Gill: I signed Vidic on Christmas day

When CEO of Manchester United, David Gill has revealed that the agreement to sign Nemanja Vidic from Spartak Moscow went through on Christmas Day.

“I like them all really,” he told 12th Man, when asked which signing he was most proud of. “There are some that I’m not proud of, but it’s exciting when you get a new player and I like to see them come in and develop. I completed the deal for Vidic on Christmas Day 2005, so that was quite exciting. That certainly didn’t go down too well with my wife. Then of course Vidic and Evra arrived in January ’06 and have been the bedrock of our team since then. Overall you want them all to do well. Some do better than others because it’s not an exact science, but at the same time we’ve done some very good deals over the years and I’m happy with them.”

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6 Comments

united till i die December 14, 2013

This just reinforces the belief that if you do your homework you CAN by value in the January transfer window and not every player needs to be a world class household name. There's no excuse now for Moyes and his staff as they have had 6+ months to identify targets. I hope to god they haven't put all their eggs in one basket and spend the whole window chasing the same 1-2 players. If its Baines he wants make a offer early and if its turned down move on to another left back. No fucking around trying to get a bargain deal. The reputations of Woodward, Moyes and the club are all on the line in January.

Kashere21 December 14, 2013

So mr ed woodward and moyes shall take note ! don't waste aof time pasuing a single player without any fruitfull result. no more excuse.

Tommy December 14, 2013

@United till I die

Totally agree mate, I cant remember who said it but someone in football said when a manager says their are the1st choice then they are usually 4th, 5th or 6th choice, Its a rarity when a manager signs his prefered player.

Old news this like, its well documented Vidic was signed on xmas day.

Fletch™ December 14, 2013

Vidic was signed from Red Star Belgrade, who's season ended in November or there abouts. Other January signings are deals with clubs who are either desperate for cash, or not competing for any hardware. Very unlikely that we will do any business with the likes of Porto or Atl Bilbao who are fine financially.

Not convinced about this Brazilian lad either 24 and not in the national team, how do you get a work visa for that type of player. Also all the news is from his agent and the player. Sounds like the Thiago chatter to be fair. Wouldn't hold my breath.

Bet we go for someone no one had heard much about.
Expecting any January signing will kick off a spate of wiki searches.
Direct from my crystal ball that one! ;)

Adedayo Charles December 14, 2013

@Fletch. Vidic was actually signed from Spartak Moscow. He only started his career @ Red Star Begrade.

Adedayo, Too right mate. Senior moment. Spartak Moscow then.

Still, the issue of "WHY" we signed Vidic in December/January is the same.
Russian league used to start in summer and end in November or so. So top teams in that league, who were our of Europe, didn't mind selling top players.

The issue is who (teams) would allow a top player to go in midseason and disrupt their cup competitions and risk their league position?

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