Post match fallout – Krul v Van Persie rumble simmers

Posted on March 14th, 2012 | 8 Comments |

Arsenal v Newcastle March 2012 - Krul and Van Persie argue.
Flashpoint
Newcastle United might face a second successive week of FA disciplinary action following Monday’s game against Arsenal and people have had plenty to say about the Krul v Van Persie row.

There has been some fallout from the Arsenal game, not least as a result of the spat between Tim Krul and Robin Van Persie. Jack Wilshere twitted a warning about Van Poncy’s temper:

“Newcastle can’t say we didn’t deserve it! Why is Tim Krul crying as well? Obviously he doesn’t know about RVP’s temper! Don’t mess with the captain!”

As far as I can gather from the press reports, the row between the two players was as much about Van Persie’s attempts to stand close to Krul for the goal kicks as it was about any alleged time wasting. According to Dutch lip readers on The Telegraph’s payroll, Krul threatened to kick the ball at Van Persie’s head to which Van Persie said “Go on then“. NUFCBlog’s Dutch lip reader is absent at the moment so I can’t confirm any of this.

To be honest, I didn’t really notice an unusual amount of time-wasting by Krul until the commentator mentioned it and the crowd started booing, and in at least one instance the crowd were booing when the ball was still in play, so maybe Wenger needs to give his team a ‘Laws of the Game’ refresher.

Anyway, Jonas Gutierrez lays all the blame at Van Persie’s rather talented feet and said:

“Van Persie was wrong. There was no need for him to do that – Arsenal won the game, it was finished. I can’t understand a person like that. It is not right. When you feel like that it’s because you are not a good person.

“I don’t care about the football, I’m talking about the person. When you have people who do that, it’s not right.

“We are all used to getting kicks, it’s a sport of contact. But when you have things like that, it is not right – it is not easy to accept.

“He was the only Arsenal player who reacted like that. The others were saying to him ‘calm down, calm down’.”

Apparently there’s a chance the FA could get involved and possibly lay charges at the feet of both clubs. Of course the FA are already on our case as a result of the previous week’s game against the mackems. Perhaps we should appoint a permanent delegate to the FA.

Monday wasn’t all bad news though. Benny put in arguably his best performance for us yet and had a fairly decent game even beyond the cracking goal he scored, which might give Pardew something of a selection headache for next week’s fixture against Norwich. Benny is obviously keen to get regular starts and said:

“I want to start games – every player wants that. I was very happy to start and I am very happy to be on the pitch. I hope to do much more for the team when I am on the pitch. I am doing everything I can.”

If football was a 12-a-side game I think Benny would start every game. The thing is, with two good strikers in Ba and Cisse, who makes way for him? The logical place would seem to be on the right wing where we seem to have a weak spot that neither Obertan nor Raylor can fill satisfactorily, but Pardew has said he doesn’t see Benny as a winger and feels that his lack of defensive qualities would leave Simpson too exposed. It’s a puzzle.

NUFCBlog Author: Hugh de Payen I'm a baby-boomer of the punk rock persuasion, currently exiled in Somerset for crimes committed in a previous life where locals keep trying to poison me with something called 'scrumpy'. Hates sprouts, coat-hangers, Cilla Black, ornaments, Steven Seagull movies and 50 Cent (he's not worth 10). Hugh de Payen has written 634 articles on this blog.

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Posted on by Hugh de Payen in category: Alan Pardew and Hatem Ben Arfa and Hugh de Payen and Jonas Gutierrez and NUFC match reaction and analysis and Tim Krul , with tags: ,
Comment on this post

8 Responses

  1. subject best left alone now methinks.
    HBA cant justifiably be dropped for a ‘striker’ – he must be our 2nd top goalscorer by now?

  2. I think some people are getting too wound up about this incident which for me was handbags at dawn. I read another NUFC blog(not this blog)that expressed utter outrage like Gutierrez is. They even mentioned that they used to enjoy watching Arsenal but after this dreadful incident they could not bring themself to do it anymore. I have never read such a poetic, shakespearian dying swan piece of writing from a football blog before. If I am correct nobody shot anyone, because if I hadn’t seen the game and looked at Gutierrez’s comments I would have thought that RVP would have, at the very least, taken a baseball bat to Krul.

    RVP reacted to Krul and Krul reacted to RVP so it is not the one way traffic that is being painted in the north east. If RVP should be big enough not to be wound up by Krul then the same is true the other way and Krul should not be sprinting after RVP across the pitch.

    The simple fact is that Krul was timewasting even from the first half but, before you all pipe up and say it, I am sure that it would have been within the legal time limits. It does not mean that it should be accepted as ok, especially that early in the game and I think the fans have a right to express their annoyance at a tactic like this so early in the game. RVP just told Krul what everyone else, aside from Necastle fans, were thinking about his actions. I would imagine even the neutrals would have thought can you just get on with an entertaining football game as this is not why I have decided to spend my time watching this game.

    All teams try and slow down the play to see out a game when they are in a certain position and the keepers are often the most obvious when they do it. The Arsenal fans must have been bemused that a good team with dangerous players would show such a lack of ambition to win a football game so early. I actually blame Webb for not having a word with Krul earlier as although he may have not been straying over the legal limits it was obvious what he was doing and we should have been getting on with a football game that both sides wanted to win. If I were to drive my car at 10 miles an hour in a 40 zone along a road where you can’t overtake I bet most people behind me would get pretty annoyed, possibly even the morally outraged folk who have gone on about that criminal RVP. The police may well even pull you up and say that while you are not doing anything illegal you are creating a problem and that is what Webb should have done.

    I was resisting the temptation to talk about something that I think should have been forgotten by now, but as this somewhat fake moral outrage seems to be continuing to spout out of NUFC players and blogs I think it is time to point out that in a world full of troubles this is insignificant, and just get over it.

  4. typical dutch blokes – more edge than a broken piss pot.

    the soft shites should’a settled their differences in the car park after the game – end of.

    benny boy – we only have an average team with some players barely able to cover for themselves let alone having to try and cover for a luxury player doing his own thing! so if you want to start more games then you better start pulling your weight a lot more.

  5. GoonerB says:
    March 14, 2012 at 9:57 am

    “I think some people are getting too wound up about this incident which for me was handbags at dawn.”

    Or clogs at dawn in their case? I’m certainly not that fussed about it GoonerB. On the subject of Dutch players, whoever’s right or wrong, it certainly isn’t anything like De Jong, where he broke one of Krul’s teammates legs in two places with a scissor takle that put him out for a season. That was something really worth getting wound up about.

  7. GoonerB: I agree, tempest in a tea pot. Therefore, I’m not going to write a 500-word comment on it.

  8. Handbags
    On the subject of HBA, we are all aware of why he does’nt get a start, Cabaye,Jonas and Tiote are established in that line and he does’nt IMO, feel that HBA is willing to play the defensive role he wants from both wingers.
    A waste of talent.
    Personally it’s my opinion that this eight man defensive approach is ugly and unsuccessful, rather see two attacking wingers.
    Though i cant see Pardew changing his approach, in which case we are in for a lot of hoofball.