Every man has his price. Unless of course, that man happens to be Paul Scholes. Friday 5th of August will see the midfield great sent off with the visit of Eric Cantona’s New York Cosmos in a testimonial. It must suit Scholes down to the ground to have ‘le god’ back hogging all of the publicity. It seems interesting though that the club are selling hospitality tickets including a photo opportunity with the ginger wizard himself. How the Glazers convinced him to do that I will never know.
What we will soon find out is if the new signings are likely to get into the side. Ashley Young looks a good acquisition at the price and his flexibility is indicative that Fergie will looking to play an interchangeable front six, much like we did in 2007/08 when Ronaldo was at Old Trafford.
Phil Jones and Chris Smalling have started to build an encouraging understanding at international level. Unfortunately, England teams have a habit of losing, including at Under-21 level, and that could be either a good or a bad thing in the long run. Two years ago Johnny Evans was the future at centre-back, only time will tell.
There is a lot of talk of Luka Modric, Sami Nasri and Wesley Sneijder at the moment. All three are good players who would cost a giga-tonne of money. My concerns are far more focused on the goalkeeping position. David De Gea is likely to become the world’s second most expensive goalie in his switch. He’d better be good.
One of my Nan’s friends once regaled her with a story about how the neighbour’s son had been offered an apprenticeship by Manchester United. Apparently, Alex Ferguson came round to meet the parents and said that the salary was £1,500. The Dad thought, ‘well, fifteen hundred quid a year, that’s not bad for an apprentice’. He was delighted when it turned out the wage was to be £1,500 a week instead. That apprentice was Paul Scholes and the past eighteen years make that some of the best money Manchester United have ever spent.
There are many who argue that United’s team in 1993/1994 was the best we have produced, my personal reflection is that season was one of the best to be a United fan. We were champions for the first time since man had landed on the moon, seemingly invincible and there were youngsters coming into the side all the time who looked the business. After Scholes’ debut against Port Vale many of us thought that we had finally found a young replacement for the ageing yet brilliant Mark Hughes. In the end, that match was simply the first glimpse of one of our greatest ever players.
Scholes was always described as the best finisher at the club. In a few weeks we’ll see the end of his playing days. Thank you Paul.
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