Heinze: Reason In The War Of Words …
Dear Sir Fergie of all that is great,
I feel it’s time for some rationale in the escalating war of words between yourself, Gaby Heinze (or agent of) and Rif Rafa Benitez.
Ok, there hasn’t been a transfer between the clubs for decades but this one is a no brainer. United are being offered £7m (that’s about £3.5 mill less than we got for the top scorer in La Liga 06/07) for a player that almost single-handedly lost you the Champions league semi final 2nd leg against Milan and at 29, has become a semi-reliable utitlity player. A semi-reliable utility player who, lest we forget, has been injured for nearly half of his time at Old Trafford. I’m not saying I want him to leave, but if he wants to go then the price and timing is surely right.
Gaby is a great character and a real warrior, but so was Winston Churchill. Would you put him in the first XI? United fans are known for their loyalty and Gaby has worked his socks off for us, rightfully earning a place in our hearts.
But there is a time for sentimentality and a time for bringing the European Cup home. Because of his apparent passion for the club, fans view Gaby through rose tinted glasses, but when did he last play a belter for United? Would they seriously put him in the side over Evra, who has looked Roberto Carlos-esque in preseason?
One argument is that Gaby is a better out and out defender than Patrice. This is nonsense. Evra would never have played such a risky and mindless pass to Vidic in Milan, which effectively sealed United’s fate in last season’s competition (I know you haven’t forgotten that blunder Sir Fergie, of all that is great).
And even if Evra does make a mistake, he has the pace to recover. Gaby, on the other hand, is slower than a David Beckham in stilettos. Would he noticeably improve the Scousers? We already have a hapless understudy to Evra in Silvestre and he would be happier to warm the bench next season than Gaby. O’Shea can do a job there and Anderson also loves the position. We definitely have cover.
And let’s talk about loyalty for a second. If Gaby really loves United, he won’t even use the offer from Liverpool as bog roll, in the same way that Thierry Henry would never play for another English club after leaving Arsenal. Of course, we haven’t seen any quotes from GH saying he specifically wants to join Liverpool, but if he wants to stay at OT he must surely give his agent the P45 treatment even for implying that such a deal could happen.
If he does go to Liverpool, I’m going straight down to the bookies to put the lot on him getting sent off for a typically clumsy challenge on Ronaldo in the next North West derby. I’m sure I won’t get great odds but I recommend you do the same.
Perhaps you are manifesting your usual brilliance in simply pretending to be annoyed about the deal, in order to keep the price as high as possible and further cement Rif Rafa’s reputation as a man who couldn’t spot a bargain if it repeatedly slapped him in the face with a large wet fish? If so, apologies for pointing out the obvious and sorry for wasting your time.
Yours Truly
Redville
p.s. if keeping him means that Tevez will be happier at United then scrub the above.
p.p.s. if you get any spare tickets for the Liverpool game please don’t hesitate to give me a shout.
