I was going to post an open letter to our captain this morning, a little light hearted dig at his foolishness this summer. So I get up, make coffee, and sit down with a fag (Ed. Note - That’s a cigarette, not a former New Jersey Gov.) in front of NewsNow - this has become an unwelcome morning ritual for the last month or so, strange that, cos I kind of remember doing the same last year, and the year before that, and? ho hum? So, anyway, expecting to read that he?s left us for a superstar circus of a football club, I scan the top stories only to read absolutely nothing new what so ever. Deciding to hold my fire for a few hours I settle down to work, confident in the expectation that Arsenal will announce his departure by lunchtime.
Show how much I know doesn’t it?!
The thing is despite my relief at retaining the services of one of the best midfielders in the world, I am left with genuinely mixed feelings about our captain now and I guess I have a few things to get off my chest.
First and foremost Patrick, I simply can’t comprehend why you would leave what is certainly one of the best run clubs in European football, for a team like Real Madrid?. A club who?s training regime, according to David Beckham, is not even as good Man Utd?s let alone Arsenal’s; a team who only last summer treated your friend Claude Makelele so badly he was forced to leave, despite the protestations of his colleges; a team where the manager only picks half the team, and is forced to sign one superstud attacking footballer a year, despite the needs of his team; Jesus Patrick, this is a club which shamelessly thinks it can buy success at the highest level, that changes it?s coach at least once every two years, that considers a season a failure if they get knocked out at the Quarter Finals of the European Cup, AND that has no respect at all for the defensive side to the game of football, preferring to think that any team with aging, attacking footballers the calibre of Figo, Ronaldo, Zidane, Raul and Beckham will always be successful. What were you thinking?
Then there is the question of why you?d want to leave Arsenal in the first place? Sure I may be a bit biased but honestly, what’s the deal? You say your happy in London, that people respect your private life and that you enjoy the cosmopolitan city. I can tell you from experience that Madrid is a dump. It?s too hot, I can’t really see you fitting in to the glamour of the lifestyle, it?s mile from the sea (miles from anywhere in fact) and most importantly Arsene Wenger lives in London.
I’m not in the business of telling you who to pay your dues too, but I would have thought that you would have realised that without that man, you would not have risen to the professional heights you now enjoy, and that it is probably in your interests to remain under his guidance. One of the key aspects of Wenger?s coaching style is that somehow, he manages to give players the freedom and the confidence to play to their strengths on the pitch.
You would not enjoy that freedom at Madrid. You would not be the same player. They want to buy Patrick the holding midfielder. They want you to sit back and guard their temperamental back four while Zidane and Beckham et al prance around doing pretty tricks for the President. Arsene wants you to be the complete central midfielder, and he?ll let you play like one.
You see Patrick, on the pitch Arsenal?s football revolves around you. Sure, I read that interview in L?Equipe when you said that the whole team plays for Thierry, but we play like that because you?re so awesome in the middle of the park. In fact, Arsenal’s narrow yet flank based attacking style relies on you defending high up the pitch and holding the team together.
Having said that, I wouldn?t want you to be under the impression that I think your central to the success of Arsenal Football Club. Sure we may have to change our style of football a bit, but perhaps it was due a change some time soon anyway. No doubt you?re aware that we have replaced players deemed irreplaceable before, but have you stopped to think that those players often never regain the form they had under Arsene?s tutorage? Think about it, Arsene has made you the footballer you are, but he also maintains your ability. You?d have got worse if you?d gone to Madrid ? just ask David.
In fact there are times when I think you may even have a negative effect on the club. You have a very enigmatic public image. It is hardly helpful for such a high profile member of the squad to stay quite on issues such as his loyalty to the club, or on whether or not he thinks we have the quality to win the champions league, after he has inevitably been miss quoted by the British gutter press. I have to admit that my major emotion on hearing that you were staying was ?oh no, does that mean we have to go through all this again next year??. What must the rest of the squad be thinking.
It?s not so much that I feel I deserve your loyalty, or have the right to hear your views on these matters, but I think that sometimes it would do the team good if you commented on such rumours occasionally. You?re the team captain for god sake! Despite the denials of the squad, I can’t believe it does them any good at all to have to contend with the endless speculation you seem to provoke.
Then there is the issue of the captaincy itself. Do you honestly think you can retain it this season? Can you honestly say that Arsene would not be justified in giving the armband to Ashley Cole, or even Sol Campbell? How will you react if that happens? And in any case, how can you captain a side who you clearly think doesn’t have the quality to succeed at the highest level?
What worries me most of all is that you don?t seem to realise just how special a thing you came close to leaving behind this summer. At Arsenal there is a belief at the highest level that we are creating something truly exceptional at the club. Despite occasional successes in the South, British football has been dominated for 50 years by clubs from the North of England. Under George Graham and then Arsene Wenger this oligarchy has been broken down, and they are now on the verge of giving the capital the stylish, cosmopolitan football team it deserves. Sure, we?re still in the embryonic stages right now, and things could still go horribly wrong. Even worse, unless you commit your future to Arsenal and go on playing into your mid thirties you may not be at Arsenal when the success really starts to kick in.
But then I don?t think that should matter to you. If you stay, (and I don?t mean just stay this year, I mean come out publicly and say, ?Arsene is the man, Tierry is a god, this team is amazing, I was an idiot to even countenance leaving, and when can I sign my 8 year unbreakable contract please?) then you will be remembered above all others, as the leader of an unbeatable team, who showed faith and loyalty when success was not assured and who hopefully (although it doesn’t really matter), steered the team to the European Cup.
Isn?t that better than being though of as just some money grabbing idiot who left a great team and went to Madrid to win the Champions League?
9 Responses to “Dear Patrick Viera…”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
August 14th, 2004 at 2:07 pm
Well said and written. Straight to the points. I guess by now he had notice how stupid he was and made a big joke out of himself and looking like a fool. Like most of the morning papers mentioned he really have a long way to go.
He is not Micheal Jackson, but like Micheal Jackson some of his fans will stick by him but the whole country is looking at him thinking, ok ….. When it comes to respect definite he had lost it. As my old man said football had change and if Beckham is the national captain what stops Vieira. Think about it.
Well they say there’ s one born every minute and Vieira obviously believes Arsenal fans fall into that category as he can say this and you believe it. I bet you read the Sun and think its gospel as well.
Good luck to the boys tomorrow and once a Gunner will always be a Gunner
August 14th, 2004 at 2:31 pm
Exactly. When the story first broke I made list of reasons why he might want to go to Madrid and found, a bit to my surprise, that there were practically none. Not even financial ones - he’s actually Arsenal’s best-paid player; he gets a lot here. In addition there was something contemptuous (tinged with racism, I think) in the statements Real made about him. I’d guess their contempt is what tipped it in the end. Plus the love and respect he gets here from the fans, Wenger, his team-mates. However, it was a very close thing. I’m absolutely convinced he intended to go.
So why? I decided it had to be something completely irrational, some kind of mood - of discontent, restlessness - that comes over him EVERY summer. I don’t resent him for this; I think it’s outside his control, something to do with his makeup, his personal history; he don’t suppose he understands it himself. But, precisely because it’s irrationa, it is very bad news as it’s going to happen again and again.
No Madrid won’t be back for a fourth try; nor will ManU. But someone will, and, I’m afraid, the reasons that made him decide to stay with us this time - cosmopolitan city, excellent money, brilliant manager, young team-mates, etc. etc. - won’t be nearly so compelling when the next suitor calls. You’ve guessed it: Chelsea.
I love Vieira - and, strangely, I believe he really does love Arsenal - but I hope we’ve learned out lesson and got his replacement lined up.
August 14th, 2004 at 2:58 pm
?I can understand their feelings, yet this was a decision I had to make by myself and for myself”
But Vieira admits he now faces a battle to win back the Arsenal fans? trust, after keeping them on a knife-edge for two months. He sound very na?ve like some of the fans and don’t believe a word he said. As club captain I dont think so and will be the most watch player this season. One wrong step and he will be in for a long hole.
As a Gooner, I have mixed emotions about Vieira. I?m glad he stayed but his decision was motivated more by cash than love for the club.
Nice article as well.
August 15th, 2004 at 3:05 am
Vieira: How Wenger played his great gamble and won
By Nick Callow
15 August 2004
http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/arsenal/story.jsp?story=551570
“Ars?ne knows.” There has been a banner that says so at most Arsenal games since Ars?ne Wenger won the Double in 1998. But Wenger lost some of his cool by taking the ultimate gamble after last Sunday’s Community Shield defeat of Manchester United by going on television to give Patrick Vieira a week to decide between Arsenal or Real Madrid. Was Wenger, as usual, holding a few aces up his sleeve? Did Ars?ne know? No. This time he was bluffing.
“Yes, it was my biggest gamble,” he admitted, “but we didn’t think there was any other way of dealing with the situation. I was surprised and relieved that Patrick decided to stay.” Arsenal believe Vieira was tapped up when he was with France during Euro 2004. It was around then that he told Wenger and the Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein that he had grown out of the Highbury family and wanted a new challenge as a galactico in Madrid. They tried to dissuade him before deciding the greatest show of love is knowing when to let go and bravely allowed Vieira to choose between the remaining three years of his contract at Arsenal or Madrid.
If Vieira would go, what was there to stop Robert Pires, Thierry Henry and Sol Campbell following suit? Dein thinks they will all stay now: Campbell will sign a new deal inside two weeks; Kolo Tour? signed up until 2009 on Friday; Pires is onside; Wenger is committed too, and Arsenal will move into their spectacular 60,000 capacity stadium in two years’ time with a team to match.
Mindful of his role at the forefront of sorting out the Football Association’s recent scandals, Dein also revealed how he was dining at Wenger’s house, about an hour from completing the transfer to Madrid on Thursday night, when Vieira invited himself round for a final chat.
“It is clearly the time of the year for flirtation,” Dein laughed before explaining how he will complain to Fifa that he believes Vieira’s head had been turned by people he refused to name, but believed to be a sponsor, an agent and a player in Spain.
Wenger and he had eaten “late on Thursday night”, Dein said: “It was literally just prior to signing off an agreement with Madrid when Patrick came in and his first words were ‘I cannot leave Arsenal’. It was very emotional and dramatic. It had obviously been running through his mind for some time, but he came to the decision himself.
“There was no money involved, no contract extension, nothing like that, and we would never have gone down that route,” Dein added.
“Patrick had started this back at the beginning of June when he told Ars?ne and me that he wanted to leave and go to Madrid. We tried very hard to dissuade him, but his mind was made up and these things have to run their course. We have experience in these situations and what you never do is to rush the decision.”
Dein intends to take a complaint to Fifa and personally question the “three men” he holds responsible for undermining his club. Being reluctant sellers, however, Arsenal needed time to get Madrid up to the ?24m fee they felt represented value for their best player. That time also allowed doubt to grow in Vieira’s mind. “It was eight weeks of torture. I’ve felt like the fire brigade on Guy Fawkes’ Night for the past few weeks,” Dein admitted.
By Thursday they had agreed a fee and believed Vieira’s personal terms were sorted to the extent that Wenger thought “Le Grand Sausage” was leaving home.
Dein insists: “I’d like to think we are a tight family unit and I think he couldn’t leave the family. Stories about Patrick falling out with team-mates were all part of the nonsense too.
“The board were unanimous that we didn’t need to sell him, but likewise we were not going to go against Ars?ne Wenger. If he felt selling Patrick was the right thing to do, we wouldn’t stand in his way after what he had given us for eight years.”
Le Boss was not prepared for Thursday’s U-turn and forced Vieira to prove he was staying for the right reasons. Wenger added: “I had some concerns. I said he must be convinced that this decision will have a positive effect on him. It is not only the club’s future at stake, but also his career. He told me that he feels he can develop the rest of his career at Arsenal. I think he feels that the club is moving on and there is no stagnation.
“I hope that this won’t come up again next season, but this year we got closer than ever. What I expect from Patrick now is for him to roll his sleeves up and get on with his job. But I know Patrick and I know he is only happy when he is winning, and personally I have no doubt about his commitment.”
All smiles now, of course, as Arsenal go to Everton today seeking their 41st consecutive game unbeaten in the top flight, one short of Nottingham Forest’s record, with Vieira nursing a thigh injury for two more weeks and Campbell out with an Achilles problem. Henry, Pires and Freddie Ljungberg could play a part despite carrying assorted knocks. What will Arsenal do if the players are not passed fit? Ars?ne knows.
August 15th, 2004 at 7:23 am
Excellent piece. More please.
August 15th, 2004 at 8:10 am
Top Bloke. After all, there is someone left here with a huge football sense. Kept reading the FT and the rest of the board sheets. Please come back with another fantasy article. No one really knows what is going on inside PV’s head. Probably, not even his wife. Galacticos always have their way.
I love that quote ..
?Then there is the issue of the captaincy itself. Do you honestly think you can retain it this season? Can you honestly say that Arsene would not be justified in giving the armband to Ashley Cole, or even Sol Campbell? How will you react if that happens? And in any case, how can you captain a side who you clearly think doesn’t have the quality to succeed at the highest level?
August 15th, 2004 at 10:58 am
WandsworthGooner…
Great article. Call me a romantic but I think he came to his senses. I don’t think Arsenal would have jacked up an asking price at the last minute unless they wanted to scupper the deal - that’s no way to do business and by all indications Arsenal is a honorable team.
Also personal terms? Come on now will Madrid let a player they’ve called ?the best at his position? go over a million a year or so?
I think it happened the way it did - he came to his senses. Was foolish behavior. As I write Arsenal is 4-1 up on Everton, a team that always gives us a hard time. Vieria is not in the team. I have no doubt we’ll prosper without him. Any repeat of this ?Vieira complex? and Wenger should sell him faster than we can log in to post complaining about the whole madness.
August 15th, 2004 at 6:09 pm
While we looked very good out there today…
bear in mind that Everton might be the worst team in the premiership and they didn’t have their best player in Wayne Rooney.
Rest assured much tougher tests will come our way, and we’ll need PV4 in those.
August 16th, 2004 at 11:14 am
Got all that cynicism out of your system? I hope so, because this is the last thread I read on this shite.
I suggest getting over it, or you might miss out on one of the best years for AFC ever.