Following Manchester United’s shock 2-0 defeat to Olympiakos in the UEFA Champions League earlier this week, star striker Robin van Persie had plenty to say.
Describing United as ‘lousy’ and lambasting his own teammates for interfering with his space on the pitch, you can’t imagine van Persie endeared himself to the locker room too much.
It seems as though Mexican international striker Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez has had enough, as the striker who has played second fiddle to RVP in the last few seasons posted the following message on his Instagram account.
“Without your teammates you can’t be somebody in football, always be thankful.”
Since posting that, Hernandez has come out and stated it wasn’t meant against van Persie, but why make an initial comment like that in the first place? RVP’s criticism came fresh off the back of a difficult week for the Red Devils and with the Dutch maestro pointing the blame at his own teammates, Chicharito’s message was timely reminder to Mr. van Persie that they’re all in this together.
(MORE: Robin van Persie rips teammates for being in his space)
The last thing United need now is to collapse like a house of cards and start fighting amongst themselves. The one thing that Sir Alex Ferguson always did so well was to foster was a siege mentality. That ‘us against them’ vibe was always present throughout Fergie’s years in charge as the team spirit and unity was never questioned. You were either with them or against them. David Moyes need to nip comments from RVP in the bud and get everyone reading off the same hymn sheet.
If not, it could be time to ditch RVP and let him move on. The Dutch striker was said to have angered United’s coaching staff when taking longer than expected to return to full fitness last month and rumors of him returning to Arsenal have also started to circle in the press in England. But with this thing being blown up due to United’s struggles, it could just blow over and actually help Unite din building team spirit as that siege mentality fosters itself once again.
Let’s hope this apparent unrest at United sorts itself out, sooner rather than later.
