I was thinking, had Ronaldo not had the burning desire to leave and join Madrid, how do you think our fortunes would have changed? I obviously feel we could have won the last 3 league titles, as opposed to the one.
We may also had been able to attract more 'world class' players due to the attraction of playing with Ronaldo and Rooney. Ozil springs to mind, maybe a half decent centre mid had Fergie been looking for one. (Carrick is one of my favourite players by the way). So a centre mid to partner Carrick which would have pushed the likes of Scholes and Giggs to retirement.
However, the question remains as to whether Ronaldo would of reached the heights he is at today, without the 'direct' competition from Messi in La Liga.
I also feel we could of won another European Cup, with Ronaldo cementing himself as a United legend. This leads to another question- would have Sir Alex retired following his third European triumph and knocking Liverpool off their perch etc...
This is all hypothetical nonsense, and as I am bored trying to kill time before kick off tonight, I was wondering your thoughts on how our fortunes may have been different had Ronaldo stayed. Also, as an extra, maybe include your starting line up with Ronaldo, and formation.
Sorry for the essay, please don't abuse me!
Missed opportunity?
posted on 21/11/12
we'd have beaten bayern in the QF, and defo lyon in the semi's in 2010, and probably inter milan in the final
posted on 21/11/12
Yeah, they would have been tough but we were playing some amazing stuff in 2009 so I reckon we would have been even better in 2010.
Would be a good game thinking about it now. Seeing Ronaldo terrorize Maicon!
posted on 21/11/12
Ronaldo may not have made the move to the left and may not have been so prolific.
posted on 21/11/12
We would not have won the league 6 times in a row! Come on people, even Barca can only manage 3! I do feel we would have won the CL though in 2010
posted on 21/11/12
Had Ronaldo not left, I don't think there's a doubt that we would've won more than we have done since he's left. I think what Rob has said in his first comment is pretty accurate tbh.
I also agree with TSL in that I don't think the money we received from Ronaldo was invested as wisely as it could've been. Had we spent it on a top quality midfielder which we've needed for sometime now and possibly another attacking player, I think we again would've won more than we have done in the time since Ronaldo left.
Rooney bared much of the burden after Ronaldo and Tevez left because we were so reliant on him for goals. His absence at crucial times during the 2009/10 season really cost us.
Regarding Berbatov, at the time I was surprised that we were looking to sign him because I never really thought his style of play would have suited us. I remember a conversation I had in the summer of 2008 in Cyprus while I was on holiday at the time of hearing the news with a mate who ironically supports Spurs and I said to him about Berbatov being a strange signing for us. I still think the player we should've seriously considered at the time was Huntelaar while he was still at Ajax.
posted on 21/11/12
Agreed- a proven goalscorer to complement Rooney, as RVP is doing so now
posted on 21/11/12
Summer 2009 should have delivered us Robben and Sneijder.
That would have been perfect and we would have had change too.
The cash blatantly went to some immediate Glazer debt.
Not saying we haven't had money to spend over the time but i'm sure that £80 million upfront cash we got was very useful for something the Glazers to pay for at the time.
posted on 21/11/12
We signed Valencia and Obertan!
posted on 21/11/12
Why Robben? We signed Valencia. If we were going to sign another winger I would have preferred it if we signed Ribery or Bale.
posted on 21/11/12
We should really have got some players in return as part of the deal. Madrid went a bit mental in terms of letting players go around that time.