So the manager says that is it!

...no more spending for our Blessed United during this transfer window..hmmmm.

Now we all know that Sir Alex loves to tell a good ol' porkie pie every now and then, but i think that maybe this time he may not be standing in an offside position. It was inevitable that with the huge sale of CR7 for what is an obscene amount of money, the transfer market was going to spiral out of control. So, thank you Real Madrid and thank you Manchester City. The two most irresponsible clubs on our dear Earth, in what is supposedly a global recession. Now, you wont find me going on a money rant. I have always accepted that big money moves through the biggest clubs. I have no objection to the amount of money footballers earn, no matter how disgusting that is. I also have said for a year that if Real came up with around the £70 million mark that we should pack Ron's suitcase for him and book him on the next plane to Spain. However, now that we have this pot of gold sitting in the Manchester United bank account, the case was always gonna be that every club in the world was gonna want their unfair share of it for their coffers

£60m for Ribery? I don't think so. Samuel Eto'o wanting £150k a week wages? Highly unlikely for a player we could only offer a 3 year contract to. Douglas Costa? Alexi Sanchez? Yes, taylor made young talent for United, but at £20 million!!! Give me a break! ..and that is exactly what Sir Alex is thinking.

Now I do believe that there is some value left out there. We are no stranger to talents that fall into the £20m bracket. Huntelaar and Ashley Young are two such players. Both young, and proven, and with plenty of hunger. Now I'm sure the boss knows all of this, but this is the type of players we need to get hold of in the short term. I really don't think we can fully challenge with the squad as it stands today. Now i don't mean that minus Ron and Tev we are now nothing...far from that. Michael Owen is incredibly shrewd business and Valencia is a very exciting prospect. Obertan? well he is anyones guess!

The main issue is Owen Hargreaves. He is the best combative midfielder we have had since Bryan Robson, but of course his knees are made of bolser wood. I prayed for his arrival for a year before he arrived from Germany, and he proved himself undoubtedly in the 34 games he played in a European and domestic double. But we cant wait..not forever. If Hargreaves cannot recover from this cruel injury, Fergie needs to splash the cash in January. And this is the reason he his probably holding his horses.

Hargreaves would leave a huge hole in our midfield, as he did last season (which wasn't exposed until the Champions League final) I hope he does recover because he will become a club legend..but only if he gets back 100% There is no other midfielder in world football that does what Hargreaves does so well..destroy, clean up and distribute..and all that at pace. Only Gattuso of Milan can claim to be anything like, but his age is against him. Now we all know the attributes of Anderson and Carrick, and the development of Darren Fletcher has been stunning the last two seasons. However, with Scholes and Giggs both coming to an end of their illustrious stay with the club, we need to look at the numbers. One or two additional long term injuries to those just mentioned would mean it is near curtains for silverware this year. Our midfield would still compete well until the knockouts of the European stage, but against big, hard, strong English midfields, we would struggle week in, week out.

So its a big decision for the manager, but as ever we trust in him. God forbid, maybe its better we just sit tight for Hargreaves, than maybe recruit a Kleberson or Djemba Djemba! Its now time for the likes of Nani and Tosic to seize their chance, and we must not forget the exciting addition of Adem Ljajic in January, nicknamed "Little Kaka"...and does Manucho actually still play for us? So quickly the forgotten man! ..and if Wellbeck and Macheda can chip in some goals and Roo, Berba and MO all click, well you just never know...