At Manchester United there is a resolutely uncompromising attitude toward players not completely committed to the cause, not wholly buying into what Manchester United is about – it is a trait evident among fans and unmistakable in Sir Alex Ferguson. Wayne Rooney’s contract dillydallying in October 2010 was a case in point; unquestionably the team’s star player, its talisman, yet from fans’ reactions there would have been no qualms in cutting ties had Rooney not reneged on his views of commitment.
Players earn present-day adulation, even long-term reverence and nostalgic veneration, but loyalty lies infinitely with the team. The notion that no player is bigger than the club is accepted unquestioningly at Old Trafford, but it cannot be so easily applied to every club, even if tribalism is a unifier for all football fans. It seems unlikely that United would, for example, tolerate the current situation at Manchester City, with Carlos Tevez’s acrimonious departure and return. Compare that to the example of Rooney if you will, but you’ll find United fans that still hold the player in stand-offish esteem, even if in that particular scenario the player claims that it was the club’s progress to which he had doubts and sought assurances.
To the present day and Paul Pogba, United’s outstanding French teenage midfielder, who appears in a similar state of flux over his future at Old Trafford. It’s difficult to know exactly what to believe of the ins and outs of contractual discussions these days as both sides present their case in the most favourable terms, but it’s relatively safe to assume the following: United want Pogba to show devotion to the club, while the player, presumably frustrated at limited first-team action and with a new agent seeking the best possible deal for his client, is playing cat and mouse.
Pogba may well have a point about on-field opportunities, but few people in football know more than Ferguson about bringing young players through at a top club – a far more complicated, delicate and pressurised situation than most people ever give credit for.
It is, however, a fiercely competitive market for young players today as clubs recognise value in cheaper acquisitions with a greater shelf-life. That trend has, in turn, instituted a mini-imitation of the market for established players: if sufficient pay and first-team opportunities are not attained then the player is off. And quickly. It’s easier to retain local players with emotional and geographical ties, but for players from abroad, as is the case with Pogba who left French club Le Havre for United at 16, those bonds are more difficult to form, and much easier to break.
The benefits of developing your own young players, schooled in the demands of being a Manchester United player, with all the expectation and pressure that entails, are obvious. Players serve the club for a greater length of time, they acquire loyalty and aid the long-term success of the club, lessening the extent of football’s cyclical transitions. That has been one of Ferguson’s true successes: his foresight for regeneration.
But here is the paradox for United: the commitment to youth development and the embracing of the idea – through means or principle, everyone has their view – that buying ready-made talent provides less value as an asset, financially and in footballing worth, means that your youth projects have to work. The recent avoidance of spending vast sums on a renowned central midfielder was undoubtedly founded on the emerging talents already at the club: Ravel Morrison, Paul Pogba, Tom Cleverley and, perhaps at a stretch more recently, Davide Petrucci. The latter, a classy, talented Italian midfielder, suffered awful injury problems, so there is perhaps more hope than expectation placed on him. But you might argue that, of those four, Morrison and Pogba were the premier prospects, even with the excellent strides Cleverley has made at a professional level.
If United are to lose Morrison – voluntarily and, perhaps, necessarily – and Pogba in the same season, that is a significant dent to the team’s future plans. Ferguson does not deal in half measures, so he is unlikely to yield to the demands of young scamps. In such cases you have to admire the staunch resolve to uphold his and the club’s values. But he must be deeply frustrated at the unearthing of well-laid plans, while United fans still seek the next worthy idol.