First up, yes! I m so happy that we finally got RVP. It’s a great piece of business by SAF and Gill. We persevered and it paid off. Let us now have a look at the significance of the Dutchman’s capture for us:
1 - The glam factor: RVP is a star. No question. He’ll give us what we’ve lacked since the departure of CR7 and Tevez, panache and a fear factor. I`m pretty sure CBs all over Europe are fretting as to how will they stop the duo of Rooney and Van Persie. It is a salivating combo. No doubts there! Two players who banged in 57 league goals between them last year gang up – it can`t get any better than this!
2 – Reprieve for the Glazers: What with the ho-hum response received by the IPO at the NYSE and the continued assault on them by the fans, the Glazers’ll be mighty pleased that they have managed to turn the spotlight away from themselves. This gives them a massive breather and also vindicates SAF’s faith in them. To be honest, SAF’s contention that the Glazers have been good backers is true to a large degree and us missing out on Moura and Eden is not the fault of the Glazers in my opinion.
3 – Variety in attack: RVP revels in the lone striker system. We can use him as the main striker and Rooney/Kagawa as the foil. Rooney can play as CAM or striker and can be rested when needed as we won`t have any issues over who’ll take his place in the side. Kagawa can also be blooded into the side without any pressure.
4 – The other forwards: I agree that Chicharito, Macheda, Welbeck and Berba won`t be happy at all on seeing RVP coming in. Dimi has to go now. I just wish a good club comes in for him. He has behaved in a highly dignified manner throughout this troubled phase in his career and deserves all our respect and admiration for that.
A club like Milan could be ideal for him. Macheda in my opinion needs a 2-year loan deal at a club like Reading or West Ham. He has a lot to do before he can be taken as a serious contender. Welbeck and Chicharito needn’t panic one bit. Yes, their playing time will reduce but both are young, 23 and 21 respectively. They can learn a lot from watching RVP train and I’m sure SAF’ll give these two around 25 games in the season. We play about 60 odd games and it is imperative that we have four top quality strikers at our disposal if we are to make a serious dent in Europe and reclaim the BPL title.
All in all, this seems like a very good move. SAF has digressed from his usual path of not buying players over 27. But when someone like RVP is available, departure from tradition makes you a smartass, not a moron.