I want to make it clear that I am not of the camp which wants to sell Vieira. I think it is a common fault of all of us supporters to want to cash in when our most integral players are well, not giving their most. We all see what future dollars (or pounds!) can/will/may do for the club when they are translated into a fantastic player possibility. Anyhow, I think Vieira shouldn't be sold, but here--http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/comment/story.jsp?story=595127 is a pretty good article maybe you've already read. It's about commitment, and the drive which makes players kings really, at least for many of us.
I think Vieira is doing what Ballack did last season.They are both holding midfielders who like to get forward. Last season Ballack was terrible compared to his previous 2 seasons (last at Leverkusen and first in Munich). He has come back this season after almost being sold and played brilliantly. Probably been Bayern's best player so far this season even above Makaay. I guess what i am trying to say is that he will be back if he is a good player.If there is no improvement then ship him out in a year from now.
'pretty good article' - you're having a laugh surely ! If there is anyone on this earth that hates Arsenal Football Club more than James Lawton then they must be hiding it very well. Look back on all the articles he has written on Arsenal - complete garbage.
I want our old Vieira back. On current form he should be loaned out to Ipswich! Get well soon Paddy, you're obviously ill cos there's no excuse for your drop in form
The article was spot on - Lawton may or may not be Anti-Arsenal but everything he writes here is true. I suggested a few days back we give Vieira a break, put him on the bench for a game or two and see if that shakes him up a little. Everyone goes through a poor run of form but PV4 looks disinterested at the moment.
Interesting article, but Lawton is a bit over the top in saying that Keano is still at the top of his game....arguably true that he's been more consistent than Vieira. IMHO, Lampard, Makalele, Gerrard and Graveson have been the best central midfielders this season. Keano and Vieira wouldn't crack this bunch (and Paddy can't even say that he's the best central midfielder on his own team this year!...that goes definately to Cesc). Mind ya...Vieira wasn't properly prepared in preseason due to injury, and of course, his mind was being played about by Madrid in the summer, so that didn't help. Its going to take just a little bit more time for Patrick to get back into form, especially without a winter break that continental teams have to recharge their batteries, Arsenal is going to have to hope Paddy gets out of his funk sooner rather than later...what with the footy madness from Boxing day through the new year. You know that Madrid is going to (once again) go for Vieira in the summer, and I think this time, Wenger has to consider a hefty offer given that Chelsea has an endless pipeline of cash to spend on transfers, and Manure is not far behind. Thems the realities of the current game, and in order for Arsenal to remain a competitive team both abroad and domestically, they are going to have to find money somewhere and somehow. (especially since they seem to be spending carefully with the Ashburton Grove project in mind) IMHO, Henry, Sol, Cole, Reyes, Toure, and Cesc are your your priorities in keeping happy. Pires, Ljungberg, Flamini, Bergkamp, Lauren, Lehmann, Edu, Gilberto, Cygan (rubbish) and of course Vieira...well, Wenger has to wait and see how well their form is this season in order to determine if they have a long term future at Arsenal...and Van Persie, Bently, Pennant, Clichy, Almunia, Senderos, Hoyt and Aliadiere and the rest of the young Gunners will have to be considered next year for the first team, sent on loan, or sold to make money. Of course, after what transpired at the Bernebeau with the Ultra Sur and the racist chants during the England friendly, maybe Paddy has totally got Real Madrid and galactico dreams out of his system. Let's hope that this is the case.
Paddy has been past his prime for quite some time already. Two years back, when we won our second double under Wenger, I would have said that without a doubt he is the best central midfielder in the world. Better than the overrated Keano. He was THE commanding player in our team, bossing the midfield that no player could. But that was when he started flirting with Real Madrid. He began to believe the hype over him, and he started thinking about jumping ship to Real Madrid. And his performance slowly suffered because of that. The injuries he suffered did him no good too. Of course, it took him a while to realize that Real Madrid is a crap team with a crap attitude towards defensive players, but after that I don't know what exactly happened to him. Maybe age and injuries have caught up with him the same way it caught up with Pires and Bergkamp, maybe after years of champions league failure he has lost his desire to play with us and wants to move on. Whatever the reason, he is no longer the commanding player he once was, and the fire is gone from him. I remember that someone once told me that we should be happy to let Vieria go; he is holding us back, the same way we are holding him back. I laugh at that statement, but now I see that there's some true in it. I just hope that he will regain his drive to play for us.
Vieira is definitely not playing at his best, but to say that he's past his best is rubbish. Yes he had a poor 2nd half against Portsmouth, but so did everyone else, and in the 1st half he was close to his best. I think his performances this season started poorly and gradually improved as he got his game together. Given his lack of preseason and the injury etc. its not surprising. Without Gilberto in the side,at times Paddy has been playing with Cesc,Reyes and Pires, non of which have tackling as their top skill. I'd rather have him playing than not any day.
It's not so much a problem with Vieira as it is Vieira's effect on this team, the way it is constructed. This team is built like a greyhound, whippet fast and quick on the counter. And the counter would start with Vieira winning the ball and distributing it out to the wingers. Both Freddie and Bobby, while not being particularly fast themselves, turn on the ball very quickly and move it forward quickly. They're the best example of letting the ball do the work. But it all starts with Vieira, or it has for the past five - six years. Henry, Reyes, Bergkamp, none are target men. We've been reminded how important Sol is, but this is still Vieira's team. And we are good. But we are more pretender than contender with the current state of Vieira's play.
I know this sounds extremely simple, but just maybe PV4 is having an OFF year. The injuries, transfer rumors with RMCF, and the emergence of Cesc have possibly taken a toll on Vieira. I mean he is human.
Well yes thank you, I think anyone who's read his articles before on Arsenal realizes that Lawton is a Man-u glorifying Arsenal hating prat. I do deeply appreciate the tutorial however, thank you. He does raise some valid questions is all. And Catfish, Vieira isn't having an off year YET. BUT Vieira IS having an OFF year thus far, other than a few slight glimses of his former self. But that's the point. OFF game understandable. OFF month, the question is asked, "What's f***ing up with him?? OFF year, begs other, deeper questions of commitment. I wanted to reserve my judgment until after he'd had a obligatory "rest" for the suspension. He came back from that as indifferent as he was before the time off. Anyhow brief glimses of dominance is not what a supporter is looking for, especially in their captain. I adore Paddy, but I'm pissed off at his form. It would be different if he was fighting but just couldn't get it to click. It's not that. He's casual and seems like his heart isn't in it.
You are lucky Rick isn't putting together another of his courts for that last sentence. I think PV's problem this year is one of those annoying combination of factors that pull a player back from reaching his potential on a game to game basis. We know he has had some injuries. The transfer to R.madrid talk must have caused some trouble with his offseason rest and prep. You add in the inevitable post-unbeaten run dip in form and trying to learn to work with new young players next to him in the middle of the pitch and Vieira's lackluster play this season becomes easier to understand. PV has always struck me as one of those players who had to be 100% determined to beat the other team and fired up for each match in order to be really effective. Some other players can coast more and still be effective. Part of it is down to his position and the role he has played for Arsenal, but I think that rest is simply that the gap between 100% "keyed up" Vieira and 50-75% "out there and sort of trying" Vieira is larger than for many other players. As much as I would hate it as a fan, I really wish that the EPL had some kind of winter break. Just a few weeks at the start of the new year. It would give the PV a chance to recharge and maybe get back what has been missing for the last couple of months.