Jul 24
Yesterday morning I had a sense that things had changed. It seemed that for most of the week things continued to heat up and they reached a boiling point on Thursday.
Then Friday came and the speculation seemed to have died down a bit. Now arsenal.com report that Vieira has arrived for training camp. It’s still possible that Paddy will move on, but now I feel it is more likely that he won’t. I still think he acted in a manner unbecoming for a captain, but I think now that he will stay. Stay tuned over the weekend…
6 Responses to “Should he stay or should he go now…”
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July 24th, 2004 at 11:21 am
It cannot all be speculation and selling newspapers. Something untoward has been afoot.
However and whenever he goes, I just hope that AFC gets a good deal out of it. THere is quite a lot of tactical moves yet to be made by Wenger and Dein. I think this is where the story is now. I am over the shock that accompanied the thought of a season without Vieira. (Captain Campbell and Henry actually play better, look more and more matey each time I see them; Edu and Gilberto, unshackled, step up and play blinders; Reyes and Pires combine for 35+ goals; Ljungberg returns to form, or Pennant shows his worth; the defense doesnt keep so many clean sheets but Lehman doesnt lose his cool, and Cole and Lauren/Trabelsi contribute more to outscoring the opposition rather than keeping clean sheets; with Van Persie, Pennant and Aliadiere, perhaps even Reyes, Arsene finally has attacking substitutes that can make a difference; weak opposition have a go, rather than sit back, and the arse blow them out by half time.
The worst scenario is he stays, plays reasonably well but not well enough to convince that his mind is not elsewhere, thereby destabilizes the team chemistry, sets a bad example for the young lads — and with Parlour and Keown gone there is a dearth of leadership and experience to shape young champions — and then blows his knee and no one wants him in January, let alone Real for ?30m.
The best scenario is obvious — he convinces everyone he wanted to stay all along, everyone pulls their weight come April b/c they want to win (whether Vieira is off or not come 2005), and Arsenal challenge for important trophies. Obvious, except perhaps for this bit: whether Vieira stays beyond this seaon or goes for ?25m in 2005 won’t be so relevant next year b/c Wenger will have lined up a successor, and the youngsters will have seen him lead by example for a full premiership season. Next summer, ?25m for a 29 year old who perennially misses 2 1/2 months of each season with knee injuries might be very good business indeed.
See, I told you I had gotten over the shock of losing Vieira.
July 24th, 2004 at 12:04 pm
I don’t think we are doing our captain enough justice here. He has been a loyal servant of the club since ‘The Wise Owl’ came in, and I don’t think he’ll go and do a Nicholas Anelka on us, now.
As for his actions not being becoming of a captain . . . I must say that I do not agree. What if he comes tomorrow and says, I’m not going anywhere, and then Real Madrid come up with an offer that Arsenal simply CANNOT refuse.
Vieira is a fantastic player, no doubt, but let us not forget, that Arsenal used to win trophies before him, or before any of these lads here today. There are rumors floating around about Arsenal’s interest in Portugal’s Manice (who, I believe had an excellent Euro 2004) and he’s not a bad player at all. We are yet to see how ‘The Wise Owl’ plans to blend the new signings he got into the squad, and there’s no guarantee that his tactics won’t change a bit to accomodate the two left-footed players. (RVP11 and JAR9). This or some other change, could see Vieira’s current role of holding midfielder not as significant as it has been in the past, meaning that his leaving would not be a devastating loss. I think we should not let our trust in ‘The Wise Owl’ waver seen as he may have made some radical changes in the past, but he ultimately has not disappointed us yet!.
July 24th, 2004 at 3:22 pm
Has to be good news that he’s back with his teammates and where Wenger can be at his most persuasive. Great that the kids, including three trialists, beat Graz, a Champions League side.
July 24th, 2004 at 4:41 pm
Paddy or no Paddy…by my count, The Arsenal are still unbeaten.
July 24th, 2004 at 4:46 pm
Aaaaand…Spurs can’t seem to record a decisive result. They drew 2-2 against League one Hull, even with their star Dafoe.
Hmmm…our youth beat a CL side who won their double this year.
Mind the gap.
July 27th, 2004 at 11:38 pm
Now, the Spanish press is saying Pat V. has agreed to terms with Real. Arsenal should let him go and get the most they can for him. He’s been great for the club, and we’ll always love him (at least we should). If Arsenal wait too long, he’ll still leave, but we won’t get what he is worth (ask Spurs about Sol). Let him go on good terms so we can all remember the good times and not let his departure ruin the memories.