Robin Van Persie: A farewell poem

Posted on by WalterBroeckx

By Walter Broeckx

 

If you think staying with us has no meaning any more,

Then just go

If all your yesterdays words had no content,

Then just go

 

If you think time is passing you by

the words of the manager don’t mean anything any more

The values of how the club is ran

If it doesn’t touch or appeal you any more

Then just go

 

If you think you have a better future ahead,

Then just go

If you think the grass is greener somewhere else,

Then just go

 

It was wonderful time

That is why it hurts that much

And if you dream of other teams

if our money isn’t enough any more

Then just go

 

If you think you are too good fur us,

Then just go

But then don’t talk about loving our club,

Then just go

 

You cant have it both ways

You cant say you love us

And then go out and leave us

If the love for our club is over

Then just go

 

When you say you love the club

When you  say you love the fans

Don’t you think that we don’t  know

that these words are just empty and hollow

Because us the fans will do the loyal job,

You, you just Go

It is us supporters that really love the club,

You, well you…   just go

 

We will still be here

When your name is a long lost memory

Players come and you, you just go

But us Gooners, we will stay.

We, real Gooners, WE JUST WILL NOT GO

 

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Okay this is, for the moment I guess, our last Untold Arsenal word on our former one-year captain.

Of course we will come back on him when we find out where he will be winning his monphies next year.

I know it is difficult but we move on. The Robin-dog barks, the Arsenal-caravan moves on.  Expect in a few hours time the next article in the EPL REFEREE REVIEW 2012

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85 Replies to “Robin Van Persie: A farewell poem”

  1. Two things spring to mind with the RVP situation

    1) The elephant in the room, who no departing player dare mention – namely the collusion to stop Arsenal winning trophies, by whoever….

    2) The dark underbelly of corruption in British society is beginning to come to light. The major banks are hemorrhaging CEO’s, and it’s all getting unpleasantly close to the bone in certain circles…..

    even Wimbledon is smelling a bit funny these days…Karlovic got 11 foot-faults against Murray, and the BBC mysteriously had no footage of 10 of them!!

    What next????

  2. Van Persie is scum. Hollow words he thinks educated people will fall for. Remember Persie us fan are thick headed footballers, we can see through your crap.
    He’ll probably spend most of the rest of his career injured. He shows no thanks to a club who stood by him through all his injury set backs. We only had one full season out of him and now he thinks he is God’s gift!!! Mmmmmmm remember Adecantscore? Will we see Van Persie down the Drain in a season’s time??

  3. @ Marcus

    remember Murray saying “I’ll support anyone who’s playing against England”.

    It sickens me seeing all those people cheering this sweety sock on. I hope he get another good stuffing in the semis. I’ll cheer anyone on who’s playing Murray!!

  4. And this is the gratitude Arsenal gets from van Persie after his salaries were paid through so many injury-plagued years?

    And what is the role of Patrick Viera in all this-first Nasri/Clichy, now RvP?

  5. i am sooooo gutted we should act fast and in a resilient way. the board should strengthen the team we have chance now but i hope i don’t see him playing in England anymore. i feel sad sad sad we lost our captains these years and not TV rumor about Barcelona how damned the world it is not where Money buy everything there is not loyalty anymore . and to all Arsenal fans Walcott will be leaving as well . I am sure Wenger will do something but what i am afraid of is these 2 stupid Ivan Gazidis & Kroenke ( Walter i wish ur dream came true only from a part that Usmanov take charge of Kroenke) But he keeps Wenger 🙂

  6. @ Byo it is our mistake we didn’t signed Viera to work for us he is doing his job very very well and he is fishing in our pool

  7. Is the problem rvp leaving or not findin a gud replacement-falcao/hunteerler etc.If I were in arsene’s shoes,I will try to REST IN PEACE ,all arsenal defencive woes & let the GAME begin.

  9. Are we going to dump our head and let the world colapse on us? I don’t think so. What ever happens the world will keep on spinning, the sun will rise from the east and sets in the west, the birds will rise in the morning to find their food and so will THE ARSENAL FC. So keep on supporting the club and the players will come on go as they will but only The Club will keep going on to fight another day and so will us the Gunners.

    GoGunners4eva.

  10. King Henry went, ARSENAL was there,Super Fab went,ARSENAL still there,Cashly Samir went ARSENAL always there,THEN the injury muster is nothing to ARSENAL,let him go if he think that he can gain any thing with out hard working and trying.

  11. der robin van perice am vry hapy 2 met u an i luv ur gam nd u ar d best play in aresnal 2 my on advice is 2 tal u dat i lik ur gam pls 4 nw u hav god striks dat will help u lik poducki nd girud see dy very gud nd i nw by nex sesn we will hav d champion ship

  12. The media is pillorying Arsenal for being a horribly media team (sic) and Van persie for making this statement that will ‘taint his legacy’ (sic)

    Actually, it’s a good statement, because he is speaking to the fans…letting them know what’s happening.

    As I’ve said before, until the fans own the clubs, football will remain a (bloated/corrupt/self-serving) plutocracy, like the banks…run as a cashcow.

    Good for VP to at least let the fans know what is going on.

    better still if he went a few steps further, and told us his opinions on a lot of other things 😉

  15. Spurs fan here. You guys should at least be a bit happy that he has come out, and been honest about his intentions. Yeah the salary is a big deal that he will not admit too, but can at least he did not behave like ol sol judas, who strung us along, and then left for you guys. And to some degree, sols reasons for leaving spurs sounds the same right – the club he is at does not meet his ambitions. The reality is that arsenal a few seasons ago would have been Bitterly upset with the season, now you guys are happy to finish a point above spurs. The reality is that both spurs and arsenal are going to have a tough time competing with chelsea, man city and man utd. Arsenal at least have a big stadium, but player investment and wages are a big deal

  17. Am not gutted at all , only a feeling of betrayal.
    This is what i feel this morning, out of 8 yrs at Arsenal ,1 yr without injury and now he wants to go.Maybe we should have sold him back then when he could not play a full season without getting injured.This sucks writing this,am sure the same will happen to abou diaby, now he is injured the club keep paying his wages am sure when he gives us one injury free season he will want to move as well.

    Only one question for van persie, What if you get injured again, ?? Remember we stood by you , through tick and thin, when the club could have sold you and bought another palyer but wenger stood by you as he is standing by diaby now, is this how we are been repaid. Robin have you ever heard of karma, it is a bitch when it bites.

    we will move on, we always do ,it is like some one up there realluy loves the club , robin you have betrayed a lot of people , however we will be fine , our broken hearts will heal and no one should blame us when we don’t love anymore as have seen through the years that nothing counts for been good to others.it is now every man for himself , and the club will do what is right for us. If anzhi gives us more money we should sell him .Robin remember this day. just remember.

  19. Unlike others before end RVP has ended all the factual speculative blogs based on rumours that he is staying/leaving. We know what is actully happening.

    Bad news:
    Sadly this fact wont stopped the endless boring blogs speculating as to why he his leaving.

    Good news:

    I for one wont be reading them.

    To all bloggers if you want me to read your posts blog info based on facts and supply your source so I can check for myself.

    Meanwhile Untold Arsenal keep them coming. 🙂

  20. Walter, if Vermaelen goes to Barcelona, I think you will have to do a Youtube Video in an Antwerp bar of yourself singing Jacques Brel….

  22. Two things. 1) There is no such thing as loyalty in football. If it ever existed, it disappeared some years ago. Sure players will kiss the badge and profess love for their clubs, but actually show loyalty – no. Loyalty would mean staying with club through thick and thin when you could do much better elsewhere and I can’t think of anyone who has done that. 2) Players may say that they are not moving for money but to win things. But it is money that enables the suagar-daddy susbsidised clubs to hoard the best players as well as pay the best wages.

  24. Pity Van P£r$i£ didn’t learn from Henry. Now there was a gentleman and is still worshipped by the fans when he returns to The Emirates. His leaving was all above board and he did not at any stage insult our intelligence. You could tell from his body language that he was upset at possible upsetting the fans.
    Now the other side of the coin, the money hungry Van P£r$i£. Not one bit of thanks for all the times Arsenal stood by him while he was continually out injured. One full season and he suddenly thinks he is World Class. Getting ideas well above his station.

  25. You’re jumping the gun JSP….

    RVP says he respects the fan’s opinions, and that it’s not about money, but about policy.

    Of course, that may be hogwash…but he at least deserves to be believed until proven otherwise….surely he deserves that?

    Maybe….

    He’s actually trying to start a dialogue with the supporters.

    Maybe….

    In essence, he’s giving the fans the chance to talk through him.

    Maybe….

    he’s empowering the fanbase?

  27. Usmanov has made a statement..

    Van Persie released a statement on Wednesday which blamed a lack of both ambition and trophies for his decision not to sign a new contract, with the striker immediately linked with a move to Premier League champions Manchester City.

    Though Arsenal remain adamant they will not allow Van Persie to leave, the captain’s decision to make public his discontent has led to renewed scrutiny of the club’s inability to hold onto their best players following the sales of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas last summer.

    The debate has now spilled into the halls of power at Emirates Stadium with Usmanov reacting to Van Persie’s decision by publicly criticising Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke for the way he is running the club.

    Usmanov and Red & White partner Farhad Moshiri, who own just under 30 per cent of the club, have said in an open letter that the current regime’s “tight finances” means Wenger is forced into “selling his best players and having to continue to find cheaper replacements. All of that, naturally, comes at the expense of performance on the pitch.

    “This policy is leading to the loss of our best players, often to our main competitors, and even causes the players themselves to question their future at the club and the club’s ambitions.

    “The situation with our captain and outstanding performer from last season Robin van Persie sums this up. Yet again we are faced with losing our true marquee player at the club because we cannot assure him of the future direction and given confidence that we can win trophies.

    “Where are the safeguards to ensure that this doesn’t happen again and again in the future? As a top club we should, at the very least, match if not beat the offers that other clubs make to try and lure our very best players away, and also provide a more compelling vision of the future.”

    The letter continued: “You can try and put a good face on a bad game for as long as you want, pontificating about the merits of this model, but it will not hide the obvious fact that it just does not allow our great manager to fully realise his managerial talent and deliver success for the fans who are paying the highest prices in the land.

    “It appears that a place in the Champions League will be the pinnacle of our ambition again next season. Unfortunately, in the future we may see this ambition lowered further.”

    The Uzbek billionaire has been denied a place on Arsenal’s board by Kroenke but has repeatedly stated his desire to inject money into the club.

    Thursday’s letter states Red & White are keen to buy further shares in Arsenal and outlines their vision for a “debt free club, with a big enough war chest to buy top talent players”.

  28. Well they sure are quick at R&W to write long letters. Makes you wonder…

  29. Since when was Nasri one of our good players????

    6 month wonder at best. Van Persie one season wonder, Adecantscore one season wonder. The only good player to have left recently was Fabregas who gave several years of top football.

  31. I think if a London club like QPR came in with a 40 million bid, RVP would go to them..(joking)

    Actually seems like a lot of politics going on…RVP needs to be careful he doesn’t fall between two stools…

    (I mean the ducking type)

  33. The Van Persie and Usmanov letters look like they were penned by the same person. And both are released publically at the same time as to the club.

  34. as if there wasnt enough evidence to convince people that Usmanov is no saviour but dirty scum he decides to do this fail of a PR stunt and sadly he got what he wanted i.e turn fans against the club just because some people are naive enough to think he actually cares about the club.

  35. Now what the fuck is Usmanov complaining about Gazidis?
    He complains that Gazidis writes a letter to one of his companies asking them they are interested in become shirt sponsor of Arsenal.

    So if Usmanov really has only the best interest with Arsenal he should tell his company to sign the biggest shirt sponsor deal ever in history.
    If Usmanov really only wants best for Arsenal he could give them as a sponsor more than 100M a year by putting the name of his company on the shirts.

    But what does our super fan Usmanov do? He writes a letter to complain about it….

    All he had to do was to have his russian phone company write a letter saying: yes we are interested in becoming shirt sponsor and are willing to pay £100M a year. A deal for 15 years or so…

    In fact even UEFA couldn’t do anything about it or say it was an outrageous sponsorship deal because Usmanov is not on the board so I think it even couldn’t be rejected by the FFP rules….

    Just sign the sponsorship deal Mr. Usmanov if the only thing you are really interested in, is the well being of Arsenal for now and for the future.

  36. Ok, so it wasn’t the best poem ever written and Shakespeare will have his rightful place still in English history but never the less it was written from the heart. 😉

    Important to have a laugh with yourself every now and then… Certainly on a day you see some big billionaires fighting around the club you love…. sigh…

  37. ..All these coming at the end of a season where Wenger successfully turned a disastrous season around. If Wenger/Arsenal were that bad, how come none of the so called experts predicted Arsenal finishing 3rd last season? They make excuses for Chelsea and Tottenham but then forget we finished a point better than the previous season.

    There is so much criticism when we lose but not enough praise when we recover. Detractors line up looking for weaknesses to exploit. Rival fans will taunt you no matter what the clubs do, but where it hurts is to see players echo the same feeling despite getting that coveted trophy being dependent on their performance.

    The entire team played for RVP last season unlike the dutch team. Anyone remembers Schevchenko going to Chelsea where the team structure was different. Team effort and strategy makes the striker. If RVP had consistently scored 30 goals a season for Arsenal over the last 7 years, then he would be right to question the clubs ambition.

    Don’t they get it? Yes it could be the idea to sell these players while trying to pay off the stadium debt. Issues at Rangers, Leeds and Portsmouth sounds no warnings at all.

    One day the chickens will come home to roost then we see who has the last laugh. I am for a sustainable and well run Arsenal Football club and will always back the team.

  38. @ Walter
    After just reading Usmanov’s letter to the board it leaves me concerned regarding the future of, 0ne the clubs position as a force in the EPL and secondly how exactly does Arsene Wenger feel deep within himself, this letter gives us some insight behind the screen and further evaluates the standing of Mr. Wenger as one of the outstanding world class managers are we so lucky to have him but for how mush longer?

  39. Honestly you wont discuss this other than some terrible poem that seemed like it was penned by a depressed 12 year old?? Seriously? but its ok dont worry we have a ref review coming up!!

    This site is becoming less and less about arsenal everyday. The fact you wont even discuss or write a decent post on the reasons for the vp situation shows a lack of journalistic care and a certain amount of head in sand syndrome. And before you ban me, you wont find a bigger wenger fan than me, but you guys wont even discuss his failings or the reasons that are holding him back. I dont want Usmanov but WALTER are you not angered atall by the fact that if vp had kept quiet like arsenal wasnted him too, we would have been strung along all summer saying they would keep him when it was agreed prior to the euros that he would not sign. YOU dont think we deserve more than that , me sat here in my 64 quid new arsenal top who went to over 10 games last season, you who dedicate so much time to Arsenal, you dont feel you deserve better?/ deserve the chance to atleast keep our best players??

    How can Arsene go out on a bang with this system he deserves more, we all do. To be honest too, your readers deserved more today, #cop out

  41. “As soon as Mr. Gazidis is back from his 2-week holiday in America further meetings will follow” a quote from RVP statement on his website.

    Does anyone else find it strange? If i may i would have taken a wild guess that this statement is composed by an AAA frustrated over current contract and board situation at the club.

    I think PR teams are paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to create a well crafted statements. Above quote is an out and out PR disaster. If i was RVP i would fire my PR team. Or is it that his account was hacked?

    If it’s a faked statement then the culprits could be many. AAA, man city, Usmanov,media itself, frustrated but brilliant hacker who’s a gooner. Whoever it was he succeeded in his goal of speeding things up. Arsenal will be calling RVP on what exactly he’s upto and can sell him as soon as good opportunity arises. Or RVP can come out and say it was not him following up with leaving or contract extension.

    Think about it. Chances are 1% but it could be the case. He might be on holiday away from all such fuss and couldn’t possibly know what’s happening.

    Otherwise it’s a pure PR disaster.

  42. Why on earth would Usmanov sign any kind of sponsorship with Arsenal when he knows most of it will not be invested as he would like?

    RvP stayed with you lot above and beyond his loyalty being questioned. If it was just about money then he would have been out the door after 2 or 3 seasons. Maybe, just maybe he disagreed with the clubs long term strategy and wasn’t into sacrificing his prime years for Wengers dream, is it a crime to not believe in the next mans philosophy?

    Then you have all this stuff about ‘real gooners’. RvP is a footballer, not a fan (yes I have seen the pics of him as a kid in Arsenal shirt with a pile of other replica shirts and banners in the backround) and does not have the loyalty to the club that a lifelong fan has.

    He has served you well and should be hailed by you, not derided, yet. If he goes to City or even another Prem club then that’s a bit off but as it is, get a grip and start to wonder if Cesc, Samir, Gael, Robin etc are really all money grabbers or just thought they were watching their careers slip away whilst stoking the fires of another mans dream!

    I will certainly miss watching RvP (except against us) and you all know you will as well even though it seems amongst Arsenal fans he was an over-rated, 1 season wonder!

    Eyes, open them people!

  43. I truly believe that VP did this out of pure (if not a little misguided) love for AFC.

    Can I ask readers a question, does what VP said change the way you view the current arsenal set up?

    CAn I ask another question not that anyone really knows the answer, who decides what and when we spend?, is it the BOD or wenger or both?

    Do you think we need a new chairman? I mean look atthe players we have lost since Kroenke, its a joke.

    WHAt is the Best way forward?? so we dont lose our players every damn year, Arsenal need to come clean, for that I thank VP, they clearly planned to lie to us all summer. I want Wenger for life but he Needs to compete financially to a low level at least and that means being prepared to pay what you may think is too much at the time for talismanic players who can excite the fans, inspire our younger players and do the buzniz on the pitch. .I love this club , buit something as got to give, or the hoards will burn down the ems at this rate!

  44. Seirously Willybilly how many articles do you want us to write about it? That is 3 for now. Just finished another as the situations turns rather ugly imo.

  45. Joe, he would do it because he us such a fan. Well that is what his PR machine is telling us.

    Imagine being in his position: money is not an issue at all. You got billions and one of your companies can afford paying 100M a year? If even only half was invested in the squad it would make you happy as a fan. Wouldn’t it?

    So why doesn’t he do it? You answer that question because I as a fan cannot find any reason why not to do it. apart that I don’t have the money…

  46. ok point taken I missed one , my bad, BUT how about answering the rest of my points and queries? 😛

  47. “King Henry went, ARSENAL was there,Super Fab went,ARSENAL still there,Cashly Samir went ARSENAL always there,THEN the injury muster is nothing to ARSENAL,let him go if he think that he can gain any thing with out hard working and trying.”

    Wow. This is the best comment I have read since the words about this story went out. Thanks ALLAN SSENYONGA.

    And may I add: ARSENAL is not only there, it is becoming stronger and stronger, as a club and as a team.

  48. @Willybilly:
    “I truly believe that VP did this out of pure (if not a little misguided) love for AFC.”

    Yeah, he loves us so much that he doesn’t dare to play for us anymore. He will watch us on TV instead (and of course screaming and swearing and cheering and everything like a true fan, no doubt).

    But hey, I do love my ass but I have never left it, in good or bad times.

    That aside, you have made no “points” but one: “Buy, buy, buy.”

    Find a copy of Fifa Manager, play it, and you can buy whoever you want.

    Yeah, we (Arsenal) are a joke if you look at the players who left us recently. Go love and support Man C. Their coming in players must be a dream, right? They are begging everywhere for fans.

    At Arsenal we only spend what we earn, and we only (try to) spend it wisely. That’s it. That’s us. That’s our way. Don’t like it? Just go.

  49. Damian

    Typical response from an untolder, show me where I said “buy Buy Buy”//?

    I appreciate everything about the way arsenal is run. from the stadium debt to the reasons for our wage structure. Dont ever accuse me of being someone who just wants ££££££££!

    I have fought for time defending the way we do things, but this RVP situation takes the cake. We are being weakened every year and the money not reinvested, if they did that with the rvp money then I would fully support a boycott.

    Van persie just wants us to compete to a basic degree, like we were told we would be able to 6 years ago, and whether you like it or not that involves paying inflated prices. If we had just paid over the odds a little in the last 2 or 3 years when we needed it we would have NONE of these problems now, because with a coach like wenger we would have won something and bben financially better off. EVen if we hadnt won anything, nobody was asking for 100 of mills to be spent so we would have been able to survive.

    As i said , I dont want Usmaknob, but I fully respect Van persie for his actions.

    THey were going to lie to us all summer can you not see that?

    Van persie has oppened up a can of worms that had long been overdue

  50. Just Go?? Are you mental?? thats your answer, spend what we earn? we certainly dont that, Ade, toure, Nasri, fabregas. That is money gone back into the club, not players.

    Our commercial deals will suffer unless the glory days come back, the only reason we have a huge fan base after 7 years is because of AW, when he leaves in 2 years and the next guy cant perform his miracles, what will happen then, we need to compete, and we have earned the right to be able to do that through prudency.

    How long do they intend to not invest in top players?/ because eventually we will lose wenger and we will fall well down the pecking order, and all over a bowl of bitter beans.!

    How can you justify losing out on mata , when he had made up his mind he was coming here??

    We rely on wenger to turn water to wine, that isnt sustainable at all! He needs help if he chooses to accept it.

    Noone wants to see us change completly, but what we are doing will lead us down a path of ruin, Van persie has done us a favour

  51. Is he a fan though? Or just another business man with a vested interest and a fistful of shares in a business where it pays to nail your colors to a mast to make the fans happy, as with RvP, Usmanov is hardly going to turn up in a Le Coq top with ‘Yiddo’ tattooed on his forehead. It is no secret Usmanov wants major investment in the squad, so why would he fire in £100 million a year to see it pay off debts that are already being paid and possibly fund several unkown signings that may or may not play if they get work permits?

    And no, I don’t think for 1 second that he would or should be happy to pump hundreds of millions in as a fan because 1) Nothing is telling me he was any kind of Arsenal fan before an opportunity arose to get a share of the club and 2) He is about profit, money and business not philanthropic sponsorship deals to a club he feels is being badly run or more to the point that he could run better himself.

    How much credence would you give David Camerons PR machine? How about George Michaels? Jordan? Joey Barton? PR machines are there to sucker people into believing what they would not normally believe, just because Arsenal are involved don’t fall into thinking his is different!

  52. @WillyBilly: Here are your answers.

    a) RVP did THIS out of love for AFC? Please do explain how this is love. Screwing ur manager over one day after he said he’d want you to stay and show some gratitude if you can? Does he have to go public? Why couldn’t he simply let Arsenal sell him when possible? He has to come out and blurt a wildly contradictory letter; which most possibly..Darren Dein and co would have “authored” telling RVP to “leave it to them”. Sorry.

    b) Untold not writing articles about Arsenal? Yes okay. Please tell me which articles are NOT about Arsenal?

    c) Who decides what we spend? The Board no question. AW will be told..we have 30 million before sales if you want. Anything more you have to sell. WHO goes out and WHO comes in is AW’s call. There will be a slight overlap…but the upper cap is most definitely the board’s call. AW being as careful and well versed in economics will also help put in valueing a player, but that’s about it.

    d) Why do we need a new chairman? And you’d do well to check your facts. Kroenke isn’t a chairman. I’ll assume you meant new owner. No we do not.. specially if its Usmanov. I’ll be happy with no trophies but competing every year and remaining self sustaining. Players wont; so they’ll leave. I thought RVP was more far sighted than that…sadly my faith was misplaced. Not that it shocked me…but it’d have been nice had he stayed.

    e) If you don’t like spending money and the “club’s policies are not in tune with what you like” stop spending money. Simple. Or write a letter to Arsenal. Are you one of the hoards that’ll burn down the Emirates? I hope not.

  53. So Joe you don’t believe Usmanov is a “loyal Arsenal fan”? Because that is what he/they said in the R&W letter.

    Now I must admit I didn’t fall for that but it is about time we take him on his word I think. I know that if I would have a company and would have the money I would pick the phone now and tell Gazidis he can stop his search for a new shirt sponsor right now as I would pay 100M a year.

    I as a loyal fan would trust the board to do the right thing.

    But I do read between you lines that you believe he would run the club better. Maybe some one is falling for some ones PR machine?

  54. Arvind, “Does he have to go public?” Yes he did, and I am sure it took every ounce of his courage to do it.. By going public he has made it so the board have to explain their actions, rather than the usual gagging order ala nasrigas. Does it not make you angry that they were going to lie to us again all summer?, apparently willing to keep vp at all cost. The club will be forced now to reinvest early the money they get for VP. Van Persie never said he wanted to leave , he is giving room for minds and atttitudes to be changed. YOu dont think VP understands what is needed to get us back to glory?, he is the son of two artists, money doesnt bother him, but he is realistic and he knows we can and should invest atleat to a degree of the spending clubs. HOW long can we go on selling our best and not reinvesting the same amount back, its insulting when we were told 6 years ago we were going to be frugal so we could compete.

    B) THe endless amounts of ref reviews has made the arsenal articles take a back seat , agreee or disagree, i dont care.

    C)I agree that i think the board control what is spent, but surely if wenger wants a player he has the right to demand the funds?. He is involved without doubt. Some people will say wenger controls exactly what is spent. The club need to offer transparency on this matter as respect to the millions wondering WTF????????????????? eg the mata thing, was that the board or wenger?

    D) Sorry I know Kroenke isnt chairman, we need a new owner then.. Look at what we have sold and bought since he arrived and tell me that is ok

    YOU seem to be forgetting something, without wenger if we dont win trophies we will have no fan base, and we wont be able to compete in any way. The players will leave and the culture will implant its self and if we dont change soon ( minimal investment like vp wanted) we will struggle to remain a force if we dont win, plus other teams will be bought out , spend and over take us..

    e)I have been thinking about writing a letter to AW for a while now, I have so much respect for him, even see him as a bit of a father figure as when he came, i was 10 and my father had left us, i adopted AW in my mind as a father figure. Believe me I have always supported everything that he does, but VP leaving has made me really sad about the direction of our club, and I believe that Arsene should spend the last years at the club winning stuff and making sure his passing philosophy is fully lodged in the club. Im sure his legacy will remain, but he deserves to go out with out the pressure (self imposed or otherwise) of this financial over prudency

  55. It might be a case of “You don’t want me around, but you want my money?” as to why he would be offended about the whole shirt sponsor deal… or not wanting to give that money not knowing how it would be spent (or believing it would be misspent/ not spent).

    but it’s all speculation, either way.

    In the end it’s a power grab.

    The thing I’m too lazy to look up is how the Rooney deal played out a couple seasons ago and how their fans reacted to it. Could we be burning a bridge that he was hoping was still there?

  56. Busch

    clearly VP has left it open for arsenal to change their minds,

  57. Busch

    clearly VP has left it open for arsenal to change their minds,

  58. Willybilly,

    do you really want that the player dictate who we should buy or not? Because that is the consequence of what you say in the first part. And what gives you a certainty that “RVP knows” What has he done to prove that “he knows what is needed”.
    A famous manager said a few seasons ago that players have all kinds of opinions on which player would be good to bring in to the club. And they could name 1 player for each position in half a minute. But there was only 1 position that never needed strengthening : their own position. Like I said with Podolski and Giroud we brought in two 25-26 year old experienced strikers who could take the place of RVP.

    B) Maybe Usmanov could sponsor the referee reviews so we could set up a separate site for this 😉

    C) I don’t know, you don’t know but I do agree we need transparency.

    D)RVP wanted minimal investment? Then why didn’t he wait a bit with this statement? I think Podolski and Giroud are already a bit more than minimal investment. Or maybe not the players RVP wanted? But if he wants to decide who to buy he should join the board of a club and stop being a player. Giroud/Podolski too much a threat for his own place maybe? There was talk once that Giroud would be brought in this year to gain experience and gradually take RVP his place. I don’t know how much truth there was in that gossip but just imagine Robin didn’t fancy sitting on the bench at the end of the season?

    And I do have more faith in the real supporters of this club. The die hard will stay, the vulnerable want success now can go to support a successful club if they want. That is also a way of choosing.

  59. Walter, its not about whether he can dictate or not who we buy ( although you could say that Rooney did the same to fergie), but more about the continuing cycle of events that have led to what VP has had to say. Ie the slow reducing of quality from our team. Van persie could have come out last year when Nasri and Fabs both left and werent replaced. Gerv or Arte dont count as Gerv was duped into thinking they could stay and arteta is the player we should have bought 2 seasons ago to compliment Fab, certainly not a replacement.

    PLease walter look at who we have bought, and who we have sold since Stan arrived and tell me how in Gods name can we compete with a policy like that?

    b) that could be a good use of his money 😀
    c) Seen
    D) I think VP and arsenal knew he was going before Giroud signed, therefore making redundant any claims that he was signed to appease VP. Im sure VP wanted us to go out and Properly replace Fabregas , not spend 12 mil each onto players with no prem experience (*regardless of how good a bargain they are) Im sure VP wants a player of his age and stature to come in and help and regardless of what anyone says we will have to pay at least over 20 million for that. As a signal of intent if nothing else. We could easily afford that, it would appease so many, take the pressure off so many and not affect the club adversely even if it went tits up. So i would argue that giroud and pod are the minimum but if one was meant to be vps replacement then that is quite frankly a piss take, knowing the money they will get for vp.

    What annoys me most is that arsenal were definately going to lie to us, string us along if it wasnt for VP coming out and saying how it is. If giroud had a year of VP with him he would have been 10 times the player for it, but no, now he will have to come in and hit the ground running, and then Chamakh, I watched him for the reserves a couple if times last year and god knows what happened to that guy but he was the worst player on the pitch by far, I cant see POd taking on the main role either.

    I know the real fans will always be there walter but let me ask you this, how many of uniteds fans are real fans? most of them come from the result global branding and success and they really need those fans to be super clubs that attract huge commercial sponsorship.

    So do Arsenal, we have a huge following but it is waning. People globally are losing faith and we need these fans to stay a big club. WEnger has given us so much but we are in danger of wiping out his legacy completely over essentially is money we can afford. Nobody wants HUGE sums spent, but if we had addressed basic issues, like got mertesacker 2 years ago, not waited for Chamack when we needed him etc, we im sure would have won stuff and we would be WAY better off now, and even if we hadnt we could have afforded to take the hit.

    I

  60. and answer me this , what has the current BOD done to suggest they know best either?

  62. Walter, I don’t know how Usmanov would be as I know nothing about the bloke other than his unfortunate appearance and he owns a stake in Arsenal (and he’s loaded), I certainly wouldn’t comment on how he would be in charge of a club, only that I know that’s where he wants to be!

    Maybe it’s a language thing or you are trying not to understand on purpose I don’t know but what I meant is, why would someone who has tried to take a club over in a slightly aggressive manner, bought a huge stake but not been offered a seat on the board ever consider giving £100 million a year to the people keeping him out? The people he said this about: “Red & White closed their letter by wishing Kroenke “every success”, although stressing they have “deep reservations about the viability of the policies being pursued by his management team and sanctioned by the board”.

    If you had £100 million and these above mentioned reservations would you give them anything? Really?

  63. Walter
    I haven’t seen Usmanov’s open letter. Does it contain the reference to the sponsorship thing you were talking about? Does anyone know where I can find this letter?

  65. willybilly

    I know 🙂 It just wasn’t something I really wanted to have to type in and have 100s of results pop up.. I mean..It was just me wanting to avoid an unpleasant experience 🙂

  66. Walter, In that letter from R&W holdings, it is clear that Ivan Gazidis has approached Megafon for shirt and global sponsorship. Don’t you think that it is too odd to ask someone or his company to sponsor, whom you don’t wish to be in your Board because you don’t trust him, Given that Ivan told indirectly that Usmanov getting into board could create further problems. See you are calling your sponsors as “Partners”. How can you be partnering with Megafon whose boss is Usmanov, the guy you don’t want.

  67. Walter you’re missing the point completely. You do not just e-mail a company with a begging letter asking for money, you have to build up a relationship so his point is that Gazidis doesn’t know what he’s doing. As for expecting Usmanov to give money to Kroenke to do what he wants with that’s just ridiculous. Have you ever heard of any Billionaire supporting any club in the world handing over even 50m without wanting a say in how the club is run or a share of the profits ? Just one case would be sufficient so I suggest you get researching. Even less likely when the two people disagree so strongly about how the club should be run. He didn’t become a billionaire by investing in mismanaged businesses and in his opinion at least that is what Arsenal is. I’m referring to the business itself not the performances on the pitch.

  68. Had reservations about the Uzbek & Iranian duo, who for a long time made it known their social media outlets that they were willing to put money into the club. I don’t understand why we should of not explored a commercial partnership with one of their subsidiaries if their was an indication that a deal might be struck. Especially if the partnership would be with one of our connected investors, who could be given the opportunity to ‘put his money where his mouth is’.

    it would of looked petty if we had ignored an investment opportunity because their was an Uzbek whiff about it outright. If RVP refusal to re-sign was their ace card, then I think they have made a misjudgment and over played their hand.

  69. But Usmanov is a loyal fan wanting the best for Arsenal he tells us.

    Imagine I would be usmanof and if Gazidis would say : we don’t want that Walter from Untold on the board as he would only make troubles with his referee things for us.

    But as a loyal fan (if I had the money) I still would want to sponsor the shirts. Maybe could put on the shirts as sponsor name: “Untold Referee” or so 😉

    It would be the same as sponsoring a concert or sponsoring a local hockey team in Russia. Our current sponsor also doesn’t want a place in our board (I think?). It is business and in this case would be doing business with the team “he loves”.

    My point is: Usmanov is not in Arsenal for the love for Arsenal. He cannot me convince with his actions.

  70. Furthermore the very ‘un-Arsenalike’ way that the public letter was designed to damage the club, again helps with forming an opinion about what the Uzbek & Iranian think of the history of the club, respect the foundations which the club was built on and their willingness to destroy the the club publicly disregarding the fans feelings. The ‘end justifies the means’ applies in a situation like this if you are emotionally detached and possibly desperate in my opinion. Their letter to the board and timing of release smacked of being calculated rather than opportunistic.

    If that is a taster of life under R&W Holdings, then I would probably give it a miss.

  71. @Willibilly

    Anyone can make vague/general statements like: “I don’t agree with the club’s policy”! This does not, by any means, elevate rvp to the fans ‘spokesperson’. What are the ‘specific’ policies with which he disagrees? Where they,perhaps, the same policies in effect when he ‘begged’ cesc to stay(yes, he did) 12 months ago? Or maybe the policy that let AW to remain loyal to him throughout his injuries?

    Im sorry, but his vague statement is a cop out. He won’t dare mention exactly what he disagrees with, cause he knows it’s just bs!

  72. The letter wasn’t intended to damage the club. RvP stated publically that he didn’t like the way the club is being run and R&W thought that was an opportune moment to release their manifesto. If Usmanov gave 100m to the club it would kill his chances of ever being able to run the club. He would spend let’s say 100m of his fortune to ensure that what he wants will never happen and the glory will go to those who detest him. You are basically asking him to be a saint sacrificing all personal gain for the good of the club. Not many supporters would do that.

  73. @ Charlie – what do you know about R & W Holdings intentions? What other intention other than to heap distress on the club was the goal?

    Also from what you say yourself, R & W Holdings main aim is NOT to see Arsenal FC succeed first and formost on the pitch, but in fact but their own self interests.

  74. yes Charlie. Isn’t he a saint then? After the way seems to present himself and the way some fans seem to see him as the one who will bring all the success in the world to the club he must be close to actually be one.

    But either way it would be his name that will be seen on the shirts so that means good advertisement.
    Surely as a loyal fan and a good businessman that would be a win-win situation? Your club winning things with the name of your company on it, sales worldwide with your company name on it… I wouldn’t hesitate one second as a loyal fan…

  75. @ Walter – exactly! He should of paid over the odds even, as this would of gained him new converts. His PR team could of then spun into action and let it be known that Jabba was desperate to see the club do well, he would also have emotional leverage to demand information about how the money was spent. He could also then demand as a commercial investor more publicly, with more added weight why he thought should do this and that. Leaking slowly and manipulatively own agenda with greater credence.

    It was less ‘art of war’ more brash ‘stick um up bandit’. Desperado’s.

  76. I don’t know about Usmanov’s plans but I agree that if you cannot buy stars with silly money at least increase your revenue to retain your best players with a good package to fend off rivals. Unfortunately for us, the transfer market is always inflated and We are always struggling to retain our best players. We are much like Everton which can produce best players but always fails to retain them when a big fat rich club gets them when they are ready. I know our current management should have thought about this but unfortunately we are not seeing actions to stop this poaching.

  77. @ Pad gooner, why does the blame lie with management? Not the departing players, agents and other clubs?

  78. I completely agree with you that players and agents play a major role in these issues. But its not something new. As long as there are agents, they would always try to maximize their profit by influencing their clients to move for a better deal.

    At the same time, from the club’s perspective, a Top club like Arsenal should not lose its players to a club like Manchester city. When it comes to history, class and elegance arsenal is way ahead. But when it comes to money we seriously lag behind the richest. I am not saying that you find a way to pay 35Mn for Andy Caroll and prove it. What I am looking for is retaining the RVPs , Wilshere, Chamberlains. From 2009, in these 3 years, Manchester City has done enough damage, we should have had some plans to mitigate it.

    I want Arsenal to be in the driver seat not as a silent passenger.

  79. To add to my point, Its very very tough to find one Wilshere but we are making it damn easy for rivals to get him.

    We are giving “n” number of opportunities for Walcott to develop only for our rival to prepare a bid.

    Either you dont develop these players or you dont sell them. We are doing both and because of that we are losing our battle both on and off the pitch. On the pitch by having youngsters who are prone to make mistakes and off the pitch by selling developed players. We have to stop on of these two to be in a winning battle.

  80. Self sustaining model means exactly that…where does the 20 or so million spent recently come from? bye bye RVP. Usmanov in power would mean Dein and he does not have to prove his love for the club to anyone. Dein and Wenger have the best Arsenal record of any era.

  81. @ Pad gooner, I disagree with you. We are not in a position to play play ‘keeping up with the Jones’s’. As you note and mention our history, this has never been the case. Too many clubs have ransomed their future by paying players over the odds. RVP is not worth 200k a week in my opinion, it’s a flipping cheek that he would ask for more in fact. In other organisation’s he would of been released on long term sick leave, or in the very least had his wages docked to statutory minimum.

    Not to mention the criticism by some who say we pay our young players too much too soon! You can’t have it both ways when talk about Alex OC & Wilshere. Contrary to some suggestions, Arsenal pay their players a competitive wage at the top end of the scale in Europe.

    introducing Andy Carroll into your point is bit of a misnomer. I think that fans have to accept that the players they idolize are not worthy of their elevated status, not blame the club.

  82. I do find it strange that even with the growing number of football fables of clubs being bought and destroyed, there are some that think that this is still a good idea.

  84. @ Mahdain , thanks for the link. It’s a great article that articulates my growing feelings and thoughts on Jabba & co. Well worth the read.

  85. People have been too busy posting to comment, but I would like to say – great poem Walter.

    (Walter, Walter everywhere – the Untold Arsenal bard,
    Walter Walter everywhere – he gave Robin his red card).

    Also, I am grateful for R&W for that letter.
    What was only suspicion before is now confirmed, by dint of carefully crafted bs.

    That is not the letter of someone who cares about The Arsenal.
    It is the letter of someone with an agendum for change. Someone who is prepared to play the long game to achieve it.

    Just what that ‘game’ is – I do not know. But I guess that it has nothing to do with the game that we love.

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