Well, Burns, you were absolutely right when you said we should throw 180k pounds/week at van Persie. He's not just a good player for us, he's a top 10 player globally.
And it's important to remember that it's not always about money with players. I think for most players, the chance to win is more important than money. Teams that win tend to be able to pay more money, but all things being equal, they will choose the team more likely to win. I think this is a large part of what happened with Robin. He chose to go to a team with players and managers who were used to winning and had stability. He apparently turned down more money from Citeh.
Not just for Robin, but other players, if we are able to show that we attract and retain decent players, then we will be able to attract and retain more decent players. Chicken and egg. But we have to start somewhere, e.g. bid for David Villa.
