Last season, Arsenal’s 3-3 draw with Anderlecht in the Champions League threw up an interesting school of thought.
It seemed, many argued, that finishing strongly was valued much more highly than starting strongly when the outcome was the same.
As such, Arsenal were heavily criticised for throwing away a three-goal lead in the last half-hour, after receiving widespread praise for their comeback from two down against Everton earlier in the campaign.
Now, as we reflect on the end of the transfer window, the same theory can perhaps be applied to Manchester United’s wheeling and dealing under Louis van Gaal.
https://twitter.com/TheM_L_G/status/638391023551574017
Of course, plenty is being made of the flaws in United’s window. The botched deal for David De Gea, the supposed overpayment for Anthony Martial and the pursuit of what seem now to have been unrealistic targets in Gareth Bale, Thomas Muller and Neymar.
People are right to criticise the club for their mistakes, and those suggesting United missed out on more attainable targets thanks to what looked to many like a “throw enough sh*t at the wall” approach may have a point.
Should have signed Pedro; should have signed Pedro.
— Musa Okwonga (@Okwonga) September 1, 2015
https://twitter.com/skovern/status/638738528923422721
But looked at another way, United’s summer could be viewed as a glorious success.
Imagine they started the window by standing firm on David De Gea and telling Real Madrid “hands off”, only to see him pick up a knock in training and miss the first four games of the season.
A July capture of Martial, giving the Red Devils reinforcements up front, would have made the exit of Javier Hernandez much more acceptable, and they might even have been lauded for getting so high a fee for a player who was surplus to requirements anyway.
Even the loss of Adnan Januzaj could have been spun as a move that laid the foundations for a January move for Marco Reus, were it not for the truth emerging at the worst possible time.
Imagine they’d gone into the final week of the window with Martial and Memphis as their only signings, with the opening games of the season highlighting their lack of depth in midfield.
In those circumstances, the addition of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin would have been seen as fantastic pieces of business (as they are now, in fairness), while the addition of Matteo Darmian as an alternative to fan unfavourite Antonio Valencia was always going to be a winner with the Old Trafford faithful.
Sure, Sergio Romero would have seemed an unnecessary recruit at the start of the window, but a player of his experience on a free can’t hurt.
It’s amazing what difference the same deals in a different order can make.
