july 22nd
The Vieira situation is really starting to annoy me now.
I know Arsenal fans are split into two camps. Those that believe there’s no smoke without fire, and those that think these Vieira to Madrid stories that surface every year are just the work of the tabloids who have nothing better to do. I’m in the in the no smoke category.
We know for certain that Marc Roger, Vieira’s previous agent, spent the summer of 2002 trying to engineer a move for Patrick to either Real Madrid or Manchester United. While Vieira was on holidays in America Roger fed stories to The Sun about how Vieira wanted to move, how Arsenal lacked ambition, how our summer signings were not deemed good enough by our captain. Furious Arsenal dug in, banned Roger from the training ground and his time as Vieira’s agent was doomed.
Last summer we had similar stories about Madrid before Patrick did us the great favour of signing a new contract and leading us on a magnificent unbeaten season. This summer Euro 2004 was hardly over before Vieira’s PR machine went into action again, and stories of an imminent move to Madrid started hitting the papers.
Now, maybe it’s just bad luck that for three summers running Vieira’s team of agents and PR people have been trying to engineer a move to Madrid, or at least make it look like they’re trying to do that. Last season I’m sure the Madrid rumours were created to provide him with a strong bargaining position when it came to negotiating a new contract. You have to wonder what this years rumours and stories are all about.
Is it because he wants more money from Arsenal or is because he actually wants to go and play for Madrid? Either way his behaviour is now beginning to become a bit of a problem. ‘Hang on a minute’, you say, ‘Paddy hasn’t actually done anything. He hasn’t opened his mouth.’
And therein lies the problem. Vieira’s agent has been talking about Madrid having to contact Arsenal about a move. The usual agent-speak bullshit when we all know fine well he, via one of his and one of Madrid’s intermediaries, is well aware that Madrid want to sign him. His PR people are feeding stories to the papers to keep the story buzzing, and all the while Vieira is silent. We have the locker clearing story, which I know some of you doubt, but I have it from a very good source – as do others – that this is true. We have his team-mates about to head off to Austria tomorrow resigned to the fact that their captain won’t be with them next season, but then I hear tonight that he could well travel to Austria after all.
And all the time the fans are worrying, bickering, sniping, quoting this source and that source. One says he’s going, he’s signed for Madrid for €35m, Sol will be captain next season blah blah blah. The other says he’s staying, he’s been away and hasn’t been able to comment, and anyway it’s all tabloid bullshit so what are you worrying about?
The bottom line in all this is that you have to begin to question Vieira’s commitment to Arsenal football club. If he was 100% committed to Arsenal he would have knocked all this on the head before it started. He must surely realise that the fans suffer these stories, and I do mean suffer. It’s gut gnawing stuff thinking he’s going, then all of a sudden he’s staying. It’s bad once, but three summers in a row is taking the piss a bit. I don’t buy the incommunicado bit either. If Patrick Vieira was fully committed to Arsenal he could have taken two minutes, just two minutes, to tell his agent or his PR person ‘Release a statement rejecting any Madrid advances. Say that I’m proud to be Arsenal captain and I’ll be around next season’.
Some of you might say ‘Why should he make that kind of statement when he’s said it before and on the end of season DVD blah blah blah?’ I might ask you ‘What would it hurt for him to make that statement if he really wanted to stay?’
If he wants to go to Madrid and play football he should just stand up and say ‘I want to play for Madrid’, and most Arsenal fans would say ‘Ok, thanks for the memories and great performances. Good luck, Paddy.’ – although his agent would probably have a heart attack as he’d most likely not receive the ironically named ‘loyalty bonus’ he’d receive for not requesting a transfer. If he wants to stay at Arsenal he should just say that. Spare us all the hassle.
It’s too easy to pass the blame on all this to Vieira’s agent and his PR team. At the end of the day they’re in his employ and he is responsible for what they do in respect to his career. If he says to his agent ‘Get me a move to Hull City, I want to experience life in a town that smells of dead fish and cat shit ’, and his agent does just that but things work out terribly for him, is that the agent’s fault? No, he’s doing what his client tells him. If they work for him, if they earn their living from him, then ultimately he’s responsible for their actions and their behaviour.
I’m tired of the Vieira story now. I don’t know what to think any more. What I do know is that the manager, Vieira’s team-mates and the fans, us, are having to put it with behaviour and a set of circumstances from the captain of Arsenal Football Club that I don’t think is appropriate for somebody in that position. We’ve got pre-season training ahead, there are younger players that look up to Vieira, there are senior players that surely know what kind of game is being played. He could go to Madrid, he could still stay. Either way it’s not a good situation for Arsenal in my opinion, and it needs to be sorted out once and for all now, because quite honestly I can’t be arsed going through all this again next summer.
In other news Arsene Wenger has said he doesn’t envisage any problems with extending his contract at the club which expires next summer, Martin Keown thinks Vieira will stay, The Sun reports that the deal for Mathieu Flamini is done for a fee of around £1.5m and Ray Parlour will not be amongst the travellers to Austria as he said a sad goodbye to Arsenal yesterday. The final stages of his deal to Boro will be tied up shortly. Edu wants to go play for Barcelona – according to our Brazilian “I’ve known of their interest in me since January. I already play for a great team at Arsenal — but for me Barcelona is a very special club.”
From the relative calm of two weeks ago, it’s turning into quite a summer for Arsenal fans.
