I trust Wenger’s wisdom over self-interest of RVP
WHO would you want to be responsible for the policy and strategy of your football club?
Would it be a star striker in the middle of contract negotiations out to earn himself a mighty personal fortune? Or would it be a world-class manager of 25 years experience, a manager of vast achievement, a manager who also happens to possess a degree in economics?
Would it be the self-interested Robin van Persie? Or would it be one of the most intelligent men in football, Arsene Wenger? No contest. When you think about it with a clear head, even for a moment, there can’t be a shred of doubt.
That’s why the words in a statement from Van Persie last week were not only foolish, they were also a cruel betrayal of the Arsenal manager Wenger for whom he also professed to have ‘loyalty’ and ‘respect’.
“My goal has been to win trophies with the team and to bring the club back to its glory days,” wrote Van Persie on his personal website.
“Unfortunately, in this meeting (a contract discussion with Wenger and Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis) it has again become clear to me that we, in many aspects, disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward.”
Van Persie declined to go into details of this disagreement, but the player’s vision is bound to involve spending far more money than Arsenal wish to commit themselves to – more on wages for players like himself and team-mate pals, more on transfer fees, more on the rapacious demands of agents.
Has he worked out all the financial jumped on the Van Persie statement to start an unlovely and potentially destructive public civil war at Arsenal.
In the last week, of all weeks, wasn’t it crystal clear why Arsenal are correct to spend within their means and put long-term financial stability above ‘chasing the dream’ of silverware at any cost?
Look at the example of a major club like Rangers in Scotland, plunged into liquidation because of vast debts, and the new company Rangers kicked out of the Scottish Premier League, a tour of Germany cancelled and future status deeply uncertain.
All round Scotland the mood is for Rangers, like errant bankers, to be punished properly for their financial horrors – and quite right, too.
Down south in England there is Portsmouth FC, still blighted by years of money madness, still in significant danger of oblivion before the new season begins.
And then there was a revealing admission from Manchester United about the potentially debilitating nature of their massive long-term debts.
It was announced that the club will be listed on the New York stock exchange (why not London?) and sell new shares to pay off some of a £423.3million debt. That came alongside news of being registered as a new company, Manchester United Ltd., to be based in the tax haven of the Cayman Islands.
“Our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial health and competitive position,” said one bleak sentence from the club’s American owners, the Glazer family.
Reading those words, is it any