RVP COULD HOLD MAN UTD TO RANSOM

RVP COULD HOLD MAN UTD TO RANSOM

D. Ray Morton, 14th March 2014.

Robin van Persie has certainly changed his tune this week announcing he is "happy" at Manchester United. The timing of this strikes as downright weird with United going into a Premier League clash at Old Trafford against Liverpool in which defeat could signal a change in the balance of power in the next era of English football. Sir Alex Ferguson dreamed of knocking Liverpool "off their perch" and achieved this last season by guiding United to more overall league title wins than their bitter rivals, largely thanks to RVP and his goals.

The Dutch man's struggles this season have been glaringly obvious in contrast to his outstanding 2012/13 season where he played through without injury which seemed to be the player's biggest weakness before joining from Arsenal. Van Persie publicly questioned David Moyes' training methods, hinting that a fragile talent such as his own should be treated very differently to the training regime that others might thrive on. Many sports scientists now mention the difference between fast muscle twitch and slow muscle twitch athletes whose bodies thrive on different types of workouts. Wayne Rooney was delighted with the extra running and cardio sessions introduced this season. Van Persie was not. A Dutch fitness coach described Moyes' methods as dinosaur-like in regards to his treatment of RVP.

About a month ago, speculation had risen that van Persie was sick of playing at United in a team, now without Ferguson, languishing well outside of the Champions League qualification spots. He was even linked back with a move to Arsenal. The only thing that has really changed in that time is that Wayne Rooney signed an incredible £300,000 a week contract making him the third highest-paid footballer in the world on club salary, take home cash alone. Perhaps RVP realises there's no chance of increasing his own wages by moving away from United. His injuries, form and age would represent a huge gamble to any team willing to take a chance on him. That is, but for United in their own desperation.

With Rooney raking in wages far beyond his abilities should dictate, maybe van Persie wants to get in on the sinking ship, cash-cow that United appear to have become of late. One last big money contract to set up his retirement. He may never play in the Champions League again if he does sign that contract but he did manage to win that elusive big trophy he had always craved last season by winning the Premier League. Is he holding United at ransom and would you blame him if the club were naive enough to increase his wages as his attributes naturally decrease? The coming weeks should let us know.