Robin van Persie | 2012-14 Performances

[Name Changed]

It really hasn't.

You're right. To be fair it might as well have been 10 v 11, he was very poor.

And I'm a huge RVP fan.

 

[Verminator]

Not at all at his best yesterday, but he was waving his arms like a madman, demanding the ball.
Usually ignored in favour of a pass to our ineffective wings.

 

[Feed Me]

He's gone right off the boil. Really poor run of form (in terms of goal getting). That said, felt for him yesterday. Watched him closely and the service into him was non existent. He really misses having Carrick on the pitch.

I do think Fergie has to take a share of the blame for RvP's drop in form - I think he over rotated him, and he lost rhythm as a result.

 

[Feed Me]

Not at all at his best yesterday, but he was waving his arms like a madman, demanding the ball.
Usually ignored in favour of a pass to our ineffective wings.

Yep. He was very frustrated with rubbish service.

 

[Cina]

He's gone right off the boil. Really poor run of form (in terms of goal getting). That said, felt for him yesterday. Watched him closely and the service into him was non existent. He really misses having Carrick on the pitch.

I do think Fergie has to take a share of the blame for RvP's drop in form - I think he over rotated him, and he lost rhythm as a result.

If anything I think he played him too much, he treated him as if he was Ronaldo, playing him every minute of every game, just like Arsenal last season, but he's clearly not capable of that. He looks a bit knackered to me.

 

[Pexbo]

Is he in the Dutch squad? If rather we sent him to Dubai for a week.

 

[Eyepopper]

Not at all at his best yesterday, but he was waving his arms like a madman, demanding the ball.
Usually ignored in favour of a pass to our ineffective wings.

The entire team were below form yesterday. I think its a combination of a hangover from the CL disappointment and rotating players like Evra, Rafael, Carrick (who probably all needed a rest), they contribute a huge amount to our play.... Carrick and Rafael are probably a toss up for players of the year, and Evra has been having a very good year also.

Get that three back, rested and introduce Kagawa and Hernandez into the mix and we'll see a very different Utd.

In a way we should be glad, we've come through a reasonably tough couple of weeks, and while everyones disappointed with the last 2 performances and going out of the CL, we've still managed to stay in the cup and open up a 15 point lead at the top.

 

[Sojiro]

The entire team were below form yesterday. I think its a combination of a hangover from the CL disappointment and rotating players like Evra, Rafael, Carrick (who probably all needed a rest), they contribute a huge amount to our play.... Carrick and Rafael are probably a toss up for players of the year, and Evra has been having a very good year also.

Get that three back, rested and introduce Kagawa and Hernandez into the mix and we'll see a very different Utd.

In a way we should be glad, we've come through a reasonably tough couple of weeks, and while everyones disappointed with the last 2 performances and going out of the CL, we've still managed to stay in the cup and open up a 15 point lead at the top.

Seems like we rotate players for freshness at a sacrifice to good form/cohesion. Its been a main complaint this season that we have played not up to our best and had some terrible halves of football in terms of entertainment. I dont think its a coincident that the three players who needed rest are the three players who have played the most and have contributed are ton of leg work for some of our best play. Could be its own thread but perhaps we've had to rotate a bit more because players like Valencia, Young, Anderson havent found form or havent sustained it.

In terms of RvP I think the rotation hasnt allowed him to gel with a partner and due to his own brlliance was contributing goal wise. Now that his hit a rough patch theres no one there to help bail him out (say in terms of a sitter or some one touch football that brings his rythm into the game). I didnt see the game yesterday until the last 10 minutes (caught 5 minutes or so from work) but from what I saw RvP and Rooney didnt link up that great and I started to wonder how well they work since they both want the ball so much.

 

[shaggy]

Rotation is overrated anyway. Rooney's been rested, came back and looked shite at times and Rafael was rested against Norwich before being below par against Madrid and Chelsea. I'm not convinced SAF does so much to give the players a break but just to keep the squad happy. Ronaldo and Messi don't get 'rested' they play every game and look fecking quality. In Mourinho's Chelsea squad Drogba played 60 games one season and Lampard similarly was rarely rested but still produced the goods.

I understand why young players such as Rafael and Cleverley are rested but the likes of Rooney, RvP, Valencia (2012 version) and Nani should be able to play 50 games a season at a high quality.

 

[NinjaFletch]

Is he in the Dutch squad? If rather we sent him to Dubai for a week.

He's been shite since the squad went to Dubai (Qatar?) pretty much, no point sending him back.

 

[Pexbo]

He's been shite since the squad went to Dubai (Qatar?) pretty much, no point sending him back.

Maybe he'll check the back of the sofa at the hotel and find his mojo there.

 

[RK]

Is he even on a bad run of form? Let's break it down instead of jumping on the bandwagon:

v Everton - scored, hit the post. Looked dangerous.
v Madrid - hit the bar, missed a sitter, denied by a great save. Excellent all-round play.
v Reading - didn't start
v QPR - forced to go off injured in the first half. His cross lead to a goal.
v Norwich - Still showed signs of the injury, went off after an hour but assisted the opener
v Madrid - Linked up well with Welbeck but didn't look as dangerous. Played for 40 minutes with 10 men, against one of the best teams in the world.
v Chelsea - didn't start
v Reading - didn't play particularly well and didn't get much of the ball.

He still looks sharp, although not as sharp as earlier in the season. Logically, only the likes of Messi and Ronaldo can sustain the kind of early-season form he was showing, so it's natural to regress towards his mean a bit. But take a more granular approach and there's not much to worry about at all.

 

[Brwned]

In the game he came off the bench v Reading he was our MOTM as well. He's had a couple of quiet games largely because we've been lacklustre going forward but individually he's not been poor at all, IMO.

 

[Widnes]

Not sure why people keep saying RVP has been rotated too much, by United standards he has barely been rotated, misses the occasional cup game and when he is benched he usually still gets on for 20 mins or so. Out of the 29 league games United have played he has started 26 and came on as sub in the other 3, also at least 2 of those sub appearances came in the first few weeks of the season away at Everton first game and home against Wigan I think. He has played 6 of our 8 CL games and came on as sub in all our FA Cup games.

It is just a dip in form nothing more nothing less and with the exception of maybe Ronaldo and Messi all players have them, to suggest the manager has to take the blame for rotating him too much is crazy especially when he could have probably rotated him more with the attacking options we have.

 

[OGkush]

He's a fantastic player and I'm delighted we signed him, he is however going through a rather rough patch, and if people are going to point that out at every chance when it comes to Rooney, I don't think it's a bad thing if it's mentioned from time to time when it comes to RvP as well, since he has actually cooled off quite a bit from his hot start.

I've no doubt he'll come good again (sooner rather than later) and I've no intention of bashing him in any way, it's only natural that you can't sustain such a level of excellency day in day out unless you're a superhuman like Messi and Ronaldo.
We're lucky that now we've got other players contributing when he can't, and the team still ticks on.
To say he's any worse a player than what he was a couple months ago is absurd, a bad run of form does not equal ones talent, and that's exactly why I think it's funny when people exagerate things like this at every point.

 

[Verminator]

The entire team were below form yesterday. I think its a combination of a hangover from the CL disappointment and rotating players like Evra, Rafael, Carrick (who probably all needed a rest), they contribute a huge amount to our play.... Carrick and Rafael are probably a toss up for players of the year, and Evra has been having a very good year also.

Get that three back, rested and introduce Kagawa and Hernandez into the mix and we'll see a very different Utd.

In a way we should be glad, we've come through a reasonably tough couple of weeks, and while everyones disappointed with the last 2 performances and going out of the CL, we've still managed to stay in the cup and open up a 15 point lead at the top.

Not sure why this was a response to my post but, there is nothing in yours that I would argue with. I actually said to the guy next to me that "We need two fullbacks and a midfielder bringing on, to get a grip of this game."

I'm inclined to agree with those saying that a week in the sun would benefit RvP. SAF put out a team to do enough, whilst resting players with internationals coming up, and probably with an eye on Sunderland away as the harder of the two matches. It worked, and we're 15 points ahead. Job done. Even though the match itself, brought a dull end to a great day.

 

[Platato]

In the game he came off the bench v Reading he was our MOTM as well. He's had a couple of quiet games largely because we've been lacklustre going forward but individually he's not been poor at all, IMO.

Same here but because he's not scoring, some to think this is the case.

Good bit of perspective there RK.

I hope him and Wayne forge their partnership more. It's been lacking for quite some time.

 

[Platato]

Not sure why people keep saying RVP has been rotated too much, by United standards he has barely been rotated, misses the occasional cup game and when he is benched he usually still gets on for 20 mins or so. Out of the 29 league games United have played he has started 26 and came on as sub in the other 3, also at least 2 of those sub appearances came in the first few weeks of the season away at Everton first game and home against Wigan I think. He has played 6 of our 8 CL games and came on as sub in all our FA Cup games.

It is just a dip in form nothing more nothing less and with the exception of maybe Ronaldo and Messi all players have them, to suggest the manager has to take the blame for rotating him too much is crazy especially when he could have probably rotated him more with the attacking options we have.

I believe the point was rotation of the team in general. Not RvP.

 

[gbgary]

this drought is no biggie. he'll be fine.

 

[roseguy64]

Rotation is overrated anyway. Rooney's been rested, came back and looked shite at times and Rafael was rested against Norwich before being below par against Madrid and Chelsea. I'm not convinced SAF does so much to give the players a break but just to keep the squad happy. Ronaldo and Messi don't get 'rested' they play every game and look fecking quality. In Mourinho's Chelsea squad Drogba played 60 games one season and Lampard similarly was rarely rested but still produced the goods.

I understand why young players such as Rafael and Cleverley are rested but the likes of Rooney, RvP, Valencia (2012 version) and Nani should be able to play 50 games a season at a high quality.

This is the opinion of someone who understands these issues or just spouting off what you think based on nothing?

 

[shaggy]

This is the opinion of someone who understands these issues or just spouting off what you think based on nothing?

Or an opinion? Do one you muppet.

 

[Liam147]

Is he even on a bad run of form? Let's break it down instead of jumping on the bandwagon:

v Everton - scored, hit the post. Looked dangerous.
v Madrid - hit the bar, missed a sitter, denied by a great save. Excellent all-round play.
v Reading - didn't start
v QPR - forced to go off injured in the first half. His cross lead to a goal.
v Norwich - Still showed signs of the injury, went off after an hour but assisted the opener
v Madrid - Linked up well with Welbeck but didn't look as dangerous. Played for 40 minutes with 10 men, against one of the best teams in the world.
v Chelsea - didn't start
v Reading - didn't play particularly well and didn't get much of the ball.

He still looks sharp, although not as sharp as earlier in the season. Logically, only the likes of Messi and Ronaldo can sustain the kind of early-season form he was showing, so it's natural to regress towards his mean a bit. But take a more granular approach and there's not much to worry about at all.

That to me is tiredness. For me, he hasn't been that good since the Madrid away leg. He hasn't always played, admittedly, which is a factor of course, but I believe part of the reason he hasn't always played is tiredness. Give the man a rest!

 

[roseguy64]

Or an opinion? Do one you muppet.

Just me thinking it'd make sense to have on opinion on things you actually know about? I'm not gonna be criticising Fergie on how he trains his squad and why he rests some players since to actually have a sensible opinion I'd need a sports science degree or coaching badges. That's just me not wanting to be a bag of hot air though.

 

[shaggy]

Just me thinking it'd make sense to have on opinion on things you actually know about? I'm not gonna be criticising Fergie on how he trains his squad and why he rests some players since to actually have a sensible opinion I'd need a sports science degree or coaching badges. That's just me not wanting to be a bag of hot air though.

My opinion is Fergie has in the past benched a player, often I think to get everyone playing games rather than resting the player as such. Don't need a sports bachelor to say that. Other world class teams and players cope perfectly fine playing a large amount of games. Ronaldo plays pretty much every game because he is undroppable. But it's not really been an issue this year, more of an annoyance when people blame poor form on "needing a rest" or "just back from injury" two months on from it. Can you explain why we were so tired and shite against Chelsea and Reading when continued rotation throughout the season was supposed to prevent that?

Van Persie's goal drought started against Madrid, the following game against Reading he was rested and brought on as a sub, then subbed off against both Norwich and QPR. He also missed an hour of the Chelsea game. Van Persie has had plenty of rest.

 

[I'm always right]

Is he even on a bad run of form? Let's break it down instead of jumping on the bandwagon:

v Everton - scored, hit the post. Looked dangerous.
v Madrid - hit the bar, missed a sitter, denied by a great save. Excellent all-round play.
v Reading - didn't start
v QPR - forced to go off injured in the first half. His cross lead to a goal.
v Norwich - Still showed signs of the injury, went off after an hour but assisted the opener
v Madrid - Linked up well with Welbeck but didn't look as dangerous. Played for 40 minutes with 10 men, against one of the best teams in the world.
v Chelsea - didn't start
v Reading - didn't play particularly well and didn't get much of the ball.

He still looks sharp, although not as sharp as earlier in the season. Logically, only the likes of Messi and Ronaldo can sustain the kind of early-season form he was showing, so it's natural to regress towards his mean a bit. But take a more granular approach and there's not much to worry about at all.

Glad someone broke it down. Excellent post.

 

[Adam-Utd]

He has been scoring goals almost every other game for 2 years, its bound to happen that he will have a sticky patch, all players go through it - even Messi had a period of not scoring for a few games.

I would be much more worried if he was not being involved in the game, Reading was not a brilliant performance but then he hardly had any service. The only times i remember him having the ball was when he came outside the box and got it.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Is he even on a bad run of form? Let's break it down instead of jumping on the bandwagon:

v Everton - scored, hit the post. Looked dangerous.
v Madrid - hit the bar, missed a sitter, denied by a great save. Excellent all-round play.
v Reading - didn't start
v QPR - forced to go off injured in the first half. His cross lead to a goal.
v Norwich - Still showed signs of the injury, went off after an hour but assisted the opener
v Madrid - Linked up well with Welbeck but didn't look as dangerous. Played for 40 minutes with 10 men, against one of the best teams in the world.
v Chelsea - didn't start
v Reading - didn't play particularly well and didn't get much of the ball.

He still looks sharp, although not as sharp as earlier in the season. Logically, only the likes of Messi and Ronaldo can sustain the kind of early-season form he was showing, so it's natural to regress towards his mean a bit. But take a more granular approach and there's not much to worry about at all.

Interesting. A fair few games in this blip seem to be games where either he played well or was injured/went off early.

 

[roseguy64]

My opinion is Fergie has in the past benched a player, often I think to get everyone playing games rather than resting the player as such. Don't need a sports bachelor to say that. Other world class teams and players cope perfectly fine playing a large amount of games. Ronaldo plays pretty much every game because he is undroppable. But it's not really been an issue this year, more of an annoyance when people blame poor form on "needing a rest" or "just back from injury" two months on from it. Can you explain why we were so tired and shite against Chelsea and Reading when continued rotation throughout the season was supposed to prevent that?

Van Persie's goal drought started against Madrid, the following game against Reading he was rested and brought on as a sub, then subbed off against both Norwich and QPR. He also missed an hour of the Chelsea game. Van Persie has had plenty of rest.

Yes he has benched players to get others games but also to give them a rest. You'll notice a large portion of those times the players aren't in the 18. Why can it not serve dual purposes?
He's generally been injury prone so it's quite possible that the constant play is producing stress his body's not used to and so he suffers. The same thing happened last season with him at Arsenal. Not quite sure how Ronaldo and Messi do it considering most other players suffer dips when they play that much except their teammates at Madrid and Barca.
There wasn't much tiredness at Reading. That was just the team not being 100%. It happens to the best. No team is on point every game. The most important thing for that game was the 3 points. Chelsea, I don't know since I'm not an expert.

I have no clue if he's had enough rest. Could just be a simple reason of hitting a rough patch that strikers have. Or he's been played too much and we needn't have played him in some games.

 

[Rowem]

Spoiler

Robin van Persie has attacked Uefa as "cowards" following Manchester United's Champions League elimination by Real Madrid. Speaking to Algemeen Dagblad, he explained his disappointment with the reaction to what he perceived to be an obvious error made by Cuneyt Cakir, the match referee.

"That red card was heavily unjustified," he said. "It was not even a yellow card or a free-kick. Nani couldn't do anything about it, he hardly touched Arbeloa. The worst thing is that Uefa supports him. That's cowardly, because I really don't understand it. Why don't they just be honest and say: 'He hasn't seen it'?"

Van Persie was also unhappy with the original refereeing appointment: "I didn't understand before the game that this man would be the referee, such an unknown referee who hasn't been in charge of a big games for months. Even the guys from Madrid told me afterwards that it was not a red card."

United, though only a goal ahead before the dismissal, were enjoying a period in the ascendancy, and Van Persie is sure that they would have gone on to win the game: "For an hour everything was looking good, the tactics seems to be right," he said. "We really had the feeling that we were going to score the second goal and then it would become very difficult for Real Madrid. But then it the referee pulled the red card. Real were not dangerous at all, I'm sure we would have kept our position. So now it's all about the title in the Premier League.'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/mar/21/van-persie-nani-uefa-cowards-madrid

Well in Robin.

 

[KGBhoy]

Well in Robin.

Agree with his comments. Now we need him to move on and start scoring again. He looks very low on confidence.

 

[Timdbro]

There's clearly been a CL hangover due to the manner of the defeat, and pretty much all the players seem to have suffered from it, not just RVP. I'm sure they'll get over it during the international break.

 

[Brightonian]

There's clearly been a CL hangover due to the manner of the defeat, and pretty much all the players seem to have suffered from it, not just RVP. I'm sure they'll get over it during the international break.

Yep, this.

 

[SirFergie]

4 game ban.

 

[Danillaco]

4 game ban.

Unless he appeals. Then it's 8.

 

[Danillaco]

Spoiler

Robin van Persie has attacked Uefa as "cowards" following Manchester United's Champions League elimination by Real Madrid. Speaking to Algemeen Dagblad, he explained his disappointment with the reaction to what he perceived to be an obvious error made by Cuneyt Cakir, the match referee.

"That red card was heavily unjustified," he said. "It was not even a yellow card or a free-kick. Nani couldn't do anything about it, he hardly touched Arbeloa. The worst thing is that Uefa supports him. That's cowardly, because I really don't understand it. Why don't they just be honest and say: 'He hasn't seen it'?"

Van Persie was also unhappy with the original refereeing appointment: "I didn't understand before the game that this man would be the referee, such an unknown referee who hasn't been in charge of a big games for months. Even the guys from Madrid told me afterwards that it was not a red card."

United, though only a goal ahead before the dismissal, were enjoying a period in the ascendancy, and Van Persie is sure that they would have gone on to win the game: "For an hour everything was looking good, the tactics seems to be right," he said. "We really had the feeling that we were going to score the second goal and then it would become very difficult for Real Madrid. But then it the referee pulled the red card. Real were not dangerous at all, I'm sure we would have kept our position. So now it's all about the title in the Premier League.'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/mar/21/van-persie-nani-uefa-cowards-madrid

Well in Robin.

He's getting more and more in my heart.

 

[Baxter]

He scored tonight.

 

[Shark]

Long may it continue for the remainder of the season now. We'll need a sharp RVP at the bridge.

 

[Dargonk]

He scored tonight.

Excellent. Hopefully that re opens the flood gates

 

[Black Adder]

He does appear little tired but anyone who played football at any level knows that you don't see or feel your tiredness like others notice it since you want to play all the time.

He could do with a little rest, hope Fergie gives him day off against Sunderland so he can freshen up a little bit for the run in of the season.

 

[Sojiro]

He scored tonight.

watched most of the game save the from the 10 minute mark till the 30 minute mark as the England game was a rout and Spain/Finland had no United players. He was his usual self of late, some moments of brilliance, great movement thats ignored and some smart and easy short passes contributing to possession. The dutch looked a bit Arsenal - all possession but struggled to break the last line of defence. After Van Der Vaart came on for Sneijder due to injury at halftime they looked a bit better and got a deflected goal which eased them on their way.

There was two moments of "Oohs" and "aahs" from him, one in each half though the first one in the first half was very nice - coming back from behind the defender to take the ball with an "around the world"spin and a toe drag to the right all in one motion.

His goal was nice build up play down the right combined with a near post cross that picked out a nice fake back post - go near post run from Robin. He also found himself on the left for the third ball where his attempted cross sailed a bit long to the far post for someone to fire home from an acute angle.

Was a bit worried as he took a hefty knock to his left ankle and hobbled for a bit but seemed to shake it off.