Man Utd write to fans who complained about their transfer activity
Letter From Philip Townsend regarding Manchester United's Summer Transfer Window !!! pic.twitter.com/GVgqxWeheZ
— Michael Dixon (@RetroRedDevil) September 17, 2013
Manchester United have written to fans who contacted them to express concern about the club’s performance during the transfer window.
Supporters who wrote to complain about the lack of summer signings have received replies defending manager David Moyes and chief executive Ed Woodward.
The letter claims that, by keeping Wayne Rooney and signing Marouane Fellaini, the champions achieved all their aims for the transfer window.
It read:
Thank you for your recent email to Ed Woodward, who has asked me to reply. There has been considerable comment on the Club’s activity during the summer but most of it has been ill-informed.
The Club had two main priorities for the transfer window. The first was to keep Wayne Rooney. He is a world class player and the Manager is very keen to have Wayne as a key part of the Club’s drive to retain the Premier League trophy. That aim was fulfilled.
The second priority was to add a midfield player, and the capture of Fellaini has met that need. Add to that the fact that Wilfried Zaha is a new signing and that the Manager has added the highly-rated young player Adnan Janazaj to the squad and the team does in fact have a different feel to it than the one that finished last season.
The Club has invested over £40m acquiring new players this summer, as well as re-signing Nani on a long term deal – more than it has traditionally spent on transfers. Additional resources were there to add to that but it was not possible to agree with other clubs for the right players to leave. The key point there is that the players we buy have to be the right ones for Manchester United; not just any player.
The Club has always backed the Manager in the transfer market, as Sir Alex has said on many occasions and it will continue to do so. The Club has demonstrated its belief in, and commitment to, David Moyes through the award of a six year contract. Allowing him to shape the future Manchester United team is a long term project not an eight week panic. He must be given time to assess his new squad and come to his own decisions on which players he feels will strengthen it.
It is worth pointing out that many of the players the Club was associated with during the window had never figured in David Moyes’ plans and the name of Manchester United was being used by others to inflate players’ values or raise the profile of their availability. Sadly in some cases, despite the fact that the Club informed the media of the inaccuracy of its reporting, they persisted in running those stories without any respect for the quality or truth of the output.
Thank you for taking the time to write.
Yours sincerely,
Philip Townsend
Director of Communications
A United spokesman said: “The reply went to those who wrote to Ed Woodward and people who sent emails to the enquiries inbox. We have a responsibility under our Club Charter to respond to all correspondence in 15 working days.”
