With little or no money to spend, now seems like a good time to analyse Fergie's spending during his 24 year reign as United manager.
The table below does not include players like Phil Neville who cost the club nothing and was allowed to leave on a free transfer. In some cases the transfer fee was undisclosed, therefore the totals cannot be replied upon.
In certain cases we have stated the player was sold prematurely, but Ferguson's judgement has proven to be totally vindicated in most cases - with the glaring exception of Gerrard Pique who is blossoming into one of Europe's finest defenders.
The table also confirms what many Manchester United supporters know, that is Ferguson is a great manager when he's given freedom to spend in the transfer market, but he hasn't always got it right when splashing the cash; players like Veron and Berbatov have divided opinion on their respective worth - what isn't in doubt is the vast transfer fees.
Ferguson cannot be blamed for paying over-inflated transfer fees - he doesn't negotiate fees or sign cheques - but, it could be argued there have been instances where the manager could have identified his targets before our rivals', as was the case with Spurs in relation to Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov.
Looking at Fergie's net spending, if you take away the £80m the club received from the sale of Ronaldo to Real Madrid last summer the figures look a lot worse. However, the manager's job is to win prizes and Ferguson has won 23 major honours, excluding one-off finals like the Charity Shield, Inter-continental Cup and the Super Cup. Ferguson has a transfer deficit of just over £152m, but set against this is the 23 major honours the club has won during his time at United; that's £6.6m per trophy, many fans would surely agree that's a price well worth paying and it is partly why Ferguson is the most successful British manager ever - up and until now the manager has been given sufficient funds to do the job.
Transfer fees rocketed towards the end of the 90s, but when you look back at some of Ferguson's early buys, the relative value of players like Cantona, Solksjaer and Schmeichel are nothing short of remarkable - what would those players fetch in today's hugely inflated transfer market?
| Name | IN | OUT | Verdict |
| Alex Notman | 0.25 | Sold prematurely | |
| Anderson | 15 | Jury out: reports suggest could be sold | |
| Andrie Kanchelskis | 0.65 | Hit: Great signing, one of the most exciting wingers in the last 25 years | |
| Andy Cole | 6 | 8 | Hit: One of Fergie's finest signings |
| Ben Foster | 1 | Miss: Too many high-profile gaffes | |
| Berbatov | 31 | Indifferent: United would be lucky to recoup £15m - divides opinion | |
| Brian Carey | 0.25 | Sold prematurely | |
| Brian McClair | 0.85 | Hit: Good signing, but many fans would have preferred McCoist at the time (HOF) | |
| Carrick | 18.5 | Indiffferent: Fergie forced to over-pay massively, could be sold according to reports, his worth divides opinion | |
| Dan Higginbottom | 2 | Sold prematurely | |
| Danny Wallace | 1.2 | Mediocre: Eyebrows were raised when first signed | |
| David Beckham | 25 | Priceless hit: Sold on the cheap following bungled transfer | |
| David Bellion | 2 | Miss: Did not take opportunity | |
| David Healy | 1.5 | Sold prematurely | |
| David Jones | 1 | Sold prematurely | |
| David May | 1.4 | Mediocre: Won more medals than Alan Shearer | |
| Denis Irwin | 0.625 | Hit: Hall of Fame | |
| Diego Forlan | 7.5 | Indifferent: Divided opinion - but scored some important goals | |
| Dion Dublin | 1 | 2 | Mediocre: Eyebrows were raised when first signed |
| Dwight Yorke | 12.5 | 2 | Hit: One of Fergie's best ever signings |
| Eric Cantona | 1.2 | Hit: Hall of Fame | |
| Eric Djemba-djemba | 3.5 | 1.3 | Disaster: A complete waste of money |
| Fabien Barthez | 7.8 | Indifferent: Failed to live up to expectations, too many gaffes | |
| Fraizer Campbell | 3.5 | Sold prematurely | |
| Gary Pallister | 2.3 | 2.5 | Hit: Glittering career with United (HOF) |
| Gordon Strachan | 0.5 | 0.3 | Indifferent: No doubts about star qaulity, Leeds got more out of him |
| Graeme Hogg | 0.15 | Sold prematurely | |
| Henning Berg | 5 | 1.75 | Hit: Proved to be useful if relatively expensive defender |
| Jaap Stam | 10.5 | 16.5 | Hit: Fergie made huge mistake when offloading big Dutchman to Lazio |
| Jasper Blomquist | 4.4 | Indifferent: Dogged by injuries | |
| Jim Leighton | 0.75 | 0.2 | Miss: Pressure was too much for the 'keeper known as 'Dracula' |
| Jon Greening | 2 | Miss: Did not make grade, good business getting rid | |
| Jon Spector | 0.5 | Sold prematurely | |
| Juan Veron | 28.1 | 15 | Disaster: An engima, great for his country failed miserably in England |
| Karel Poborsky | 3.5 | 2 | Miss: Failed to live up to billing |
| Keith Gillespie | 1 | Sold prematurely: Never given chance to shine, sold as part of Cole deal | |
| Kleberson | 5.9 | 2.5 | Disaster: A complete waste of money |
| Lee Sharpe | 4.5 | Hit: Loved by the fans, but lost his way at United. | |
| Liam O'Brien | 0.25 | Miss: Mediocre signing | |
| Mark Hughes | 1.8 | 1.5 | Hit: United legend |
| Mark Robins | 0.8 | Sold prematurely | |
| Micky Silvestre | 4 | Indifferent: Good squad player, but made too many mistakes | |
| Mike Phelan | 0.75 | Indifferent: Mediocre player | |
| Nani | 15 | Improving: Emerging from Ronaldo's shadow | |
| Neil Webb | 1.5 | 0.8 | Miss: Rarely recaptured his previous club form |
| Nemanja Vidic | 7 | Hit: United could more than double their money if sold | |
| Nicy Butt | 2.5 | Hit: Local lad done good (HOF) | |
| Ole Solskjaer | 1.5 | Priceless Hit: Hall of fame | |
| Owen Hargreaves | 17 | Gamble gone wrong: Injuries, injuries and more injuries | |
| Park | 4 | Indifferent: Useful squad player but nothing more | |
| Patrice Evra | 5 | Hit: On the road to possible legend status | |
| Paul Ince | 1 | 7 | Hit: Became known as 'Big Time Charlie' and for good reason |
| Paul McGrath | 0.4 | Hit: Hall of Fame | |
| Paul Parker | 2 | Hit: Hall of Fame | |
| Peter Davenport | 0.75 | 0.75 | Miss: Couldn't cut it at a big club |
| Peter Schmeichel | 0.55 | Hit: United's best ever 'keeper by common consent (HOF) | |
| Phil Bardsley | 2 | Sold prematurely | |
| Pique | 5 | Sold prematurely: Could prove to be Fergie's biggest transfer mistake | |
| Ricardo | 0.15 | Miss: Wasn't up to playing for United | |
| Richardson | 5.5 | Miss: Excellent piece of business | |
| Rio Ferdinand | 30 | Hit: Grossly over-inflated transfer fee, excellent buy nonetheless | |
| Ronaldo | 12.8 | 80 | Hit: Hall of Fame |
| Ronny Johnsen | 1.28 | Hit: Plauged by injuries but secured his place in club history in '99 | |
| Rossi | 5 | Sold prematurely: Good money for an unproven striker | |
| Roy Carroll | 2.5 | Miss: Bag of nerves | |
| Roy Keane | 3.75 | Hit: Hall of Fame | |
| Ryan Shawcross | 1 | Sold prematurely | |
| Saha | 12.8 | Miss: 'Sicknote' reportedly given to Everton on a free | |
| Smith | 7 | 6 | Bad buy: United did well to recoup £6m |
| Steve Bruce | 0.8 | Hit: Hall of Fame | |
| Taibi | 4.5 | 2.5 | Disaster: One of Fergie's worst buys |
| Teddy Sheringham | 3.5 | Hit: Took over from Cantona - earned his place in United's hall of fame | |
| Tevez | 10 | 0 | Hit: United paid price for not securing his future |
| Tim Howard | 2.3 | 3 | Indifferent: Good business unfulfilled potential |
| Valencia | 16 | Hit: Looking good | |
| Van Nistelrooy | 19 | 11 | Hit: Great signing, but had to go following major fall-out |
| Viv Anderson | 0.25 | Hit: Was beyond his best when he arrived but did ok | |
| Wayne Rooney | 20 | Hit: On the road to legend status, Hall of Fame assured | |
| OUT | IN | ||
| Totals | 381.155m | 228.95m |
Interesting! Will love to compare it with the City spendings over the last 2-3 years!
ReplyDeleteJust goes to show how SHITE manchester City is..
Glory Glory :)
Add - Henrik Larsson - best on loan signing ever
ReplyDelete