Albert Riera has certainly had an interesting time at Liverpool. After a relatively successful first season at the club where he gave the Reds some much needed width on the left hand side during the 2008/09 season which saw Rafa Benitez get his best placed finish in the Premier League, his second season was an unmitigated disaster as he was justifiably disciplined after criticising the manager before an important Europa League tie against Lille. Now, Riera wants to wipe the slate clean and start anew, although he is still keeping his options open:
“It has been a difficult year for me and for Liverpool. Honestly, if I can, I am going to stay at Liverpool because it is a top club. But, at the moment, the door is open for me. So, I really don’t know. As for Bordeaux, I would really like to go back there because I have the feeling I didn’t give everything in my first spell at the club.”
Putting his own interests above the team when he said his outspoken comments back in March, it would be hard to see the left winger returning into the first team fold. Criticised for his conduct on the training pitch too, Riera felt he had been overlooked for a first team place because Rafa had it in for him and was concerned that he would lose his place in the international setup with Spain.
He duly did lose his place with the national team and he was sidelined for the rest of the season because of his self-interested conduct. These are the issues that any new manager much consider. If it was to be Kenny Dalglish, a man who had worked under Benitez and had been at the club as a club ambassador during Riera’s outbursts, he would no doubt reaffirm previous manager Benitez’s position and send the player on his way.
It is also fair to say though any other manager would consider his sale purely on footballing grounds too. Despite playing as an out and out winger, Riera does not really have the pace to skin opposition full backs and he relies heavily on coming in field or wipping crosses into the box around opposition defenders. If we could sell him to Bordeaux for £6million, it would be a good piece of business, and if it is possible we could reinvest the money in somebody with pace, guile and class who could stretch opposition defences.
Certainly any new manager would see Riera’s comments, which undermined the manager and the team back in March, as somebody who is not a team player. During a difficult time for the club when every player needs to be fully committed to the cause of getting this team back where it belongs, you surely wouldn’t rely on the Spanish winger to be both committed and loyal going by past comments. That’s why, if we could use the money from his sale and find funds from other deals, I would be inclined to look at Arda Turan of Galatasaray. While being captain of his side at just 23, he also has pace, trickery and can cause defences real problems. He also stated on a number of occasions that he wants to play for Liverpool, a player committed to the cause like him would be worth 3 or 4 Rieras.
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Football FanCast writer Oscar Pye-Jeary documents his time in South Africa following England in the 2010 World Cup. (England v USA).
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There is no way in this world would i let riera leave liverpool we need him to stay he gives us balance on the left wing that we do not have with out him .As for his remarks about liverpool fc well if were all honest we have all been saying things the same or similar and most of what he has said is true players are leaving a sinking ship benayoun,mascherano , gerrard, torres have all been touted as going rafa has had fall out with players and not spoken to them as benayoun mentioned so i vote to keep albert riera at lfc
No, no and no. He hit a younger player in training, which is inexcusable, and then acted petulantly when Rafa Benitez disciplined him for it.
There is no doubt that Riera is a talented footballer but that doesn’t excuse his behaviour, either towards his teammate, his manager, his club, and (through his words while trying to engineer a move to Russia after his self-inflicted fall from grace; a move that fell through because of excessive wage demands) the fans that pay his wages.
His actions cost him not only his place at Anfield but his ticket to South Africa as part of the Spain squad.
He went from being a regular member of the international team (played more often than not, sometimes starting, sometimes coming on off the bench) to being on the outside looking in, and he only has himself to blame for that, yet he persists in blaming others for his situation.
Had he had an ounce of sense and apologised for the initial incident then it would have all been forgotten soon enough, his reputation would have been untarnished and he would almost certainly be part of the squad that’s most people expect to lift the World Cup in a month’s time.
Riera shot himself in the foot with both barrels. If our club had money to burn then I’d happily see him rot in the reserves. As we don’t, I eagerly await the day that he’s sold to a club willing to put up with his childish, arrogant and selfish behaviour.
Better off for all if he just goes. We don’t need him and he doesn’t want to be here, so good riddance
Just sell this useless player. Last season he was against the team and the manager particularly and now he said he want to play for Liverpool again? Just sell!
2 words can answer this one NO WAY, so let him go now
No! anyone who can disrepect the manager and club at a difficult time really should not be allowed play for Liverpool ever again,you really see what people are like when times get tough and he showed his real character, I would never have him back and Milan Jovanovic wants to play for Liverpool and will give us natural width like Riera did, it looks like Yossi is gone to Chelsea and Mascherano maybe going too but if these lads dont want to play here then let them leave ,we will be back and players like Dirk Kuyt,Jamie Carragher,Daniel Agger,Pepe Reina,Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres love this great club,Mascherano is obviously the only one who will really dent us and I would prefer him to stay but be positive he is not irreplaceable we will be back next year.
‘PLONKER’
donal so lets stop every red supporter who has made a comment about the manager and the club from supporting us or going to the ground shall we as for kuyt ,torres , gerrard , and even carra they may all be leaving the club the way the press are implyimg and themselves are implying to . I bet you and the other peole on this site have never said something in anger then regreted it if the lad is big enough to stand up and say he wants to stay at lfc then thats fine by me . I forgave babel for his out burst and his twiter page because like riera there young men with passion who want to play for liverpool fc but were either on the bench or taken off every game by the manager or what about gerrard who spit his dummy out in 2005 and openly said he wanted to go to chelsea bet you wouldnt get shut of him would you. SO WAKE UP AND SEE THE BIG PICTURE RAFA CAUSED THERE OUT BURST NOT LIVERPOOL FC I WOULD HATE TO BE IN THE TRENCHES WITH SOME OF YOU NARROW MINDED PEOPLE . CALL YOUR SELVES REDS !
NO! simple as that.
Bheko whats not as simple as that mate ! explain
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