How to Leave an Organization With Class: Something RVP Didn't Do, and Should Have Done

RVP sells his soul to the Red Devils

I know that I need to get over the whole Robin van Persie transfer saga but it's been a little over two weeks and I still can't believe how classless he behaved throughout the entire ordeal. It started with his July 4th "statement" on his website that he would not sign a new contract. After that he made no further comments or postings to give fans an update. Instead, he kept his loyal fan base in the dark all summer until August 15th when it was revealed that he had been sold to one of Arsenal's biggest and most hated rivals, Manchester United.

The initial shock is dissipating and acceptance is beginning to sink in. However, I was really hoping that after the dust had settled RVP would do the right thing. I must be naive as I really held out hope that he would attempt to make amends by issuing a statement to the Arsenal fans that had supported him and chanted his name for the past eight years. He had no problem putting out his initial negative statement to ruin many a Gooner's summer; he really owed it to Arsenal FC and its fan base to make some type of statement. Thank you is really something that the fans deserve to hear from RVP. At the very least he should give Arsenal fans an explanation. Instead, his silence has pretty much been interpreted as a big old Go F$@# Yourself.
Truly shocking.

Cleveland fans let Lebron James know how they feel

That got me thinking of some of the many instances where players have left organizations with amazing displays of gratitude to the fans. In fact, in many of these cases the athletes were sent packing by their teams and still thanked the fans. RVP did the opposite and held his club hostage. He certainly wasn't thinking of the fans, the club, his teammates that he was abandoning or the man that made him, Arsene Wenger. The captain of Arsenal had deserted and became a turncoat rather than the leader he was supposed to be. He is to North London what Lebron James is to Cleveland.

Here are some amazing examples of players that moved on with class:

When the Boston Celtics' guard Ray Allen signed with the Miami Heat (the Manchester City of the NBA) he was going to one of the Celtics' main rivals. Allen had been the subject of trade rumors during the season so he was within his rights to look out for his playing future. Regardless, Allen left with class as he placed a full page ad in the Boston Globe thanking the fans,the Celtics and the city of Boston.

Pitcher Ryan Dempster spent close to nine full seasons with the Chicago Cubs before being traded this summer. Before departing town, Dempster purchased a full page ad in the Chicago Tribune thanking the fans, the Cubs organization, his teammates and the city of Chicago.

Two other players that were traded prior to this summer's baseball trading deadline made sure to thank the fans of their respective cities. Philadelphia's Shane Victorino took out an ad in two area newspapers thanking the Philly fans that supported him for eight years before heading to the Dodgers. In Boston first baseman  Adrian Gonzalez found out that he was included in part of a multi player trade that also sent him to LA. On his way out of Boston, Gonzalez took to Twitter to thank the Red Sox faithful for their support.

After 13 seasons as a defensive end with Pittsburgh, Aaron Smith was released by the Steelers. In other words he was told thanks for all and now we're done with you. Smith could have been bitter, but instead he took out an ad in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette issuing one of the classiest thank you letters you'll ever see from a professional athlete. Smith thanked the fans, the Steelers organization, his teammates, coaches and backroom staff and the city of Pittsburgh.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have been perennial losers since becoming a part of the NHL nine years ago. Their captain Rick Nash was a loyal and successful player for the team. Despite loving the town and the club, Nash asked to be traded this past season in order to have the chance to go to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Although asking for a move, Nash had shown his loyalty through all the losing seasons and most fans understood his decision. Nash proved his sincerity with an ad in the Columbus Dispatch. The letter read:

“Dear Blue Jackets Fans,Thank you for the unwavering support you’ve shown me over the past nine seasons.I am so fortunate to have had the chance to call Columbus home and to say proudly I am from the Buckeye state.Thanks for the memories. Thanks for everything.Rick Nash”

In addition to basketball, baseball, American football and hockey, this type of gratitude has also been displayed  in soccer. Recently, US Men's National Team member, Geoff Cameron was signed by the EPL's Stoke City from the Houston Dynamos of MLS. Despite Stoke being one of the less attractive teams in England's top flight, it is still a major step up for Cameron and he would have been foolish to pass it up. Before departing for England, Cameron wrote an open letter to thank the Dynamos and the fans which was published in the Houston Chronicle.       

Geoff Cameron left Houston for Stoke
 and made sure to thank the fans

Closer to home, Arsenal have a number of examples of players leaving with class. Most notably was the departure of Arsenal captain and all-time leading goal scorer Thierry Henry. At the end of the 2006-2007 season Henry transferred to Barcelona. The departure of Chairman David Dein and uncertainty over the future of Arsene Wenger were part of the reason. Another issue was Henry's age. Historically Wenger does not like to sign players over 30 to extensive contracts. There were no demands or bad blood involved in his departure.

Regarding his decision to move on Henry stated, "I always said that if I ever left Arsenal it would be to play for Barcelona". He also added, "Because of my seniority the fact that I was a captain and my habit of screaming for the ball, they would sometimes give it to me even when I was not in the best position. So in that sense it was good for the team that I moved on." His love for the club and the fans was obvious in his last interview for Arsenal:

Not one ounce of class was shown by Van Persie throughout his eventual move. So after spending eight seasons with the club he rooted for as a child, Robin van Persie threw away all the love and adoration that he had garnered with no consideration for anyone but himself. Fans would have been disappointed with his leaving no matter what, but by doing so in such an ungracious manner and with no parting comments Van Persie has become one of the most hated figures in Arsenal history.

Matt Law recently wrote an article for The Mirror entitled Why Van Persie's ill-judged statement will taint his Arsenal legacy forever. In it he states:

"He might just rue the day he gave the okay on the statement that has immediately turned him from hero to villain in the eyes of Arsenal fans. The early indications are Van Persie's eye-popping statement came as a result of growing frustration that Arsenal were not willing to speed up negotiations to sell him. But this was not the way to go about things. If Van Persie really was growing angry, he should have been made to take a deep breath. Play the long game, do not disrespect the club and fans who have stuck by you through all the injuries. And, most of all, do not disrespect the Arsene Wenger – the man who covered for you for over a year. Just who does he think he is to try to dictate transfer policy and strategy to one of the best managers in English football history? Before he became the Premier League's top scorer and the Footballer of the Year, Van Persie was a forward who had made just 111 starts in seven years because of injury. Where was Wenger's statement questioning his fitness record? Where was Arsenal's statement asking whether Van Persie was worth his wages while he sat in the treatment room? Both had far more class." 

That Robin van Persie chose not to leave in a respectful manner and has not addressed it since has sealed his legacy as a despicable greedy and disloyal mercenary.

How to leave with class

How to give thanks

     

Robin van Persie Shows One of the Most Disrespectful and Blatant Acts of Disloyalty Ever

Disgraceful, Disloyal & Disgusting

Judas Van Persie

I am furious as I write this as I really never thought that this was ever going to happen. The ridiculous amount of speculation and false headlines led me to believe that this was just a circus act that was going to end in the right way. However, the just released announcement that Arsenal have agreed to sell their team captain and last season's top scorer to rivals Manchester United makes me sick.

Where to start? Let's start with the club. Arsenal, you are the employer. RVP was your employee. He signed a contract with you and had one year left. Just because he expressed his desire to leave the club does not mean that you have to give in to his demands. Perhaps the world of football is different than the real world, but you would never see such an act of insubordination rewarded anywhere else. If I had tried that with my boss, I'd be fired or severely reprimanded. If the club felt that RVP would have been a bad influence on the rest of the club, they should have decided what to do with him...you don't let the disgruntled player decide. If I had been in charge of the club, RVP would be playing with the reserves or would have been shipped off to some desolate wasteland like Donetsk or eastern Russia. Of course I understand the money side of the business, but there's also money to be lost by helping your competition to get better. What the hell are the people in charge of Arsenal thinking?

Na$ri - It's about the money

Then there's the timing. Arsenal have brought in three great signings this off-season and the early signs are that there is a new found harmony and unity in the Arsenal camp. Six weeks ago, RVP jeopardized this with his disgraceful public announcement via the Interent. "His" announcement was so smug and rude and obviously took swipes at certain factions within the Arsenal hierarchy. The comments were not addressed or mentioned officially by anyone inside Arsenal Football Club. Since then, it's been one annoying rumor after the other about where RVP will end up. There were at least six various destinations that were floated about with several of them being outside of the EPL. So what do Arsenal do, they wait until three days before the start of the new season to sell their captain and star player to one of their most hated rivals. What this will do to the morale in the Arsenal dressing room, I have no idea...but what it's done to the morale of the fans is CRUSH it. If you were going to cave in to Alex Ferguson, Arsenal sure picked the worst possible time to do so.

Benedict Van Persie

Last but not least is the player himself. Robin van Persie is showing such a lack of class, appreciation and respect that it's hard to put in to words without cursing up a storm. Arsene Wenger signed him when he was 20 years old and stood by his side for years while RVP was out injured, was accused of sexual assault and spent more time out of the lineup than in it. Supposedly RVP grew up an Arsenal fan and expressed how much he loved the club. After the departure of Cesc Fabregas last year, RVP was given the ultimate honor in being named the team's new captain.

As we all know, RVP had the season of his life last year and showed that Wenger knew what he had when he originally signed RVP. The fans loved him and sang his name with pride. When he released that vile statement of his on July 4th it was rather shocking. Whatever problems he had with the club, he owed it to the fans and Arsene Wenger to deal with them in a more private manner. All he did was add further discord to the club and cause a summer of discontent for the club's supporters. If it was so important to him to leave the club, he could have chosen to do so in a more transparent and respectful way. This was just unforgivable.

Guy Fawkes =RVP

I could never imagine world class athletes and team leaders such as Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter, Tom Brady, etc. publicly stating that they did not agree with the management of their team and demanding a trade to one of their clubs' rivals. How RVP could do this and how Arsenal could allow him to get away with this is beyond me.

RVP owes it to the fans and Wenger to issue a public statement explaining his actions and thanking them for their support. It won't take away the sting but his selfish and ill-mannered behavior has forever stained any respect he had previously earned from his supporters.

Robin van Persie is perhaps worse than Judas, Benedict Arnold, Guy Fawkes, Brutus, Na$ri and RYAN GIGGS (haven't forgotten that you slept with your brother's wife) combined.

RVP joins another traitor, Ryan Giggs

For centuries to come, Gooners will use the term "You are a Van Persie" any time they are betrayed. Van Persie is now a part of the vernacular for eternity. In the dictionary the meaning of Van Persie is "a pampered, overpaid, ungrateful, disloyal mercenary".

Et Tu RVP

50 Shades of RVP: A Summer of Rumors, Disloyalty and Greed

The star of our story

It takes place every summer. As soon as one season ends, the gossip and speculation begins. It happens at every club, but this year it's been Arsenal and one player in particular getting most of the attention. The Robin van Persie saga has been clogging the sports pages this summer and the football media have been having a field day. If every headline told a true story, Robin van Persie would be under contract to at least six clubs at this time. It's become a soap opera with an ending that is still to be written. Here are just some of the highlights from this summer's hottest story 50 Shades of RVP: A Summer of Rumors, Disloyalty and Greed.

March 10, 2012 - Manchester City strikeagreement for Arsenal's Robin van Persie
This one appeared way back in March in The National based in the United Arab Emirates. Hmmm, what a coincidence. This just happens to be the country where Manchester City's owner, Sheikh Mansour lives and is a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. Wasn't the regular EPL season still going on back in March?

The Sheikh rules his empire

   

May 22, 2012 - Why the Arsenal vibe is that RvP will stay a Gunner The transfer saga of the summer takes another twist...

Just two weeks after the season ended this headline appeared in the Mirror and made Arsenal fans everywhere very happy...but the winds of false rumors and yellow journalism were on the horizon.

Ivan Gazidis is on the case

May 23, 2012 - Cesc tells RVP to stay at Arsenal... one yearafter leaving them for Barcelona

How kind of our former captain that jumped ship just one year ago. Good old Cesc's advice; do as I say, not as I do courtesy of The Daily Mail.

Do as I say, not as I do

May 29, 2012 - Dutch ace Van Persie told to stay at Arsenal... by his mum!
The Daily Mail with yet another "exclusive"...this time it's Robin van Persie's mother that has told her son to stay at Arsenal. She is quoted as saying "Arsenal love him and that’s a great incentive to stay. Arsenal are a fantastic club'. This one really added to the soap opera theme as now "the family" were involved. We're all taught to listen to our mother. Will RVP do the same? Then again, did she really say that?

Mom knows best

June 16, 2012 - Dutch auction: Arsenal finally admit they will sell Robin van Persie... for £30 million

The Mirror goes from RVP will stay, to RVP will be sold. Confusion and speculation are everywhere. The Twitterverse is rampant with rumors and theories.

Will he stay or will he go Wenger?

June 20, 2012 - Wenger - Van Persiewill stay 

Leave it to Sky Sports to tell the "true story". No need to worry any more Arsenal fans, he's staying. Or is he?

RVP's agent Kees Vos

July 4, 2012 - Update For The Fans
Courtesy of Robin van Persie's own website, this one was Tweeted on the 4th of July and sent football fans in to a frenzy. Social Media was overloaded with RVP being called all sorts of things. Meanwhile fans of Oil Sheikh City Football Club and several others were already planning on having RVP in their starting lineup and deciding which mercenary that they formerly loved should be booted like trash to make room for a shiny new mercenary.

July 4, 2012 - ClubStatement: Robin van Persie
Touche. Arsenal's official website hit back with their own response to van Persie's posting. Rumors continue to swirl as well as conspiracies. Could it have been RVP's agent Kees Vos behind this statement? Was it a ploy to get more money?

July 4, 2012 - City fat cat:Van Persie opens door to £220k-a-week move to the champions
Now the fun and games really took off. Every paper, every sports blog and every broadcast had a different story. Here The Mirror tells us what "they think" is going on.

July 6, 2012 - Juventus could beat Manchester City to signing Arsenal's Robin Van Persie

RVP Italy bound?

The plot thickens once again, this time courtesy of The Telegraph. Italian champions Juventus are now in the hunt for RVP. I haven't seen anyone wanted this badly since George Clooney was named People's Sexiest Man Alive.

July 6, 2012 - Kolo Toure wantsRobin van Persie at Manchester City
This one from the London Evening Standard is priceless. Former Arsenal defender Kolo Toure speaking on behalf of Mercenary City. Funny, considering he barely qualified to receive a Premier League winner's medal due to his suspension for doping and then being used exclusively as a substitute. Yes, life on the bench has been good for Kolo Toure.

Kolo Toure invited RVP to join him on the Mercenary City bench

                   
July 7, 2012 - Now Barca ‘n PSG join RVPchase

RVP to Paris?

Leave it to The Sun to have the real story. Forget Mercenary City, Arsenal and Juventus...now Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain have joined the feeding frenzy.

RVP to Barcelona?

July 10, 2012 - RVP Gets City AdeOf course it's Spuds taking on another Arsenal reject to add more fuel to the story. So according to The Sun, Mercenary City, which bought Adebayor to Manchester, but now wants to dump him, will sell him to Spuds who will take any damaged goods in order for Mercenary City to steal another Arsenal player that they will eventually grow tired of and sell. Sounds about right.

Unwanted goods, Adebayor from Mercenary City to Spuds

July 11, 2012 - Fergie can drive a Van

Another day, another "scoop" from The Sun. This time it's Alex Ferguston and Manchester United in the hunt for RVP.

Fergie gets in on the action

July 13, 2012 - MANCHESTER CITYSET TO SEND KOLO TOURE TO TURKEYThis one comes from the Express. While it doesn't directly involve RVP, it's pretty funny to see that one week after Kolo Toure was begging van Persie to join him at Mercenary City, they are looking to toss Toure out on the garbage heap.

July 13, 2012 - EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal hopeful captain Van Persie will do'a Rooney' and stay

Is Stan the man with any plan?

Extra, extra....this "exclusive" comes courtesy of the Daily Mail. Just when Arsenal fans had fully vented their fury and gotten used to Arsenal without RVP, this headline hits. It's official now, this entire saga has become a circus.

July 14, 2012 - RvP set forArsenal's pre-season tour - unless a bid is made this week
With RVP returning to Arsenal's training camp this one is coming down to the wire. Arsenal's pre-season trip to Asia begins this weekend and the question still remains whether RVP will be on the plane or not...at least according to The Mirror.

July 15, 2012 - ROBIN VAN PERSIE SET FOR MANCHESTER MOVE
The Daily Star is the UK equivalent of the National Enquirer so keep in mind where this story comes from. According to NOBODY (they don't even have the brains to use the old BS standbys of "a source" or "an insider" RVP was spotted house hunting in Chesire. They go on to say that this signals it has come down to a fight between Mercenary City and Man United for RVP.

Ray Parlour

July 16, 2012 - Exclusive - Parlour: Arsenalcould swap Dzeko for Van Persie
Before finishing this posting I checked Google News for any updates on the never ending RVP story and found this one courtesy of talkSport. Here they take a speculative suggestion from former Gunner Ray Parlour and turn it in to the latest theory on the RVP saga.

Stay tuned folks as the next chapter of 50 Shades of RVP: A Summer of Rumors, Disloyalty and Greed has yet to be written.

Meanwhile, film rights for 50 Shades of RVP: A Summer of Rumors, disloyalty and Greed have been secured. No production date has been sent but the leading roles have been cast. They include

Robin Van Persie                                                Ryan Gosling
Arsene Wenger                                                   Gerard Depardieu
Roberto Mancini                                                 Antonio Banderas
Fergie                                                                  Sean Connery
Kees Vos                                                             James Brolin
Stan Kroenke                                                      Daniel Day Lewis
Ivan Gazidis                                                        Ralph Fiennes
Robin van Persie’s Mother                               Julianne Moore
Cesc Fabregas                                                   Gael Garcia Bernal
Kolo Toure                                                          Mekhi Phifer
Ray Parlour                                                         Ewan McGregor

RVP Shows Arsenal and Arsene Wenger a Total Lack of Respect

With the mercury reaching 93 degrees today, I spent part of the holiday afternoon inside watching the Mets and checking the news on the computer. It was here that I stumbled upon Robin van Persie's rather odd statement about his decision to not renew his Arsenal contract. To get the sense of what folks were thinking and feeling I turned to Twitter to see what was being said online and there sure was a lot. Instead of making a knee jerk reactions and venting my frustration via Twitter, I decided to sit and stew with this news for a while and compile my thoughts. Here are just a few:

North London is, and always will be, Red

1) Tottenham Fans - WTF? You are kidding, right? Yes you have the right to laugh and enjoy Arsenal fans' collective misery but are you forgetting you have your own in house problems? Your team finally had a chance to finish a full EPL season higher than Arsenal and your team couldn't even do that. It was being handed to you on a silver platter as Arsenal had one of their worst starts to the season in ages. Meanwhile, Spuds were dubbed the "darlings" of the league by football pundits for almost the entire season. For that failure alone you should be hiding your heads in the sand. Your "beloved" manager was first snubbed by England and soon after was unceremoniously fired by your owner. Meanwhile, your star midfielder tried desperately to leave for Chelsea last year, was forced to stay and; now can't wait to get out the door. So, laugh all you want Spuds fans, but you might want to take care of your own house first as you know we'll be laughing at you soon enough and celebrating St. Totteringham Day much earlier in 2013 than we did in 2012.

He spends when he wants, Man City's sugar daddy

2) Manchester City fans - Again, WTF? Until your rich oil sheikh sugar daddy came along to buy your club and then spend money like a drunken sailor to buy players that would then buy him trophies, your team were a piss poor second rate football club second class in your own city to the way more successful Manchester United. Now, after just one winning season purchased with oil money the club's supporters are running their mouths like they are fans of a big club such as Man United. Well, just to remind you, YOU ARE NOT a big club. You have a long way to go to reach the level of success of clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and YES Arsenal. In case you need to be reminded of your club's "legendary" history check out your team's yearly finishes (and in what division) Prior to this season, the last time your club won a title was ten years ago..and that title was Division 1. Laugh all you want, have your fun, but don't get too carried away as all of football fandom will collectively be laughing at you soon enough.

3) Robin van Persie was great for Arsenal last year and finally reached the potential everyone thought he had but was unable to display in previous seasons due to injury, better players ahead of him and other problems. Some of the idiotic comments being made toward Arsenal are that the club would have finished 16th without RVP last season and if RVP leaves the club, Arsenal are doomed. As you folks say in the UK, what a load of bollocks with no merit.

From Golden Boot to Golden Bench & Man U was fine

In 2011 the EPL's Golden Boot award was shared by Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez. So, how did those two players and their clubs' do this season? Well, Berbatov was left on the sidelines by Alex Ferguson and barely used, while Carlos Tevez went AWOL for more than half the season after refusing to play. Based on the above mentioned idiotic theories, Berbatov and Tevez' clubs should have been doomed...but guess what? They not only survived without each of these players, the clubs finished 1 and 2 despite the absence of their previous season's scoring leaders.


Then look at RVP's numbers in his 8 seasons with Arsenal. He has 96 total career league goals with almost a third of them, coming this season. That means that he scored a combined 66 goals in his previous 7 seasons, which averages less than 10 goals a campaign. Arsenal challenged in each of those seasons despite RVP's lack of production then...and they are certain to do so again with or without him. In sports as in the regular work world, everyone is replaceable.

What RVP looked like through most of his years with Arsenal

In any sport, one player does not make a team. The most painful part of the RVP saga for me is not the fact that he most likely won't be at the club next season, but the blatant lack of respect he has shown to the club and especially Arsene Wenger. Wenger stood by RVP when most fans wanted to dump the often injured player. He made RVP captain and gave him the opportunity to perform on the biggest stage. I truly thought that RVP loved Arsenal and his opportunity to lead the club to challenge for trophies. I really thought he relished the challenge and wanted to prove that teamwork and class can outperform greed. Sadly I was wrong. RVP's ego and over inflated vision of his own self worth have clouded his judgement and values.


As with Nasri and Fabregas, RVP was a part of the Arsenal teams that have not won a trophy for the past 7 years. Instead of accepting a bit of responsibility for this fact and working to correct it, he is running away and taking the easy way out. Of course it's tempting to go straight in to the arms of a sugar daddy and just be handed a trophy for spending the most money, but it would be nice to see a player want to win based on hard work, commitment and leadership. The best analogy of RVP's behavior is that he is acting like a happily married middle-age man who is hit on by a 21-year-old super model and unceremoniously dumps his loyal wife for an easy opportunity. Man City is that bimbo super model that has all the looks and is the current fad, but no substance. I'd personally rather be a big fish in a big pond than just another fish in a Sheik's kingdom.

There is no I in team, didn't RVP learn that at EURO 2012?

So, seeing that loyalty is almost dead in professional sports I thought it worthwhile to recognize several players that have stayed loyal to their clubs despite periods of hardship and opportunities to win elsewhere.

Loyal to Liverpool

Steven Gerrard - The current Liverpool captain has spent his entire career at Liverpool despite opportunities to move elsewhere. Whether you like Liverpool or not, it was Steven Gerrard's grit, determination and leadership ability that drove Liverpool back from a 3-0 half-time deficit to victory in the 2005 Champions League final. Since then he has continued to be his team's leader and inspiration.

 "I would have regretted leaving Liverpool. People on the outside, who don't have the bond I have with the club, may not understand that. They will make judgments and say I could have won my trophies and earned more money if I had gone elsewhere. 'But that's not important to me because I still feel I can win a couple more trophies with Liverpool and, if I do, they will mean an awful lot more to me."


Francesco Totti - Roma's captain has spent his entire professional career with the club despite some up and down years and opportunities to move elsewhere.

Roma's Totti

When asked why he hasn't asked for a switch to another team in order to win something more, Totti stated, "Because I grew up playing for Roma and I want to die playing for Roma, because I have always been a Roma fan."

Alessandro Del Piero - The Juventus striker is retiring after 19 seasons with Italy's Juventus. While Juventus has had much success over the years, Del Piero showed true loyalty by remaining with the club for the 2006-2007 season after their relegation to Italy's second tier of football, Serie B.

Del Piero remained loyal to Juventus

Despite Juventus not extending Del Piero's contract, he sent an open letter to Juventus fans. In his letter he states, “Above all what remains is the fans, you who are Juventus. That jersey that I loved and will always love, that I desired and respected, without breaks or discounts. I am happy that others after me can wear the shirt and above all the ‘10’ that has always had my name on it since they started printing names on the Bianconeri jerseys."

Ledley King loyal to Tottenham

Ledley King - (Yes, I am saying something kind about Tottenham!) Tottenham's captain has spent his entire career with the club which stood by him through injury problems. King's contract with Tottenham has expired and he will try to prove his fitness in pre-season training. If that doesn't work out, the centre back plans to retire.


King said: "Tottenham has been the only club for me and if I can’t play here then I shall look to be involved in another capacity."

While the final chapter in this story is still being written and there may be more twists and turns to come...RVP may have just ruined his Arsenal legacy with his actions. He has gone about this in a totally disrespectful manor and shown a lack of class to a club and manager that have been respectful and supportive of him through his highs and his lows.

Mets: The Good & The Bad, Arsenal: Who's In & Who's Out?

Who's got it?

The Mets surprised everyone during the first two and a half months of the season and turned a lot of naysayers (including myself) in to believers. While the aura has not yet officially worn off, it's getting close to that time. In the past couple of weeks, the Mets have played like what was predicted for the 2012 New York Mets...they have been both pretty good and then pretty lousy.

Duda watches strike three sail past

The Mets were involved in 4 series sweeps this month. The good: a crushing three game sweep of the Rays in Tampa and three in a row over Baltimore in Queens. The bad: The Yankees beat up the Mets over three games in the Bronx and the Mets kicked off a homestsand losing three in a row to the Reds.

Then, after losing 2 of the 3 remaining "Subway Series" games to the Yankees, the Mets went on the road to begin a series with the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs currently have the worst record in baseball and it looked as if things would begin to get easier for the Mets with the end of inter league play and a visit to the home of the woeful Cubs.

Jon Rauch gets the loss but this time it wasn't  his fault

Instead, after the first two games in Chicago, it's the Mets that are looking like the worst team in baseball.  The Mets have produced enough material for a full length blooper reel.  Errors, passed balls, bad throws, terrible base running and a lack of clutch hitting have made the Mets look a mess. In one inning, the Mets made three errors including two simple pop ups that resulted in three bases each.

Hopefully the rot will stop soon and the surprising Mets will return to the form that made this lovable bunch of underdogs exciting and inspiring.

One final baseball note...it was sad to see Kevin Youkilis traded from the Red Sox after all he had given to the franchise. However, it seems that the trade has made some residents of Chicago very happy.  All the Jewish grandmothers in Chicago are ready to invite "that nice boy Youk" over for some matzoh ball soup. Plus one former resident currently living in the White House seems pretty happy as well.

As for Arsenal, the silly season is here and the gossip concerns who's in...who's out and will he or won't he? Until there's concrete information on whether captain Robin van Persie is staying or moving on, it's just speculation from sports journalists based on "sources" that have no real information.

In, Lukas Podolski

In, Oliver Giroud

Will he or won't he

The No Name Mets are Making It Happen, While Arsenal Wait For News From A Big Name

It took 51 years, but it really did happen

With the EPL season over and the EURO 2012 Tournament yet to start, it's been pretty quite on the football front. That is however, unless you follow all the summer transfer gossip. For Arsenal fans there are two main topics of interest; will Robin van Persie sign a contract extension to remain with the club and which players will Arsene Wenger bring in to convince RVP to stay? I have pretty much stopped following the speculation as I've come to realize that it's just that. I recently read three different UK based papers that each had a different story on the RVP situation.

He's Gunner stay! Arsenal confident Van Persie will ink new long-term deal

Manchester City Nears $40 Million Deal for Van Persie: Roundup

Robin van Persie awaits suitors as he delays signing new Arsenal deal

The bottom line...no one in the media has a clue and "sources" allow journalists to write "stories", which then sell papers. Hopefully things will work out and RVP will remain club captain.
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Good times in Flushing

Kirk Neuwenhuis making folks remember how to spell his name

Meanwhile, the Mets have been unbelievably impressive so far this season. As I recently wrote for Bleacher Report, I owe this club a major apology. After the fall out from the Wilpons' involvement with Bernie Madoff and the slashing of the team's payroll everyone was predicting a pathetic and miserable season. I was right there with them. Reyes walked away and outside of David Wright, Johan Santana and R.A. Dickey the 2012 Mets looked to be a collection of misfits, under achievers and Minor Leaguers. The funny part is...that's exactly what they are. Despite being 80% made up of a bunch of nobodies these guys have come together as a true team and are playing some good ball. Despite the occasional blunder and somewhat regular bullpen meltdown, the Mets entered play tonight 7 games over .500. Only 4 teams in all of baseball have a better winning percentage than the Mets.

Johan finishes his no hitter

This weekend proved that no matter what happens the rest of the way for the 2012 Mets, this season has already been successful. The bright play, the maturing of young players and the team unity have made watching this team a lot of fun. Then Johan Santana took the mound on Friday versus the best hitting team in the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals, and he did what everyone in baseball thought would never happen. Santana threw a no hitter. The Mets and the San Diego Padres were the only two franchises in all of baseball to have never had a no-hitter pitched by a member of their staff. Santana's brilliant performance took that negative away for good and gave long suffering Mets fans the chance to cheer.




As I wrote in Bleacher Report, Santana's no-hitter was a double feel good story as it gave the franchise something to be proud of and, it was Santana that did it. The guy is a class act, a positive leader and a real warrior. Having missed all of 2011 due to shoulder surgery, Santana pushed through not having his best stuff and still completed what had previously been impossible.

The next day, R.A. Dickey came out and followed up Santana's performance with a complete game shut out of his own.

Not quite a no no but a complete game shutout is not too shabby

We'll see what happens the rest of the way. I don't really think this team is playoff material but they've really made Mets fans enjoy supporting their team. The ONLY downside to the Mets playing so well, is that it almost lets the Wilpons off the hook for letting their personal financial situation affect the club and its fans.

Nickeas with the grand slam

Mike Baxter saves the no hitter