Pires the diver? Or just not strong enough?

[KoLo28]

Graeme Souness accused Robert Pires of amateur dramatics during Arsenal's 1-0 win over Blackburn at Highbury on Sunday.

The fiery Scot was frustrated by the antics of Pires, who has earned the wrath of several opposing managers for his theatrical reaction to tackles.

Souness, who remonstrated with the Frenchman during the game, said: "Robert Pires is a super player but he got two of our players booked and I feel that he goes to ground too easily."

What are your thoughts on the matter..?

 

[Adam]

He feels vulnerable after a long term injury and he was never aggressive before he came to Arsenal. However, in the double season he raised his aggression and didn't go to ground at all.

It's not in Robert Pires's nature to cheat anyone. The only diving claims have come post the injury. I think he will strive to get the same aggression levels he had in 01.02 and in the meantime we will have to put up with these diving claims.

 

[SydneyGunnerFan]

i dont think he does he might not be one of the strongest players on the team but he doesnt dive

 

[patrick42uk]

he does tend to go down incredibly easily, but that could be down to the mental after effects of his injuries. he did say that he now tends to 'anticipate' tackles, going down quickly to avoid injury

 

[Adam]

What i don't think is right is his mental strength and attitude there. He is a man and he should be strong enough in the head to override these mental effects. He should only be worried about his landing technique after jumping from tackles (the way he got injured) not the rest of his play which made him the player he was that season . He should play how he played before as the injury he got was under unlikely circumstances; he never got injured before from taking tackles, why should he be scared of them now? It's part and parcel. All this anticipation and avoiding tacjles is about a lack of mental strength.

I won't say he is a cheat though. Robert Pires is an honest player with a mentally affected vulnerability to physical contact.

 

[lewdikris]

C'mon, let's not get technical about this. Souness is 100% right. Pires fully understands the sack of potatoes dance. If he was a **** player, or played for someone else, it would annoy me ... even for us it annoys me a little, but it's something he does, and no matter his expressed reasons, i don't see him stopping. He's getting to be an old dog, and they don't learn new tricks.

 

[Adam]

Lewd - he never had this reputation prior to the long term injury. Even the most sceptical can see read something into that. In fact, i can't remember one dive.

He wasn't a titan, but he stood his ground before and managed to keep the ball better on his dribbles (he never lost it and had a high dribble completiion rate as well as the highest dribble amount in the whole league) with the strength and aggression he had at that time.

 

[Webdesignlab]

Whilst I think you are right Lewdikris, I can see that after a really bad injury such as Pires had, that I would be very careful too.

I buy his weakness. Pires is too good to just let this diver bull be his biggest accolade.

 

[Jinn]

I think he goes down too easily. It probably does have something to do with his injury, but in that split second where there is physical contact - it's not easy to analyse one's own thoughts.

He's probably more likely to roll with the punches so to speak, rather than stand up to the physical assault. Protecting his legs, just like Dave Seaman protects his ribs.

 

[GoonerGurjit]

It's probably a little bit of both. We just have to accept that diving's a part of the game now. Pires blatantly dived against Portsmouth and Valencia but at the end of the day he does it for the benefit on the team if ya know what I mean.

 

[Mark]

i have noticed he goes down a bit easily, but i don't think he is diving. if he is, i hope he stops, especially after all the stuff we say about van nistelrooy and cristiano ronaldo.

 

[Anonymous]

Message to the press and other people who think Pires is a diver:
Please stop. HE DOESN'T DIVE! The diver is VN.

 

[Exiled In Newcastle]

Souness has got a flaming nerve. In that game, not only did d'urso give one of the most inept diplays of refereeing I've seen in years, but his team was playing in their managers image! Bobby was continuously getting clipped and spun, and thats down to the fouls he was taking.

Pires' style is as a 'light' running player, almost skipping. That kind of player is always going to get knocked over more often that a 'power' running player like, say, Titi.

 

[Anonymous]

C'mon, let's not get technical about this. Souness is 100% right. Pires fully understands the sack of potatoes dance. If he was a **** player, or played for someone else, it would annoy me ... even for us it annoys me a little, but it's something he does, and no matter his expressed reasons, i don't see him stopping. He's getting to be an old dog, and they don't learn new tricks.

Spot on. His injury has nothing to do with some of the times he has 'fallen' to the ground this year. He dived right in front of me at the Sp**s game, and it was embarrassing.

But the Blackburn game he was being kicked all over the pitch, so really you cant blame him going to gorund easily at times during that game.

 

[Adam]

Nope, not spot on. It was not an attribute he had before long term injury; there is only one clear conclusion. Arsène has revealed as much.

 

[Anonymous]

Nope, not spot on. It was not an attribute he had before long term injury; there is only one clear conclusion. Arsène has revealed as much.

well i think it is ok?

His 'dive' against Sp**s has NOTHING to do with his knee injury. Being pushed and going down like you have been shot also has nothing to do with your knee, unless it has moved up to your chest.

Stop over analysing everything. There is not some strange hidden agenda going on here, he goes down easily. Thats all there is to it.

 

[Andrew]

I think he goes down a bit too easy... injury or no injury. He clearly did cheat against Portsmouth to win that penalty. But he doesn't dive all the time as some people put it. Sometimes when a tackle comes in he jumps up to avoid it which makes him look like he's diving.

But I can't believe Souness' comments. I can't recall him diving against Blackburn. If anything he did really well to stay on his feet while getting past one challenge only to then be clattered by Dodd. Souness' comments were way out of line. And he thought that their disallowed goal should have stood? Well Babbel was climing all over Kolo's back so the fact that the ball went in the net was irrelevant.

 

[n_henry]

IMHO, if there ever was a diver in our camp, it's Bobby. He goes down much too easily too frequently.

But Souness's comments ... :roll:

 

[Adam]

Nope, not spot on. It was not an attribute he had before long term injury; there is only one clear conclusion. Arsène has revealed as much.

well i think it is ok?

His 'dive' against Sp**s has NOTHING to do with his knee injury. Being pushed and going down like you have been shot also has nothing to do with your knee, unless it has moved up to your chest.

Stop over analysing everything. There is not some strange hidden agenda going on here, he goes down easily. Thats all there is to it.

This is where your sheepish view becomes unstuck....

Name one dive that Pires done pre the long term injury - did he go down easily then? No.

Robert Pires is not a cheat. It is not in his nature to go down easily - it is however, natural that he seeks to protect himself as a result of the mental affects of a long term injury. I believe he should overcome them; but then again, i haven't had a knee cruciate injury.

 

[Anonymous]

Nope, not spot on. It was not an attribute he had before long term injury; there is only one clear conclusion. Arsène has revealed as much.

well i think it is ok?

His 'dive' against Sp**s has NOTHING to do with his knee injury. Being pushed and going down like you have been shot also has nothing to do with your knee, unless it has moved up to your chest.

Stop over analysing everything. There is not some strange hidden agenda going on here, he goes down easily. Thats all there is to it.

This is where your sheepish view becomes unstuck....

Name one dive that Pires done pre the long term injury - did he go down easily then? No.

Robert Pires is not a cheat. It is not in his nature to go down easily - it is however, natural that he seeks to protect himself as a result of the mental affects of a long term injury. I believe he should overcome them; but then again, i haven't had a knee cruciate injury.

Sheepish view? LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pires has always gone down easily, just face it and move on. he dived at Anfield when we won 2-1, but seen as Gio had already been sent off the ref bottled booking him. There are more, but i cant be bothered thinking now, as you are talking rubbish.

Again, the dives against Portsmouth and Sp**s were dives. They had NOTHING to do with protecting his knee. Why are you unable to see this? Again against Blackburn he was going down easily, after innocuous tackles. Many of the times he 'dives' are when he claims to have been obstructed or had his shirt pulled, which have nothing to do with his injury.

And here is where your sheepish view becomes unstuck....

He is not afraid to put his foot in. If anything he does this more post his injury than he did before it. I can remember a couple of 50 50 balls he contested with his injured leg and won them no probs. Doesnt seem to have many mental problems here.

Like the majority of people in this topic, face he goes down easily and move on.