Is Van Persie Fergie's farewell gift to Man Utd fans?

The Premier League’s longest running transfer saga of the season came to an end on 17 August with Manchester United announcing the capture of the so-proclaimed ‘goal machine’ Robin Van Persie from arch rivals Arsenal for a sum of 24 million pounds. Well, this signing has led to contrasting reactions from the fans but I am myself finding it a hard pill to swallow and thus it is imperative to question the rationale behind the extravagant deal being given to a player who is already 29 and is injury prone. Why did Sir Alex Ferguson decide to go back on his silent pledge of not signing players over the age of 27? I can certainly think of some of the reasons…..

RVP is too good an option to let go : Any top club will have its head turned when a scorer of 37 goals last season and a proven and profilic striker becomes available in the market and Manchester United are certainly not an exception. I would be joking if I were to say that the prospect of Rooney and Van Persie playing together isn’t a tempting one, if both of them remain fit, goals should not be a problem for Manchester United.

Reduce over-dependence on Rooney : Over the past three seasons, it has become agonisingly clear that Manchester United are over-relying on Rooney and on most occasions when he fails to deliver, United flatter to deceive. Welbeck and Hernandez are providing those moments but Van Persie can easily remove the burden from Rooney’s shoulders, allowing him to dictate the game according to him and proving to be a greater threat with defences equally worried about Van Persie. Also, RVP’s arrival means that there is a much needed variety in set piece options, which again is a plus as it reduces the pressure on Rooney.

There was something lacking upfront too: If not for all the goals that Rooney scored, Man Utd would have really struggled, and even then, the final factor in losing title to Man City was the goal difference which will make United rue all the missed chances especially in the Everton game; so clearly more goals are needed and what better than to sign the golden boot winner himself.

Sir Alex needed to prove that Man Utd can still attract big names: For me this is the biggest reason of all. United were beaten to Hazard by Chelsea and Lucas Moura by PSG and after missing out on a host of transfer targets in recent years, Sir Alex needed to make a statement of intent and he felt that doing it in Chelsea or Man City style was the perfect way.

Beating Man City to RVP for mental boost: This transfer became one of the few instances in recent past when Man Utd were able to beat their noisy neighbours to a transfer target and it will certainly make the team management feel better and also the fans, as it shows that United are ready to shell on big names and will compete with Man City for their targets.

Sir Alex might want to go out with a bang: The inference which i fear, and hope does not happen, is that SAF might just have decided to retire after the season and wanted to finish on a high, maybe going after the 1999 success and believes that RVP is the missing link in his squad to return to the pinnacle in England and Europe. Moreover, maybe he wants it to be a gift to the fans who just might have started to question his inability to compete in transfer markets. Who knows, an outstanding season and he might just decide to part with Man Utd, and with Guardiola becoming available, he might just have a successor to his throne in mind

It is hard to debate on what the consequences of the decision prove to be but come Monday and the answer will be clear. Can Rooney and Robin together light up the premier league or will their egos prove bigger? Whether Rooney will be able to play second fiddle again as he did to Cristiano Ronaldo? What will be the role of Kagawa? What will be the formation? What about our fragile looking full-back and central midfield positions? The questions are aplenty but the answers are what will make this season watching Man Utd even special. I can only hope that RVP fulfills his dreams of winning trophies, and I can only say that we should trust Sir Alex for he is as much a devil as anyone else and hope that if he is indeed trying to go out, he does that with a huge bang.