Loyalty in the modern game
Thursday 29th January 2011 is a day that most true Liverpool fans would never ever forget in a hurry. Being an open transfer window month, most Anfield faithful were eager for the reds to make a major statement in the transfer market before the month end. And with the Luis Suarez deal still on the brink, the last thing anyone expected was that Fernando Torres once a legend by any other name would want to leave.
First came the reports that Chelsea had made a 35$ million bid rejected and rightly so. This never did raise any eye brows and was even more vindicated when Liverpool released a statement saying that Torres was not for Sale. Like many I was hoping that that was the end of the matter since there was no way Torres would even think of playing for any other British club. News quickly came through that Torres was actually urging his agents to discuss terms with Chelsea. The Spanish football expert and Life long Liverpool fan Guilliem ballegue was the first to break the news on twitter. He was unfortunately insulted by some for what they considered a joke too far. Liverpool quickly met the asking price of Ajax for the Uruguayan striker Suarez which they were previously reluctant to meet. Some fans thought this whole thing was a charade by Torres to quicken the arrival of a quality strike partner and everything would soon be back to normal.
Minutes turned to hours, hours to days and before long Torres handed in a hand written transfer request which felt like an arrow through the heart to most Liverpudialins who worshiped the very ground this man walks on.
Liverpool FC clearly not one to be held hostage by any player decided to purchase reinforcements before allowing the departure of this once Kop hero at a British transfer record 50$ million. What everyone in Merseyside red had been dreading all along quickly came to pass and Torres just before midnight Monday 31st was announced as a Chelsea player.
Where did it all start going wrong for the reds? Had we misread the man? Was the picture during the world cup of him draped around a Liverpool scarf a dream? Loyalty in the modern game is almost none existent. Players are pushed more by what they will get as individuals as opposed to being part of a team of heroes who work together in order to achieve predetermined goals.
The legendary Brazilian Pele was once at pains trying to explain how players today are driven by their own concerns and care little about the fans who pay good money every match day in order to watch them play. He even predicated that few players will ever stay at the same club like it used to be in the olden days.
The Wayne Rooney saga comes to mind since he was late last year about to leave a very well established and competent side in order to join another that was hell bent on buying instant success. To make matters worse it was a rival club- Manchester city. The fact that his head was turned was bad enough since you would think that a player like him who had won it all before would not be so greedy as to turn his back on the people who actually think the world of him. Was it the money? Because I heard money makes people do strange things. Either way it was not right at all.
Top players as far as am concerned should make it there duty to improve teams that they play for which then justifies their top notch status. In the long run some things are never bought. Loyal players make the fans believe even more that there course is not a lost one. The fans would also value you more if you never put in a transfer request. As Kenny Dalglish said the only players who should be at the club are players who want to be there.
Here’s my special tribute to players who have stood firm at the clubs which bred them since they value the ethos of the club and thus have edged themselves into their folklore.
Jamie Carragher, Tony Adams, Xabi, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Buffon must all be commended for what they have stood for. (I could not write all of them but these few stood out to me)
PS: just had to include the Mancs to make the article more realistic. My apologies
By
Victor Joseph Ongola
Follow me Twitter - vongola13 (97% of my tweets and retweets are about Liverpool FC)
