New deals shouldn’t be used to paper over cracks

Last week’s news that Ryan Giggs has signed a new deal is nothing short of brilliant.

Giggs is showing that if you live clean and dedicate yourself to your craft you can go as far as you want (of course having even a smudge of the talent Giggs has goes a long way!) and his performances this season have more than merited a new deal.

Another player Sir Alex is hoping to tie down for one more year is Paul Scholes. Yesterday Sir Alex stated he is more than confident that Scholes will sign a new deal and again that is good news as he is a man who at 36 is still one of the most talented players in the country and is for me our best midfielder. Some may disagree but his influence when playing is undeniable and he remains the only real creative spark in the middle of the park for us.

You only have to look at the Blackpool game to see what the two can do in full flow as our elderly statesmen pulled the strings for a remarkable comeback but whilst the two are still putting in performances befitting of players 10 years their junior and Giggs has signed a new deal and Scholes can be convinced to do so, until the good people at Carrington find a way to fight the effects of ‘Father Time’ we have to accept that their tenure at the club is coming to an end.

Despite their good performances, both players have reached a stage where extended runs of games are beyond them and they have to be used tactically and sparingly in order to get the best out of them. Add to this the fact that little niggling injuries as well as some longer ones are already playing a part in how often each get to appear and you may share my worry that if their signing of new contracts in turn leads to us failing to invest in the team we may face problems next term.

Looking at our current midfield we are far from mediocre as it is being claimed, I prefer to see it as we have good players who aren’t playing as well as they can do. Case in point being Darren Fletcher who we all know can be a colossus on the pitch but hasn’t quite reached the same heights this season as he has achieved previously. Whilst Michael Carrick used to be more adventurous with his passing slight changes in his game mean he is criticised for under performing. this isn’t to say that there has been games he has been poor, that would be a lie, but he hasn’t been as bad or isn’t as bad a player as is being made out. I’m not a huge fan of Darron Gibson and whilst he has a lot of work to do before he will be considered ‘United quality’ stranger things have happened and whilst he isn’t to my liking that doesn’t mean he is ‘useless’ or found his level against non league Crawley as it was suggested on Saturday after a half decent performance.

At United we have been spoiled with quality midfielders over the years, the kind that can light up a game at any moment and the kind we currently appear to bereft of. Even if you do subscribe to my notion that our players are simply under performing, I doubt any of them fall into the category I previously described. Much is being made of the youngster we have coming through and the adage if they are good enough they are old enough springs to mind but it is a mighty big ask to expect these kids to step in and be the difference especially as instant impact is sought.

David Gill and Sir Alex have both insisted that there are funds to be spent and that there are players that are on our radar and you can only hope that this is in fact the case. We have heard Gill say  this before and we have also heard Sir Alex’s mantra that there is no value in the market. Whilst Sir Alex may be right it isn’t stopping our competitors from splashing out and I fear we could fall behind if we choose not to act.

Giggs re signing and Scholes potentially following will be a massive boost to the team, any team that includes those two are far from in a bad position but we have to be realistic it is a temporary solution. Investment this summer, whether we win the league or not and whether Scholes signs or not, is a must!