By 1970’s Gooner
This is incredible. Arsene Wenger sells Patrick Vieira at least a year after his sell by date had expired but now four years later he wants to bring him back!
What absolute rubbish!
Patrick Vieira was on his last legs in his last two seasons at Highbury but at least when Arsene got round to eventually selling him we got a good price for him.
He returned to face Arsenal in the Champions League with Juventus later and was a nonentity in that game. He then went to Inter Milan where in his last season there has not really been a regular player.
I happened to watch him in a Champions League group game last year in Europe and I felt sad for him. He was off the pace and all he restricted himself in doing was to receive the ball (not win it) and pass it sideways to a colleague.
He has after all reached the 33rd year of his life. His box to box forays and staying power is now a thing of the past.
Remember Arsene has a policy of not offering contracts to players who are or will be over their 30th birthday!
Robert Pires had another good year left in him at Arsenal but no, he had to go and as a result Arsenal was starved of his experienced services and suffered for it. Henry and Vieira himself were also off loaded for mainly the same reasons.
But now Arsene Wenger does not rule out the possibility of Vieira coming back:
"It is a possibility. We do not rule it out and we do not say we won't do it. There is a football decision and also a psychological decision over a player of that stature who could come in”
I think it is quite evident that what Arsenal need above all this season are strong and experienced defensive midfielders which will, together with Song, Diaby and Denilson provide a small pool of players that will complement Fabregas’s ingenuity and forward moves.
But what Arsenal certainly does not need is a worn out warrior from days past who will embarrass both himself and Wenger with his ineffective and perepatic performances.
The fact that Wenger is actually thinking of bringing Vieira back is indicative of either a severe lack of cash at the Arsenal Football Club or the clear intention that no more players of note will be brought in.
A cop out.
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38 comments:
Nice little rant, but I think you have got way ahead of yourself. Even IF Wenger brought Vieira back, it would surely be for his impact behind the scenes as much as his actual on the pitch contribution.
What makes me laugh is that you're implying that Wenger has lost his marbles along with a multitude of other 'bad' decisions the best manager Arsenal have ever had has made.
If Vieira does come back, it will be to impart his vast experience onto the youthful players in which Wenger wants to replace Vieira himself.
You hit the nail on the head. Not often that I completely agree with you. While his return could give a strong psychological to these young players an injury prone player is hardly a strong motivational tool. At any rate, Wenger is just playing game. He would sooner buy back Henry than bring back Viera.
He did buy Syl. though so u never know. We will know buy the end of the week though.
Agree with you. I think he is just using this as a distraction to feign disinterest in players he really wants. I think they are encouraging a lot of crap stories to ensure that they do not look too interested in the players that really matter. There is no way he till take Viera back.
Strong view but fair comment...
You must be out of your mind.
Vieira's presence is essential for the team. The guy is a proven winner, a great footballing leader, a natural captain, and mentally we are nothing like the side he once LEAD. He has so much to offer for inexperienced players in our midfield, they could learn so much from him. We need a player that teammates can look up to. Who fits better than Vieira, really?
If AW brought Silvestre, who played for a rival club (and was rubbish there just as he's rubbish for us), he could bring back an Arsenal LEGEND like Paddy.
I can understand your view 1970's as it the decision to bring back Vieira would go against everything Wenger would normally do.
My heart says bring him back, my head is mixed.
It could be a smokescreen, but with Wenger who knows?
Maybe the real reason people would want him back is to keep him from signing for Spurs!
Oh I see you following the M Palmer example;
spout negative, hackneyed, cliched crap.
of course Vieira wouldnt be a 1st team regular, any one with an ounce of football insight would know that. his presence aroud the training pitches, etc would be a real boon to the young charges, but nope, you would rather spew bile to try and get hits.
well done
Some people are never pleased. He will be brought back more as a mentor for Song and Denilson if he is brought back.
Your blog is the worst out of all I've read on the net. You are exactly the type of supporter we look to eradicate. Stop writing. now.
This 'article' is full of contradictions - as are most of your that I've read. You always smack of a 'naysayer' attitude, it sickens me. Appreciate our great club.
"mature approach" is mentioned in the headline of your blog. Couldn't be further from the truth.
Sorry mate, you are dead right. Apologies for the previous post, I have not taken my medication for a few days, and things are beginning to happen to my head....again..:-o
Last legs, in his last 2 years...wasn't one of those years an unbeaten season?
If you want to rant about a legend try to keep the facts straight.
REally? You think that Arsenal will not need a player like Vieira? Or better, let me paraphrase the questiom... Do you think Arsenal will not need a man like Vieira?
His leadership qualities and experience are exactly what the young players at Arsenal need.
At the price of £750k, I would say that is even free for the player we would get.
Pires chose to leave Arsenal because he, himself had said he was hurt by being substituted in the Champions League final, in Paris, infront of his friends and family, ect. You're analysing Patrick Vieira's playing ability and not the more potent attribute which he will add to the squad, experience.
Were you watching the same Vieira I was? Trust me he has got a lot more in the tank! He was injured most of last year....but when he played he distributed, tackled, and read the game well. Bring him back so the boys can see how it's done! You will thank AW when we are cashing in on new trophies!
Welcome back from hibernation, 1970's. I'd have to agree with you here. There's no way Patric can have any positive effect on the team at this stage. "No one puts new wine into old wineskins". It'll just mess up Fabregas, who supposedly took over from him. We need prime experience, not past.
without all the sobs and panting, look at the simple fact that we can get an experienced player for free and keep him on a pay to play salary. he won't see a lot of minutes. he might only last a year or two. but he's free. how can a player of his experience hurt the team? wisdom in the locker room goes a long way amongst our adolescents - especially when we just sold two experienced players. trust arsene or go join the board.
and put some math behind your rants, rookie. it's okay to be emotional and i understand if you are having a rough summer, but everything is going to be alright. we are all here to support you through these rough times. perhaps you need a day off. you could go to the market, get a huge tub of ice cream, then just sit at home all day watching barbara streisand films. just let the tears flow. i bet you'll feel much better come next week.
I suggest people watch Inter games before jumping all over 1970's Gunner. Vieira was a true Arsenal great but I was very disappointed (and suspect Wenger was too) when Vieira changed his mind at the last minute and didn't leave a year earlier (and for about 7mm less!) than he eventually did. He's had a relatively healthy pre-season but I don't think you can count on him for much more than a few decent appearances. But Vieira will only join a team if he can get enough playing time to make the French national team and Wenger cannot promise him that. I think Wenger's statements about Vieira are more out of respect for him as a person and not wishing to humiliate him by rejecting him out of hand.
Just because a player isn't world class any more doesn't make him useless for the squad. Experience and a big heart for the club is always important, look at Sholes and Gigs if you want a living example :P
You are talking out of your arse. Your little rant is straight from that wanker's arse at The Sun. If you must post your views make sure they are your own and not taken from Howard's Friday's piece in The Sun.
You're misinformed on the over 30s part but I do not want to see Vieira come back. He can teach younger players some things people say, well what the hell are the coaches being paid for. The fact is, Vieira's shit, that's right, Vieira's shit. He's no longer the amazing player he used to be, he'll just serve to ruin his image if he does join and many Arsenal fans' memories of him could be tarnished.
But the main reason I don't want to see him here is that it'll be another Silvestre like signing. Sad old excuse for a position that we desperately need a great player for.
what does perepatic mean?
In the artcile you write that Arsenal do not offer contracts to players over 30, this is not the case. Wenger offers short term deals to players over 30, usually a season at a time. Some players (Bergkamp for example) accept this, other players choose to take longer contracts elsewhere (Pires for example).
I could see Vieira coming in as a player/coach, but don't seeing him playing too much. As you say, Vieira was past his best when we sold him 4 years ago. Ifg I were Arsene I would swallow my pride and ask Milan how much they want for Flamini. Won't happen though.
Sorry if my spelling is no good, not my first langwage.
you are misrepresenting the 30+ policy. players who are over 30 do get contract offers, they just don't get multiple year contract offers. they can choose to keep on signing one year deals or leave.
Wenger has stated a decision needs to be made.... for Football and psychological reasons....
As with any signing this would we must assume include a medical....
Your article ignores this fact and assumes that because it is Vieria Wenger is making acceptions.... I highly doubt that Vieria will re-join Arsenal due to this reason (medical) - after all Vieria has stated he wants games, as he want to make the World Cup finals....
Shock headlines are only posted to gain hits - and it's normally the weaker sites (like this one) who post such headlines.
Wenger has yet to make a decision on Vieria yet - so the Headline is a cop out, a mis leading lie.
I respect your comments as I think your blog is very fair in its comments. However I do not agree with today's post. Vieira's coming back would provide a morale booster for the whole club as a whole - both on field and off field. I think that Vieria himself knows that he won't be able to play through the whole English season. However his experience and presence will inject confidence in the team. I for one am all for this transfer
Along with Vieira, we should get Tony Adams and other legends too -- what an impact they will have behind the scenes; leadership is what these young players need; get TA, Keown, DB10, if possible catch Brady too; legend Pat Rice is not doing its effect it seems -- get some more.
Vieira's 33, you start at 0 not 1, therefore he's reached the 34th year of his life.
calm down gels....if paddy does rtn it's to complement someone such as BLAISE MATUIDI who he wil also purchase& who knows..paddy might,just might,have one glorious year left in the tank.along with his never say die attitude,woudn't that be worth taking a chance on?
You are an absolute muppet, just another "supporter" who reads too much of the negative shit spewed out by the likes of Sky and The Sun. Suddenly every supporter is a genius and Arsene is a befuddled, doddering old man who's lost the plot. If Arsene is considering bringing Vieira back, legend that he is, he will have his reasons. Go buy a sky-blue shirt and support the abu dhaby mancs. I won't be frequenting this blog again anytime soon.
"Remember Arsene has a policy of not offering contracts to players who are or will be over their 30th birthday! "
Rubbish. The policy is to not offer multi-year extensions, not to not offer a contract at all. Where have you been?
"Robert Pires had another good year left in him at Arsenal but no, he had to go and as a result Arsenal was starved of his experienced services and suffered for it."
Strangely, you are not smarter than AW. AW was also aware he had another good year left in him. That would be why he offered him a one year extension. Pires wanted at least two more years and AW wasn't prepared to break with his policy, so Pires went somewhere they were willing to give him a multi-year deal. Your claim is just utter nonsense.
If you don't think Vieira is worth bringing into the squad at this point, fair enough. I don't agree but I'll respect your opinion on that. But don't resort to whiny revisionist history just to try to get people to agree with you. Too many of us remember things as they really happened...
Bring back Patrick Viera. We need a leader on the pitch and whatever anyone says about Patrick he is a born leader. He is also still good enough to play for Arsenal and still to be the captain of France. He is a Gunners legend and one of the best captains we ever had. He still has the motivation and the ability.f
i started reading this blog because it came up in a google search result for 'arsenal blog'. i read them all and don't pay too much attention to where the opinions are coming from. but after going back a few weeks and actually paying attention to the heap of manure that this blog continually accrues, i can confidently remove arsenal analysis from my list. thanks.
Vieira could be an experienced backup of center half..
Wenger lifted the FA Cup again in 02/03 before delivering, in my opinion, what deserves to be viewed as the pinnacle in English football; a 38-game unbeaten season with ‘The Invincibles’. Only one other team (Preston North End, way back in 1883) had accomplished the feat but in completely different times in a completely different type of competition.
Maybe it was Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s injury time missed penalty, or beating Chelsea twice, or thumping Liverpool 4-2, or Arsenal clinching the title at Spurs, but the magic that still shrouds that unforgettable season will never be forgotten. “In Arsene we trust” and at that point - more than ever before - we all did.
Since then however, things have slowly gone slowly downhill. Arsenal had reached the top and had to come down to earth at some point. The unbeaten streak came to a halt at 49 games against Manchester United and defeat was a bitter taste that rudely greeted us all. All was not lost though as Arsenal once again lifted the FA Cup in 2005 - but with Vieira’s match- winning penalty came the end of an era.
During the following off-season we saw the departure of Vieira to Juventus for a fraction of what he was actually worth. Henry followed in 2007 and with those two losses went the leadership quality that Arsenal so desperately need. Since then there has been the silverware drought with Arsenal coming agonizingly close on a number of occasions, but never quite close enough. Increasing numbers of fans have turned against the club and become tired with one transition season after another. And some have begun to trust Arsene less than ever before.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel and we must realize that it is unfair to heap the blame on one man’s shoulders. When clubs come calling with more money than us the departure of top players is inevitable. Hleb, Flamini, Adebayor - just to name a few - left for the sort of money that our club just cannot give.
However, as with every year since Wenger took over there comes a crop of promising new youngsters and this season is no different. I strongly believe that this year could be the year and it’s time to repay Arsene for all he’s done in the past by putting our trust in him again
Victoria Concordia Crescit, which is Latin for “victory comes with harmony”, is the long standing motto that is embedded into the history of Arsenal. The motto goes hand-in-hand with the club’s current playing style, which was introduced by Arsene Wenger back in 1996. When he joined the club as a relatively unknown manager with two stints in Japan and France under his belt, I doubt many of us saw the prosperity he’d bring to Arsenal.
Wenger turned things around at the club with a brand new training regime and a new style of play. His new style of play brought fluidity, movement and grace to each and every attack - something that Arsenal supporters hadn’t seen before. And although there were doubters and those who claimed that “passing the ball into the net” wasn’t efficient, most of us were happy with the more than occasional with the success it brought. It made “1-0 to the arsenal” an almost forgotten theme; with Wenger’s football 1-0 just wasn’t enough.
The Frenchman made an array of signings early on in his career (such as Henry, Viera, Overmars, and Petit) which laid the foundation for his success. The smart signings continued and slowly so did the trophies, starting off with the double (Premiership and FA Cup) in 97/98 and another double back in the season of 01/02, made famous by Sylvain Wiltord’s winner at Old Trafford and Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg’s FA Cup belters against Chelsea.
Wenger lifted the FA Cup again in 02/03 before delivering, in my opinion, what deserves to be viewed as the pinnacle in English football; a 38-game unbeaten season with ‘The Invincibles’. Only one other team (Preston North End, way back in 1883) had accomplished the feat but in completely different times in a completely different type of competition.
Maybe it was Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s injury time missed penalty, or beating Chelsea twice, or thumping Liverpool 4-2, or Arsenal clinching the title at Spurs, but the magic that still shrouds that unforgettable season will never be forgotten. “In Arsene we trust” and at that point - more than ever before - we all did.
Since then however, things have slowly gone slowly downhill. Arsenal had reached the top and had to come down to earth at some point. The unbeaten streak came to a halt at 49 games against Manchester United and defeat was a bitter taste that rudely greeted us all. All was not lost though as Arsenal once again lifted the FA Cup in 2005 - but with Vieira’s match- winning penalty came the end of an era.
During the following off-season we saw the departure of Vieira to Juventus for a fraction of what he was actually worth. Henry followed in 2007 and with those two losses went the leadership quality that Arsenal so desperately need. Since then there has been the silverware drought with Arsenal coming agonizingly close on a number of occasions, but never quite close enough. Increasing numbers of fans have turned against the club and become tired with one transition season after another. And some have begun to trust Arsene less than ever before.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel and we must realize that it is unfair to heap the blame on one man’s shoulders. When clubs come calling with more money than us the departure of top players is inevitable. Hleb, Flamini, Adebayor - just to name a few - left for the sort of money that our club just cannot give.
However, as with every year since Wenger took over there comes a crop of promising new youngsters and this season is no different. I strongly believe that this year could be the year and it’s time to repay Arsene for all he’s done in the past by putting our trust in him again.
I think he's only considering Viera because he doesn't need a box-box player but someone to play in the middle of a 3 in his new system (4-3-3) which Paddy might be able to do
Thanks for the post
Agree with you. I think he is just using this as a distraction to feign disinterest in players he really wants. I think they are encouraging a lot of crap stories to ensure that they do not look too interested in the players that really matter. There is no way he till take Viera back.
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