DEAR Luis,
I don’t imagine the name of (the late, 20th century English writer-philosopher) Alduous Huxley is thrown around too much in the Anfield dressing room, although I wouldn’t have put it past Shankly.
And I won’t pretend that I think of his writings when I watch games on tele. Generally, I’m in a state of imbalance brought about the consumption of something or other, or just by the adrenalin that only live sport can bring.
I’m thumping my fist and swearing at the referee or the players or the manager. A bit like you.
Parapsychology, universalism and satire- three of Mr. Huxley’s areas of expertise- are far from my mind.
But the off season is weird. It is different from in-season because then we plan our entire weeks around the next Liverpool game. We are focused: on specifically the next opponent or three. We think of the dread of tweaked Achilles and shattered metatarsals.
The off-season gives us time to philosophise, because then, time passes like the water in a quiet pond, only disturbed by the rumours that cause the water to shift from here to there and back again once it has reached the edge.
I don’t know if ‘Hux’ was a footballing man, but the names of his books (and the years they were published) I will use to tell your story, because today they seem painfully poignant.
I think in Spanish the word is ‘conmovedor’.
After you signed the contract extension we thought you’d only leave ’After Many a Summer’ (1939). We thought you’d take us to the promised land again, the Champions League.
But all we got from that contract was a prolonged fight about ’Words and Their Meanings’ (1940).
At worst we thought you’d leave us with a worthy memento, like Fernando did.
No, Luis, that offer from Arsenal that was one bloody Sterling over that £40 million mark, that did not trigger any clause.
There was a thought going round in footballing circles that has rubbed me the wrong way all summer, the idea that you ‘deserve’ to play in the Champions League. The idea in itself is not a fallacy. You have, as evidenced by last season, the skill-set and form (form…funny thing isn’t it? Have you got Fernando on speed-dial?) to be one of its best performers. But the word ‘deserve’ is loaded and dangerous when used in the case of one player in a team sport. We can say Ryan Giggs deserved to play in a World Cup, or Didier Drogba deserved to kick the winning penalty.
But Wales never qualified, and Chelsea were outplayed in every department in the 2012 final against Bayern.
Sometimes things don’t make (complete) sense. And that’s when we dig inside to find ‘honour’.
Xabi Alonso did not ‘deserve’ to be undermined by Rafa Benitez in favour of the far more dry and limited Gareth Barry. Remember that? What did Xabi do? He stuck it out for one more fantastic season, and when he rode off into the Iberian sunset with Real Madrid not a word of protest were heard from us. We knew he had been hard done by. He ‘deserved’ our empathy.
Empathy, and not just sympathy. Because we have all been there…with bosses who don’t appreciate our hard work and our loyalty. We worked harder, made our co-workers see that, head down, bound by our contracts, and tried to leave with bridges unburnt.
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You may agree, and you may not. Such are the ‘Doors of Perception’ (1954). And as Liverpool fans, you’ve made us walk through a dozen doors in our minds.
We wanted to sympathise with you. We give you standing ovations to which you seem uninterested. I’ve lived in Melbourne, Luis, and their sports fans know their sports. They sang for you in Dublin and Jakarta. And of course there’s Anfield.
What about what we deserve?
If you expected the wave of sympathy to manufacture a smooth exit from the quiet fields of Melwood on those wet weekday mornings, you should have looked longer and harder at what we deserved for our ‘Two or Three Graces’ (1926).
You made King Kenny look foolish now for backing you during the Evra affair, even if your guilt was, to some, ‘On the Margin’ (1923). Your colleagues wore those red ‘7’ shirts. Remember that? And then there was the Ivanovic affair, and we disciplined you like an errant child we loved, but we never made you feel like you weren’t ours.
You, Luis Suarez, perhaps unintentionally, trying to make Liverpool Football Club look like a provincial, foolish drunkard stumbling over garbage bins while having a fag and pissing on the gutter while his pocket gets picked.
We are not that, Luis. We are a footballing institution because we have won, and earned respect. We have been through Hillsbrough and Heysel and have looked after our own in their wakes, literally.
We are a global family, and despite all the forces of modern footballing economics, we go through ‘Heaven and Hell’ (1956) together.
So this is another cloud, and clouds have been known to pass, and your petulance pales in comparison to our culture. Guess what though Luis. We are getting wiser. Brendan is right in letting you run around alone for a while. He is right in demanding an apology. And he is right in declaring that we need to mend bridges.
You see Luis, football clubs rediscover their character like this.
And if you stay, and have a fantastic season, we will learn to love you again, though this time, until you leave, the agenda will be very much ‘Ends and Means’ (1937).
Enough ‘Point [and] Counter Point’ (1928) Luis. Show us what you can do.
Writing this has left me with a bitter taste in my mouth, so I’ll need to apply some Colgate. And I’ll leave you with (possibly) Huxley’s most famous quote:
“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.”
In case you want to know, it’s from an essay called ‘Case of Voluntary Ignorance’ (1959).
Regards,
Fahmi Ebrahim
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Most enjoyable read, certainly beats the pants off other football articles I’ve read.
Suarez has certainly left us in ‘Limbo’ this summer.
I hope many others take a leaf out of this author’s book and give us something worth reading too.
Cant really blame Suarez at all . He deserves better than a mid table team, and it pretty obvious Rodgers promised him he could leave.
Eoin, if it is so obvious that Rodgers promised Suarez that he could leave, then why didn’t Suarez say so in the first place. That would have been the unanswerable and perfect excuse for leaving. It is actually obvious by the timing, months afterwards, that Suarez is lying through his teeth because he has been caught out and wasn’t getting his own way. If you cannot say anything good about Liverpool, just shut up and crawl back under your stone please
Not a lot good to say about Liverpool will these clowns in charge. Rodgers is a proven li ar , nobody can believe a word he says . I suggest you find that rock you talked about , and get back under it yourself
Eddie , if you believe anything Rodgers says, then you are seriously gullible . I doubt the man has ever told the truth
I would prefer to go by track record and FACTS, and Has Brendan not lied on numerous occasions to us fans?, you know yourself the answer is yes, so by that reckoning why do you believe Brendan on this matter?, because Brendan says so?, that is the only reason as far as I can see.
BR didn’t tell him he leave! It was this same Suarez that said whether we qualify or not for UCL he would remain a LFC player. Initially British media was his problem, but later it was champions League football.
Rodgers has been telling porkies to us fans since day 1. Rodgers did promise Suarez
I have to agree, like I said before, I am not sure if Brendan could even lay “straight” in bed lol.
I agree . BR li ed , like he always does. I’d rather Luis than Rodgers at our club next season
Im with Owen and Geoff . Rodgers cannot be trusted – a total fkin waffler. Liverpool have let Suarez down by not providing a good manager to work under , and not spending what’s needed ti make us top 4. Rodgers out !!
Are you sure? So he will be happy at Arsenal? If I have to agree with you, he deserves winning the Champions League, which will never happen at the Emirates next season. If he was doing all that to join Real Madrid, Bayern or Barca, I would understand; but Arsenal, really? Arsenal that isn’t willing to pay what he is worth (to see what I mean, see what Real is offering for Bale; and then see how much is his release clause).
About what Rodgers supposedly promised him, grow-up all of you (Suarez included). The world is full of people waiting on promised raises, promotions and benefits. Managers do that all the time. Not sure why you think Wenger would be different!
If clubs continue signing mercenary foreigners this is what will continue to happen. No loyalty. The premier league has already been ruined by these parasites who do nothing for the development of the english game. Get lost once and for all. Sick to death of the lot of you. Go back to your own countries and stop taking from ours. And as for richard scudamore’s attitude to the national team well don’t get me started. He should be locked up in the tower of london for helping ruin this country as a football nation. I will always support liverpool but seeing these foreigners take our lads places depresses me more than anything else. Our national team is a laughing stock thanks to our clubs attitude and quick fix stupidity
luis suarez u ar a full time fool why didnt u jump from ajax to arsenal,the same wenger that called u cheat,diver, u want to run to, get lost uruguayans always proud look at N.Lopez too selfish like u,no manners,u claimed juventus wanted u then why didnt u force the move,DECEIVER,LIAR Y.N.W.A
the best article i have read on this cite. everything was unique and perfect except for the caption which i personally think “letter to liverpool…..” should have been in place of “letter to suarez…….” cos it tells the lfc story verbatim, i was touched by your conclusion “that men do not………” “case of voluntary ignorance”…..we didnt learn from hodgsons excuses to kenny and now we have the grand master of excuses (br) and many have choosen to deliberately and delusionaly swallow it hook, line nd sinker. this article says it all nd i hope its not just few that wld see beneath its surface. i know its from your heart and as long as that heart continues to bleed red may you neva walk alone. long live the lfc family. YNWA
i have read and re-read this article. cant get my eyes off it even with the hurt it stirs. each time i do i keep seeing the trinity of lfc (what we used to be, what we currently are nd what we are devolving into) all in one lfc story. love the way u handled the suarez thing unbiasedly. i just cant believe i dont remember reading any of those books. i would like you to mail me a copy of this article @ chukwuemekabright@yahoo.com
A well written article . Thanks or sharing Hope Suarez will read this letter.
Suarez is an ingrate being… But thank God that their people out their willing do business in LFC Shirt.(willian,Eresiken Ayew) get ride of him and get us these guys..YNWA