Thanks to a sleight of hand, some smoke and mirrors and a truckload of money, Manchester United’s future suddenly seems a whole lot brighter.
• Soccer, World Cup News Archive Index
2010, 2009
Manchester United Tickets
World Cup Tickets
Do you need a Sports Ticket Depot to help you hunt down your cheap Manchester United tickets or your World Cup tickets? Contact us or fill out our Manchester United ticket information request form. We will hunt down your cheap Manchester United tickets and your World Cup tickets for you! Manchester United Soccer Jerseys
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
