Claudius wrote:
Cannon, people need to be realistic and consider three very important elements.
- Inflation is very high in football, so comparing fees paid 3 and 7 years ago respectively is not very informative if you don't adjust accordingly
- United were desperate to land a superstar and be relevant. Who were they competing with for that transfer fee? Nobody was interested.
3. I think Adidas must have intimated that they can get better synergies by having Pogba at United rather than Juve. He's in every window of any Adidas store I've gone past. United fans will devour Pogba shirts, bringing a return on that 750m pound deal.
I read a stat few days back that their commercial revenue for the first time exceeded their footballing revenue. Which can mean that their core product is now their supporters/audience and NOT football
Claudius you have a good point. Also in the long term all this criticism will not matter, Manchester United are truly a global brand now. They will continue to have enough money and influence for the foreseeable future. They may not win PL/CL anytime soon, but barring an apocalypse they are here to stay.
With regards to Pogba, I agree he is statement signing and if they continue down this path their 'first Galactico',
HOWEVER with regards to 'PL' and its audience, no matter how BIG manchester united are the product is always the PL. The relatively egalitarian nature of PL ensures success on the field remains important. Which is where they are failing. So in a way the apocalypse is happening as despite their best efforts (spending) they are unable to turn the tide. Like Qwiss said Adidas don't matter if they continue to spend at the rate they have been.
Offcourse they have already realised this and hence the new UEFA co-efficients (offcourse the Italians want a pie too). They can cheat their way out of it, but fuck me if I don't make fun of their WR signing and overpaid nonces.
Qwiss! wrote:
Statement signings signings don't work unless they are smart signings though. Being back at the start of August isn't much use if you are still treading water by the end of September.