Imagine it’s the first home game of the season and, as the Arsenal players emerge from the tunnel wearing the world’s best football kit, all the camera lenses are trained on one man.
That man is Robin van Persie – our “want-away Dutchman” who stayed after all. He may even be wearing the captain’s armband.
How will you react?
I know the writing appears to be on the wall regarding van Persie’s departure, but graffiti is temporary by nature and there is still time to change the script.
Perhaps an extra £20k a week, or an extra year on the contract extension, or the signing of his countryman Ibrahim Affelay or a combination of all three will have swayed Robin’s heart (or at least his wallet).
Or perhaps Arsenal’s management – the nine stone weakling of the transfer market – will have magically transformed into the bully who kicks sand in people’s faces and forced RvP to honour his final year, with no pay rise and the loss of the captaincy.
Either way, it raises a question that every Arsenal supporter will need to consider: do I give van Persie the unquestioned support I gave him previously? Do I refuse to applaud him and leave it at that? Do I boo his traitorous, greedy arse?
One thing is clear: if he stays things won’t be the way they were before.
Our relationship will be like a marriage where one party has had an affair and then returned to the marital home.
You can make it work, you can resume the semblance of normality, but really something magical has gone and will never be replaced. Maybe it’s trust, maybe it’s love, but it has gone.
The different potential scenarios surrounding Robin’s non-departure obviously have a bearing on how supporters would react to him.
The more positive option is relatively straightforward:
If he signs a three/four year extension and apologises for his silly comment about the direction of the club (he could say he was down in the dumps after Holland’s woeful showing at the Euros) I suspect most people will welcome him back with open arms despite the sense of having been betrayed.
The choruses of “he scores when he wants” may be sung with a bit less gusto, but if the goals start going in the volume will increase and, in time, his sins will be forgiven. Or at least forgotten. It worked for the granny botherer at Old Trafford after his flirtation with a move to Middle Eastlands.
But if Robin is made to stay against his will (or reluctantly agrees to see out his final year), what then?
Football support is an emotional business and we, the fans, are invariably the ones whose hearts get bruised.
So the temptation will be to let a Reluctant Robin know how we feel about his treachery – perhaps by booing him, by just not cheering him or not “showing the love”.
For me, despite the hurt feelings, it’s all quite simple. If he is wearing the Arsenal colours and is trying his best then he gets my support.
Not just because booing your own players is counter-productive (it will hardly motivate them to play better, it’s an encouragement to the opposition and provides even more fuel to the spiteful Arsenal haters among the national media).
But because it’s the mature thing to do.
Much as we would like the players to share our passion and our one-love faithfulness to the Arsenal, the fact is they don’t.
Hardly any of the current first team squad grew up as Arsenal supporters. Most didn’t even grow up in the UK, let alone the hallowed ground of N5. They are professionals who may form a fond attachment to their employers, but whose ultimate loyalty is to themselves.
They are well-paid freelancers who can take their skills elsewhere when they are out of contract and a better offer (or what they perceive to be a better offer) comes along.
To expect different is to hanker after a bygone age when footballers were part of the fabric of their community. And even in those days it was hardly unheard of for players to move on for cash or glory (Liam Brady was only 24 when he decamped for Italy).
We may be disappointed when a valued player decides to leave, we may feel they are ungrateful to the club, the manager and the fans. But they are just exercising their rights as an employee.
They are not us and we are not them. They can transfer their loyalties, we can’t and, probably, we should not expect them to. To accept this state of affairs is to find peace in the maelstrom of affection, betrayal and disappointment.
If Robin takes the field in an Arsenal shirt again he will get my 100% support – and he should get yours too.
RockyLives
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Morning all, thanks Rocky, great teaser for a Monday morning.
The answer is of course yes, if Robin stays, we love him again …. for the sake of the team.
It would be hard enough for the other squad players to gets to grips with as it is, and that would only be made worse if they thought the supporters were on his back.
Sad
Great article. I am of the belief Robin’s decision is strongly influenced by his greedy Agent Kees Vos. No man will go against his wife, and parents! I sincerely believe he will never recreate his form of 2011/12 if he leaves and the grass is definitely not greener elsewhere. He is the main man at arsenal but he will just be another ordinary member of a team if he moves elsewhere. However, if he does decide to stay (overly optimistic/deluded) then he will get my full support.
Morning all,
I was thinking exactly along those lines Mr Rock(great minds and all that 🙂 ) should the scenario you outlined turn up and it does present the Gooner nation with a bit of a dilemma.
If such a “granny botherer” type U-turn occur I would have to size up what reasoning RvP uses to expalin this to rationalise how I’d feel; however on match day I’d get behind up as much as any other player who turns out for us.
Of course if he goes then this all beocmes, as Del Boy would say, “epidemic”.
Excellent, Rocky.
You’ve summed up a potential quandary perfectly.
Personally, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
That is, if van Persie hasn’t burnt it before I get there.
(I can’t even bring myself to type ‘R*bin’ at the moment)
N5?? AHEM its N7… unforgivable error!
Fair comment Rocky, I will support any player in an Arsenal shirt, I may not like them, I may not think much of them but I will support them.
One thing I will no longer do is worship them or believe their statements of undying “love” for the club, manager, fans or the training ground tea lady.
Long gone are the days when the players turned up for games on the same bus or train as the fans.
Nowadays players are here for what they can get and should be appreciated for the skills they bring, don’t expect loyalty from them and you wont be disappointed when they leave for the perceived greener grass elsewhere.
Jazza ….. errr no, the Emirates and Highbury both have an N5 postcode.
Now would you care to say something constructive about the article?
It’s a real poser RL.
I think of all the different scenarios if RVP stayed or left and honestly can’t make upmy mind.
He or/and his agent have put himself in the shop window and personally I don’t see any reseblence to the Rooney situation.
No doubt last season was Robin’s season and he led the team and scored many vital goals as well as assists,but can he repeat it two sesons running.?not many footballers in the PL can do it
i take ubrage with the saying that the club lack ambition.He more than most know the financial restraints but with maybe 3 more seasons of top flight football will he succumb to money.
if he stays I hope he will be 100% committed for this forth coming season but i would imagine he wouldn’t be asked to play so many games as we now have the back up to rotate more than last season
Emirates Stadium, Highbury, London N5 1BU
Highbury Stadium Square, Highbury, London N5 1FJ
Hi Rock, good to see you back with a fine post 🙂
Hope you had a great break!
No, I would not boo him but my attitude towards him would become as calculated as his towards the club. Only if he did a totally sincere U-turn, would I forgive him.
Yes, ultimately he is an employee, but a different sort of employee than you and I are ever likely to be.
He signed a contract with the club that contains rights and responsibilities. Clearly, as long as the club wants him to complete the full term of the contract, he is obliged, legally as well as morally, to do so. He cannot benefit from long spells of sick pay on the one hand – as per the protection he enjoys by the fixed term nature of his contract of employment- and then choose not to fulfil his employer’s request to complete the whole term.
Everything indicates that he wants to break his contract by putting the employer/Arsenal in a very difficult position. Most employees would be sacked if they would break confidentiality clauses and/or come out with comments that hurt the reputation of the company. Clearly RvP is not just an employee but an important asset as well, and the Arsenal cannot afford to treat RvP like most other employers would do. With his comments, RvP has put the club, my club, your club, in a very difficult position and that’s not on.
I cannot talk for you, but I would not have done the same.
The betrayal, as in feigning he was a Gunner for Life and telling us how much he loves the club only to jump ship when he finally starts to deliver on the club’s investments/hard work, is also unforgivable – but I guess I am equally to blame by putting my trust and hope in him in the first place. Silly me! 😦
Good post Rocky. 🙂
Well done Rocky, that encapsulates thoughts that have been kicking round my cranium for the last few weeks.
If it were a matter of simply deciding to use his right to seek employment elsewhere, and he then had a road-to-Damascus realisation that he should stay after all (presumably assisted by getting another wedge of money from the fans’ hard-earned), I’d find it pretty easy to accept him back on every level. But what he has said, as captain and as a player who has benefited from unstinting loyalty for years, really sticks in my throat; he went further than just saying thanks for the memories, time for something new; he wilfully damaged us at a time we’ve been progressing.
In truth, I don’t think I ever can feel very positive about RvP again. If he stays (which I think is doubtful), I’ll cheer every goal he scores or creates, but he wouldn’t ever get my support for just being in an Arsenal shirt again. Not when there are players like Szczesny, Koscielny, Arteta, Wilshere and Oxlade-Chamberlain around, players who have never done anything to hurt the club.
He’ll get my support. It’s the shirt not the skin.
But he’ll not get my love… he will need a gesture of some magnitude to get that back… a pay cut or something….
having said that i hope he doesn’t play for us with out a contract renewal.
I don’t playing him would violate the vital concepts of a team sport, i.e. to play a man who has expressed having no faith in his teammates, manager or owner.
As captain.
or even ex captain.
I’d rather play Park in the middle and see how he goes.
On a cold and miserable Monday morning how nice to read that Arsenal have already won their first trophy, even before the season has kicked off.
Yep! we won the prestigious Markus Leibherr Memorial Cup by beating Andelecht and losing (on penalties) to Southampton. Even now the sign-writer is up a ladder adding to the roll of honour round the home of football.
He’ll get my support. It’s the shirt not the skin.
But he’ll not get my love… he will need a gesture of some magnitude to get that back… a pay cut or something….
having said that i hope he doesn’t play for us with out a contract renewal.
Playing him violates the vital concepts of a team sport, i.e. to play a man who has expressed having no faith in his teammates, manager or owner.
As captain.
or even ex captain.
I’d rather play Park in the middle and see how he goes
26,
Quote “Not when there are players like Szczesny, Koscielny, Arteta, Wilshere and Oxlade-Chamberlain around, players who have never done anything to hurt the club”.
Give them time! 26, give them time!
Double by name, Double by nature….. 🙂
I know Norfolk, that’s the depressing bit. We can all see that coming with someone like Wilshere one day. There’ll be talk of “projects” and “ambition” and all that crappy code for “I want lots of money, even more than you can offer, and I want an easy route to trophies but I don’t have the guts to say it openly, so I’ll tell you, the fans, that I love you and if it weren’t for the limitations of your manager and directors I’d stay”.
You may have seen this already but in case not: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKksMZdJdgY&feature=youtu.be
NorfolkG – do you know when the Open top bus parade is ? 🙂
So The Rock Island Man has decided to stop pestering those nice teddy bears and has returned to start off our dismal (here) Monday morning with a nice, gentle but potentially explosive appraisal of the RVP ‘issue’. Welcome back Rocker!! 🙂
I have never suffered any misconceptions about the allegiances of professional players, and I therefore have a laissez faire attitude to their comings and goings, but I do feel the hurt radiating out of so many AA’ers, who despite reams of evidence to the contrary still persist in believing that ‘our’ Arsenal players are different to those of other clubs.
I once tried to commiserate and advise a very close (platonic) female friend when her relationship, with another mutual friend, broke up .
No matter what I said to her to mitigate the shock and the hurt she felt, it made no difference. You see, she loved him above and beyond anything and everyone else, and part of the trauma was that she could not believe the guy she idolized could be so far removed from the kind, caring, loyal image she had of him.
She had put him on a pedestal — a place he did not feel comfortable with, and her image and expectations of him was an impossible burden for him to bear. (notice I worked a ‘bear’ in there while baring another’s misfortune) 🙂
I suspect there is a Newtonian Law in there somewhere, “the greater the love and expectation there is an equal and opposite degree of hurt”.
That is what many AA’ers are experiencing now, with RVP’s so called ‘betrayal’.
So, I will offer you all the same advice I gave my friend;
‘He’s not worth it, sweetheart, you will get over him, meet another nice footballer and fall in love again, life will go on ——- and then the new guy will ‘betray’ you too.’ 🙄 🙂
See — you’re getting me in trouble, again, Rockstar!!
I’m not an RvP apologist, but I do think some people are failing to appreciate his side of things….
1. It is his prerogative to choose not to sign a new contract
2. The press lockdown on revealing what went on at that meeting was serving Arsenal’s interests not RvP’s
3. When after the Euros Arsene and PHW were outwardly proclaiming that they wanted RvP to stay/there were no offers, RvP would have felt that this was no longer in his interest and presumably when he discussed this with the club he didn’t like the response he received.
4. Yes the press release was ill timed and poorly worded but looked to me like an act borne of exasperation when he had agreed to help the club by keeping silent and they’d failed to keep their part of the bargain which was to facilitate his move to another club albeit for the highest price possible.
Nice thoughts Rocky.
Cult Heroes have a way of fiddling with the emotions of the fans. They don’t bother if they hurt the fans but they somehow have a way of warming their (fans) hearts again. It shall be interesting if RVP is one.
Left to me, Van P. is still an Arsenal player and until he no longer have his name on our payroll, then he has my full support.
Very sage advice Redders; you are the Mr Spock to my Bones McCoy.
@Jazza10:05 the Rocks right the Hallowed Ground is and always will be N5! We ain’t won a bar of chocolate in N7 and nobody’s been buried, or will be buried in N7- N5 isn’t just our ancestrial home its actually a Gooner grave yard. The urns were removed from the pitch when construction began on Highbury Sq and replaced when it finished I believe.
Hi CharyB,
So, I am Mr Spock (must be my big ears), you are Doc McCoy, Rocky is “we are doomed captain” Scotty, the Rasper is genius pilot, Mr Zulu. the delectable Peacher is Lootenant Uhuru —- who else have we got??? 🙂
I have a sneaky suspicion, from the episodes I have seen on Bravo, that this could spill over into “Dad’s Army’!! 🙂
[Could the Rasper actually be Captain Mainw…………………….no, no, he would never forgive me!!!!!!!!!!!] 🙂
😆 RA,
My mission is to boldly go where no gooner has gone before
Rasp,
You leave Adele out of this!!
Rasp, don’t tell him your name, Pike!! 🙂 🙂
Actually Redders, I was comparing your cold, logical approach to player “loyalty” with my irrational, emotional response.
Mind you, I’ll bet you’ve got a deadly and efficient Vulcan nerve pinch !
Bendtner scored two fricking goals!!!!!!!! Bendtner, Bendtner, Bendtner, BENDTNER,BENDTNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brilliant, 26! I love that video. 🙂
Hi RA & Rasp 🙂 🙂
it comes as no surprise both of you – albeit from different angles – are trying to explain it all away rationally. I cannot help but feel that you are both missing out on something in the process.
I am not saying we should all be like the guy in 26’s posted video, but I recommend you allow yourself to feel the anger a bit and let some of it out! 🙂
@Rasp10:17 Well spotted I didn’t question Jazza’s post like him I presumed that our new address was N.7 because Ashburton Grove is N.7. I’ve lived in the Highbury area all my life and I always knew Drayton Park was N.5 But Benwell Road just off it was N.7 so I thought it followed that the railway lines were the N.5 N.7 borders.
Gooners from outside the area must be thinking who the “F” cares? Does it affect the football:-)
True richie, even if the Emirates were in N7, N5 will always be synonymous with the Arsenal.
N7 is too close sounding to N17 and you know which team plays in that cesspit 😆
Of course I would welcome Robin on to the pitch. He would be playing for our team regardless of what had gone on before.
What really puzzles me about the whole affair is why he would write such a disrespectful article about Arsene and Arsenal, and why he would publish it on his website whilst he was on holiday and trying to forget football for a short while.
The whole episode stinks of agents and so-called advisors. Now that Robin is back at the club we may well find out what the truth is.
It would not surprise me to hear Robin deny that any of this came from him, and that he will be happy to sign a new contract.
Welcome back Rocky. Just the post we needed on a grey Monday morning.
Im in the sell him for as high as we can get corner, I feel he had his best season last year.
I certainly don’t think he should be our captain if he stays, but if this is the case I will support any player that wears the Red & White of Arsenal.
When will the fickle Arsenal bloggers like RockyLives get the crux of Robin van Persie,s decision not to sign a new contract,he said so himself (Robin ) that the lack of trophies is his wanting to move away from the Emirates,not more money,only a lack of trophies and who,s responsible for this lack of trophies,one Arsene Wenger,not Stan ,Kroenke,Ivan Gazidis or any of the major Arsenal sharehold
ers,Wenger picks the same mediocre players,week after week,so the
buck stops at his office ,time for Wenger to quit already as seven me
diocre trophyless seasons show he,s incapable of taking the club any further than a mediocre third place in the PL ,excuses don,t co
unt for zilch anymore ,move on Wenger ,it,s time ?
RockyLocks is back after an uncomfortable experience with the Three Bears. Mummy Bear is up the duff, Daddy Bear wants a DNA test and Baby Bear wonders why his name is Locks Jnr .
I will support the shirt !.
Morning TA, 🙂
So, you recommend that I let the anger in so I can then let it out!! 🙂
I cannot change my nature, anymore than you can change yours.
As Popeye would say, “I ham what I ham”, which translated means, “I is what I is”!! 🙂
Truth be told tho’, I can become very passionate and animated about some things;
Greed, injustice, cruelty, poverty, slavery, war, the list goes on and on, but RVP wanting to change employers ———- not so much.
Sorry. 🙂
Hi Glicster,
I hope you are ashamed of yourself for accusing the Rock Star of being involved in a bear paternity case!
That is a bare assed lie!
Everyone knows the Rock can bearly bring himself to look at Mrs Bear after she lost her squeak and now can barely manage a deep “ooohhh”.
Hi Rasp
A lot of it is in the interpretation of events, so either of us could be right 9and probably neither of us) but I take a very different slant from you on what has got us to this stage with van Persie. On your points at 11.13:
1. Agreed, it’s RvP’s choice whether or not to sign a new contract, and I wouldn’t criticise him for whatever choice he makes. But he also had the choice as to how to go about leaving the club, and he chose to do it in a way that not only breached the terms of his contract with the club and the confidentiality agreement that had been reached; he did it in a way that could only have been designed to hurt the club so as to force his way out now.
2. I don’t agree that the press lockdown on revealing what went on at that meeting was serving Arsenal’s interests not RvP’s, but even if it was, he agreed it. You cannot break your agreements and expect to be treated with respect, still less affection.
3. Beyond what’s in the public domain, we can’t know what van Persie did or did not discuss with Wenger or anyone else at the club. But just because he didn’t like the way things were going doesn’t give him the right to behave the way he did. The club did not say anything that breached the terms of the press lockdown (we disagree on that), van Persie did, it’s as simple as that.
4. The press release was more than ill-timed and poorly worded to me, it was calculated (in my opinion) to damage the club’s position vis-a-vis potential buyers and in doing so to strengthen van Persie’s negotiating position and force a move at a lower price than buyers would otherwise have been willing to pay for an injury-prone 29-year old wanting up to £200k per week. That is underhand, abusive behaviour not worthy of someone professing loyalty and the best interests of the club, and certainly not of a captain to whom inordinate loyalty and indulgence have been shown.
Cristiano Ronaldo behaved with more honour and dignity in the way he left United than van Persie has in the way he has behaved this summer.
@ The Rock great question posser to open the week. I loved everything about Robin on the pitch last season. His movement, his ball control, his sublime technique, and his vision.
Unfortunately after his “spert” I love him no more, nor will I ever again. I couldn’t care less now if he plays for us next season or not! Its one thing to leave for whatever reason, its something entirely different to do down the club your under contract with in order to force a move. That cheapend the classy player we all thought we had.
I know players ain’t Gooners, (Well apart from TDH) and I know we attach a sentimentality to them in our hearts that maybe they don’t or as professionals can’t afford to feel.
But thats the very point, what RvP did wasn’t professional. His actions were those of a spoilt kid who not getting his own way as quickly as he wanted storms out of his parents house screaming I hate you! In other words something that many have done, but with the benefit of hindsight wished they hadn’t! I wish RvP hadn’t because I can’t forgive him!
If he were to play in an Arsenal shirt again (and I think it highly unlikely bordering on impossible) I’ll applaud a Goal, an Assist or smart play, but the applause with be for Arsenal the team who has such a great player in its mist, the manager smart enough to have converted a winger into such a great striker and more the manager that asked DD to buy him cheap for us. Lets cash in quickly and move on! Especially when we now have someone like the Pod making statements to warm the cockles of a Gooner heart!
hear, hear, 26.
Rocky = fickle. Hahahahaha.
I thought it was school holidays next week.
Oooops, sorry.
I’m doing it again, dissing an ‘opinion’ I find to be complete bollix.
I’ll desist.
Redders 🙂
I knew that would get you going: I was only teasing you!! 🙄
Horses for courses of courses, but I am glad to ride with the passionate lawyer – yes that’s possible -on this one 😛
Hi 26m, I find myself being a reluctant devil’s advocate over RvP’s behaviour.
As you point out, we don’t know what was said or agreed at the meeting and which (if either) of the two parties was guilty of betraying a position of trust.
What I do know is that we, like many other Arsenal sites revelled in RvP’s leadership, commitment and sheer joy of playing for Arsenal last season and I don’t believe he could go from being such a great guy to a treacherous scumbag.
If you remember the interview at the end of the season when he was asked about signing a new contract, he just said that he was yet to have the meeting but wanted everyone to know that he loves (will always love) the Arsenal and he was grateful to the club. This was an obvious and early indication that he had already decided not to extend his contract.
Something happened that prompted him to force the issue in a way that I’m sure he would rather not. We don’t know what that ‘something’ was, but I’m sure that there was a precursor to that ill advised press release.
Sure he will get my 100% support.
Can someone post the comment that RVP is alleged to have made that has everyones’ knickers in a spin?
I can only recall something along the lines of — Arsenal’s ambitions don’t match mine — or similar.
If so, it is possible he believes that to be true, or it could be seen as a cheap shot, or it could also be seen as inadvisable given the likely reaction of the fans, but a contract breaker or a breach of confidentiality? Don’t think so.
And where has all this ‘media lockdown’ stuff come from? The fervid imaginations of the disappointed fans, or the media?
I find it difficult to understand that Arsenal announced that they had an agreement not to announce what had not been agreed with RVP about his future. Talk about a Gordian Knot of prose. 🙂
Dare I say it, ………. yeah, I’m going to ………… this may well be a poor mishandling of his situation by RVP and his advisors, but Arsenal’s PR Department are hardly blameless in this either.
They must have known that to allow this matter to linger on would lead to exactly the sort of ill informed speculation and assumptions that has become all too evident on many blogs.
Given the past performance of the Arsenal PR machine is anyone really surprised that this contractual negotiating is beginning to fester?
I’m afraid the club does not have a blemish fee history in honouring verbal agreements. Some would say that Ashley Cole was ready to sign for the agree sum of £65k a week but when he sat down at the table he was presented with a contract for £60k a week. Could be rubbish, who knows, but there are stories surrounding other players of a similar ilk.
This is it RA:
……..
“This is an update for the fans about my current situation. I have kept quiet all this time out of respect and loyalty for the club and as agreed with Mr. Gazidis and Mr. Wenger, but since there is so much speculation in the media, I think it is fair for you guys to know what’s really going on at the moment.
“As announced earlier this year I had a meeting with the Boss and Mr. Gazidis after the season. This was a meeting about the club’s future strategy and their policy. Financial terms or a contract have not been discussed, since that is not my priority at all.
“I personally have had a great season but my goal has been to win trophies with the team and to bring the club back to its glory days.
“Out of my huge respect for Mr. Wenger, the players and the fans I don’t want to go into any details, but unfortunately in this meeting it has again become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward.
“I’ve thought long and hard about it, but I have decided not to extend my contract. You guys, the fans, have of course the right to disagree with my view and decision and I will always respect your opinions.
@RasP10:17 N17 No? Who is it Bog Dwellers United? or Swampy’s Chickens ball ballancing circus? You’ll have to help me out with that one, I would’t treak across masheland without carrying a map, a compass, and a canoe, because I wouldn’t expect street signs. I know I’m getting old a technology’s moved on but do they have postal codes in quagmires now?
TA,
I love chatting to you — I know we both enjoy it — so no need to explain. (I find it a little difficult to get too passionate about something that has gone on since the early days of football). 🙂
It should be noted that neither AW or PHW had kept quiet about RvP’s future post the meeting up to the point that the statement above was released.
😆 richie,
Thanks Rasper,
Second question, I suppose, is why has that statement become so poisonous?
It is littered with magnanimous comments about the club and IG and AW, but he claims that because of ‘media speculation’ he felt the need to come out and keep the fans informed.
If Arsenal’s PR had done that, the furore crashing around his head would not have happened.
[like you, I am no apologist — my previous comments over many weeks show I am pretty much resolved to accept what will be — and I would say this about any other player in a similar bind – even poor old Denilson, who everyone loved when wearing an Arsenal shirt —- not!]
I’m with you RA. I see the statement as naive and I’d be bloody furious if I thought it was just the work of his agent, but it is so amateur in its construction that I lean towards believing that RvP was just trying to set the record straight …. or am I the one who is being naive?
Hi Redders 🙂
You can be the first to know of my undercover news story !.
RVP contract farce, The Truth.
I have first hand knowledge of a tape recording from Lord Wengers office, you may change your mind after my revelations.
I have tried my best to Translate from Frog to English.
( knock on door )
AW ) ” Entre ”
OG ) ” Bonjour ”
AW ) “Ahh , welcome Ollie, please sit down, lets not beat about the bush, how much you want ? ”
OG ) ” £80,000 per week ”
AW ) ” Thats a lot, I tell you what, I hear your a gambling man, I will toss a coin, Tails you get £80,000, heads you get £10,000 per inch ( Arsene has a smirk on his face as he knows the average Frog has less than 5 inches )
OG ) ” whats an inch ?”
AW ) ” my hooter is 4 inches ”
OG ) ” OK “, lets toss
AW ) ( Arsene tosses his double headed coin ) ” Heads it is then, you get it out and put it on the table whilst i go get the tape measure “.
OG ) ” OK ” ( sound of unzipping and thud ” )
AW ) ( Arsene turns around ) ” Oh My God, out the way Ollie , there is an escaped snake on the table, WACK,WACK,WACK ( Arsene has brought up the Fergie pacifier, ie , baseball bat )
OG ) ” arghhhhhhhhhhh, that is not a snake, that is Le Cog ! ”
AW ) ” Sacre Bleu, it is !, sorry Ollie, you will have to come back later, the swelling is getting bigger, go see our nurse or better still a Vet ! ”
OG ) ” OK boss ( Ollie exits )
AW ) ( on phone ) ” Ivan ”
IG ) ” Whats it this time Arsene, your not asking about how does Stan keep his syrup on again !, I told you , Gripfill ! ”
AW ) ” No ”
IG ) ” Your not going to tell me your little joke again, about how Stan will never sell to Fatboy, because he has never sold one of his French Fries ( franchise ) before !
AW ) ” No ”
IG ) ” Oh no, you`ve done the £ 10,000 per inch negotiation technigue again, haven`t you !”
AW ) well, errr, yes ”
IG ) ” Why”
Aw ) ” I cant help it, it is the sound of the thud , when they slap it on the the table, it gets me every time !.
IG ) ” How much this time then ? ”
AW ) ” £120,000 per week ”
IG ) ” WTF , who ?
AW ) ” Giroud le Canoe ”
IG ) ” Shit , RVP wont be happy, he wanted to stay. he`s been hanging by his todger from the bedroom ceiling since the Euro`s to get £140,000 ! , what we going to do ? ”
AW ) ” Sorry , your breaking up, cant hear you , you sort it !. “
Without more facts, as opposed to opinions, Rasp, I suppose none of us knows.
Naive? You Mr Zulu aka Captain M? Surely not!! 🙂
Glic, 🙂 🙂 🙂
You are incredible — tears of laughter!!!!! 🙂
Thanks for lowering the tone glic 😦
I thought we were having an adult discussion here ……..
Glic,
AW has never learned that it is folklore handed down by all the older players that when negotiating you must keep a salami handy in one of your (Glic’s) latex specials.
It has worked since the days of Le Grande Saucisson (aka Viera)!! 🙂
Ooops! Apologies, Rasp! 😦
Rasp
Lots of divided opinion on everything Arsenal, as with your 1:33pm against Redders 1:32pm. Was just giving an exclusive to AA after peaches and gm`s revelation`s the otherday of our new weapon up front !. 🙂
Rasp, you and I definitely had the same interpretation of that interview where RvP said whatever happens, he’ll always love Arsenal; as sure a sign of a departure as one could think of. And so easy to draft, just a copy and paste from Henry’s, Vieira’s and Cesc’s pronouncements from AFTER their departures.
Alarm bells had rung for me when one of my colleagues who knows Darren Dein announced in about January that the lovely Darren had been hired by van Persie.
This is a very interesting post as it does raise a lot of questions about the evolution of support. Since power transferred to the players, it has become clear that only the big clubs or non-marquee players tow the old ‘club is king’ line. So we have to support whoever turns out for us, knowing that like Nasri against Liverpool, it was like cheering a dead man.
But let’s look at the RVP statement and concentrate on one line.
“This was a meeting about the club’s future strategy and their policy.”
Whoever wrote the statement attributed to RVP’s name, the point and premise was agreed. In which case, what policy and what strategy? Is this his equivalent of the old Thierry Henry brush off (to players on his own side), when celebrating a goal. Has he declared that a player is unsatisfied with the squad and the payment of the squad? What is the policy/strategy that he would like? What does this entail? Money aside, does this mean that he was offered 3 years (as is normal for a player at the club reaching 30, when he wanted 4)? Is the policy/strategy about himself or the squad? We have all asked why a player is able to question the club’s ambition in the first place.
A lot of questions and some of them are possibly wide off the mark.
Lastly, if the rumours are true about City and United offering 200+k for 4 years, we have to accept that without the strong possibility of trophies, it is an amazing offer. Just to break it down. £20 million sale price, of which 15% goes to R$VP = £3million. Signing on fee at City – WHO ON EARTH KNOWS!!!??? Let’s say 3-5 million. 4 years at £230k per week. It is roughly the equivalent of his signing a 9 year contract at Arsenal aged 29!!!
9 Years.
9!
Wow.
Thanks 26m, I share your contempt for Darren Dein and cannot think of any involvement in dealings between him and Arsenal that has been of benefit to the club.
‘of the mark’ sorry.
Can’t argue with that fergalburger.
Rasp. If you remember a late entry to a post weeks back I stated RvP was leaving he had made his mind up well prior to the Euro’s.
The info was given to my Daughter from a good source…..Yes, you can say its hear say. But, .No smoke without fire……….
No matter what Wenger/PHW/The club said, he already was made up.
Thanks VCC, I don’t know of many who would disagree. If it is the case, what went on after was just posturing for political means and that inevitably results in a misleading message being sent out by one party or the other.
He will have my support 100% if he stand, but if he didn’t, i will boo him till d end of his carria. Gunnerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs !
@ Red Arse
Here’s how the confidentiality agreement between van Persie and the club was announced by Gazidis before the Euros:
“Robin sat down with us at the end of the season and we had a good discussion. What we agreed at that meeting was that we would keep all the discussions we had over the summer to ourselves and make announcements when it is the right time. We have to respect the fact we have agreed to keep that among ourselves. Robin is clearly focused on the Euros at the moment and we wish him well, and at the right time we will make the right announcements. But at the moment we are not saying anything.”
And here’s the full text of van Persie’s statement on his website:
“This is an update for the fans about my current situation. I have kept quiet all this time out of respect and loyalty for the club and as agreed with Mr. Gazidis and Mr. Wenger, but since there is so much speculation in the media, I think it is fair for you guys to know what’s really going on at the moment.
As announced earlier this year I had a meeting with the Boss and Mr. Gazidis after the season. This was a meeting about the club’s future strategy and their policy. Financial terms or a contract have not been discussed, since that is not my priority at all.
I personally have had a great season but my goal has been to win trophies with the team and to bring the club back to its glory days. Out of my huge respect for Mr. Wenger, the players and the fans I don’t want to go into any details, but unfortunately in this meeting it has again become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward.
I’ve thought long and hard about it, but I have decided not to extend my contract. You guys, the fans, have of course the right to disagree with my view and decision and I will always respect your opinions.
I love the club and the fans, no matter what happens. I have grown up and became a man during my time with Arsenal FC. Everybody at the club and the fans have always supported me over the years and I have always given my all (and more) on and off the pitch. I am very proud of being part of this fantastic club for the last 8 years. As soon as Mr. Gazidis is back from his 2-week holiday in America further meetings will follow and I will update you if and when there are more developments.”
You will note that van Persie acknowledged that he agreed with Gazidis and Wenger to keep quiet. And yet he decided not to, because there was speculation in the media. Of course, there had been no speculation at all when he and the club agreed to keep quiet about discussions. Yeah, right.
@26may12;43 although it pains me to say it considering my unhealthly hate for Ronnie (Al dopie looking sod) I have to agree, he behaved with decorum compared to RvP.
Hi 26m, do you consider AW’s and PHW’s statements to the press regarding RvP’s future to be within the bounds of that agreement?
good post RockyLives 🙂
but explosive…i will never support that man again,he has burned his bridges,he is in my opinion nothing short of a disgrace and should never be allowed to wear the Arsenal shirt again,if IF he makes a turn and stays,i will simply stay quiet…boooing should never happen as it shows disrespect for Our Beloved Arsenal ..
but im sure some Gooners would forgive him,,,,,and i chose to believe that they do it for the greater good rather than for the player himself..
at The Arsenal we cant have players like rvp..who imo shows a lack of respect for the manager and club that is simply disgraceful…rvp we have loved you,we have stood up for you in times of dispair…and this is how you treat us..not thank you rvp just walk away…but hurry would you..
@Rasp 2.03pm: Yes.
Good to see Rocky back. I am saying he stays unless we receive a proper bid for player of the year, striker etc. Thats how id do it. Imagine this:
first home match, he scores one, and assists one to giroud or pod, and we win 2-1. U see that smile, celebrating with his teammates, captain or not. So, youre saying you wont smile, be excited, forgive him a little. Im smiling just thinking about the assist.
Anyway, we will probably sell him, and then i will only be upset if its too cheap, or if we dont do something else substantial to improve the team. If he goes, i want to prove him wrong by succeeding.
26m, then the difference is probably just that they had someone with a legal brain look at what they were going to release prior to publication and RvP didn’t. He could have couched what he wanted to say in terms that would not been in breach of the agreement if he’d have had the savvy.
Thanks for the post Rocky.
RVP is a money grabber, just like Nasri and Adebeyor before him. And yes, i do blame him and the others mentioned for leaving. Arsenal is a footballing paradise were they all played and improved and earned tons of money in the process. The club invested in them, we invested in them, and in essence they became part of the fabric of the club.
Apparently, all this is not enough. I refuse to take a pragmatic approach to this affair. Ok, they can earn more money else were and if they go to somewere like City might win a medal or 2, probably coming of the bench like Nasri, or been discarded like a piece of meat in Adebayors case. But why should i care, ime an Arsenal fan and these bastards have hurt my feelings.
I know that, even if this keeps happening, i will still invest my feelings in our players. I cant help myself. When Pod scores a great goal next year against Totnumb i will have the urge to run on the pitch and give him a great big smacker.
Football is passion, its the life and soul of the game, and ok maybe ime a mug, but this is one mugs game i enjoy and will continue to do so.
Rasp, seems to me the public speculations by AW and PHW didn’t violate IG’s characterization of the agreement: “we would keep all the discussions we had over the summer to ourselves.” AW and PHW didn’t discuss the content of the meeting as far as I remember.
However, I must say this was a description by IG. Anyone remember RvP take on this issue please?
In any case, if those statements pissed off RvP as you suspect it did, Rasp, then perhaps agreement be damned.
and to be honest rvp is just another fine example on how players at The Arsenal sees Our future with our american owner and the way the club are being run…it should really be a wake up call…one would tend to believe that players knew more about the situation and goals than the media…
and one could dislike Usmanov…still he has done nothing wrong imo…and his visions for The Arsenal sounds fine to me..
cesc knew it..nasri knew it..rvp knows..even clichy knew…we’re being run into the gound by the americans..its soo strange to see that some Gooners thinks all are well and accepts being a financial institution is what football is all about..and the complete denial that there could well be a better way forward than being run the way kroenke does…some say that one cant look at kroenkes sport franchises back in the US..but surely you can..and what do you see…young teams..not poor teams but then again teams that never really can compete…but the teams have good solid managers just to make sure they keep the teams floating along..does it remind you about something we all love ???
its like Wenger himself said ..we cant keep selling our best players and be a great club…or these players are going nowhere..
then again you have that suspect fellah gazidis whos smiling all the way to the bank..he promised us an exciting summer..and Yes he was darn right…what a great man he was ;
There’s nothing wrong with players leaving a club, thats part of the modern day game. But why have we ended up with right little shits?
Who profess love for the club the fans and great respect for Mr Wenger who helped them become greater players and then “diss” the very same. (My kids will be proud I got that in, the dissing part)
I mean Valencia were short of cash and had to sell all their good players, and what did those players do? (Players that had’nt been paided mind you the club being that broke) They all signed long term contracts with Valencia to enable the club to profit from their sales, I mean why aren’t we inspiring that type of loyalty? All our players seem to love working with AW and they also mention often enough how much they like the attacking football he plays. Next they all seem to single out our fans for praise. Why don’t they love the Cannon?
Sorry but it keeps coming back to dosh! Our players are greedy for it. Is it because the French, Dutch & Belg leagues pay their players so low and our boys heads get turned by the figures on offer? Its not fair to say Ashley Cole chose the Chavs because he wanted to win more because when he left us statistically they hadn’t. Likewise Nasri there was not crystal ball that would’ve predicted Man U would fall apart in the final stretch because they never had in the past. So it was the Money that spoke not the fanciful idea that a trophe was more likely at City. As has been said often enough no team has a divine right to win anything. Obviously the stats show that the teams that spend more on players are the more likely to win. But City ain’t guaranteed the title this coming season and if RvP plumbs for a move to them it won’t be because he’s guaranteed silverwear it’ll be because he’s guaranteed a bucket load more money.
Hello All and thanks for the comments.
It seems very, very likely that RvP is set on leaving (and, as VCC’s source pointed out, his mind was made up quite a while ago).
In fact the only realistic scenario of him staying is that Arsenal force him to see out his contract.
Personally I would love it if we did that. I know that it’s not a problem-free approach (having a disgruntled RvP around the place and all that), but it really is about time the club sent out a statement to the players and to the moneybags clubs that they can’t keep on taking the p*ss.
If we took that stand the biggest loser would not be Arsenal, it would be RvP. He would have another year to play without any pay rise, another year in which he might get crocked again, might lose his form etc etc. And at the end of that year he might be in a position where suddenly no-one thinks he’s worth 200k a week.
Alternatively we sell him now (and it seems likely that he has, illegally, agreed some kind of deal with the Manc Oilers) and in 18 months time he’s playing for T*ttenham with half his wages subsidised by the Mancs. Eugh… I suddenly felt sick.
Busy day today (first day back at work). Will try to pop back on later if I can bear it 🙂
Good read,as always Rocky…
As always it depends on how the situation is handled and the effort that RvP puts in next season.
If he comes out and says “I never wanted to leave, but I wanted the club to do the right thing by it’s fans, it’s players and give them the team they deserve”…I’m sold. If he gives nothing less than 100% on the pitch…I’m sold.
If he sulks, moans in the press and generally “pulls a Nasri” in terms of PR – he can do that in the stiffs.
If he mooches around the pitch, putting in only sporadic effort and generally “pulls an Arshavin” I expect the crowd will give ‘im it both barrels…and who could blame them?
I’ve seen Arsenal fans back players with very little talent who always gave their all and I’ve heard them get on the case of players with talent who don’t put in a shift. We’re fair like that – all we want from everyone who pulls on the shirt is a bit of pride, a bit of passion. Too much to ask?!
Thanks for the info, 26.
Rasp had supplied the RVP statement earlier, and the IG statement you gave clarified what each party had said, and I have now made my comment.
Some may think it is a storm in a teacup ———– I could not possibly comment. 🙂
“it has again become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward”
1. ‘AGAIN’
2. ‘MANY aspects’
3. ‘Disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward’
How is that note bringing the club in disrepute? It was enough for our Uzbek Manc loving minority shareholder to base a subsequent vicious attack on that further damaged our beloved club.
I just makes me wonder what sort of things RvP wanted changed:
1. More pancakes at lunchtime?
2. Windmills on the training ground?
3. Frikandellen for breakfast?
4. Douwe Egberts koffie and at least two slices of cake ‘with content’ a day?
5. Afellay to replace Gervinho?
6. Dennis to be made nr2?
7. Every player should have a RvP coiffure?
8. No Germans at Arsenal?
9. Song to be forced to produce at least 20 ‘lofted balls’ per game?
10. Theo to only ever pass at him?
11. The Dutch flag to be incorporated in the shirt?
Well, at least he got something out of it!
RIP to the man he used to be. Feck him, as Evonne would say.
*pass to him
The disagreement was that Wenger saw him as part of the future of Arsenal Football Club and he saw himself as part of the future of Oil City Camel Shaggers FC.
TA, this is what upsets me the most about these un loyal players. What there actions, (and i know its not just them, the whole of football has to take responsibilty) is turning us, the fans in to.
Years ago fans were less cynical and in many ways the atmosphere at football was more genuine. Now there is a nastiness and resentment that has swept the football going public. i suppose the money in the game has enhanced the product but damaged the envoirement that encompasses it.
:)TotAl..
lets just hope we soon doesnt have to say feck em all 😉
and to be honest..of course we disagree..but i have seen what kronke does and where that leads us…down the drain..at least fotballing wise..could it be TotAl that the loyalty we demand but thinks is gone forever might just not be what its all about..maybe its the loyalty to the clubs strategy that has gone ??me personally think that players have seen the kroenke way ..and quite simply does not agree…wouldnt be hard to understand…and after all playing football is about winning..not stacking up wealth..
Just catching up on some of the earlier posts. Like most of the good citizens here, I’m perfectly able to criticise the club (I seem to remember coming in for a fair amount of slating last summer, when I was in the camp slagging the club for not doing its transfer business early). But I do not agree with some of the criticism of the club made today.
On PR issues, RA says the club must have known this would become a saga, and allowed it to fester. But what could the club have done differently? It wanted to negotiate with van Persie more than a year ago; he refused, saying he’d leave it till this summer. They then had a meeting pretty much as soon as the season was at an end and before players would disappear off to the Euros, but nothing was agreed. To cover the situation, the club got van Persie to agree not to say anything publicly; but van Persie ignored that agreement.
The truth is the player holds all the cards, and agreements just don’t matter. I see little that the club can do in that situation.
Rasp refers to the club not having a blemish-free history on contracts, citing the Ashley Cole example. But, as Cole said in his book, the club didn’t reduce what was on offer, they just refused to pay his agent’s fee on top of his salary. And why the hell should they pay his agent’s fee?? The agent works for the player, after all.
For obvious reasons, I keep an interested eye on the way the club manages its legal issues, and the only dodgy thing I can think of form the Wenger era stems from David Dein’s fondness for pushing the margins on passports and EU nationality. The obvious ones are Silvinho (who is strongly believed to have arrived on a forged passport – he joined us as a Portuguese citizen but after he left, only ever played as a Brazilian) and Edu (who was refused entry to the UK for travelling on a forged passport). There are other examples. But that chapter aside, I think Arsenal are pretty consistent about observing contracts.
there nothing wrong in stating your opinion TotAl..never..rvp should have kept quiet as he is merely an employe…but be reasonable Usmanov and Red Holdings have every right to speak their mind..we dont live in Burma mate..had Usmanov been invited to the board im sure that rather silly letter would never have been out there…nope dont blame Usmanov blame our dictator kronke and his puppy board…
Hi Chas 😛 Nobody wants to be denied the prospect of some juicy camel romance!
Hi Terry: good point.
If the passion of the fans is not met by that of at least some of the players, a dangerous void is being created.
Chary @10.24, Not ’till it stops f*****g raining!
Has anybody actually made an offer for van Persie? I know there has been speculation about a number of clubs doing so but so far that’s all it is….speculation!
Toms, I need to be out for a while and will get back to you later. 🙂
Thanks 26m, I bow to your greater knowledge in these matters.
One small point, I didn’t mention contracts, what I said was………. ‘I’m afraid the club does not have a blemish fee history in honouring verbal agreements’ which is slightly different’ but I accept your point about contracts. I know a verbal agreement isn’t worth the paper its written on (got there before Red Arse 😛 )
We have played the war of words game several seasons now in regards transfers and regularly try to peddle untruths in order to secure the best possible deals (or so I’m told)
i know its difficult to discuss The Arsenal..its to close to heart..
but take a moment and look at two truly great clubs and the way they are being run…barca and Ajax…they are far more alike than one might think..
why dont players leave barca..is it merely a money question ?or are players loyal because the way they play and their philosophy ?
Ajax maybe the first club in Europe who played total football and was/is quite breathtaking to watch do they sell players because the players wants away and dont have any loyalty for the club..??or is players sold for other reasons ?
will barca ever go bankrupt ?..no !do they run in a prudent way no of course not…
will Ajax ever go bankrupt..maybe…still they are run prudent and efficient..??
i think that football will forever be just that football and for players and fans the reason for watching and playing is simply winning..always nomatter on which level you play..winning is the drug..not the money..
plyers disloyal..was Ibra ever disloyal..is he a money grabbin fool..no not at all..take a closer look and its pretty clear…he wants to win…
of course there are some mercenarys out there..but not that many..if money was the object ..most players would play in Russia by know…and they arent..are they..??..
no worries TotAl..have a great day ..
Hi NG,
I suspect that part of RvP’s frustration has been that potential buyers are not apparently queueing up for his services … unless its quite different behind the scenes, who knows?
Rasp,
That’s it in a nutshell, we don’t know!
@Tom your at it again. You must be “stoned” you’ve been offered the figures and we are waiting on you. Its no good saying there must be a better way to spend the clubs annual budget, tell us how you’d spend it. I don’t have any great affinity for Americans but I’d rather someone who’s reasonable and logical running Arsenal fc than someone who’s answer to whatever problems they perceive we have is to say “spend some money” and run up debts that the club can’t afford. I’m not a short sighted Gooner neither an I a short term Gooner. I stood on the terraces for a whole decade watching my team play crap football and durring that decade we won nothing! If we win nothing for another decade (its only 3 years away) I won’t be happy but if we’ve weathered the finacial storm, paid off our stadium debt, and I’ve watched the great League, Fa Cup, and CL football that we currently play then I’ll finish this my second decade tropheless a damned sight happier than I finished our first tropheless decade.
Hi Tom, you have always been consistent in that you do not trust Kroenke, and I think you know that I don’t see it that way.
Whether your view that some of our players don’t believe in our club’s strategy – and want to leave as a result – is true, remains to be seen. Fabregas would always have left, Nasri and Adebayor left for more money and were not worth the money they were asking, even if Arsenal had that sort of money. That leaves RvP, at least fo the moment. I am pretty sure he does not only want to leave for money; he probably also genuinely believes that Arsenal are not a safe bet for trophies in his home-cabinet in the foreseeable future.
In the next few years, Arsenal will have to put up with this – there is no way we can/should compete equally with the oilers. However, under Arsene we always have a chance and I believe we make further progress next season. Whether it will mean silverware, remains to be seen, but I would not count us out! 🙂
Very interesting debate today.
But this Ronaldo — RvP comparison does not sit well with me.
The gay one could afford to act holier than thou before his departure quite simply because he knew that there would be a stack of clubs prepared to bid for him. Was Mourinho at Real? No great surprise that he went there then.
Robin van Persie does not have clubs falling over themselves to sign him. I very much doubt Arsenal have pursued a contract extension with any real gusto — they don’t need to.
I find that web page attributed to RvP as being very dodgy but as he hasn’t denied it; I, like the vast majority, have to take it seriously.
My conclusion is that it is written by a very desperate man, someone that is not sure if he will have a club rather than a man whose sole motive is to shaft us for more money.
Great post as ever Rocky.
Rasper,
Well done with your ‘verbal agreement’ quote — I might suggest one tiny amendment, perhaps it should be “a verbal agreement is not worth the paper it is ‘not’ written on”. 🙂
26M,
I love you for not disappointing me. I have absolutely no problem with you disagreeing with me on anything, especially on something as specious as this topic.
However, for you to disagree with me, I must first have made the alleged statement, or passed such an opinion.
You appear to have taken a throwaway comment I made specifically relating to the bungled PR, perpetrated by both the club and RVP, which was related specifically to the statement he made that has caused such hubris in so many fans, and extrapolated it into a generalization about the transfer negotiations in toto dating back to last Summer, which clearly was not in context with what I had said, at all. 🙂
You ask what could they (the club) have done differently?
Well, restricting my reply to the point I originally made, which concerned the unfortunate statement RVP may have felt he had to make, I think that Arsenal’s PR department themselves could have made an official “Update Statement”, agreed with RVP in advance, setting out the current position, in as far as commercial discretion permitted, rather than let the rumours and misinformation postulated by both certain fans and the media, regarding his “true” intentions, build into an unseemly crescendo.
Now, of course, if you wish to disagree with any of that clarification, I am happy for you to do so. 🙂
richie..stoned or not; i have never nor never will grade you as anything than a true Gooner..i could of course dig into kroenkes way of running his clubs..but im not…you have bought the idea of being financial prudent..and bringing trough young players and selling them when we can get a bit of cash..
and to make it clear..im not against Wenger ..never have been but Wenger was far more potent when Dein was alongside..no doubt…and the statistic proves it …..
TotAl…differ in opinion is not that bad is it ?
Tom,
Dein’s success with Wenger was virtually all in the pre-Abramovich period.
In Dein’s last three seasons we won the FA Cup in 2005. Chelsea were now fuelled by Russian oil money and started to win the League, hence the decline in Dein’s influence.
So perhaps you are seeing a correlation where there isn’t one?
Chas,
Are you saying something like, ‘when I was going up the stair I met a man who wasn’t there. He wasn’t there again, today, I wish that man would go away’? 🙂
I always had trouble with poems that were too difficult to interpret.
Mary had a little lamb,
She thought him very silly,
She threw him up into the air,
And caught him by his,
Willy was a sheepdog lying in the grass,
Down came a bumblebee and stung him on the,
Ask no questions, tell no lies,
I saw a policeman doing up his,
Flies are a problem, wasps are worse,
Can you make sense of this little verse?
And we all know the Rock Man’s penchant for teddy bears, and once he wistfully said to me;
Beautiful Mary had a little lamb,
She also had a bear,
I’ve often seen her little lamb,
But I’ve never seen her bear.
I just felt for him and his sad tail! 🙂
Rocky,
Can I tell everyone about your bestest poem?
You know the one that goes;
Rocky has a little bear,
That followed him behind,
And everywhere that Rocky goes,
He has a bear behind.
They can’t arrest you for that, can they? 🙂
Rasper@1:20 brilliant! I ain’t seen that one of CT’s
I wanna have that handy for the next “Shrek Spud” that dares to rear its ugly head.
I don’t care what RvP thinks about us or says about us, at the end of the day it has no bearing on any of the action on the field. If he returns and keeps scoring like last season, I shall cheer the goals just like all the fans in the stadium will. It is not easy to not cheer when your side has just scored. In fact, it is bloody impossible!
Rocky – good to have you back!
What if Robin stays? I will call my new dog van Persie 🙂
Will I support him 100% – of course!
A strong marriage would survive a string of affairs and AFC will definitely get over Robin’s infidelities, if he stays. If he goes, he is public enemy number 1.
Thanks for great post
what ?? a strong marriage..well a strong marriage would never have affairs…
chas well not sure Wenger would agree with you mate..
I’m having a bad day.
I read Rockys post when waiting for a recovery man to attend to my car, i was mid comment when the chap arrived his prognosis was not good……it is a dead engine.
Anyway back to the post, if he wears red and white I won’t boo him, that’s a given. Can I love him? To be honest I’d struggle.
On RvPs statement I’m afraid I can’t see it as anything else as an attempt to maximise his earnings as soon as possible.
If he was loyal to the club he could say:
“I have decided not to sign a new contract, I will however see out the remaining year as finances are not an issue, it was the contract I agreed to and one I will honour
At the end of next season there is a chance I may change my mind, but at the moment that is unknown”
Or he could have said:
“I have decided not to sign any new deal, secondly I have asked for a transfer now as I want to get on with the business of winning trophies”
If he had released the second statement he would have lost his loyalty bonus, so my view….make him earn his loyalty bonus, or make him request the transfer and lose it, I certainly do not want to see Juventus give us €15m and then us to pay RvP £5m loyalty.
Rocky! Finally someone agrees with me,send a message to everybody by saying: we would rather take the financial hit and keep rvp for at least one more season, at his current wages , to make a run at a title, hes bred to our system, we have better back ups, so he can be properly rested now, hes still in his prime. Also , he must perform if he wants a a great deal after the season. I want us to show that we arent desperate for cash. Now, a proper, big offer for striker, player of the
year, 30 mil perhaps , and maybe we must take it.
Remember , nasri 25 mil with a year left also. No
comparison, i will never miss nasri on the pitch. i was
really worried when arsene said we would keep him for
his last year. Van persie, id consider it, he has great value to us if we are aiming for a special season. Along with showing our determination to everybody.
Sorry LB but here is RvPs tweet from his verified twitter account:
https://twitter.com/persie_official/status/220552404314226688
Tom,
Wenger would 100% agree that as soon as Abramovich corrupted the playing field, no amount of David Deins would allow Arsenal Football Club to compete fairly without its own bottomless well of money.
Dein realised it himself and that’s why he wanted Arsenal to become a sugar-daddy club, hence his attempts to bring in first Kroenke, then Usmanov.
Fuck him he’s dead. i wouldn’t boo as it’s counter productive but we have poldi and Giroud they are my new heroes.
Tom
When you say winning do you mean winning games or trophies? Newcastle have won jack shit for a million years but they have fans that tattooo the club badge on thier bodies and follow them whatever.
Is there a better way than answering Van Persie and his statement than on the pitch? That old saying “Do your talking on the pitch” is as true today as ever.
And why cant we shut up the critics? We have replaced RVP with 2 European international strikers. We have Englands 2 great hopes in Wilshere and Chamberlain, and an improving and maturing squad. Combine the playing personel with a style of play unique to the premier league then we have a great chance.
My view is that it will be a three way battle next season between us and the two Manchester clubs. City look to have the best players and Utd have the most effecient style of play. We have the quality, but crucialy also the most potential for improvement.
Year on year we have been derailed by our inability to dictate who goes and stays at the club. Despite the probable departure of RVP, this time we are in the strongest position for almost a decade to handle it. RVP is not leaving a squad of kids. He is leaving a pool of players with a good mix of experience, class and fantastic potential.
I think we will hover just behind the two northern clubs until around April, then go on a great run and nick it at the death.. Its going to be worth the wait.
Oh you’re all gone. Night night
Night gm.
Any news on RvP? Blimey, this is heading for a na$ri style ending if he plays but his future still up in the air 😦
@TotAl 4:13 Who is a safe bet for trophe’s? O.K. so you think that maybe RvP doesn’t rate our chances of capturing something for the cabinet thats fair enough, but if he goes to Money Citeh who’s to say that a stung Manu’er won’t romp home this season? Who’s to say that a fully restocked and revitalised Chelski team won’t capture one the following year, where does that leave a 31year old RvP? Probably seriously out on a limb because with MC nothing more than a very rich mans latest toy, if MC don’t win a major in 2 years the owner is liable to change direction and buy a whole new team for a new coach. No one has a divine right to win anything, hopefully after RvP moves he’ll do a Vieira in 06. (After he moved to Juve because he thought they had the best chance of winning the CL) Play us and get beaten by the team on its way to the final.
Here’s an interesting thought….maybe…..
RvP has a propensity for missing early in games, I think Micky has a rule about third shot on target is a goal for RvP.
Well here’s the thing. Assuming he stays will the fans start noticing more those early misses will they then get on his back as they did Adebayor after he held the club to ransom one summer.
@Tom (your still) Stoned @3:22 Re your Barca – Ajax post
Barca’s net debt fell to €363mil from €430mil in 2011 mainly because the club didn’t have to pay bonus’s to their players this year as they didn’t win either their domestic League or the Champions league. Now there are those who say so what if they are so much in debt they have the second largest turnover of any club in the world, (somewhere around €900mil) only just behind Real Madrid who topped the €1000mil mark for the first time. (They both dwarf us)
Anyway I’m not worried how much in debt they are? Because they are not my club, but it worried Barca’s current chairman enough 18 month ago when he had to borrow €150mil to keep them rolling that he declared “This is unsustainable”! “Especially with the FFP rules arriving”. “Its my aim as the new chairman to balance the books for the first time in Barca’s recent history”
Next up Ajax of Amsterdam, European footballs original feeder club that have had their top players playing in every top team since the 70’s – The club that have to sell their top players year in year out so that they can keep their academy the Toekmst (The Future) going.
As the list below proves.
08-09 Huntelaar €27+mil (Real Madrid)
09 -10 Vermaelen €12-15mil (Arse)
10 -11 Luis Suarez €26+mil (Liverpool)
11 -12 Vertonghen €12-15mil (Spuds)
Tom I just hope you realise that by bringing up those 2 clubs you’ve won the argument for me. Barca currently have unsustainable debts, and Ajax has two things a constantly replenished team full of youngsters from their academy and the highest turnover of players of any team that qualifies for the CL bought up mainly by other teams that also qualify for the CL.
Its a choice between the frying pan and the fire.
We can’t compete with the maga rich as we all know so my preference would be to invest massively in our own academy and raise our own “stars” of the future.
P.S. other teams might buy up our “stars” just like they do Ajax’s but at least there would be no chance of us going broke and we’d have all the benefits of those stars before they were sold. I call that a sensible footall business plan.
Sorry I haven’t been able to join in much today – but I have just caught up with the discussion – which has been really good.
I think it may be many years before we know who – if anyone – to point fingers at within the club for perceived failure (or rather, for failure to achieve the highest prizes for seven years now).
Is it AW? PHW? Wonky Kronky? The Gaz Man? Circumstances beyond our control? Who knows?
I tend towards the final option (circs beyond our control) and that AW and the Board have performed miracles to keep us in the top four since the stadium move and the seismic shift in the EPL with the arrival of the oil squillionaires – but I could just as easily be wrong.
Redders
You just go from bad to verse 🙂
Morning Sailors
Really enjoyed all the posts and comments while away, so thank you to all.
If £25m really is on offer from City, then I’d take it. If we could add a 12 goal a season AM, then with with the new boys, we’ll score plenty. You’d have to be a bit of a tart to love him again, surely.
Morning all.
GLiC….what battle did Napoleon die in?
No one playing my game? It’s ok, it’s before 8am, and Rasp & Peaches are still asleep.
Evening all.
If RVP stays and puts in a decent shift,then he deserves our support.
If he’s only seeing out his contract,I’d definitely be taking the captaincy off him.
Battle of Old Ttrafford??
Actually,it was a laughter 🙂
A SLAUGHTER even….
Where was the declaration of independence signed?
And ..what can you never eat before breakfast?
How goes it Micky?
I’m alive here in Oz….just bloody busy lately.
DOI…..In Dennis Deins office.
Before breakfast……lunch??
Morning Scott, the answer to the first question is…….His last one.
Lol VCC
Gotta go lads…my dog,Highbury Lad is having his second start tonight.
Bolted in on debut,so shooting for two from two.
Good luck Scott.
Here’s an idea,
The Boys from Brasil are in town for the Olympics. City can have the dutch bloke. They pay the loot directly into the Bank of Brasil, and we get to choose one from Ganso, Oscar, Pato and Damiao.
Scott,
A racehorse my be beyond our reach, but perhaps we could all chip in and have a “Site Hound”. You train and feed the bloody thing, and we all share in the winnings.
Scarcely was his armour damp…… 🙂
Brave Sir Robin ran away. Hehehehehe.
Morning all
Micky according to the Times we are looking at an £8m bid for Paulinho.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/José_Paulo_Bezerra_Maciel_Júnior
There is a line that says:
“He is well known to possess extreme levels of mental toughness.”
Assuming that’s not a late edit by humorous Gooners then he fits Arsenes bill!
Top work GiE,
Sign him up.
We need and deserve a splash of exotica.
Morning all….
…. New post …..
“adult sex”
If Robin Stays… | Arsenal Arsenal