Roll on August...

As a Man United fan of 39 years [and counting] i've seldom enjoyed a pre-season quite as much as this one.

Rarely [if ever] have United moved with such deciseiveness and audacity in the transfer market. United signings have usually been the worst kept secret in the game, and [like the Hargreaves deal this season] when they have come they have often left a sense of anti-climax, as well as nagging anxiety over the amount of money that's been spent on [invariably] one big name player.

This season, Fergie seems to have gone for broke in more ways than one, and I can't help wondering if these signings may be the last significant deals he ever does for the club. Certainly, the "owners" [how can you "own" something that you have bought with other people's money; while seemingly not having a clue what it means or how it works?] seem to have given him the chance to let his imagination run riot this summer.

If it is part of some pr strategy to get suspicious Reds on board with the new dispensation then good luck to them. It hasn't worked on me. On the other hand, not having the likes of Edwards, Kenyon [spit] and the plc board breathing down Fergie's neck, poring over the minutiae of every clause of a deal [whither Ronaldinho, eh Pete???], seems to have given us the edge this season. Well bless his heart, SAF has deserved every second of his own footballing version of Supermarket Sweep, and I hope each and every one of his prizes gives him [and us] enormous pleasure in the few years he will have left to work with them.

Nani and Anderson are for the future no doubt. The real impact at Utd next season will be expected from Hargreaves and Tevez, if he arrives [which barring a massive fit of hubris from the FA and the Premier League - should they try to block the move - looks certain to happen now, court case or no].Hargreaves is hardly an impact player, and considering the lukewarm reaction to Carrick last season from the press, he might find his first season in England something of a personal test - off the pitch if not on it. However, Tevez showed against United on the last day how well he can stretch opposition defences right accross the park. He has huge cajones, and can score goals from anywhere.He may look superficially similar to Rooney [he's certainly no oil painting] but he has a very different style of play, more direct, and seemingly able to operate well as a lone striker despite his size. He plays much further up the pitch - often behind defenders on the 18 yd line - and that alone should help him to complement Shrek rather than crowd him out. He looks handy in a scrap too, though he'd be well advised not to get into a tangle with Rooney - anyone who can lay a man out with one punch [while sitting down at a table in a restaurant] is a man to keep on good terms with. So maybe keep your personal thoughts about the Malvinas and Maradonna to yourself for a while Carlito.

United's problem is going to be who to let go, with a first team squad numbering 46 with Tevez on board. Smith and Richardson look certainties, and Heinze seems to know his number's up too, though hell will freeze over before United let him go to Anfield - unless he really is crocked, instead of just lacking fitness and games last season. Beware Govaniites bearing gifts, Anfield fans...As far as the rest go, only Liverpool have given us a run for our [more pertinently, their] money in the transfer stakes so far, though there are still nearly two months left to surprise us all. Arsenal are flush from the Henry deal, and i'm sure Abramovitch can always find a spare pot of black gold stashed away somewhere [like Cyprus, The Cayman Islands, Switzerland....].

Liverpool's signings look shrewd, although many of them are even more in the way of long term investments than Anderson and Nani. Torres is a conundrum, and a huge gamble at £20+m for a player who has never hit 20 league goals in a season and has no Champions League experience. Benitez's Spanish teams were masters of one touch passing, and played beautiful football at times [I saw them pass us off the park in the second half of a Champions League game once at Old Trafford] although they often lacked deciseiveness up front.However, Liverpool last season more often played like a bunch of builders who have dug up a hand grenade and don't know what to do with it. Torres isn't renowned in Spain for his technical skill, and the fact Benitez is so keen to retain Crouch says everything about what we can expect tactically from them next season. I hope they threw in a pair of stilts for Torres as part of the move.

Arsenal look like a complete shambles at the moment but another year on the youngsters should have more confidence and Dudu looks every inch a Wenger player. One more signing could do it for Wenger, and they might surprise us all next season.Chelsea have been quietly collecting a group of extremely competent players for next to nothing, and with maybe one more player on the flanks [Malouda?] - and a good talking to from Mourinho to Ballack and Shev - could be every bit as good as they were in 2006.

As I say, roll on August....