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RVP dependency: Are Man United now a one man team like Arsenal were last season?
Much was made of Arsenal's over-reliance on Robin Van Persie last season, but now that the Dutchman has moved on to Man United, has RVP-dependency moved with him? talkSPORT look at the numbers that suggest they are in danger of becoming a one man team, while Arsenal seem to have benefited from his departure...
Arsene knows best?
With the 30 league goals that earned him the 2011/12 Premier League Golden Boot, Robin van Persie was more often than not the difference between points won and lost for Arsenal, so Arsenal fans' outrage when he was offloaded to Man United was understandable. Yet following his departure, the Gunners now arguably play more as a team, with no less than five different goalscorers so far this season and the potential for even more once Olivier Giroud gets off the mark. It could be suggested that Arsenal were forced to become a one man team in order to get the best out of the striker, with the players behind the Dutchman opting to get the ball to him as quickly as possible rather than using all of the options available to them.
Big game choker?
Compare Van Persie's club form last season to his Euro 2012 display in June with the Netherlands and there's a stark contrast, so do his struggles with the national team show an inability to produce on the big stage? One goal in the tournament was a poor return for a striker who finished with 30 league goals just a month earlier, and one goal in seven games at the 2010 World Cup was not any better. Van Persie's inability to perform with the Dutch side also points to the need for teams to play through him in order to reap the rewards, which the Oranje can't afford to do when they have equally capable players like Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben in their ranks.
Man United's approach
The Dutchman's record at Man United so far suggests that the Red Devils are opting for Arsenal's approach to Van Persie rather than the Dutch one and though that may seem like an obvious decision given his tally with the Gunners compared to his national team haul, there's a danger United could be caught out against better sides.
The club currently sit in second place with 12 points and 12 Premier League goals scored and five in five league for Van Persie has more than helped their cause. If thoses were taken away, though, it would be a different story. Wins by a single goal over Liverpool and Fulham would have been draws, while a 3-2 victory over Southampton courtesy of an RVP hat-trick would have seen Fergie's side suffer a lousy loss. United would be sitting on five points and languishing in mid-table, while there's also the issue of what relying so heavily on a new signing can do to team morale. Alex Ferguson's assertion that Van Persie should have taken the penalty Nani missed against Galatasaray in the Champions League will hardly have helped the Portuguese player's confidence, for example.
So does the above suggest the Red Devils have already fallen into the same trap as Arsenal last season, becoming RVP reliant at the expense of the team? It's still early in the season, but what is clear is that a major injury to the Dutchman could put United in real trouble, particularly with no Wayne Rooney to bail them out, and an injury isn't unforeseeable given Van Persie's injury record. United fans should ask themselves the question: has their team really became a better team with Van Persie, and have Arsenal really looked worse off without him?
http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/...-season-181662
Much was made of Arsenal's over-reliance on Robin Van Persie last season, but now that the Dutchman has moved on to Man United, has RVP-dependency moved with him? talkSPORT look at the numbers that suggest they are in danger of becoming a one man team, while Arsenal seem to have benefited from his departure...
Arsene knows best?
With the 30 league goals that earned him the 2011/12 Premier League Golden Boot, Robin van Persie was more often than not the difference between points won and lost for Arsenal, so Arsenal fans' outrage when he was offloaded to Man United was understandable. Yet following his departure, the Gunners now arguably play more as a team, with no less than five different goalscorers so far this season and the potential for even more once Olivier Giroud gets off the mark. It could be suggested that Arsenal were forced to become a one man team in order to get the best out of the striker, with the players behind the Dutchman opting to get the ball to him as quickly as possible rather than using all of the options available to them.
Big game choker?
Compare Van Persie's club form last season to his Euro 2012 display in June with the Netherlands and there's a stark contrast, so do his struggles with the national team show an inability to produce on the big stage? One goal in the tournament was a poor return for a striker who finished with 30 league goals just a month earlier, and one goal in seven games at the 2010 World Cup was not any better. Van Persie's inability to perform with the Dutch side also points to the need for teams to play through him in order to reap the rewards, which the Oranje can't afford to do when they have equally capable players like Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben in their ranks.
Man United's approach
The Dutchman's record at Man United so far suggests that the Red Devils are opting for Arsenal's approach to Van Persie rather than the Dutch one and though that may seem like an obvious decision given his tally with the Gunners compared to his national team haul, there's a danger United could be caught out against better sides.
The club currently sit in second place with 12 points and 12 Premier League goals scored and five in five league for Van Persie has more than helped their cause. If thoses were taken away, though, it would be a different story. Wins by a single goal over Liverpool and Fulham would have been draws, while a 3-2 victory over Southampton courtesy of an RVP hat-trick would have seen Fergie's side suffer a lousy loss. United would be sitting on five points and languishing in mid-table, while there's also the issue of what relying so heavily on a new signing can do to team morale. Alex Ferguson's assertion that Van Persie should have taken the penalty Nani missed against Galatasaray in the Champions League will hardly have helped the Portuguese player's confidence, for example.
So does the above suggest the Red Devils have already fallen into the same trap as Arsenal last season, becoming RVP reliant at the expense of the team? It's still early in the season, but what is clear is that a major injury to the Dutchman could put United in real trouble, particularly with no Wayne Rooney to bail them out, and an injury isn't unforeseeable given Van Persie's injury record. United fans should ask themselves the question: has their team really became a better team with Van Persie, and have Arsenal really looked worse off without him?
http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/...-season-181662
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
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