Evening lads, hope you're all well. Have a read of the latest post on my fledgling blog. Would be great for some feedback. Read the blog http://the-beautiful-game.org/ Follow on twitter https://twitter.com/#!/beautifulgame9 Like on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheBeautifulGame9 --- Delaying contract talks â why do players do this? I know itâs supposedly a long, drawn out process in which the club and player (with/without the agent) negotiate a salary, add-ones, clauses and the length etc. But surely itâs not something that takes the best part of a year to agree upon. Some players openly come out and proclaim that âthere will be discussions at the end of the season,â essentially putting themselves in the shop window. One high-profile contract saga currently in the open is with regards to Arsenal hitman Robin Van Persie. The Football of the Year has been in irresistible form this season, with his most productive outlay in his Gunners career. This seasons form has led some to feel that he is probably the best centre forward in the world today, with supposed moves to Barcelona in the pipe-line in the summer. But his contract situation is such that discussions will take place in the four days between the final game of the season and him joining the Netherlands camp for the Euroâs. Four days. Surely he could have found four days or so during the last year to have talks about renewing his deal before, instead of leaving Arsenal in the precarious position they are now. However, Robin Van Persie has been pitching in at Arsenal for 8 years now, when he was supplementing the likes of Thierry Henry and Emmanuel Adebayor in some formidable Arsenal attacks. Yet interestingly, the flying Dutchman has never managed a 20-league-goal season, with his best season yielding only 18 last season. Some may say that he has had a perennial injury record that may yet come back to scare him, and Arsenal, at anytime. It can also be argued that by not being deployed as the main centre-forward as he is now, he couldnât get the goals, i.e. being played in a withdrawn position supplementing the likes of Adebayor. But Arsenal have never been so reliant on him as they are now. So if he feels that any contract Arsenal are offering is coming up short â he seriously needs to think about the club that paid his wages whilst he lay on the injury table for many months at a time. Too many seasons have been curtailed early for Van Persie, and Arsenal fans would be gutted to see another one of their superstars leave after a sustained period of form. This could be related to Samir Nasri, who jumped for the money, and to some extent Cesc Fabregas â both departures that had led some amongst the footballing echelons to believe Arsenal were coming more of a âselling clubâ. If Robin Van Persie leaves, then serious doubts about whether Arsenal will ever challenge again will resurface. Without doubt he is the player of the season, and his goal return this season has gone someway to repay the club that has stuck by him. However one swallow doesnât make a summer. If his form continues next season, then he should have the negotiating power, but for now â it would be a real kick in the teeth if he were to pack his bags and leave the ones who stuck by him. Comments welcome.
Simples, RVP is waiting to see what happens on a number of fronts; 1) To see if Arsenal qualify for the Champs League next year 2) To see if Arsenal make any long needed decent signings 3) Most importantly he will want to see how much Arsenal offer him relative to what his agent tells him he can get if he moves. IF 1 & 2 are positive it will then depend how deep Arsenal's pockets are but my feeling is he will not re-sign for less than £125K/wk
