Originally Posted by
Insidious
Still convinced that Ronaldo was a "perfect" signing - but moreso for their rivals than for them, counter-intuitive as it sounds.
He's so damned good that he will notch up plenty of goals. The problem is it takes development time/playing time in general from other forwards and that these goals mask deficiencies elsewhere.
He's as close to a guarantee as you can get (in terms of the goals column and scoring winners) to secure the 66-78 points they'll need to finish in the Top Four. His presence will help them ride on a crest of optimism until February or so.
But is the capture of Ronaldo what takes them to that NEXT level of 79-92 points? I don't see it. A harder-working forward, genuine defensive midfielder and some quality coaching would have been the better route for their long-term improvement, but they were unable to resist the short-term, fan appeasement crap. He may be a higher standard of player, but it's the Falcao/Di Maria/Sanchez/Ibrahimovic/Cavani situation all over again. Even the time it came off (Van Persie) was a short-term solution.
Systems of play, patterns, data analytics and being better than the sum of your parts just aren't how they do things and in a World where sides are increasingly out-thought, their refusal to evolve is an endless source of amusement.
Their constant recruiting of individual talents, willingness to spend big on wages, their big stadium, years of commercial deals and having plenty of players out there who grew up supporting mean they aren't going to "go away" any time soon and the right Manager could squeeze a League or Champion's League out of them if a few things fell their way but they need a massive rethink if they ever want to build a Dynasty again.
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