An American on the State of United

A baseball forum I used to read was quite militant in silencing what was referred to there as "being a dark cloud", as in someone who made a habit of focusing on the negative as opposed to the silver lining. While I never cared for the attempt to remove dissent, it did illustrate that some pessimistic fans, while not caring any less about their team than the optimists, do generally expect the worst of any situation. On the other hand, some fans view their teams through rose-colored glasses, and will hear no ill of them.

One side isn't necessarily any more "right" than the other, but I have to admit that that latter sort is a good bit more fun to be around.

The 2009-2010 season for Manchester United has provided quite a bit of fodder for either type of fan. The pessimists can point to the five losses, the quick exit to Leeds in the FA cup, and the club's rising debt, while the optimists can seize on the fact that Wayne Rooney is probably the first name mentioned in any "best player in the world" discussions, we're going to Wembley to face Aston Villa for the League Cup, and the 3-1 flogging of Arsenal at Emirates.

I have to admit, I lean towards the sunny-siders. If I'd wanted to watch my team feeling abject certainty that failure was imminent, I'd be a City fan, wouldn't I?

However difficult the season has been, we're clearly still in the hunt for a fourth straight League championship, Van Der Sar's allowed all of four goals in five games since he's return, and wonder of wonders, Nani's suddenly looking like he belongs in Red. I don't think you can watch how we've played and not feel certain that we're a world class team.

Off the field...okay, there's a bit more cause for worry there. The Glazers obviously don't have a lot of fans in England, (unless it's British bankers who are holding the parent company's debt,) and with their American football team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, going 3-13 this year, they probably don't have a lot of goodwill with their American fans either, but sometimes it seems to me like the anger at the Glazers is a bit overblown.

From everything anyone's been able to determine, when Sir Alex has asked for money for transfers, the Glazers have yet to answer anything but yes. On the other end, the players who've gotten transferred like Tevez and Ronaldo have been players who wanted to leave anyway, and in Ronaldo's case, (and allegedly Tevez's as well,) we got a massive transfer fee for them.

This might be my overly optimistic side showing, but I'm disinclined to assume the worst until it happens. If the Glazers are going to start weakening the on-field product in the name of profits for themselves, I don't think it's happened yet. The team might be a bit weaker than some of the more dominant recent years, but that's as likely a factor in key players like Owen, Neville, et cetera getting older, as well as the lack of real prospects coming out of our developmental system.

And I have to ask, would we have seen an organization like MUST come about if the Glazers' purchase had occurred in exactly the same way, but with British owners instead of Americans? Besides, if you want to see American owners damaging their teams, the Glazers would have to work bloody hard to match what Gillett and Hicks have done to Liverpool.