Man Utd and Chelsea face up to £1.4bn issue - but the wrong people get the blame
For a contest between a club that lies seventh in the Premier League table and one that sits tenth, it probably does not deserve a special name.
But let’s call it El Cashico. In the past three transfer windows, Chelsea and Manchester United have shelled out a combined £1.4BILLION on players, making them first and second in the outlay rankings.
And what chance has their lavish spending given these crumbling powerhouses of winning this season’s Premier League?
Well, after each have played 14 matches, bookmakers will give you odds of 125-1 against United finishing top and 300-1 against Chelsea winning the title. By the way, if you are thinking of having a punt, don’t forget … when the fun stops, stop.
As it happens, the fun stopped a while back for fans of two clubs who, not too long ago, more or less dominated the landscape of English club football. When Antonio Conte took the title to Stamford Bridge in 2016/17, it meant either Chelsea or United had won the Premier League in 10 of 13 seasons.
Marcel Sabitzer completes Man Utd transfer after last-minute deadline day dash
Since then, United’s average finishing position has been fourth, Chelsea’s fifth. Not quite fallen giants but not far off.
But Wednesday night’s meeting at Old Trafford is still a hugely significant occasion. And, ironically, the greater pressure is on the coach who has won eight of his 14 Premier League matches this season rather than the one who has won five.
Considering his more than satisfactory first season, Erik ten Hag should be given until the end of this campaign to prove himself once and for all at Old Trafford.
Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag could do with a win against Chelsea (Richard Lee/REX/Shutterstock)But after the nature of the defeat at St James’ Park on Saturday, the Dutchman must know that the next seven days at Old Trafford could actually make or break him at United.
Chelsea, Bournemouth and Bayern Munich. Fail to win one of those and even his staunchest supporters, such as myself, would have their work cut out to argue his case.
But go back to those spending figures and ask where the core fault at Old Trafford and at Stamford Bridge lies. United have spent less than half the Chelsea amount over those last three windows but for their £400million, they have got negligible return.
Chelsea executives will point to the amount of money they have brought in through outgoings, but the bottom line is that a world-class game-changer has yet to emerge from their £1billion worth of acquisitions.
Mauricio Pochettino is the latest Chelsea boss tasked with getting the best out of their richly assembled squad (Getty Images)And the recruitment failings of United and Chelsea go back way beyond the last three windows. But it will be the managers who will be under the spotlight at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, although it seems Mauricio Pochettino has had something of a free pass so far.
While the Argentine’s methods might be analysed, it is Ten Hag who is in the crosshairs. There are a fair few mitigating circumstances for United’s inconsistency - but none of them will matter if Ten Hag’s main players do not stand up and be counted.
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