Ferguson: transfer window is ‘over-rated’

ALEX FERGUSON believes the influence of the January transfer window is “over-rated”.

Having secured Henrik Larsson on a short-term loan and recalled Giuseppe Rossi and half a dozen other youngsters from spells elsewhere, Ferguson is now pondering whether to make further reinforcements to his squad.

Many pundits have claimed next month’s market moves will be crucial in determining the destination of the major prizes.

However, given the restrictions on the number of players available, Ferguson doubts any new signings will have a dramatic effect.

“The influence of the transfer window is over-rated in the sense of what you can really do,” he said.

“If you have ambitions in the Champions League, the Premiership and the FA Cup you are limited in terms of the number of players you can choose.

“We have signed players in the past but it is not necessarily the case we will sign someone this time. We may, or we may not. It depends on a lot of things.

“But I am happy we have Henrik Larsson coming in and also with the improvement in Alan Smith. And, now Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is fit again, he will definitely get us 15 goals.”

Ferguson did splash out £12million on Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra 12 months ago, while in years gone by Louis Saha and Andy Cole have both arrived in mid-winter.

However, given the time Vidic and Evra took to settle in at Old Trafford, it is understandable why Ferguson prefers to concentrate on his current squad as United look to consolidate their four-point lead at the top.

In particular, it is the outstanding form of Cristiano Ronaldo is fuelling optimism for the second half of the campaign.

The only realistic challenger to Didier Drogba for the player of the year awards, the Portugal winger has already made a major mark on the Festive period, netting twice at Aston Villa last weekend before netting another brace in the St Stephen’s Day win over Wigan.

Former United winger Steve Coppell, whose Reading side are the next in line to try to stop Ronaldo at Old Trafford today, hailed the 21-year-old as the best player in the world just now.

It is not a statement Ferguson is about to disagree with.

“There are very few players in the world who can play wide and attack players the way he does with such speed,” said the Red Devils boss.

“He is such a danger to defenders because he doesn’t just beat men, he has the desire and drive not to give in when they foul him.

“I am sure Cristiano is already one of the best players in the world. But he is only 21 and he will get better. He works hard, he practices and his lifestyle is good. I have no worries about him in that respect.”

Ronaldo will almost certainly earn a recall today along with the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Louis Saha, while Paul Scholes’ suspension means Michael Carrick returns after missing the last two games with an ankle problem.

Having drawn with United once already this season, Reading had proved themselves to be dangerous opponents long before they put a dent in Chelsea’s hopes of a title hat-trick.

The Royals’ surprise result at Stamford Bridge has been blamed on the continued absence of Blues skipper John Terry.

However, while Ferguson acknowledges the loss of such a key man is hard to cope with, even for a club with Chelsea’s vast resources, he believes the impact of Terry’s back injury has been slightly overstated.

“He is one of the mainstays of their team but in the games he has missed, Chelsea have actually gained a point on us,” observed the Scot.

“Overall, I just feel our form has been more consistent than Chelsea’s and the name of the game for us now is to maintain it.”