Manchester United's search for a striker continues after yesterday's apparent collapse of their efforts to sign Dwight Yorke from Aston Villa. In the meantime their quest for a place in this season's Champions League will begin tonight when LKS Lodz, the Polish champions, visit Old Trafford in the opening leg of the second and decisive qualifying round.
Andrzej Ptak, the LKS president, reckons that United played "lousy soccer" in losing 3-0 to Arsenal in Sunday's Charity Shield but Alex Ferguson is set to field an unchanged team. "The main thing is that we don't lose a goal," United's manager stressed. "If you win 1-0 at home in Europe you always have a chance."
On paper beating LKS over two games, with the return in a fortnight, appears to be a simpler matter than finding someone to partner or replace Andy Cole. Villa's asking price for Yorke remains £16 million. United have offered £8 million and are not interested in a deal involving Cole.
Ferguson trusts that Yorke will want to join United so badly that some sort of deal will go through. "I'm not giving up hope," he said yesterday and even John Gregory, the Villa manager, admitted that "it will not be easy for Dwight because he felt he was going to Manchester United".
Time, however, is not on United's side. To be eligible for the Champions League players have to be signed by the end of this month.
For the moment Ferguson will have to rely on the squad who reached the quarter-finals last season plus Jaap Stam and Roy Keane, back from an 11month lay-off. United's lack of a high-quality striker was all too apparent when Monaco forced a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford to beat them on the away goal.
Relegated to the qualifiers after finishing second to Arsenal in the Premiership, United can ill afford a slip-up at this stage. Last season's truncated run was still worth £5.5 million to Old Trafford before spin-offs were added.
Sunday's fading performance may have had as much to do with the imminence of the Lodz game as the heat. Either way Ferguson will not want a repetition. "We had a lack of balance," he admitted yesterday, "but I'm not too worried because our pride has been stung."
LKS Lodz are hardly in Arsenal's class but they did remove Kepez Ganja, the champions of Azerbaijan, 7-2 on aggregate, in the first round. Poland's football may be in turmoil, with the leading clubs so much at odds with their FA that last weekend they went on strike, but this will not affect tonight's match.
True, the LKS players are reported to have shaved their heads though not as a penance. The club sponsor makes a glue that stops wigs taking flight in a high wind and the team are apparently being paid £2,000 each to advertise this bald truth.
