Ruud leaves England

Ruud Van Nistelrooy finally leaves Manchester United after a difficult season. No one should be surprised. He will be plying his trade for Real Madrid after a 15m pound sum was agreed upon for the transfer.

If anything Ferguson has shown consistency when it comes to players that have fallen out of favor with him, see David Beckham and Roy Keane. Van Nisterlrooy had a difficult season last year, even seeing himself relegated to the replacement's bench in favor of Frenchman Louis Saha.

I am glad to see Ruud leave, mainly cause I thought he was a baby, a whiner, and a cheap shot artist (see his hip check on Vieira's head a few seasons back at Old Trafford, then acting all innocent when Vieira confronted him). However, I cannot deny his goal scoring talents, 150 goals while at Man U. I think this move, right now, seriously weakens Manchester United. To make it through a long season you need stike options, with Van Nistelrooy they had 3 quality strikers: Rooney, Saha and Van Nistelrooy. Even with three that is thin, since you tend to want to have 4 so you can develop pairings up front. What will Man U do know, look to Alan Smith to fill this goal scoring void? The same Alan Smith that was slotted as holding midfielder at times last season....unless Ferguson has something up his sleeve: Abromovich, Trezeguet (too bad Deschamps said the sales were done at Juventus), or maybe Kuyt (not convinced he can fill Ruud's boots), Manchester United might be in for a long season on the goal scoring front. With Giggs and Scholes not getting any younger and Ronaldo seeming to be on the outs at Man U, the offense may be lacking this season....Too Bad for Manchester United.....