Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson insists he is not
suffering from a spending squeeze because of the Red Devils'
massive debts.
Sunday's shock FA Cup defeat by Leeds has been accompanied by
a succession of stories questioning the state of United's finances.
Neither the club, nor the Glazer family, have expressed any
opinion on claims they are seeking to refinance £175million
worth of payment-in-kind notes that are currently attracting 14.25%
interest by launching a bond issue totalling £600million.
The mere suggestion is being taken as a sign that the Glazers
are in trouble, which accounts for the fact Ferguson has so far
spent just £20million of the world record £80million fee
received from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo.
But the Scot, who spoke out on the Glazers' behalf last
month, is sticking to his stance that the reason the cash has not
been spent is because he alone does not believe there is any value
in the market.
"We have got the money. There is no question about that," he
said.
"I just don't see that player who can make a difference for
us in terms of value or ability."
Ferguson has bought big during the January transfer window in
the past.
Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Louis Saha and Andy Cole all
arrived for big money at the turn of the year.
The cases of Vidic and Evra are particularly interesting.
Both joined United with decent reputations but struggled
badly during their early months at Old Trafford.
It was not until the following campaign that they began to
show the talent that has seen them collect a hat-trick of Premier
League titles and recognised as two of the best defenders in
Europe.
Yet those deals are rare in the experience of Ferguson, who
has already declared an opinion that new arrivals will be limited
to Senegal striker Mame Biram Diouf, who was actually signed from
Molde in the summer.
And nothing that has happened recently has changed that view.
"That is still the case," he said. "I could never see any
real diamonds. Now and again you get one.
"We struck lucky with Vidic and Evra. They turned out
terrific players but it took them time to adjust.
"We bought Louis Saha during the window. He was a marvellous
player but he got a lot of injuries. We also bought Andy Cole.
"These have been success stories for us.
"But you can't guarantee that in January.
"And when you are looking for players to play in Europe you
are limited still further because of other teams' involvement in
Europe. You can never be certain."
