I've said it all along, RvP needs to be our number 9 with Mata/Kagawa number 10. Rooney is not good enough for either. Hopefully Louis v G will get a good sum for sending Rooney on his way (or reinvigorate him to his form in the 09/10 season).
Robin van Persie | 2012-14 Performances
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I don't even understand how this dynamic has even developed, given that they're not really competing for places and usually start together when fit.
Because if we set up our team with the right balance, especially bearing in mind what type of players we're looking to bring in, they can't both start.
Christ, this thread has gone to shit.
Jesus...
It's always best not to ask. The same way you wouldn't ask why RAWK is the way it is.
So we should fill the forum with ridiculous arguments about which one we hate and which one we love? No, they're our two best players and we should be behind them both, regardless of whether you think they can play together or not.
Personally, I think the man behind the '95 Ajax side, one of the best examples of total football in history, would find it amusing that some bloke on an internet forum thinks he can't fit his two best players into an effective team.
How does not playing them together necessitate ridiculous arguments?
I see it as fairly self-evident that you won't always feature your best players because tactics and team balance lead to different line-ups. Of course, they can play together. But Rooney is not that mobile and neither is our midfield. Van Persie, unlike Rooney, does not really work unless he's up top. This debate has been done to death, there are pros and cons.
Whether players will bow down to LVG's methods and philosophy remains to be seen. Especially those who are more important than the rest. I'm sure exceptional people in football with brains would find quite a lot of what's said here, in the papers, on other forums and in commentaries during matches tedious.
The best players don't always make the best team. Fitting Rooney or even Van persie is on name alone makes no sense. We need a natural number 10, which isn't Wayne Rooney. We have the choice between two high quality no.9's. Van Persie is the better player, but Rooney also has his qualities which make him valuable. There may even be systems where both can play together.
Or 2 strikers with a number 10 behind them like this:
RvP------Rooney
-----Mata--------
Lovely, what about trying to then form a balanced team behind them?
That's the part which fails because we just don't have any good central midfielders to support it. A Milan (under Ancelotti) formation could work if we had 3 solid central midfielders behind them (like they had Pirlo, Seedorf and Gattuso) and two full backs who would provide the width. In my opinion this is the way for us to go in whatever formation we head towards (having two fullbacks to provide width) because our current set of wingers are absolutely nowhere near good enough for us to rely on wing play. Not to mention a no 10 behind 2 strikers is the only way we can accommodate the three best players at our club (bar De Gea).
I don't think anyone is disputing this! I just think a lot of emphasis is put on Rooney and RvP not being able to function together (when they've actually had some very good games together), when I feel the problems lay elsewhere. Midfield, as you state, but the wings as well which haven't been good enough for a while now. But central midfield is definitely where we need to fix things, it's the engine of the team and it's not good enough.
What are you saying? My point was exactly that whether or not they can play together, it's ridiculous that this forum always turns it into a situation where everyone has to decide to hate/criticise either one or the other. As fans, it makes much more sense for us to accept that they're both excellent players, and support both of them.\
They'll do what they're fecking told under LVG. Count on it.
And as I said, wait and see what he thinks when someone asks him whether he can fit Rooney and RVP into the same starting XI effectively. He'll laugh his head off. He's made a career out of fitting brilliant players together into every formation and system imaginable. This is one of the all-time great total football managers we're talking about. You think he can't get one of the best support strikers and the best strikers in the league playing well together?
Just saw his goal vs Ecuador. fecking marvelous.
The replay from :54 seconds is glorious. Everything seemed to be in sync straight after that wonderful touch.
Great ball from Clasie too.
The replay from :54 seconds is glorious. Everything seemed to be in sync straight after that wonderful touch.
Great ball from Clasie too.
It was a fantastic finish, hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more of that next season from Robin.
The Guy when fit is the difference between winning or not winning the league, we need him fit next season and now we have a manager who know's how to cater for him in regards to keeping him fit, cannot wait for the new season already!
The long ball to RvP was criminally under utilized last season when you consider how good his movement, control and volleys are.
Remember the game vs Palace in September (2-0, Young dive). Rooney played a marvelous ball over which Van Persie brought down perfectly and smashed it against the crossbar. Bar that I can't recall much. Doesn't help obviously that he was so isolated and had both CBs against him because there wasn't any player occupying other defenders allowing him to move into the vacant space.
The ball rarely went through the middle...let alone aimed towards the forward. Looking forward to that instant change under van Gaal. He won't stand for that tumescent shite!
A little harsh Rio played a few.
He just couldn't get it anywhere near our players.
When I saw that goal I thought it was a shame he didn't do enough of it for us this season. I understand he had little service, but even when he did have service he missed A LOT of easy chances which has been his career for us so far. I really think he couldn't be arsed last season, and it really showed.
Van Persie is the new face of Hugo Boss
Nice read that.
Absolutely love how much he admires Van Gaal. Not for the obvious reason that he's a United player and I hope that relationship to continue but for the fact that it shows the sort of respect and admiration that Van Gaal can forge with his players. I can't wait to see him fill our squad with confidence.
No one ever said:
I'm sure Fellaini's said it in private once or twice.
Nah, he generally had his mouth full.
Yep, especially considering how well we'd used it the season before (Fergie's last), and how well Arsenal did the season before that (a few very nice ones from Song stick out in my memory).
I remember a few from this season just gone which don't quite come off - he hit the bar a couple of times from balls over the top like that, iirc. But we weren't using it nearly enough. A lot of that is down to the fact that Carrick had such a disappointing season - under Fergie, he was almost always either the long ball threat or the man to make the space for a long ball from someone else like Rooney/Rio. Ultimately it all rests at Moyes' door.
Who said he wasn't captain material?
Great article in the Guardian - everyone should read it.
Manchester United striker Robin van Persie has been finding form whilst preparing for the World Cup in Brazil and setting himself targets for the future. The Dutchman's career has been interrupted repeatedly by injury but he's quoted by Voetbal International as saying that he wants to continue playing for Holland into his late 30s.
Van Persie said "There are not many players who are playing for their national team when they're 36. I wonder how long I can make my international career stretch. I want to play until I'm 38 or 40 for Oranje. The longest of all. That's one of my goals in my career."
It's a good job Sir Alex Ferguson has left Manchester United because he'd have probably been trying to persuade Van Persie to retire after the World Cup in Brazil and save himself for his club, but there appears little chance of that.
In October 2013 as Manchester United's season was falling apart, Van Persie played in a qualifying match for Holland which they didn't really need him to. On October 11th he played against Hungary and scored a hat-trick, becoming his country's all time top scorer, the team won 8-1, but Van Persie was playing whilst injured.
"I played that game anyway with a broken toe. That was not fun, I had a lot of pain. We thought that the toe was bruised... Later turned out to be a fracture. Now I can tell you that. The moment you have such an injury you must conceal better. Otherwise your opponent knows it and that's not convenient."
Van Persie, with his broken toe, went on to play on 15/10 for Holland, and then five more matches in a few weeks before he had a lay-off due to injury. Perhaps not playing matches he doesn't need to do whilst having a broken toe would aid his long term fitness.
Van Persie said "There are not many players who are playing for their national team when they're 36. I wonder how long I can make my international career stretch. I want to play until I'm 38 or 40 for Oranje. The longest of all. That's one of my goals in my career."
It's a good job Sir Alex Ferguson has left Manchester United because he'd have probably been trying to persuade Van Persie to retire after the World Cup in Brazil and save himself for his club, but there appears little chance of that.
In October 2013 as Manchester United's season was falling apart, Van Persie played in a qualifying match for Holland which they didn't really need him to. On October 11th he played against Hungary and scored a hat-trick, becoming his country's all time top scorer, the team won 8-1, but Van Persie was playing whilst injured.
"I played that game anyway with a broken toe. That was not fun, I had a lot of pain. We thought that the toe was bruised... Later turned out to be a fracture. Now I can tell you that. The moment you have such an injury you must conceal better. Otherwise your opponent knows it and that's not convenient."
Van Persie, with his broken toe, went on to play on 15/10 for Holland, and then five more matches in a few weeks before he had a lay-off due to injury. Perhaps not playing matches he doesn't need to do whilst having a broken toe would aid his long term fitness.
Well, that explains his poor performances, then. It's amazing to think that, even with a broken toe, he could still score several goals for us and the Oranje.
I wonder if Rooney went to him for advice before the Bayern Munich match at the Allianz...
Just read that article. Man love. 
Also think about the number of times he hit the woodwork specially in his first season. There were many outstanding attempts that crashed the bars.
I do remember that van Persie always goes through a period where he doesn't seem to convert any chance he takes into a goal. He did that during his best season at Arsenal where he frequently missed shots. This period normally comes up from January to March (sometimes April).
I don't think he should take much criticism for this season. His strike rate (goals/min) was still amazing (best in his career I think I read somewhere?) considering we played so shit and the service to him was more suited to a big man striker like Carroll. Not forgetting his injuries. The criticism he has received this season has been way disproportionate.
Great article. I quite enjoyed his Table Tennis anecdote... hasn't Juan Mata said he's very good at Table Tennis? I wonder who would win....
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