I write this utterly disappointed and bewildered. United supporters, people who have supported this prestigious club for years have been nothing short of ridiculous this week amongst the chaos of the Wayne Rooney-Chelsea saga. I, for one, couldn't care less about what happens with Rooney because I trust that the club are doing everything they can to keep him happy, which as we all know from 2011 includes the issue of a new contract and more money.
No, what I want to address is the fact that so many supporters have taken the word of Jose Mourinho and Chelsea above those of David Moyes and Manchester United. Yes, I understand that the club has not issued a statement regarding the issue but why should they? We all know that United only issue statements for important happenings at the club such as new sponsorship deals, new signings, Sir Alex's retirement, etc. Why would the club issue a statement about a wantaway striker? That is not United's style. United have always trusted the manager to deal with such issues in press conferences (pressers) and they continue to do so with David Moyes. Why should anything be different now that Sir Alex has retired? United are no Chelsea, issuing statements about issues which Mourinho is too scared to deal with himself during pressers.
David Moyes stated in his first presser that Rooney is not for sale, and that is the official word from both the club and manager and it is still unchanged thus far. Why should Moyes be reiterating his statement? That's rather embarrassing is it not? The bid has already been rejected, what more is there left to say? Yet tomorrow, at the presser, Moyes will be saying those very same words yet again "Wayne Rooney is not for sale." If Sir Alex had said those words, none of us would be doubting it. Why do we as supporters choose to believe something that a club like Chelsea has said over what United have said? It is appalling. It's much like believing everything that Manchester City say. Yes, Mourinho has stated that Rooney is Chelsea's only transfer target but, David Moyes has said that Rooney is not for sale, yet people choose to panic just because Mourinho said blah blah blah.
Rooney was supposedly upset by what Moyes said about him and supposedly said that he will not play second fiddle to Robin van Persie. I say supposedly because these are the words from the player's entourage, not the player himself and word is that he is feeling "angry and confused" which led to the utterly hilarious Twitter trend #ThingsThatAngerAndConfuseWayneRooney. The even more bizarre thing is that some of you think that United leaked the whole spectacle to the press which is laughable. It is quite clear that Rooney's entourage is responsible for this one. Now, Moyes' remark in black and white looks rather harsh but it was taken completely out of context. Here is what Moyes said in full, and you'll realise he, as a manager, has not said anything offensive at all and no insult was intended: "I think Wayne can play up top, he can play dropped in. Overall my thoughts on Wayne is he'll be key. If for any reason we had an injury to Robin we are going to need him. I want to be able to play the two of them, I want to be able to use Danny Welbeck and Chicharito as well." That is all that Moyes said and of course Rooney supposedly overreacted. If anyone should be lightly offended, it should be poor Chicharito! The lad has been loyal to United since day one but he has spent half of his brilliant 50 goal career on the bench. Come on now Rooney, get into shape and show us why you should be started ahead of the league's top goalscorer in the 2012/13 season instead of incessantly whining and flailing your arms about, something that you have become quite famous for.
Now, in terms of transfers, I do agree with the majority of you that things have been a downright mess but I don't agree that all of the blame should be placed on Moyes' shoulders. Let's chat about good ol' Thiago for a bit. Now I for one did not expect to see Thiago in a United shirt at the end of the whole debacle. All that the papers were ever reporting were that United were "in negotiations" with the player. No bid was reportedly placed remember. No one knows if this is fact or fiction. But, I can tell you this much, Thiago was waiting for Pep and Bayern to come calling, and they did. Within a couple of days the Thiago deal was tied up and he was off to Bayern. If he really wanted to play for United, there would be no issues, everything would have been sorted out within a week or so and he would be on his way to Old Trafford. No, Thiago was waiting for his beloved Pep with his shiny new club to come calling his name, because that is where he really wants to be. A day after this happened United placed a bid for good ol' Fabregas, a bid which has not been rejected yet. But alas! How did this ever become public knowledge?? I smell a rat at the club, and I'm not kidding (Sir Alex also suspects this by the way). United would never, ever leak such information to the press. Remember how The Independent leaked the news of SAF retiring? Did the club leak that too then? Why would they? A lot of you would like Moyes to be more public in his pursuit of new players, something which he has said he will not do, yet you all still hold out hope. The only times United have publicly courted a player (refer to RVP) is when they have been confident of signing that player. Do you really want Moyes to publicly court a player that he isn't even sure of signing? Didn't think so. It would make everyone at the club look like complete asses if the deal falls through (which happens more often than not).
In any case, whether there is or isn't a rat making the rounds at Old Trafford and opening their big trap to the press, the responsibility of transfers rests solely on Mr Ed Woodward's shoulders. Don't blame Moyes, I doubt he even knows what's going on in negotiations half the time. Yes, the manager is a part of the transfer process but usually only towards the end when personal/club terms are being agreed and the player is ready to put pen to paper. Mr Moyes at the moment is getting our current squad into shape in time for next season and that is his priority at the moment, not signings, that alone should be Mr Woodward's priority. Mr Woodward wants to write his name into United folklore with a big name transfer which is all well and good, but don't go and mess it up. Now it is too early to judge whether or not Mr Woodward is useless because there are still SIX weeks left until deadline day. The thing that every United supporter lacks, including myself, is patience. If we want something, we want it then and there. WE WANT TRANSFERS AND WE WANT THEM TOMORROW! Quite spoiled aren't we?
The message that Sir Alex gave all United supporters during his retirement speech is "Your job now is to stand by our new manager!" Let us all not forget that and give Moyes our full support. He's only 3 weeks in managing one of the biggest clubs in the world, let's not make his job more difficult by blaming him for things that are not his fault.
