The Other Side of the Shirt.
RVP, where should I begin, he has been one
of the most talked at Trended topics on and off since he made the announcement that
broke many a red gunned heart around the world (whether they admit to it or
not) and spurned more vitriol and anger since well to be honest I can’t really remember
when a transfer of a single player caused this big an uproar. That he would be
leaving the Gunners with whom he had stayed for 8 years in search of greener
more trophy filled pastures- that in itself must have been a blow but then
after what seemed to be an interminable period of teetering between stay and go
and perhaps more importantly for the Dutch marksman- go where?
With rumour and loud chatter rife and with both Manchester City and Juventus tossing their hats and mega millions into the ring for the services for the at that point Euro2012 horribly misfiring Arsenal forward- he probably had a lot on his 29 year olds mind as at the time- Van Persie had not made up his mind.
At this juncture I must make my true allegiance to the winners in said heartbreaking deal: I am most unapologetically a Manchester United Fan. That said most would think I’m rather pleased at all the venom being hurled at this newly christened Judas and more so at the probably fractious state of those at the Emirates but I am strangely enough- even to me-not, the more I think about the Gunners and their non performing 8 year slump I am inclined to feel just – a miniscule-twinge of sadness for the faltering red side of London because - let’s face it- defeat hurts and it must really hurt if it’s that frequent. Having said that I can perhaps the Arsenal faithful feeling of not only being slighted but feeling as though you’ve been stabbed in the back by the ‘King’ you ‘Made’ that cannot be an easy pill to swallow. It would not have been so bad if the Dutchman chose to leave for Barcelona like former team mate Cesc Fabregas did last year for £35m or even the painful transfer of Samir Nasri to the blue half of Manchester in the summer of 2011 for a lesser £25m but the former Captain of which Arsenal has managed to lose 4-if you include Robin Van Persie- in these silver ware drought ridden 7 years – those leaders sent to pasture or sent running were Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas who all came to the realisation that the Gunners- at least for them-had lost their ambition. Some non fans such as myself would look into the mass exodus and say it is the ‘curse of the Captains armband’ but clearly something more off with Arsene Wenger and his men.
Arsenal began their slide into the dark unknown in 2005 when the ‘Highbury Seniors’ were slowly but surely deleted- by personal choice or sale, or it was just time-from the professors master plan and winning formulas. One by one the ‘Old Guard’ went on their merry ways to other pastures and opportunities or into retirement in favour of a younger, fresher more rejuvenated and reenergized squad. But here it seems the Frenchman would have been well served by taking a page out of Scotsman Sir Alex Furguson’s book on how to phase out one team for a new, younger one, if he had done so he would have know that one needs to do such things slowly leaving the youngsters with an older, experienced, anchoring player to guide them on the field of play to steady them and keep them from losing their heads.
Secondly the professor has a penurious approach, which it seemed was what the club -and board of Directors - needed after firing their previous manager Bruce Rioch in 1996-7 disagreements over transfer funds- my guess is the board wouldn’t dole out the bucks. Even though that was more than a decade ago it seems that Wenger is still firmly aligned with the board on saving money, it is with that strategy that the Frenchman has lost at least 12 players half to the Catalans and the other half to City. One would have thought that with an economics degree the professor would be wise enough to realise that his old school money saving tactics no longer work. A good pay day mixed with the ability to win trophies may just have been the perfect combination, one too good to withstand for Manchester United’s newest forward.
Arsenal are king makers but for some reason whether financial or board pleasing – which in their case is the same thing- they never can keep their freshly made kings. With RVP switching out one red jersey for another speculation-and ill will- is rife that Van Persie’s years of injury will return to haunt the prolific marksman. Hopes are-I’m sure-that RVP will be massively misfiring while at the theatre of Dreams. As for how the Dutchman fits into the crowded Manchester United strike force remains to be seen with Rooney, Welbeck, Hernandez , and even Berbatov all able to strike and score goals and with Rooney the club talismans consistent unease with an all out strike partner/ and with several partnerships as possible winning combinations it remains to be seen just how RVP will fit into his new teams plans and with Manchester United forking out £200,000 weekly his detractors are praying that the striker doesn’t ‘put up’.
With rumour and loud chatter rife and with both Manchester City and Juventus tossing their hats and mega millions into the ring for the services for the at that point Euro2012 horribly misfiring Arsenal forward- he probably had a lot on his 29 year olds mind as at the time- Van Persie had not made up his mind.
At this juncture I must make my true allegiance to the winners in said heartbreaking deal: I am most unapologetically a Manchester United Fan. That said most would think I’m rather pleased at all the venom being hurled at this newly christened Judas and more so at the probably fractious state of those at the Emirates but I am strangely enough- even to me-not, the more I think about the Gunners and their non performing 8 year slump I am inclined to feel just – a miniscule-twinge of sadness for the faltering red side of London because - let’s face it- defeat hurts and it must really hurt if it’s that frequent. Having said that I can perhaps the Arsenal faithful feeling of not only being slighted but feeling as though you’ve been stabbed in the back by the ‘King’ you ‘Made’ that cannot be an easy pill to swallow. It would not have been so bad if the Dutchman chose to leave for Barcelona like former team mate Cesc Fabregas did last year for £35m or even the painful transfer of Samir Nasri to the blue half of Manchester in the summer of 2011 for a lesser £25m but the former Captain of which Arsenal has managed to lose 4-if you include Robin Van Persie- in these silver ware drought ridden 7 years – those leaders sent to pasture or sent running were Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas who all came to the realisation that the Gunners- at least for them-had lost their ambition. Some non fans such as myself would look into the mass exodus and say it is the ‘curse of the Captains armband’ but clearly something more off with Arsene Wenger and his men.
Arsenal began their slide into the dark unknown in 2005 when the ‘Highbury Seniors’ were slowly but surely deleted- by personal choice or sale, or it was just time-from the professors master plan and winning formulas. One by one the ‘Old Guard’ went on their merry ways to other pastures and opportunities or into retirement in favour of a younger, fresher more rejuvenated and reenergized squad. But here it seems the Frenchman would have been well served by taking a page out of Scotsman Sir Alex Furguson’s book on how to phase out one team for a new, younger one, if he had done so he would have know that one needs to do such things slowly leaving the youngsters with an older, experienced, anchoring player to guide them on the field of play to steady them and keep them from losing their heads.
Secondly the professor has a penurious approach, which it seemed was what the club -and board of Directors - needed after firing their previous manager Bruce Rioch in 1996-7 disagreements over transfer funds- my guess is the board wouldn’t dole out the bucks. Even though that was more than a decade ago it seems that Wenger is still firmly aligned with the board on saving money, it is with that strategy that the Frenchman has lost at least 12 players half to the Catalans and the other half to City. One would have thought that with an economics degree the professor would be wise enough to realise that his old school money saving tactics no longer work. A good pay day mixed with the ability to win trophies may just have been the perfect combination, one too good to withstand for Manchester United’s newest forward.
Arsenal are king makers but for some reason whether financial or board pleasing – which in their case is the same thing- they never can keep their freshly made kings. With RVP switching out one red jersey for another speculation-and ill will- is rife that Van Persie’s years of injury will return to haunt the prolific marksman. Hopes are-I’m sure-that RVP will be massively misfiring while at the theatre of Dreams. As for how the Dutchman fits into the crowded Manchester United strike force remains to be seen with Rooney, Welbeck, Hernandez , and even Berbatov all able to strike and score goals and with Rooney the club talismans consistent unease with an all out strike partner/ and with several partnerships as possible winning combinations it remains to be seen just how RVP will fit into his new teams plans and with Manchester United forking out £200,000 weekly his detractors are praying that the striker doesn’t ‘put up’.
Comments
Post a Comment