eager rob...actually barcelona have so much nothing­ similar to a debt that they donate millions a year to­ unicef. Madrid are 100's millions in debt but­ Barcelona?!! No way mate!

Eagle Rob... Some good points.
Wasn't aware that­ Real had spent more than 10 times as much, but do­ believe that. Suppose it makes English clubs successes­ in Europe all the more commendable.
It's right­ about debt.
There should be something done about it in­ the game.

There are several reasons it is difficult to lure top­ talent to Manchester United and most of it is due to­ the pampering and rock star lifestyle these footballers­ want to live today. Here are some more;
- Manchester is­ not the chic place to live and work like Barcelona­ (which seems to be thriving now a days) or other sexy­ places like it.
- Sir Alex is Manchester United, like­ it or not he is the dictator, and these days the­ players do not want to work under conditions like that­ even if it brings success.
- The system at United is­ about the team not individual players no matter how­ important. Maybe one reason Ronaldo wanted to leave is­ that Manchester United did not single him out more for­ his contributions. Players want to feel that the team­ will fall apart without them and feel important.
­ Top players have more options and than ever before­ because of parity. It used to be Real, bayern or­ Manchester United. Today more teams have become more­ competitive and top players have more options and can­ really choose where they want to go and still­ potentially win.

I have never been in Manchester but don't you think­ that living in a city like Madrid, Barcelona, Milan or­ London is more appealing to a young guy who also wants­ to have some fun then living in Manchester.

ALL the media speculation is pure fiction...mere­ journalistic fantasies.
Sir Alex Ferguson and David­ Gill are on vacation...far, far away from the silly­ stories!
Everything is well in hand. The players richly­ fortunate enough to have been pinpointed for purchase­ are already organized. The media will be informed when,­ and only when it suits Manchester United to divulge the­ facts to them.
Meanwhile, fellow Man Utd­ devotees...BEWARE NOT THE PASSING SHOW.

There's many factors against the very best and most­ expensive foreign players coming to England. Many of­ them are out of football's hands such as: current­ currency values, tax, and climate.
Regarding Fergie,­ it would be inteligent to judge him in terms of­ management rather than as a man.
Despite inperfections,­ I can't imagine a player not joining United because­ of Fergie's management style.
Considering the­ factors that make it difficult to attract the biggest­ foreign players to the club, his and the clubs success­ is all the more an achievement. Regarding the press: It­ is wise for Fergie to demand loyalty to the team and­ club. A manager has the goal of having the players­ serve the team not the press.

This report assumes that ManUnited have always wanted­ to sign big name players hence "historically­ United have struggled to attract the best players in­ the world." Since when historically had ManUnited­ been signing the best players in the world. It has been­ ManUnited's tadition of developing young or­ relatively unknown players. Yes there have been the few­ rare occassions but historically these have been far­ and few between. Paradoxically if ManUnited bought big­ name players people will start accusing ManUnited of­ merely buying success with their money. Do Chelsea and­ ManCity come to mind? The fact that ManUnited have­ succeeded with 18 Premier League Titles thus far with­ "small name players" is making the success­ taste even mnore sweeter. The ManUnited fans trust SAF­ and historically he has proven us right. Go ManUnited.

Harvister...Chelsea, and liverpool have no trouble­ attracting foreign players. Man U probably wouldn't­ except that Man U includes Alex F whom people in­ general (Except Man U fans) don't like! Why? DUNNO!­ Stick to the youth policy. Man U and Arsenal have been­ lambasted for years about there purchasing and wage­ structures, yet are the most successful english clubs­ in the last 2 decades! Real and Barca may have more­ Euro tin ware, but have spent 10 times the money (at­ least) and are 100's of millions in debt! They can­ have it. I'm a Wednesday fan and our piddling debt­ is bad enough.

An advantage Fergie and United has which is overlooked­ is that when players are at United they have more­ shelter and less distraction being not in a capital. I­ don't think that this helps attract players to­ Manchester United but it is an advantage for Fergie­ once they actualy are there. This helps them develop­ players. Most of Uniteds best players have appreciated­ in value under Fergie, I expect that this will need to­ be the nature of United over the years as except for­ anything drastic like a big change in currency or a run­ of unmatched European success i expect that the factors­ against attracting the best foreign players will add up­ to too much.

what happens if Rooney decides to go.

liverpool is no 1?????
give me a damn­ break....
liverfool won nothing these recent­ years....
how u can say they are no 1????
f**king­ nonsense

Weather, tax, language, culture, and not having as many­ European tropies as say Real Madrid and some other­ clubs are all factors. Players from say , Spain,­ Brazil, etc know it's very unlikely that they will­ stay in England for many years , and how many players­ from those countries have made a permanent home in­ England? They expect to go back to the Med or mainland­ Europe or South America, quite soon. Add to that the­ English press. Also it's advantageous to gel with a­ few players of ones own domestic team during the league­ season that might be on the same national team (e.g WC­ Champions, Italy) Also uprooting family for typicaly­ short stays. Put all these together and there's a­ lot of unfavourable factors.

"So why can't Alex Ferguson seem to attract­ the crème de la crème of world football?!" -­ Because Alex Ferguson doesn't want the crème de la­ crème. Manchester United, under Ferguson's reign,­ have never been about spending big on the established,­ best players in the world. Instead, Ferguson has­ always put more emphasis on nurturing his players. ­ That doesn't necessarily mean youngsters. He's­ also nurtured players well beyond their youth team­ days. Sure, there have been failures down the line,­ but name managers who don't get it wrong.

Ferguson­ simply doesn't tolerate egos. The importance of­ the team always precedes the importance of the­ individual, hence why burgeoning personalities are­ shipped out when they become something of a­ hindrance.

Having the global exposure that they do,­ this is an image clearly projected across Europe. How­ many of the best players in the world are going to­ willingly submit to the kind of strict environment that­ Ferguson generates? Not many.

Big names are always­ more likely to go to the likes of Real Madrid, wanting­ the kind of attention that such a garish club lauds on­ its big names. South Americans in particular will­ desire such a move, Real are naturally the ambition for­ many from that continent. Any Spanish player will­ naturally be in love with the club, they wouldn't­ move anywhere. As for the likes of Benzema and Ribery,­ they're slaves to the allure of forming a second­ team of Galacticos, neglecting the likelihood that­ pooling all of that talent in one place will be more­ harmful to a club in the long run i.e. Real's­ failure to maintain hyperbole surrounding the­ club.

You couldn't ask for two more contrasting­ clubs. As for Barcelona, they thrive off the rivalry. ­ There's a real sense of belonging in that region,­ unlike anywhere else. The Italian clubs? They're­ hardly snapping up all of the best talent these days. ­ Even if they had the means, they could

to be honest if your a true man utd fan you never get­ worried about whats going on because if they want to­ play for utd they will just join but if fergie gets one­ hint that they want to play mind games there struck off­ the transfer chase fergie only wants players who would­ run utd sign not these players that try play greed­ games all utd fans remember: IN FERGIE WE TRUST

Nob off Liverpool