By Myles Palmer
The Sun’s excellent columnist John Sadler wheels out his old pal Brian Clough to slaughter Paddy Vieira today.
Old bighead calls Vieira big-headed. And he’s right.
Cloughie hates player power, as you know.He is really just saying what I’ve been saying this week : However big you think their egos are, they are always bigger.
The man who was the Genghis Khan of the East Midlands for 25 years detests modern players who want to call the shots.
Cloughie says, “Wherever I look, whatever I read, there is a footballer laying the law down.The Vieira business is the last straw. When I think of that lad I feel like a matador. Somebody has got to take the bull by the horns.
“I hear of players saying their club is not thinking big enough.Turning down a transfer because they will only join a club that’s qualified for the Champions League.
“In Vieira’s case, he doesn’t rate a couple of Arsene Wenger’s signings, apparently. He wants a club where he’s going to win medals.
“When I think of him I think of bad apples and you know what
has to be done with them. They have to be chucked out of the
barrel.
“The attitude of some top players nowadays smacks of do it my way or else!
“Who the hell does Vieira think he is? Arsenal are bigger than him. Of course they are. Hartlepool are bigger than him. But neither are bigger than his head!”
Clough castigates the French star for abusing a great club.
He says Arsene Wenger “brought him from nowhere and turned him from a relative nobody into a good player-but still not half as good as he thinks he is. You know the first ambition of any player worth his salt? A win in the next match. That’s where ambition starts.”
ARSENAL start training on Thursday July 5th. If Vieira is not there on July 5th he might not play for Arsenal again.
So Paddy, the big man who has shrunk so much in everyone’s estimations this week, has some serious decisions to make in the next six days.
Do I want to go on strike? Do I think the fans will forgive me for trying to walk out and join Manchester United? Will the frequently forgiving Arsene ever forgive me for negotiating with Juventus and United behind his back?
What will I do if I haven’t been sold before the Champions League eligibility deadline, which is usually around August 1s? Because even if I’m sold after that date, I cannot play in the Champions League for anybody before Christmas.
What do I think Vieira should do now? What do I think he will do? What would I do in his position?
I CANNOT ANSWER ANY OF THOSE QUESTIONS.I’VE NOW WRITTEN SIX VIEIRA PIECES HERE RECENTLY.
I think six is enough, don’t you?
29th June 2001