da bet7： Roman Pavlyuchenko has issued an ultimatum to Harry Redknapp, saying that if he does not start more games he will ask to leave the club. He said, “I am tired of being treated like this. Now, until the summer transfer window, if nothing changes, I am going to demand to be sold.” Adding, “It is not the money I am after. I want to play football.”
da betcris： You can see why the Russian is frustrated, he has scored more goals than Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe put together this season, and not played as long as either of them. Last year he found himself in a similar position, being 4th choice striker behind Robbie Keane, as well as the current pairing. But while many people are easily swayed by Pavlyuchenko’s seemingly romantic desire to simply ‘play football’; I am a bit more sceptical.
He is no stranger from rhetoric, having played a successful part in political campaigns in Russia. He has acted as a deputy for Vladimir Putin’s “United Russia” party. In his home town of Stavropol, Pavlyuchenko secured more than enough votes to be elected onto the regional council.
The line; ‘It is not the money I am after’ is so obvious. We can’t fall for it that easily, especially when he will never have to worry about money. He gets paid more in a week than an average man would get paid in a year.
The truth is that he has always been a big fish in a small pond, and he can’t handle being a smaller fish. With his youthful looks and blonde hair it is easy to see why he has previously been the ‘it’ boy. He was ‘golden’ in his six years at Spartak Moscow, and when he joined Tottenham his affectionate mother, Lyubov Pavlyuchenko, said, “He didn’t want to go to England or leave Russia.”
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not just being a cynic. I am a huge believer in wanting to play football first, and receive the ridiculous rewards, second. But this desire should surely be mirrored by an attitude on the pitch?
Pav’s problem is that he has not proved himself as reliable. Yes, he scores goals, but not enough to convince Redknapp he is better than those above him. He takes them well when they arise, but does not do enough when these chances don’t crop up.
Some of his goals have been top class, but he all too often looks lazy. Redknapp said that his best from came last year after being told to “just f******g run around”. He is definitely talented but has not produced the goods when he been in the starting XI. His best performances have come from the bench.
When the going gets tough, you have to stay and fight for it, not just give up. If anyone has seen Pavlyuchenko play, it is tough to argue that he is not lazy. If he carries out his decision to quit White Hart Lane, it will mirror his attitude on the pitch, a bit like a spoiled child.
In his interview, Pavlyuchenko said, “it is absolutely inconceivable why Redknapp keeps me on the bench.” It might be frustrating Roman, but it is by no means ‘absolutely inconceivable’.
And when he said, “sometimes I have a feeling that Redknapp jeers at me,” he is begging for a response such as, ‘grow up Pav, this is business, nothing personal’. Sport is just that. It seems to me that Roman has been wrapped up in cotton wool his whole life.
So, Harry may not have treated him particularly well, but why should he? He is not baby-sitting, he is a football manager. Pavlyuchenko, as much as I appreciate his sentiments about placing football over money, has often felt sorry for himself while at White Hart Lane, and I think yet again, he has over-reacted.