In the decade since 2004, there have only been three attacking players signed by Manchester United that I've felt would be really worthwhile/strong deals: Wayne Rooney in 2004, Robin Van Persie in 2012 and now Di Maria.
They've paid a
lot for Di Maria, but I do think he is a
top player - one of the top 10 attacking players in the world right now.
For me, the interesting thing now will be how they accommodate him in Van Gaal's system. It may take a little time, but I do think he will improve things for them in the final third and give them another option, meaning Rooney and Van Persie can play more in the box and stop coming deep to create things themselves.
But I still feel Man Utd's biggest problems are in central midfield and defence. Fletcher is a decent player, but has the unfortunate illness which can rule him out for long periods. Jones looks like a useful and versatile member of the squad. The rest are not good enough and/or untried and most Utd fans would agree.
The other point was poor contingency planning on two fronts: On the pitch it was really poor management to let all the experience of Giggs, Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra fade away all at the same time. And off the pitch the loss of Ferguson and Gill together was a double blow for them. In my view old Whisky Nose won them 15-20 points per season by his substitutions, tactics and know-how. But above the manager, they always had semi-competent leaders in Martin Edwards, Peter Kenyon and David Gill. To lose Gill in the same summer as Ferguson was a disaster.
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