Seemingly in response to his own poor judgement and poorer attitude, the Manchester United boss has banished the Brazilian midfielder to play with the reserve team this week. In late January, Anderson reportedly missed practice and Sir Alex fined him a whopping £80,000 for missing the training session. He was then left out of the squad that faced Hull City that weekend, and hasn’t been seen in the first team since the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.

The 21 year old has had a rocky season and has not been afraid to voice is discontent with the amount of playing time he has received, which has led to several reported incidents where he has butted heads with the Gaffer. It has also been widely rumored that Anderson was to go out on loan in the January transfer window to either Lyon or Paris Saint-Germain, but he was held back as an insurance policy against the seeming non-recovery of Owen Hargreaves. Perhaps this lack of a loan deal was what triggered Anderson’s latest tantrum and conflict with Sir Alex.

It is important to note that Thursday’s reserve assignment, could have been just that, an assignment to help keep him fit since he has not played for 3 matches. It could also have been intended to send a message and signal the beginning of the end for midfielder that has showed so much promise. Let’s hope Anderson can ride out this tumultuous period, learn from it, and move on. I believe he could be a fixture in the midfield for many years to come if he can find some consistency and learn to be coached.

Bookmark This Post

As the transfer window began to shut, I was beginning to fear whether Sir Alex could actually get the deal done. I sent several of my friends and colleagues located in the U.K. messages asking if anything was on the news there regarding finalization of the transfer. Everyone I asked hadn’t seen anything.

I finally got confirmation via an email alert I have setup with Google News about 2 and a half hours after the window closed.

The details are as follows:

• £30.75 million transfer fee.
• Frazier Campbell on-loan for the season
• Tottenham will drop the grievance they filed against Manchester United.

What Manchester United received:
A 27 year old, 6 foot 2 inch out and out striker. A large target that scored 23 total (15 league) goals in the 2007/2008 season.

Some argue that the price tag on Berbatov was too high, but I believe he will be just what Man United needs — a potent weapon attacking the goal — something we severely lack now. With Ronaldo still out for another month or so, all of the pressure has fallen on Carlos Tevez to produce goals. (I believe Rooney’s days as an out and out striker are numbered, but more on that in a follow-up post) There are few players that work as hard as Tevez, but to truly challenge for the title this season, the line-up we started with will not cut it. Expecting the Tevez/Rooney pairing to produce goals without Ronaldo moving through the midfield is asking too much. As of this writing neither has scored, and the “fire power” (although more like a candle light) has been provided by Fletcher (2) and Vidic (1). Anyone should be able to see that Berbatov can only help them team… What’s your opinion?

Bookmark This Post

The players have praised each others chemistry repeatedly and was reinforced by Rio Ferdinand when he was quoted as saying “The team spirit is the best it’s been since I’ve been here. Obviously I can’t say what it was like before my time, but I’ve never known it any better. I can only assume the manager does extensive research into a player’s personality before signing him because we’ve not had one bad apple.”

After dismissing rumors that Untied had come to an agreement with Portuguese right back, Bosingwa. Chelsea wasted no time in bidding and confirming an agreement has been reached between the two parties. Bosingwa could have made a great addition to the Reds defense but he was a little pricy at £16.2 million.

This is only the first of many high profile signings during this summers transfer window.
Don’t forget to check back in for more transfer news.
And give us your opinions on who Sir Alex should sign!

Bookmark This Post

“I don’t need to spend, but I will,” Sir Alex was quoted in the News of the World. “I think there is an area where we are short and we can stock up on that a bit.”

What could Sir Alex be thinking?
Defensively:The only position I could think of is, right defense. Seeing as how Wes Brown has not renewed his contract with United.
Midfielders: If Sir Alex doesn’t lose any midfielders, I cant see why he would bring another one in.
Forwards: This is where I think Sir Alex will spend the majority of his money, United needs at least 1 more striker. I’m predicting a South American.

“I don’t think I will bring in as many as last season and if we buy players it will probably be young ones,” – Sir Alex

Bookmark This Post

Tottenham stand to make a substantial profit after signing Berbatov for £10.9m from Bayern Leverkusen last summer. This, in addition to gaining Louis Saha in the deal, could make the offer more than they can refuse. (approximately £39m in value)

Berbatov scored 24 goals in all competitions in his first season in English football.

This would double Spurs previous “high water mark” of £18.5m for a player (Michael Carrick) — also to Manchester United.

Bookmark This Post