Villareal make Pires an offer

Isn't it a bit of a conflict of interest for Pires to be playing against the team making him an offer in the CL semis?. Hello, let's smell the coffee here. How hard is this guy going to play? Maybe Reyes will have more incentive playing at the Madrigal than Pires?

Look, if he really is worried about being a first choice at Arsenal - like Ballack also at Chelsea - the fact is that Arsenal will be playing in the Prem (where a team can't afford to lose games to lift the title), the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the CL next season including extra matches in the qualifying stage [I am sure ] and so you need a squad approach for that magnitude of minutes on the pitch.

 

I suspect that Reyes will start ahead of Pires, but lets assume Pires plays.

So you think that because he may or may not go to Villareal, a decision that is in his court, he'll slack off, risking the possibility of him playing in a CL final in his home country in it's capital city, something that will never happen to him again....

 

Yes - its BOUND to affect the player even subconciously. We all know that a player playing for a club against his OLD TEAM is affected. You think the reverse psychology doest hold true?

I would play Reyes over Pires in this situation in a New York Minute.

 

I'm amazed you think that way for a game that is this important, and I don't believe for a second that Pires would slacken for the reasons you suggest.

However I'd also play Reyes, just because he'll be fresher, and will be more useful in this game...

 

Surely he would turn on his "A" game though and not play deliberatly badly. Look at it this way - if he has the worst game of his life VR are more likely to rescind their offer than if he scores the winning hattrick.

 

Wouldn't you agree that the fact that Villareal HAS made an offer makes the match a bit different from say the Juve game? Hell, in the pregame lineup/handshake you could see from Pires face that something was up - in other words he was affected. And what about the affect of this proposed contract on the OTHER Arsenal players.........

 

I know what your saying - but personally I think the impact of a Pires offer is somewhat less than say - one for v. Persie. Pires is on a year by year contract as it is.....no one would blame him for moving on.

I don't think it will make a difference myself...

 

Pires would be an ideal addition to Villarreal's team - what with his frequent need to obey the law of gravity!

 

You could? Whether or not Pires is going to Villareal will not make him play worse in the next leg. It just won't. And what about the affect of this proposed contract on the other Arsenal players dot dot dot ????? Do you think they might not pass the ball to him? They'll all be thinking of Paris and glory.

 

Reyes will start over Pires cause he is better.


But no way Pires bottles it. If you know anything about playing against teams that you may play for in the future - recently happened to me - you actually want to do better to impress your future teammates. You want them to be like - "yo, that guy we are getting is the man and he smoked us".

Nobody wants to join a team where the other guys start off by giving you stick for getting beat last season.

 

Agreed - if anything, this'll give him more incentive to perform.

 

At the end of each year, the following can happen:

Assume Team A is at the same level as Arsenal and Team B is a step down in quality.

a) Pires still has the goods. He signs a new one-year deal with Arsenal.
b) Pires still has the goods; he's still playing under a multi-year deal with Team A.
c) Pires has deteriorated. Arsene bids him adieu. Team A is not interested, so he signs a multi-year deal with Team B.
d) Pires has deteriorated. He plays out his career languishing on the bench of Team A.

Either way, on a multi-year deal with Team A or a series of one-year contracts with Arsenal; he's going to get the same amount of playing time, unless he steps down in quality.

Furthermore, if the best multi-year deal he can get now is from Team B (a step down in quality), the following would seem to apply at the end of each year.

a) Pires still has the goods. He signs a new one-year deal with Arsenal.
b) Pires still has the goods; he's still playing under a multi-year deal with Team B.
c) Pires has deteriorated. Arsene bids him adieu. He signs a multi-year deal with Team B. (Say, the same deal he would sign now, less how ever many extra years at Arsenal).
d) Pires has deteriorated, but he's still good enough to continue playing for Team B.

Let's review:
Arsenal is better than his potential new club: No reason to leave; he can still get a new deal from that club after Arsenal don't want him anymore.
Arsenal is the same level or worse as his new club: No reason to leave, as the new club won't play him after the time Arsenal would've gotten rid of him, even if they give him a longer deal.

If high-level first-team football is what Pires craves, I don't see any benefit to leaving. If money is his master, leaving may or may not work out better for him. It's hard to predict the rate of his deterioration. How much do you think he could make in MLS?

 

The fact that there are so many opinions on this means that the Arsenal players might have a bunch of views as well - and it would affect the game. All sports are mental. Hell, if I was an Arsenal board member I would move to offer Pires a two year deal (in this unique situation) ..........end of story.

 

didnt we go thru this with Cesc a few weeks back when Real Madrid said they were interested in him IMO i dont think it will have much of an effect because Reyes is going to play because he is better

 

Reyes isn't "better", but faster and younger. Pires in his day was more effective than Reyes.

 

Very different situation Pires can pick his team. He's able to leave on a free.