How to prevent such final year contract situations like with RVP

Posted on by WalterBroeckx

By Walter Broeckx

 

We all know better than the board. That is for sure.  Certainly now with the RVP situation it seems that if we had about 2.326.413 other people in the place of Gazidis or Wenger it wouldn’t have happened.  One of the most used sentences these days is: we shouldn’t have let it come this far. Meaning that those dumb asses in the Arsenal board had the nerve to let a player run to the final year of his contract.  So how would those 2.326.413 other people would have dealt with the situation and avoid it.

 

Well a first solution could be offering the players a contract that never ends. But as a playing career somehow ends around 33-36 it has to end one day. So we can scratch that option I think.

 

Another option would be to give the players a contract so that in normal circumstances it would not end till their playing days are over. Let us say we give a contract for each player till he is 35 years old.  That would cover most players and would prevent the current RVP situation. Nah, you see. It’s that simple. Fire Gazidis, hire me.

 

But what happens if a player gets an injury and his playing career is over? Suppose and God forbid it from happening but let us just imagine that Jack Wilshere will never recover. And as we have given him a contract till he is 35 years old this will mean that we have to pay him for another 15 years for doing nothing. Ok maybe we could break the contract but that will surely mean we have to pay some kind of fine for doing this. So that again would cost money.

 

Another thing is that in this case you have to be sure that the player wants to sign such a long term contract. Because if he would sign now for let us say 40.000 a week it could well be that in 3 years time this is a ridiculous low amount of money for a football player of his calibre. So the player becomes unhappy and this will affect his game. So he will perform less and the team suffers. So you can already see that this option also is not the ideal one as it can easily backfire on you.

 

How many of you would be happy if we had given Diaby such a contract when he first signed for Arsenal? Or Almunia? To name just a few we have to get rid of.

 

Oh, that’s right how do you get rid of the deadwood when you have contracts running till the players are 35? So another problem with such a solution. Don’t fire Gazidis yet I would suggest.

 

Give them longer contracts? Well we work with 4 years contract most of the time because it also means that if the player doesn’t perform as expected it will only cost you 4 years and if you are lucky you could get rid of him even sooner. But with that we have also to accept the fact that a player who does perform (even be it only for one year) he could try to get away and do what Flamini has done or do what Van Persie is doing: force his way out (for whatever reason but monhpies are the most popular – I’m claiming the new word Monphies from now as for players who claim they want trophies as a reason to leave but in fact just want money).

 

So what happens when we give them 6 years or 7 years? Not much as it ends somehow at some moment in time and thus you will always end up with some situations like the one we are seeing.

 

Another problem might be that players don’t want to sign longer contracts with a club. They like certainties but a transfer usually brings extra cash for them so they would want to have that option open.

 

Shorter contracts? Well that will only bring even more instability and it will bring even more instability each season as perhaps half the team is nearing the final year of their contract each year. So also not a solution.

 

Now of course you can correct me in the comment section and give us the perfect solution to prevent the current situation for once and for all.

 

I have been thinking myself about it for a long while. And for the moment the only solution I see is to buy a gun. Buy some bullets. Ah we are the Arsenal that shouldn’t be a problem. Then we go to the player his house. We enter the house with the new contract ready to be signed. Ask him to sign the contract and if he refuses to sign we say: “What you don’t want to sign?”  We take out the gun, put in a bullet, point it at his head and ask : what did you say again about not signing? I bet there will be no more player not signing a contract extension any more. And if there is one… A sad announcement on arsenal.com that this player sadly passed away while trying to sign a new contract for Arsenal will be enough to convince the rest to just sign it.  Ok, I think you can imagine this scenario also not being the best possible.

 

Bottom line: this is the way football is organised. It is a sad situation maybe, but we cannot force players in to signing a contract against their will.  But slating the club for letting it come that far : the gun scenario really is not a real option you know. So we just have to live with it and accept that this is the way football is these days.

 

Sometimes we are happy a contract ends, sometimes we are sad. But things don’t always go the way we or the club want. It’s a free world and unless we allow slavery again for football players we just have to accept that they can and will move on. For whatever reason and for whatever bullsh*t reason they tell us they want to leave for.

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In order to make sure we don’t miss one aspect on RVP his case we just have another article on him and the others can be found here together with some other stuff.

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86 Replies to “How to prevent such final year contract situations like with RVP”

  1. Simples! never ending contract pay as you play contracts should be given to all players! every team would then realise their loyal players and those that aren’t. And you would see people wanting to play to earn more instead of being happy with 50k a week to sit on the bench, I mean if my company would pay me 50k a week to do F*** ALL I would be happy to do it!

  2. Easiest Solution?

    Sign 4 year contracts, at the end of year 2 you sit down the player for contract discussions where you have 3 options;

    1. If player has incorporated into team well – extend existing contract for 2 additional years at increased pay – making 4 years to run.

    2. If player has had injury plagued time – extend existing contract for 1 additional year – the idea being that he either recovers or doesn’t. The following year you know whether to sell or not.

    3. If the player refuses to sign a contract extension you sell with 2 years on contract to get maximum potential price.

  3. Wow Walter, Wasn’t Usmanov accused of something similar (Forcing contracts or making someone sell him there goods or land) Could be a job opportunity for you. Enjoy the coming season all, It’s going to be a rollercoaster.

  4. @ wambam

    But in the case of (3) when you have a great player who’s just scored 30+ goals in the last season, surely you keep them in the hope that they do the same next season, you win the title and they change their mind and stay???

  5. Is it only me who is hearing the following conversation in my nightmares?:
    Robin: “Well Darren, you´re my agent – what do you think I should do?
    Darren: “Robin – its up to you but there is a major shareholder at the club who thinks it would be better for you health if you moved on. He knows you are injury prone, and believes there is a strong possibility that if you play for Arsenal next season the next injury could be career threatening! And then there´s your wife and family …………..”
    Robin: “Don´t leave me much option does he? Pity, I loved playing for Arsenal.”

  6. I’m not mad that we let his contract run down. I am mad at RVP for letting us down. We supported him the hole time he was on the injury table for all those years. He has one fantastic full season and now he wants to leave, I am totally gutted. I understand players are free go play for whatever club they choose, but its still a massive slap in the face and I hope if we do sell him to Manshitty or whoever that the board reinvest the monies back into the squad. We can’t keep starting from scratch each season with new players to the premier league in key positions with all our hopes riding on them. The new players need time to adjust we all know that. If RVP does not play for us next year we really need to strengthen more then we have to make up for his loss. And a lot more than last year. I’m saying spend billions, just the right players and enough of them.

    I’m so disappointed in RVP. I really thought he’d be the next great Arsenal legend. I feel like a fool to have believed that. I guess there really is no loyalty in football anymore.

  7. Sorry for the spelling errors. My thoughts are moving faster then my fingers.

  8. Walter,
    I’m beginning to worry about your expertise and devotion to Arsenal, when I read that you advocate “getting rid” of Diaby. In my opinion, he will make a massive contribution to our cause next term now that he’s fully fit again.
    In regard to your main question, the answer is simple…..
    GET RID OF AGENTS.

  9. Stop walter!!!! you are publishing too many articles too quickly. This might kill some interesting debates.

    Any way it’s impossible to hold the player in this modern era. Want an example? Cesc fabregase. He had what 4 years left on his contract?? and he left for 26m upfront fee. That was just ridiculous.

    In modern times contract only means you can sell player at a higher resale value. That’s it. Did you honestly expect RVP signing the new contract would have resisted media from speculating? A burning example eboue. He signed a new contract in november and left in the summer.

  10. Nicky,
    sorry if I made it sound that way. I was just playing a bit around with the usual names that are used on the internet when it comes to injured, and words as dead wood are used.

  11. No way to stop this kind of thing really, the only issue, being why does it happen to us so often. A stats fiend may correct me, but of all the bigger clubs, is there anyone else who loses top players at the rate we do? I cannot think of any.
    On another note, will rvp now stop playing for holland as they do not win trophies?

  12. I really do not believe it is about money with RvP, but about the LACK of AMbITION with the board and the club at present.

    Any player with ambition would want more than finish 4th each season. But listening to Wenger at the end of last season, qualifying for CL is his only goal. It appears the Board is perfectly happy with that objective and achievement.

    When all fans begin to wise up and realise they are force fed a load of bull and it is the Board that is holding back the progression of our Club. Only then might we see some changes. Had Wenger used the best of the reserves instead of buying bargain basement players we now cannot sell the club would have been on better shape.

  13. @Nicky

    I agree with you – get rid of agents. This is however easier said than done and I know you like me realise that much as we would like get get rid of these over paid parasites it will never happen.

    However, it is feasible for the club to have an approved list of agents and pay each player a bonus if his agent is on the approved list?

    In general, do we know how much agents “earn” – are they required to publish accounts?

  15. well contracts are a mess at arsenal.

    firstly, all players should be on a basic wage of £15-30,000 per week,with the starting players on slightly higher.then they should get a certain figure per game they play (competitively), I.e. another £10-40,000. there should then be bonuses for percentages of passes completed,shots on target or post,interceptions,successful tackles,clean sheets etc.. also should be bonuses and fines for tracking back,when the team needs u. this system would pay less for underperforming or injured players,whilst paying more for those who are good amd performing well. it would reduce our overall wage spending,whilst increasing payments for our best,as such v.persie etc would be on significantly more than now.

    secondly,all of our conracts should have a 1-year contract extension clause,so that if a player is playing hardball or nearng the end of his contract,we cab just extend his contract by the one year,and he technically has 2years left.this lets us have time to either sell him (whilst keeping his value higher) or try and convince him to extend his time with us.or just keep him for an extra yr,as they’re older but v.good (I.e with v.persie this would have been perfect)

    I think these two changes to contracts would make us stronger and more secure

    b

  16. Buying the top scorer of France, buying the youngest 100 international from Europe was not showing enough ambition for RVP.
    Who did he want? Messi? Ronaldo?

    Had those “ambitious” players delivered in stead of being injured all the time, missing chances when they should have scored we would have won a few things. They had the ball at their feet, they should have finished the job

  17. the thing about not tying down players is nothing but just part of our fanbase being fickle.. look at how they are now screaming about the likes of Djourou getting new contracts when they have earned them. if i remember correctly Djourou was GREAT for us 2 seasons ago when he got the run in the team and people were raving about him but when he gets a new contract he is suddenly shit? give me a break
    as for that backstabbing brat Van Persie weren’t it the same ones who are crying about us not tying him down who were screaming at Wenger to sell him before the start of last season?

  18. i wouldnt be suprised if the same people who are calling for Diaby`s head now came back after 2 seasons bemoaning why he wasnt given a new contract

  19. The only way to prevent this kind of thing is to bring in PROPER financial fair play where clubs can only spend within their means which would see the likes of man c*ty and ch*lski plumment down the table

  20. @bjtgooner,
    “parasites” is indeed the correct name.
    Greed being the operative word, agents obtain real money on moves, not on a percentage of wages.
    I still recall Ferguson’s continuing sulk with the BBC when a programme revealed shenanigans involving his agent son.
    The trouble starts, unfortunately, with the obscene wages now being paid to professional footballers, way beyond their wildest dreams. It follows that with these riches, the players, not usually over intelligent, engage these parasites to act on their behalf, when in actual fact there is no real need for them.
    (After 64 years of marriage, my wife acts as my agent and I’m still not sure what she does).

  21. @Mandy Dodd – it seems to happen to us all the time because our Club has the best reputation for discovering young players and making them into stars envied by other clubs who have access to a great deal of someone else’s money. Yes it’s true that we could hold onto them if we paid them Man City type wages but, given that we spend all our income already, we could only find that extra funding by reducing other players contracts (not allowed during the period of that contract) or by taking on a lot fewer youngsters. This would greatly reduce our chances of uncovering the occasional diamond and would therefore rebound on us.
    As far as RVP is concerned – we would need to pay him £10m a year for four years to keep him away from such a rich club and would also lose out on a potential transfer fee.
    Does RVP, at his age, stand a chance of providing value for such money in what will be his last few years of his playing career – one that has been, in the past, as injury plagued as Diaby’s?
    Not a chance.

  22. Well the Guardian are now headlining with a ‘Cival War at Arsenal bollocks’ story. There’s a surprise! Wow.

    I’m guessing that these sorry hacks were never invited to Fizmans bedside table in those last years. They probably don’t even know who he was. Only, what, six years late with that headline? You couldn’t make it up!

  24. Interesting, just heard Philippe auclair on the radio, he can be one of the more sensible pundits concerning arsenal, he seemed to think the club would hold vp to his final year come what may. That would be bold, VPs statement seemed to me to carry a threat of revealing more details he witheld out of respect to wenger and the fans, whatever that means.

  25. Thanks Walter! We can only hope that we get a generation of footballers who turn things around and it seems on the anvil…I think in a couple of days we will all reconcile to losing RvP and get behind the team and cheer them up till we go hoarse. The King is dead…long live the King!

  26. Contracts don’t mean anything other than the club has to keep paying the player. It is entirely a one sided commitment because the player can start to play poorly on purpose, and this would be impossible to prove. The Bosman ruling was what started this whole upward spiral in wages, and it is deplorable. The Webster ruling will make contracts even more worthless, but so far all the clubs have a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ to not use it. It just takes one though, and we know most clubs aren;t run by gentlemen. I bet it’ll happen soon enough. One player, and one club will decide that that’s the only way they will get their move and they’ll use that clause. Hey..Any bets on it being Robin, and City, if we decide we’re going to hold him to his contract despite his shenanigans yesterday?

  27. I wasn’t aware of the ‘Webster ruling’ so looked it up As I now understand it the ruling makes it legal for a player to unilaterally break a contract three years after signing it (two years if the player was over 28 years old at the time of signing. He would however have to pay compensation to the club which would probably be based on the value left on the contract. So if we tried to hold Robin to the last year of his contract he could use this ruling to do so with, no doubt, his new employers recompensing him for the compensation he would have to pay Arsenal. Im not sure what compensation would be payable if we accepted an offer from a club he didn’t want to play for at a higher fee than was offered by the club he did want to join. One for lawyers to pontificate on I thing.

    Either way I can’t see him pulling on our shirt again so we move onwards and upwards with other players.

  28. Onwards and upwards indeed….assuming he goes. We will need to sign, og and pod will not be sufficient, Joel Campbell and afobe are on loan again, gerv is not a striker, nor is theo…if he stays, park and chamackh clearly not up to it, bendtner could have been useful, but has rather stupidly burned his bridges. Cannot see us going for a cavani, lavezzi, falco etc, but If vp goes, think clint Dempsey would make a very astute signing, not too expensive, would help others settle in, a seriously good player, but reaching the end of his career so the kids could eventually come through. There, I have almost forgotten about rvp already!

  29. It doesn’t really matter what our policy on contract lengths is as long as there are bank rolled teams like Chelski and Man Shitty out there. I’m pretty sure the agents advise the players not to extend contracts until they are edging towards the end of their current deals as it puts them in a better bargaining position with the rich clubs. We cannot compete with bankrolled teams so unless this financial fair play actually works we will never be able hold onto players especially as very few show loyalty. It wouldn’t matter if RVP had been offered 200k a week because Man City would offer 300k, that’s just the way it is

  30. I don’t know what will happen, but I hope Arsenal holds Van Persie to his contract.

    He is supposed to be here so that our new players have a chance to settle in.

    Whatever Van Persie says, this is about money. Any other justification rings hollow now that we have bought Podolsky and Giroud.

    I was disappointed, though not really surprised. But I am trying to get over it. We have got plenty of other great players, including the ones we bought last summer.

    I would also like clarification about Van Persie’s agent. Today’s Daily Telegraph said he was a Dutch person. Dein was not mentioned. But they said the Dutch agent had close ties to Manchester City. If anyone knows more, please tell.

  31. Jabba, the old wag, LOL! Said nothing, but futher confirmed my initial thoughts about him.

  32. Just looked it up on the internet. Several newspapers name his agent as Kees Vos.

  33. Pat

    Yeah..Kees Vos is his agent.. Darren Dein is involved with RVP as an ‘advisor’ (whatever that means) At least that is what I have read before.

  35. They usually have several agents , advisors working on big deals, apparently nasri had about six on the case.
    Very true pat, if you want to know the answer ” follow the money” , first heard that phrase as a kid….mentioned during the watergate scandal, but as an adult, I find it works every time!

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

    That, and the whole paragraph. Among other things in there. I bet you, if Anne was here she would tell you that that, is a threat. We’ll allow you to finish 4th this year, but if you don’t listen to what we are demanding, you will soon find yourself out of the CL. Usmanov, ladies and gentlemen..Just declared war.

  37. Usmanov has, but then, he was never going to go away quietly. Like vp, he is trying to tap into fans anguish and insecurities. His letter does damage the club. Approaching a Russian telecoms giant over sponsorship, without realising it was owned by usmanov is not smart.
    Is there a case for at least having him on the board? I am not convinced, mainly as I do not know enough about him, but could also say that about kronke. but does he have a point, is our model destined to fail? He mentions the originators of financial sustainability have long taken their tens of millions….clever stuff.
    Would Darren dein lay off if usmanov was on the board and his dad was part of the set up?
    My gut feeling is that we are doing ok without them all, but I would also say we could maybe have done better, I guess that is what they are trying to exploit. If we could win something, it really would make all the difference, but until we do, we will have to put up with this shite.

  38. Usmanov’s letter is business rivalry pure and simple, sugar coated in compliments to the fans and the manager. For his own reasons he wants to get control of Arsenal. He implies pumping in money guarantees success. But we ended the season higher than moneyed Chelsea. There is no guarantee Manchester City’s success will last either. In fact Arsenal has been the most consistent performer as well as playing the best football during the Arsene Wenger years. This is not even to touch on why people with lots of money buy football clubs – since their main aim is to make more money.

  39. The entire letter is littered with half truths and nonsensical twists of logic. I read the threat in them, because I think the referees performance is not a coincidence. That threat there is that we will be forced out of the CL. Unfortunately our ambitions may be lowered even further? They are saying the most we’ve let you manage so far is CL spot. In the future, we’ll take that away from you.

    It is intended to rile up the fans, but as far as I can tell, it isn’t working. We saw through RVP’s bullshit, and we see through Usmanov’s bullshit.

    If the board was only interested in money, why not sell to him? Wasn’t he offering more? If Kroenke is only interested in making money, and Usmanov is only interested in spending money for the good of Arsenal, make Kroenke an offer he can;t refuse, instead of whining in open letters how daddy won;t let you play with desired toy. Red and White thrive on harming Arsenal. It is all they intend to do. Fuck them.

  40. Red and white know what kronke and wenger also know, this club has put itself in a great position and will be going places. Ok maybe taking a bit longer than some expected, but come 2014,we will be in clover. Some may not want to wait that long, I can partly see their point, as that is not what we were promised but that is the way it is. But we still have a lot going for us in the present, worth not losing siight of that during the ongoing media onslaught. Reading certain papers, almost as if we are in a worst situation than rangers. We are not. Our best player has had his head turned and a business rival has taken advantage, that is all. As for the refs, I share your concern. But the ref performances in the euros, apart from a couple obvious examples looked pretty good, will the pgmol follow suit?

  42. @Shard

    I agree the Usmanov letter is full of half truths and bullshit. But, his letter is almost less effective than that of RVP – it is long, rambling and shows him up as a sour and malevolent presence seeking an opportunity to do harm and further his ambition.

    However, it is the fact that he chose to attack the club at this time that is both fascinating and worrying and in addition he was very quick to produce a 5 page document – it reminded me of a phrase from a long running children’s TV program – “and here is one I prepared earlier.”

    If he had prior knowledge about the RVP statement then the question that would need answered would concern the nature of any contact between Usmanov and Dein the Lesser and if one was using the other?

  44. where is Anne btw? Could really use her insights during this shit time thanks to an ingrateful backstabbing bastard and a pathetic fail of a PR stunt by our 2nd largest shareholder
    In one way or another im happy that Usmanov did what he did because many sensible people will see exactly what his true motives are and hence turn against him. tbh i would rather we have a silent owner who doesnt invest and stays away from team matters than one who wants it for his own personal benefits and destroy our club’s values and ethics.. Say no to Usmanov he can just gtfo.

  48. @Shard, It’s funny, I stated a while ago that AFC might just have to go to war with Usmanov. If he trully loved Arsenal he could do us all a favour and buy Man Utd then dissolve them and build a nice car park over it.

  49. I believe a wage cap in football or a return to contracts based on performance might be a way forward. If a player can only earn a certain amount this might remove the monetary influenced reasons to move clubs. But generally human nature is greedy so whatever rules are put in place the greedy will be working to get around them.

  50. @Adam: Now that’s a wonderful idea, about Usmanov buying Man Ure. But last time I checked, mafias don’t buy each others out. Maybe that’s the problem. 😉

  51. This entire charade of RVP, Usmanov, the media and of course our own fickle,whiny plastic fanboys screaming their indignation about the current Board being to blame for losing our best players year after year (actually only 2 years in a row) smells of a far more subtle conspiracy by Red & White Inc.
    My thesis has RVP and his ¨advisor¨ Dein the younger meeting clandestinely with Usmanov’s representative(s) over the course of last season and this cabal agreeing to pressure Kroenke and the BoD with a series of ¨unrelated¨ coincidences (RVP not resigning, our supposed lack of ambition etc.) which ultimately make the Board look ¨powerless¨ to prevent the inevitable dissolution of our Club due to their faithfully adhering to a self-sustainable model.
    This is basically what the Usmanov letter said…and what RVP also implied in his post. This particular game of chess is reaching its denouement….with our divided fanbase and easily agitated AAA clique being used as simple-minded pawns to put pressure on Kroenke and the Board.
    Wenger and his crew have little to do with either camp and almost no power to influence them and as faithful servants of all things Arsenal, carry on bravely while the political infighting rages and powerful forces battle to take control. This promises to be a very conflictual and confrontational summer for everyone associated with AFC. I can’t wait to get back to Football and let the rest play out as it may.

  52. i would hate to see my football club taken over by a bloviated ignoramus who doesn’t have to class to refrain from attacking the “club that he loves” hot on the heels of the former captain’s rejection of the “club that he loves.” as i said in a previous post, statues are bigger than medals. long after medals are relegated to the box in the attic of a great grandson, some kid will stop by the statue of thierry henry and ask his grandfather to tell him again of the exploits of the bronzed legend. no one will remember van persie’s box.

  53. Why not retain this guy and let him go when his contract ends. Why on earth we need to cash in by selling him to our rival. If you are selling him to Emirates club or a Anzhi, I have no issues. Why strengthen your rival by getting money for your best player. Financially it may not be right but on the footballing side, we will be having a most formidable attack. If Money is not everything we could do this.

    Why are key players not extending the contract even if we approach them with 18 Months left in their contract. There should be some answers for it. Either our vision or our money should be bad. I always feel the later is not that convincing. If Money is everything, we should have given our players better packages.

  54. @ Shard…

    I bet Anne will be up with a long theory in the coming week.

    What ever Usmanovs camp think they are, the timing of their open letter has just made my stand on him much stronger. I thought he was a leach and that he is.

    BUT RVP, I thought he would negotiate an acceptable fee for himself and sign a new deal, but his cowardly announcement has cost him my respect and I believe all of you share my thoughts on this…….

    As for our next captain….I feel we have a few candidates. Ramsey, Wilshere (when fit), TV5 (if he stays) and Szczesny. I prefer Ramsey, a strong character on and off the field.

  55. I really cant see how this situation could be prevented. When last contract was on table, RvP was fragile, spending more time with nurses and doctors than with teammates. Two years later he was still more off than on the pitch. Three years later he is here where he is, and as stated during season RvP didn’t want to talk about contract till end of season.

    Could anyone predict RvP will became such goal machine two years ago? Knowing his fragility would anyone anywhere offer him long term contract? Hardly.

    The only solution is to replace Gazidis with some fortuneteller, or to buy crystal bulb to Arsene, I see no third option.

  56. Armin

    Even having a fortuneteller won’t work, since others won’t see the logic in his dealings (and by changing the course of time, the events will change too) 🙂

    There is nothing to be done, but Van Persie is not as big a loss as Cesc was, and is not as big a loss to our future as Theo and Song leaving might be. Arsenal with Theo and Song and without RVP, is better than Arsenal with RVP, but no Theo and Song.

    I think we don’t sell him to City or ManU if at all we can help it. I’d take a loss to sell him abroad.. The only thing is, if we don;t give him the move HE wants, he might just use the Webster Clause. I wouldn’t put it past him now.

  57. Again there is saying “No one is bigger from shirt he wears”, so its clear what will happen to RvP, and for me it is clear even from Arsenal statement, where they say “strikers situation” (few weeks ago he was always CAPTAIN), though I just checked it, now they changed it in to just Robin van Persie.

    And to be honest I dont even care, for me he have same emotional value as dolls wearing Arsenal shirt in Armory shop.

    Maybe I am too emotional, but question is, was player who is able to do such thing, worth of offering better contract few years ago? From this point of view I am glad he will leave.
    So long and thanks for all fish.

  58. Just as well for rvp we showed a lack of ambition in our patience with him, doubt if he would have become what he has at any other club.
    In my opinion, the issues that does wenger the most harm is not financial prudence, but loyalty to his players, which he possesses to a fault.

  60. Buy , Robin , Buy . ( You ManShitty suckers !)
    Fly ,Robin , fly . ( With your filthy lucre )
    Bye , Robin , bye . (You ungrateful SOB )
    Up ,up in the sky

    Fry , Robin , Fry . (Remenber Icarus ?
    Cry , Robin , cry . (When your spirit &/or body is broken)
    Try , Robin ,try . (Try getting out of the hellhole)
    Up , up …oh what the hell- up,up your ARSE !

  61. @Domhuaille MacMathghamhna. You are spot on with your assessment. I also believe that there is a struggle within the support at board level to win control.

    As for the football at the club, there is no doubt that the team and the style of play is superb. There are areas of improvement necessary.

    The corrupt way that football is being controlled and the tapping up of players by the backdoor agent meetings has to be addressed. It is hard to proove but very obvious when looked at in hindsight.

    In my belief, God makes all decisions and RVP is best got rid of early and replaced by any of the players we already have. The way Arsenal play it is team work and not the individual that really matters. RVP will be making the worst decision of his footballing career leaving Arsenal and perhaps the most lucretive of his financial side.

    I look forward to Arsenals season and believe that there is some tremendous glory awaiting our supporters.

  64. Pat, Critic, Adam,
    To pick up on this again, I agree with Mandy’s saying there are multiple agents, and other advisors depending on the player, foreground and background. Not just one agent. There is a collective process, a team at work in asset-management. And on big decisions, advisors are there because of their acumen, prowess and connections – who they are, have been, and can deliver. Darren Dein has been document in the media as a – if not the – agent-advisor-deal broker for x-Cesc to Barca, for Adebayor’s moves to ManShitty and loans to Real Mad and Spuds, for Thierry Henry’s moves from us to Barca, from them to Red Bulls, and he has been mentioned at times in the press as van Persie’s agent, and, most recently, as Shard notes, as an advisor. This man is well-known in football circles as an uber-agent; he’s not just any team member. And, clearly, not everyone’s voice on such teams has the same weight. There are inner circles. To mention the Dutchman Kees Vos as his agent neither makes him the only agent, nor the major voice on the team. Darren Dein is not only part of this mix, but given his stature in football, in van Persie’s career, and, most recently, has had several press references as an advisor. There is no marquee publicity-seeking here; being out of the limelight is a necessary condition of their effectiveness. No one writing here is inside these negotiations; nor can assign exact weights and measures to this exact moment. But, imo, it is the utter depth of naivete to think or argue that a man of this Dein’s top-level connections – a broker among Barca, Arsenal, ManShitty, Real Mad – has been hands off in RvP’s decision making. Historically, his access to Arsenal’s world is obvious. And to caricature this line of thinking as blaming Dein the Lesser for being “the source of evil” is to deploy a cartoon in place of a counter-argument; it’s a superficial debating point, at best.

  65. Walter, Mandy,
    Right now it looks like we acknowledge that the youth project – that would have depended on loyalty – has in the main been defeated by the corruptions of mega-bucks. To me this is so. The hoped-for loyalty has lost to money-driven betrayal. However, this does not discredit the youth project. It actually discredits those “victors” who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing. If every league in the world finally devolves into a 2-3 team league, the defeat of the youth project will be a pyrrhic victory to the winners of the moment. Their model of victory, imo, will not be sustainable.

  66. p.s. to coin a phrase, they will have replaced a self-sustaining model with a self-devouring model – the SDM.

  69. I think a major problem is with the agents being freelance. If things were done slightly differently and agents were employees of a single club then clubs could be held accountable for all actions

  70. That said, pure appetite is run amok along a path from nurturing our young to devouring our young. The metaphors have all become real.

  71. Well the current policy appears to be a shift towards Gooner-gunners and last-chance-saloon players:
    Arteta/Podolski – very good players who’s careers haven’t turned out quite how they hoped.
    Mertesacker/Jenkinson – Arsenal supporters from a young age.

  72. Many options include:-
    * Permanent Employment contracts for players
    * Clubs to employ an agent instead of them working freelance
    * Contracts to include lower rate of pay for final year (to encourage re-sign or sale)
    * Contracts to include balloon payment upon successful completion
    * Pay as you play
    * Stipulate a maximum shareholding of 10% per person / company to remove sugar daddies

  73. Some absolute pillock text/emailed/twittered in to ssn yesterday evening saying how people thought that we couldnt replace Bergkamp and couldnt replace henry and yet the club kept going strong and I’m thinking to myself…..how is it still going strong ?? We have won nothing for 7 fcuking seasons so how is that going well ? Are fans so stupid that they believe that, for a club of our stature, finishing 3rd of 4th is going well ?

    Over the past few seasons we have lost henry, cesc, nasri and now rvp (this summer or next) and all due to a total lack of ambition in the club and that is unacceptable imo Talking the talk about ambitions is all well and good but you have to back that up with actions and the majority of us have recognised for a long time that isnt on the clubs agenda What message is that sending out to potential transfer targets ? The less established one’s would probably still be inclined to come and they would view us as a stepping stone to a bigger club but the experienced quality proven players will not come to our club with fcuk all hope or ambitions to win trophies – if a club isnt offering you the possibility of competing at the top level and are average payers as well then why would you sign for them ? What kind of message is it sending to our better players ? Sagna (in particular), tv5, mertesacker and to a lesser extend wilshire will surely be questioning their futures now and I would guess that podolski and giroud will be going through the fine print of their contracts at the mo to see if there is a loophole allowing them to back out of joining us

    Looking at the bigger picture, it’s worrying (to say the least!) that we have now become a selling club that seems incapable of holding onto its best players. We are now in the habit of selling those best players; Cuntley, Henry, Vieira, Petit, Fabregas. We most probably will sell RVP (our Board will want the money to buy some more flats ) and when his quality replacement comes along we will most probably sell him too.

    We simply cannot win the PL or the CL without a core of top quality players. Either way, selling RVP or letting him leave on a free sends out a terrible message to all players, current or prospective; it says “we have no real ambition to compete with Manure, Citeh or the Barcawhores, we are second tier

  75. Considering the boy will not renew it is time to get rid at 50mill or retain for last season off the bench with solitary training regime so as not to know tactics or socialise with team. It is the right way to treat an idiot who is influenced by outsiders and has such utter disdain for the professionalism of Arsenal. The likes of Dein, his spud Mrs and his buddy Alice are greedy bar stewards and should not be allowed anywhere near our players or our club.

  76. We all remember Hleb, Flamini, Anelka, Adebayor, etc. And where is their career now?
    Nasri Clichy and Fabregas are playing bit parts where they went.
    I knew there was trouble brewing when RvP was caught at Etihad as guest of (?)Marwood during the season. Arsenal is bigger than any one player. If van Persie(or any other player) wants out, Wenger knows how to handle it.
    I am not in the bit concerned about how good the team will be. My only concern is what the effect will be on the morale of the team. The team was coming together emotionally last season-you could tell from their attitude.

    This practically surmises my feeling after letting 36 hours go by after the van Persie news.

  77. @ Menace, I agree with you. I would even go as far as saying the club should cut out the cancer. Players that sign up with Dein should be treated like pariahs and we should freeze them out or put them up for sale if necessary. I think the club needs to develop a more ruthless streak.

  78. Byo,

    Don’t be surprised if the team feels betrayed too by Van Persie’s words and actions. If you think we take his lack of ambition talk personally, what about the people who it most condemns? The players. His teammates. Do you think they wouldn’t want to prove him wrong? I’m getting a good feeling about next year. There’s work still to be done, in getting some players out, and getting some players in, but the real work of a club, is not on the transfer market. It is on the training ground, and on the pitch. Something most in the media, and the likes of Usmanov, seem to want us to forget.

  80. Good bye RVP, nice having you for a few years. Probably a goodbye to theo too! I reckon the following will also leave: Fabianski, Mannone, Squillaci, Bendtner, Djourou.

    Now lets look forward to what we have left:

    GK: Sczesney, Martinez(?)

    FB: Sagna, Jenkinson, Yennaris, Gibbs, Santos,

    CB: Vermaelen, Kosceilny, Mertesacker, Bartley, Miquel

    CM: Arteta, Song, Wilshire, Ramsey, Diaby, Frimpong, Rosicky, Coquelin,

    Wingers: Ox, Ryo, Arshavin (not sure if he will leave), Gervinho, Lansbury (?)

    Strikers: Giroud, Podolski, Chamakh, Park, Afobe?

    Cambell and Denilson on loan already.

    Its not a premiership winning team, but it will challenge. key to the season is keeping Wilshire and Diaby fit to provide some spark in midfield. Possibly need a good winger, but that’s about it in my opinion. Arguably, we will be stronger than next year. We will definitely have a stronger start to the season.

    keep the chin up guys, we still have a great team!

  81. Agreed Bob. The youth project was right and always will be right whatever happens.

  83. @Mahdain

    For the past 2 – 3 weeks the Mirror have been producing a lot of anti Arsenal crap. It is almost as if someone with deep pockets was paying them to do so.

    I agree with Goona Gal that the influence of agents in general and Dein the Lesser in particular needs to be severely curtailed. (With Dein the Lesser gelding comes to mind!)

  84. More and more football journos are adopting the Talksport mentality of concocting contraversal stories to boost attention. Winding up supporters is the order of the day rather than insightful analysis. Once you start hitting misquotes you know it’s time to stop reading.

  85. Im not entirely sure what the answer is but I would have no hesitation in asking everyone joining the club to sign a 5 year contract and request after 3 years that they resign if they dont want to after 3 years sell them plain and simple we dont need players that are not committed.

    I also would go to war on certain players who have agents like dein find a new one or fuck off. You might say its not fair or possible BUT I dont agree its obvious there are certain people trying to create an unstable atmosphere at the club that should stop now.

  86. Jason,
    You’re peddling the Golden Fleece: Either way we’re damned? We’re put in the position by a cunning chess game: selling or keep and let leave; and you demand that we become a petro-ball team or we’re shite. Your win at any costs no matter what bottom line is clear, but it is (to take the high road) not the one and only journey. Imo, a strong collective effort without your 50M superstar addiction is also a possible way to a trophy. I too would like that trophy, but it is not only result that matters, but one of them. You are having a well-rehearsed, talking-points TANTRUM. Like Goona Gal, who said it best, it’s Boring. Last summer’s drivel.

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