Posted on Wednesday, 24th June 2009 by Ryan Melchiot
With a climatic title race in the English Premier League still fresh in the minds of fans, many will expect the usual round of summer speculation and gossip to begin. True enough, multi-million pound transfer moves have been bandied around. Many will also be eyeing the purse busting measures Manchester City might throw on the world in the coming weeks.
The fates of the top four teams in English football might suffer some blows in differing degrees. The first that would come to mind would be that of Manchester United. Most might not agree, especially after another sparkling season winning the league title and reaching the Champions League final for a second successive year.
There are many things right about the club, but Alex Ferguson will have lots to think about in the summer. These include the neverending rumors of Cristiano Ronaldo leaving the club. The Portuguese star refuses to rubberstamp his long term commitment to the Red Devils and is a prime target for the richer clubs in Europe.
The Argentinian striker Carlos Tevez looks set to leave the club despite two seasons of unflinching effort. Fans have already taken him to their hearts and have begged the club to sign him permanently. Unfortunately, the player has been disappointed by the management’s treatment and appears determined to leave.
And what of the club’s multi-million pound signing Berbatov who was courted publicly by the Old Trafford outfit in the face of criticism from his previous club? The Bulgarian has so far failed to settle well and his style of play seems ill suited to the more energetic tempo Alex Ferguson prefers. He is likely to be given one more season to prove himself by the man who brought him in.
The old guard from the past decade are also showing their age and will need to be replaced finally. Spirit might still be willing for the likes of Giggs, Scholes and Neville, but they might no longer be able to compete with the faster legs of Ronaldo, Rooney and Anderson. Ferguson will show no sentimentality in his selections but even he could be hard pressed to find capable replacements for these quality servants of the club.
Manchester United’s challengers are not spared changes and possible decline as well. Liverpool continues to be plagued by financial concerns, while Arsenal and Chelsea will face structural changes that might affect momentum. Eyes will be trained on all of them come summer as to how they will react and cope with these issues.
For the detractors of English football, this might be good news to them. However, there are teams waiting in the wings to take over if any of the big guns fail to perform, such as Manchester City and Everton. There might be some disruptions ahead, but expect the champions and their challengers to still come good eventually.
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