RvP

Took me ages but I found my favourite fan vid from when he signed. Think it was made mid season.

Everything about it is pure hype, the music, the editing, the keeping the commentary on (how comp vids should be done)

Just a classic of the genre and never stops to get me in the zone:

"OH VAN PERSIE!"

Remember watching that Fulham home debut goal live. Just felt like such a moment. He's a great striker but out of fecking nowhere, an amazing goal. Goosebumps.

 
KeanoMagicHat said:
Within a good system at his peak he would have been good enough to play a role in a top team. CL-level winning maybe not, but then no English team even made the final from 2013 to 2017 as it was dominated by Spanish teams. In terms of adding to a team to compete for the title, then I think he would have.
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Squad player for a title winning team yea, maybe. City are the main PL winners since, and he wouldn't make that lineup, or Liverpool's.
 
What I especially miss is how one signing could be the difference between a narrow second-place finish and winning the league by 11 points merely a season later. It's been long since our squad was in a reasonably healthy shape that one player alone could serve as the final part of the puzzle to to make us really tick.
 
Class player. Was amazed at how good he was.
 
Hammondo said:
We really were not, we were nothing special that year, aging team and we lacked quality.
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And yet we were still comfortably one of the best teams in Europe. We were better then Madrid over the two legs (red card dramatically changed that tie) , They went onto play Galatasary and Dortmund, and we were better then both.

Only Munich were probably better then us really - but we'd have given them a good game.
 
Annihilate Now! said:
And yet we were still comfortably one of the best teams in Europe. We were better then Madrid over the two legs (red card dramatically changed that tie) , They went onto play Galatasary and Dortmund, and we were better then both.

Only Munich were probably better then us really - but we'd have given them a good game.
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Well Dortmund knocked them out, and Barcelona won la liga by 15 points. It was a poor season for RM.
 
Murder on Zidane's Floor said:
Took me ages but I found my favourite fan vid from when he signed. Think it was made mid season.

Everything about it is pure hype, the music, the editing, the keeping the commentary on (how comp vids should be done)

Just a classic of the genre and never stops to get me in the zone:

"OH VAN PERSIE!"

Remember watching that Fulham home debut goal live. Just felt like such a moment. He's a great striker but out of fecking nowhere, an amazing goal. Goosebumps.

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What a fecking player. Everything went right for him that season. Such a shame SAF retired or else he/we at least would have added another PL title.
 
GazTheLegend said:
Great player, but I've always felt a big "what if" because we could have had Lewandowski instead. Would Lewandowski have been good for us or would our Dortmund jinx have just continued onwards? That's another discussion though to be fair - and weakening a rival club while strengthening ourselves is dumb to criticise because Arsenal were half the team without him.
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Was there any concrete talk about a deal being possible or that he even wanted to come to England, and specifically to United?
 
Annihilate Now! said:
Exactly, and we'd have beaten Dortmund.
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We would've got handily knocked out by Dortmund tbh. There's no chance we would've been able to cope with their pressing and pace on the break.

Mourinho's Madrid were a good match up for us. They didn't press and they were too over reliant on Ronaldo that season - who we man-marked out of the game.

Dortmund were the opposite.
 
The lad scored some of the best goals I have ever seen and he was only with us for a few seasons. Loved him. Loved his arrogance and just everything about him.
 
Murder on Zidane's Floor said:
Took me ages but I found my favourite fan vid from when he signed. Think it was made mid season.

Everything about it is pure hype, the music, the editing, the keeping the commentary on (how comp vids should be done)

Just a classic of the genre and never stops to get me in the zone:

"OH VAN PERSIE!"

Remember watching that Fulham home debut goal live. Just felt like such a moment. He's a great striker but out of fecking nowhere, an amazing goal. Goosebumps.

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The man made more meters running celebrating goals than your average player makes just playing for 90 minutes.
 
Hammondo said:
We were nowhere near that good. We had been declining every season basically.
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I'm genuinely not sure. We were much more consistent in 12/13, largely due to Van Persie. The rest of the top European sides were all in something of a transition stage. The wheels fell off the following season when Moyes came in and he didn't manage the experienced players particularly well.

Not saying we would have won the Champions League that year had we beaten Real Madrid but we would have certainly given anyone a game.
 
I miss the days when we made nuanced signings like this, the way he fitted the role individually and the uplift he brought to the rest of the team, I was thinking about him yesterday watching the Arsenal game, its staggering how many great strikers there used to be compared to now, it's basically the droid at City and not much else.
 
That first season is my favourite Dutch player abroad season ever. Well maybe Robben at Bayern in 09/10 comes close (not for you lot I suppose).

His last season playing for Feyenoord as a greying old man was equally amazing, especially him leading us to that 6-2 win over Ten Hag's Ajax.
 
His first goal for us, where he somehow guided it in across his body inside the far post, on a first time finish was a sign of his immense quality. It was such a world class, instinctive finish.

His goal against Villa, when Rooney hit a 50 yard pass over the top and he volleyed it in first time as it dropped over his shoulder, on the run, from the edge of the area, is one of the best goals ever scored in the PL. technically perfect. Gave me goosebumps.
 
Loved that signing, absolute class and he won us the league that year. If Fergie has stayed he would had won at least another PL.

Still got my #20 RVP shirt from the year he signed.
 
Robin van Persie is at Carrington training ground this week so he can complete a mandatory element of his UEFA Pro Licence. Van Persie requested to visit United, with Erik ten Hag agreeing. [Laurie Whitwell, The Athletic]

Good for our young attacking players.
 
IrishRedDevil said:
Robin van Persie is at Carrington training ground this week so he can complete a mandatory element of his UEFA Pro Licence. Van Persie requested to visit United, with Erik ten Hag agreeing. [Laurie Whitwell, The Athletic]

Good for our young attacking players.
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“What does Robin van Persie even do?”
 
Thats just a bit of formality. If he joins our coaching staff now thats massive. Otherwise its just for a bit of fun here and there.
 
Unfortunately injuries prevented him reaching his full potential consistently, but he was certainly a great goal scorer and scorer of great goals. Incredible technique and so calm/clinical in front of goal. Not many scuffers in his highlight reels because he hit the ball so cleanly.

Made the difference that season. Would love to see him join our staff.
 
Can't believe that we had Rooney, RvP and Falcao as attackers at some point.
 
simonhch said:
His first goal for us, where he somehow guided it in across his body inside the far post, on a first time finish was a sign of his immense quality. It was such a world class, instinctive finish.

His goal against Villa, when Rooney hit a 50 yard pass over the top and he volleyed it in first time as it dropped over his shoulder, on the run, from the edge of the area, is one of the best goals ever scored in the PL. technically perfect. Gave me goosebumps.
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Proud and privileged to have had perfect angles for both. Was in the East/K for the first game right behind the goal and was in Stretty tier 2 behind the goal for the Villa goal. Both amazing.
 
His son Shaqueel is a striker as well and doing very well apparently.

 
Proper legend and he’s a true red. Won us the league and chooses to watch our games at OT rather than Arsenal who are competing for the league against Liverpool.
 
Murder on Zidane's Floor said:
Took me ages but I found my favourite fan vid from when he signed. Think it was made mid season.

Everything about it is pure hype, the music, the editing, the keeping the commentary on (how comp vids should be done)

Just a classic of the genre and never stops to get me in the zone:

"OH VAN PERSIE!"

Remember watching that Fulham home debut goal live. Just felt like such a moment. He's a great striker but out of fecking nowhere, an amazing goal. Goosebumps.

Click to expand...


Look at how many goals are quick counters. We only have two or three players in shot for a lot of his goals and anything else was a smashed cross. It really was just get the ball to RVP and he’ll do the rest. He had ice in his veins and two good feet. It’s mad how United is now his club after one good season and he’s here doing his badges instead of building bridges again at Arsenal. I remember when Arsenal got players like him and Reyes and that was almost their answer to Rooney and Ronadlo and it was easy to laugh at them then. RVP developed into a hell of a player in his mid to late 20s though, even better than it initially seemed he would.
 
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My memory is hazy so allow me this seemingly crazy take but I recall thinking RVP should have played ahead of Rooney by merit even with his body slowing down (purely because of his technique, movement and intelligence) during that whole LVG saga. I mean Rooney's had declined significantly but that and the whole 'my captain shall always play' always left a sour taste for me. Yes RVP had dropped off but he was still a better player for me than the silent domination Rooney at the time. His post Utd career was sort of telling that he was still able to contribute at a good level.

Again, with perhaps an even more crazier take, I also felt Schweinsteiger, again despite his injuries/physical decline should have played more and Schneiderlin deserved more game time. I never really got the 'omg they were so physically bad and terrible players'. They barely played to even register that conclusive take.

Tbh that whole LVG era was fecked. Nani and Welbeck, another to the pile of 'yes they weren't performing but I believe should have been given more time' book for me.
 
RVP didn't decline as much as Rooney. He was more important in 2013-2014 even for his national side. Rooney by 2015 was a championship player. RVP was still doing fine in Fenerbache and Feyenoord, while Rooney was painfully trying to be a playmaker.

Lvg was just a madman.
 
criticalanalysis said:
My memory is hazy so allow me this seemingly crazy take but I recall thinking RVP should have played ahead of Rooney by merit even with his body slowing down (purely because of his technique, movement and intelligence) during that whole LVG saga. I mean Rooney's had declined significantly but that and the whole 'my captain shall always play' always left a sour taste for me. Yes RVP had dropped off but he was still a better player for me than the silent domination Rooney at the time. His post Utd career was sort of telling that he was still able to contribute at a good level.

Again, with perhaps an even more crazier take, I also felt Schweinsteiger, again despite his injuries/physical decline should have played more and Schneiderlin deserved more game time. I never really got the 'omg they were so physically bad and terrible players'. They barely played to even register that conclusive take.

Tbh that whole LVG era was fecked. Nani and Welbeck, another to the pile of 'yes they weren't performing but I believe should have been given more time' book for me.
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I think RvP had given up playing for LvG, he had that 'hamstring' injury for months leading up to the World Cup and never played for United, then turned in for Netherlands at the World Cup.
 
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