Allen Hamilton
Nemanja Vidic was hardly a household name when Sir Alex Ferguson paid £7M to bring the Serbian centre-back to Old Trafford in January 2006, but Manchester United were dealing with a defensive crisis. Erratic results had put the spotlight on Ferguson’s men, with Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea taking a stranglehold on the Premier League title. And Vidic, who arrived along with Patrice Evra, was deemed to be the answer.
Ferguson had no doubt over the impact that Vidic would have at Old Trafford. "Good defenders win you things", he said at the time. "This lad is really natural and athletic. You need good defenders and that is exactly what this lad is."
After taking a few months to settle, Vidic emerged as one of the Premier League’s best defenders, helping Manchester United regain their domestic aura with titles in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013. The Serb was also instrumental in the club’s Champions League triumph in Moscow in 2008 and blossomed into an inspirational club captain.
But times are changing. The David Moyes era has endured the roughest of starts and the Manchester United defence is again facing major scrutiny with Vidic, Evra and Rio Ferdinand no longer providing the rock solid rearguard of previous years. Yet the back four of the future is hardly breaking down the door to displace the veterans, with Chris Smalling, Rafael, Jonny Evans and Phil Jones all struggling with nagging injuries and inconsistent form.
With this backdrop, Vidic's decision to leave Old Trafford this summer, in pursuit of a new challenge, adds to Moyes' woes, even though the Manchester United boss has explained that the decision was mutual. Suddenly, the Serb's exit is in danger of sending the Red Devils into the type of panic that brought about his arrival eight years ago. Where does Moyes turn? The worst kept secret in European football is that Manchester United are going to spending big this summer, making it no easy feat to find value for money.
The Serb is saying all the right things – including the assertion that Manchester United "can do something special in the Champions League" – but this campaign has been a nightmare from start to finish. Barring a miracle, the champions will not be part of Europe's premier club competition next season, with a last 16 exit looming at the hands of Olympiacos.
Clearly, should that scenario materialise, luring big names to Old Trafford this summer becomes an infinitely tougher task. While the likes of Benfica's Ezequiel Garay, Borussia Dortmund's Mats Hummel and Bayern Munich's Dante have been mentioned as possible replacements for Vidic, such deals would be wishful thinking without the offer of Champions League action, regardless of the size of Moyes' transfer kitty. A swoop for Everton centre-back Phil Jagielka is a likelier scenario – but, again, other suitors would likely be able to offer top tier European football.
The fact that Vidic continues to captain Manchester United is also somewhat perplexing. Given that the club need to dig deep to climb out of the difficult current situation and breathe life into the Moyes era, there must be question marks over whether Vidic is the right man to lead the fightback and whether his mind is already drifting towards the next chapter of his career with a switch to Inter Milan all but done. Perhaps now is the time to hand over the armband to Wayne Rooney, who recently committed himself to Manchester United with a five-and-a-half-year contract. The club's eagerness to give another big pay day to Rooney, who was seemingly on his way out of Old Trafford at the end of last season, is a telling sign of Manchester United's current struggles.
Take it from former captain Roy Keane, Manchester United face a troubling future. "I would think David Moyes has been shocked", Keane explained. "I think when he went into United in the summer he probably looked at the players and was expecting great things. Privately he's probably been shocked at the lack of quality that he's working with."
A major overhaul at Old Trafford is coming and Vidic's exit will only add to the challenges of the inevitable transitional phase. Moyes will hope that his endeavours in the transfer market can unearth a replacement capable of calming the storm, just as Vidic did during one of Ferguson's trickiest spells.
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