Tuesday, September 18th, 2012 « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. 800,000 visits last month
The club that changed football
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By Anne
There is a group of people in the media who were responsible for such infamous scripts as the “Arsenal in crisis” narrative, and of course, the unforgettable masterpiece: “Arsenal needs to splash cash in the transfer market to end its trophy drought.” Not to mention every other “transfer saga” that has ever revolved around an Arsenal player. They’ve just changed their tune a little bit this time around (but in a very interesting and revealing way).
And while I could be wrong (as always), I personally feel completely confident in saying that these same people also fabricated the Robin van Persie “statement” in the summer for the express purpose of scripting the Robin van Persie “transfer saga” narrative around it. The reason I feel so confident in saying this is because of the specific way that this “statement” was disseminated through the media, and also the way that the separate segments of the “statement” were used tactically in conjunction with pre-planned “talking points” regarding what Robin actually “meant” by the “statement.”
However, before I get into that analysis, I have some more updates to get through first about other things that have happened since the “statement” was published, and the conclusions I have personally drawn from them.
My second update, following the quote from Arsene Wenger, is to present you with the rebuttal to my argument from the parties that I’m alleging to be the true fabricators of the RVP “statement.” For some reason, this job appears to have been delegated to Bleacher Report, who recently published an article bearing the impressive headline:
“Robin Van Persie Transfer Saga: Finding the Truth Amongst the Fiction”
It sounds like a good idea at the outset. However, Bleacher Report’s idea of the “truth” amongst the “fiction” differs somewhat substantially from mine. I’ll just go ahead and let them tell you (and since the author seems to be sounding a lot like me for some reason, I’m going to specifically designate between their comments and my response):
Bleacher Report:
“According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary journalism is defined as writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts or description of events without an attempt at interpretation.
The reason I checked the true meaning of journalism is because there seems to be very little of it in connection with this summer’s biggest football soap opera. The ongoing saga of where Robin van Persie will be playing as of September 1st continues to rage non-stop. The only thing that is certain is that the majority of stories covering the subject appear to lack facts and be based more on interpretation.
Anne:
Uh, ok… Lacking “facts” and based on “interpretation” would certainly be one way of putting it. Although I’m not so sure I agree with (or even fully understand the logic of) this next part.
Bleacher Report:
“The one true fact at the center of it all was the announcement that van Persie would not be signing a new contract with Arsenal. The statement was published on van Persie’s own personal website, but even that has been questioned. Speculation still exists that the ‘update’ was actually released by van Persie’s agent Kees Vos on behalf of his client.
Outside of this announcement the reporting has been comical at best.”
Anne:
Well, I suppose that puts me in my place. Let’s try to summarize this argument: The entire RVP “transfer saga” is complete rubbish, except for the RVP “website statement.” This “statement” is the “one true fact” at the center of the “transfer saga.” Except that it might not be, in which case, the “statement” was fabricated by Robin van Persie’s agent Kees Vos (and definitely not the media, we swear).
Wow, Bleacher Report… Is that the best you can do? Sounds to me like somebody has a guilty conscience…(Incidentally, I would like to thank Bleacher Report for their open admission here that, aside from this one possible element of truth, the RVP “transfer saga” did not contain any other “true facts.” I would have had a hard time proving that otherwise).
And just to underscore this absolute certainty that the RVP “website statement” was entirely above board, and that nobody has anything to hide, the entire Robin van Persie “official website” appears to have now been taken offline. Which means that nobody can see the “statement” as it appeared in its original context, or the questionable website on which it was published.
This is actually a bit slippery, because in making my argument to prove that the “statement” was, in fact, fabricated, I have to be able to show you the original wording of the “statement” as it was published on the website. But now I can’t, because someone has decided to take my evidence away. (Which actually does more to validate my argument than anything I could possibly say. So, thanks again for that, whoever you are). And I can still tell you what the “statement” said originally. It’s just that you’re going to have to take my word for it now. Sorry, not my choice.
However, before I move onto my analysis of the “statement,” I want to take issue with one other specific aspect of this Bleacher Report article; namely, the fact that they represent the RVP “transfer saga” as “this summer’s biggest football soap opera,” and make the claim that, at the time their article was published, the “ongoing saga of where Robin van Persie will be playing as of September 1st continues to rage non-stop.”
Perhaps the “transfer saga” they were watching was different from the one I saw. Because I was actually under the impression that the Robin van Persie “transfer saga” had come to a grinding halt shortly after my initial article alleging the fabrication was published. And I suppose that this is something that’s open to interpretation in a lot of ways. However, in the following segment of this article, I’m going to describe the somewhat different RVP “transfer saga” that I observed.
You can decide whether they saw my version, Bleacher Report’s version, something else, or something in between. But here’s what I saw:
The Robin van Persie “transfer saga” officially launched on the Fourth of July (an American patriotic holiday, interestingly, celebrating America’s victory in war over the British Empire), and announced its arrival on the scene with all of the fanfare of a global media fireworks display (accompanied by a marching band playing “The Stars and Stripes”).
Overnight, Arsenal fans were suddenly inundated by a deluge of media reports telling us that we all hate Robin van Persie now, because he insulted the noble and valiant Arsene Wenger, and the heroic Ivan Gazidis, by releasing a “statement” on his “official website,” where he dared to suggest that Arsenal needed to “splash cash in the transfer market” to end its “trophy drought.”
And while I can’t speak for how other Arsenal fans might have interpreted the credibility of these statements coming from the media (in light of their past behavior), my personal response was to not believe a single word of it, and also to become so angry at this attempt to defame Robin van Persie while pretending to be “real Arsenal fans” that I still don’t have the adequate words to describe exactly how angry I was.
So, again, I can’t speak for anyone else. But for me personally, nothing the media has ever said about Arsenal has made me as angry as this “transfer saga.” And while the rest of the published response in the media and blogosphere would give the impression that nobody else felt the same way I did, the actions the media took in response to my initial article on the subject give an entirely different impression. Because they ended the “transfer saga,” didn’t they? And I can’t see why they would have done that unless they were afraid that, in truth, everybody felt the same way that I did.
Specifically, after my article was published, the whole thing came to an abrupt end, and we were treated to weeks of nothingness, in which the most exciting thing that happened was the following:
No offers yet for van Persie: Wenger
Basically, to sum up the storyline of this “soap opera:” Robin van Persie might be transferred to either Manchester City, Manchester United, or Juventus, but nobody has made any offers yet. That’s pretty much it (I know that I was riveted by the drama of this “soap opera,” weren’t you?) However, one thing that this “soap opera” failed to do was to offer any explanations for why Robin van Persie had to be transferred in the first place. And it also failed to explain why Robin van Persie had completely disappeared from the Arsenal lineup, and hadn’t been seen in public since the conclusion of the Euros.
Based on my concerns about Robin’s unexplained absence, in conjunction with some extremely threatening-sounding reports that had emerged in the media as part of the Fourth of July extravaganza, I published a follow-up article on 6 August (Opting out of Arsenal: the media’s agenda behind the transfer sagas), in which I (among other things) expressed my concern for Robin’s personal safety, and requested that Arsenal fans be allowed “to see Robin, just to make sure he’s alright.”
Shortly after that, Robin van Persie turned up again to play for Arsenal against Cologne (where the media informed us that he was booed by Arsenal fans. But we’ve all heard that one before, haven’t we?) And then, 9 days after my follow-up article was published, on 15 August, the transfer to United was announced, and Robin accordingly turned up in public again, where he was photographed signing autographs for fans outside of the hospital in Manchester (And it makes me wonder, why is it that Arsenal players always seem to turn up at the hospital at the conclusion of their “transfer sagas,” following lengthy disappearances from public view?)
In the end, the only explanation that Arsenal fans were given for the series of events described above was along the lines of the following:
Robin van Persie Treads The Dark Path – Changes Allegiance From Arsenal To Manchester United
“Robin van Persie was a man to ‘look up to’ for any Arsenal fan. He had often stated that he always wanted to win trophies with Arsenal, and not with any other club. Finally, the devil (read – Agent) triumphed over the assured and calm van Persie, and made him do whatever he did.
A preposterous statement later, he made his position untenable at the club – wherein he had no choice but to move forward. Never ever did he envisage a possibility of jumping ship to the biggest rival Arsenal had in the Premier League era; however, it happened. Robin van Persie became the first Arsenal player under Arsene Wenger to ‘transfer himself’ to Manchester United, a hefty 24 Million transfer fee being the only consolation for the club and the fans.”
Uh…right. Robin van Persie “transferred himself” to Manchester United by making a “preposterous statement.” Based on the evidence currently in the public record, I would actually agree that the transfer of Robin van Persie to Manchester United was most likely “forced” in some manner of speaking. However, the transfer was most certainly not the result of a dubious “statement” on a website, which Arsene Wenger himself has stated publicly that he does not believe to be authentic. At least, not unless Arsenal is run by a bunch of timid pussy cats who allow themselves to be pushed around in business negotiations (which it isn’t, because such persons would never be running Arsenal in the first place).
So, media, over to you: What’s the real story behind this “soap opera?” Specifically, why was Robin van Persie transferred? And it was, in fact, a “forced transfer,” who forced it, and exactly what methods did they use? Were these methods legal or extra-legal? Arsenal fans are waiting… Because in case you didn’t notice, the official “transfer saga” has more holes in it than a piece of swiss cheese.
(Incidentally, I would also appreciate some answers to these questions from Arsenal’s new American owners, who were, after all, the ones who officially signed off on the van Persie transfer).
Overall, the most important question left open by the Robin van Persie “transfer saga” is the question of “why?” Because if Robin van Persie didn’t force this transfer, who did? And why is the media trying to cover up their involvement? And if the truth is that nobody “forced” the transfer, then why is the media helping Arsenal to avoid questions from fans about the Club’s own decision to transfer van Persie? Perhaps the real truth here is that the party the transfer was “forced” on was Robin van Persie himself, rather than Arsenal… Or maybe it was “forced” on both?
To stop beating around the bush, what I’m specifically getting at here is as follows: What agenda might the persons controlling this media network have that relates to forcibly controlling the movements of football players between clubs in the EPL, while hiding from the public the fact that they are doing so?
For me personally, the term “human trafficking” is the first and only that springs to mind in response to that question (after all, it’s not as if it’s never happened in football before). And I’ll be returning to explore this subject more closely as a possible agenda for this media campaign in subsequent articles. And of course, this is all just a hypothesis at this point. But when the “fiction” is as strange as what we’ve been observing, how strange must the real truth be?
For the time being, this conclude my updates. I’ll move on in the next article to the fabrication of the van Persie “statement” itself.