AS the Suarez saga rolls on the Gaffer this week called for the want-a-way striker to display a sentiment seemingly long forgotten in football.
To the impartial observer loyalty in modern football remains an elusive emotion as remarkable as a John Mikel hat-trick in the Premiership!
This got me thinking to the differing instances in which modern players have displayed loyalty or the complete opposite as the case may be.
The present preoccupation with whether Suarez stays or goes has dominated the Reds transfer policy this summer. Without question one of our most valuable players and hence a highly prized asset Suarez’ decision to leave Anfield has divided fans and opinion alike.
While it appears clear to me the Uruguayans position at the club is now untenable the reluctance to see him leave at all is the reason he still remains a Red. Rodgers rightfully called for the player to replay the loyalty shown, misguidedly some have argued, over his racism and biting bans but is the modern day player capable of returning that same level of commitment.
For me the answer has to be yes with a caveat attached. Not all players can be counted to reciprocate recently espoused values but there does remain a small few for which such standards come before all else. Cast your mind back to the summer of 2005. Having triumphed in Istanbul to become European champions for the fifth time in no small part due to the efforts of the real Captain Fantastic, Chelsea came calling.
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With a bid of over £30 million and the full force of Mourinho’s media influence for a long while it seemed we would lose our inspirational leader to the bright lights of London. Despite the understandable temptation and to our collective relief Stevie G determined remaining with the club who had stood by him through thick and thin was the most important factor.
Speaking of Chelsea the reason Torres receives the reception at Anfield he does today is due to the disloyalty displayed when engineering his move away. Despite his many achievements and amazing performances in a Red shirt the way Fernando departed left a bitter taste in the mouth of many fans.
On a football level his intentions in many quarters seem justified. Here you had a player at the peak of his powers simply wanting to display his abilities at the highest level possible. However what that synopsis fails to appreciate is the importance of the club in enabling said player to perform at that level and the expected reciprocation of commitment.
For all his detractors Cristiano Ronaldo was able to show United a level of loyalty Fernando fell short of. After Real Madrid’s attempt to prise Ronaldo away in 2008 it is now well known an agreement was reached between the player and Ferguson for Ronaldo to stay for one more season before leaving the following summer. Had Torres been able to do the same with us I’m sure his reception at Anfield today would be much more positive.
Luis would do well to look at the Torres episode and conclude the grass is not always greener. I have to agree with Brendan when he says going to Arsenal would be a foolish decision for Suarez. While they would offer Champions League football next season it would be hard to argue he’d be joining a bigger club than the one he’s leaving.
A lateral move at best, I think joining the Gunners may actually prove to be taking a step backwards for the striker. As Rodgers has stated Suarez currently has a “team built around him” that works to “suit his strengths”. As Torres has unceremoniously discovered moving into a new team with a new philosophy and system of operation does not always lead to an improvement in performance. Some may argue you simply get to become a worse player on an occasionally bigger stage.
To conclude then it isn’t all doom and gloom when it comes to loyalty with modern footballers. Sure sagas such as the Suarez transfer, the Rooney will-he-won’t-he stay at United and the Benteke ‘contract renegotiations’ make you feel money and prestige have become the most important factors.
However hope remains in the aforementioned caveat which is this. It will always be players’ individual moral foundation that will determine his ability to remain loyal to a club or not.
The likes of Stevie G, Ryan Giggs and even Ryan Shawcross prove that money will not always lure players away. If the individual in question has the required honesty and integrity there will always be the possibility that positive often forgotten sentiments such as loyalty will remain in our beautiful game.
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Rodgers is having a laugh, he walked out of Swansea after ONE season! Now HE wants to preach about loyalty. What a hypocrite, Brenda wanted to better himself, make more money etc and now he thinks he can look down his nose at others.
nice article, i think john terry, drogba and frank lampard deserves worthy mention with regards to their blues career. like the mikel hat trick part. YNWA
Suarez doesnt deserve to be stuck at a club with no ambition. A club who hasn’t bought any top quality player this summer . Can’t blame Luis at all
after re-reading the mikel stuff, i had a feeling that “as elusive as rodgers telling the truth nd not giving excuses” would ve sounded
Definitely!
“Rodgers rightfully called for the player to replay the loyalty shown”???
– Would all Liverpool fans have shown loyalty to Suarez had he been a ordinary player? Take Downing for an example. Downing is trying his level best to win the fans over, by putting in hard work and commitment. Yet alot of the Liverpool fans are calling for him to be sold. Then there is the Lucas Leiva episode. And then the Pepe Reina episode. Reina’s performances must have dropped since Benitez left. But he picked it up over the second half of last season. Yet he was sold, just because he wanted to return home. LET GO just because he wanted to play for one of the TOP 3 Clubs in the World. Yet we are not selling Suarez even though his heart and mind seems to be elsewhere. Why??? Not because we are loyal to Suarez. But because Suarez is a Top Player. Easily amongst the top 5 strikers in the World.
Suarez does not owe Liverpool anything. He performed. He dazzled. He was paid to do so.Being a Liverpool fan, I am sad that he does not desire to play for my Club anymore. But the fact is we have a manager in Brenden Rodgers who does not have the courage to buy high quality World Class players because of the fear of failing.
Shouting about buying players that fit into the system is good. I would rather have 3 game changing World Class players that 10 decent or very good players. Competing against someone better than you will always get the best out of you. Suarez does not see Liverpool competing against the top 4. Not until we buy top 4 players. As much as Rogers is trying to improve Liverpools style of play, Liverpool are more Swansea than Liverpool.
As much as I hate what is going on with my Team right now, I will continue to suppot, both the managers and the players. Pay respect where it is due. YNWA.
you ve said it all, but you actually insulted swansea when you said “we are more swansea than liverpool” the current swansea team is better than lfc except for the fans and our history.
I apologise. My intension was not to do so. So once again, I apologise.
But the point that the current Swansea team is better than LFC, I disagree. The current LFC team has better players, who have not lived up to the hype. Liverpool have lost or drawn more than 4 or 5 games because of individual errors. Against Arsenal/ ManC to name a few.
Can’t blame Suarez at all . Liverpool have let him down by not providing a proper manager and proper funds to make us a top top team again.
you ve said it all, but you actually insulted swansea when you said “we are more swansea than liverpool” the current swansea team is better than lfc except for the fans and our history.
Loyalty and Rodgers ? Lol
That man would jump ship if man utd came asking in a heartbeat
Yah man loyalty @ Anfield ? Sadly this word does not hold true anymore . MONEY talks @ Liverpool FC . All these professional players should know it better. And with the World Cup just around the corner , many players are looking to advance their career and playing time. Skrtel will be the next to go . Mark my words. When player does not any get any playing time under the manager , it can only mean one thing . And Skrtel would have to seriously consider his next option. Being Liverpool as it is right now they will get the best possible deal for the club and that is to reduce the wage bill.
the arrival of billionnaiaire owners has totally changed the face of football. on the one hand we cannot blame a talented player trying to make as much as possible during his career but on the other hand do we have to listen to the two faced justifications handed out by these folk.
how can players like ibrahimovic and the other gold-diggers at psg seriously suggest that playing their weekly football in the french league is professionally challenging or satisfying. they are all good enough to play in the champions league for other clubs but psg pay more. end of story for them.