Loyalty in football.. A bit of a Myth!
I'm getting increasingly frustrated with the loyalty accusation being
levelled at players when it comes to contract time, or if a potential
bid comes in from another Club. Football has to be the only career in
the world where this emotional blackmail carries such incredible weight.
Let’s take it back to everyday peasant level for a moment. So you’re
working for a Bank in the City, a lucrative job offer comes through from
another company, are you expected to remain loyal to the Bank? No, not
at all! You think of your career and make the best decision that suits
you, your life and your family. So why should a footballer at the
highest level be any different?
Let’s take the most topical man of the moment, Raheem Sterling. He
recently had his contract come under review. A small pocket of Liverpool
fans then suggested he needs to be “loyal” to the club when making his
decision. This to me is total nonsense! Now since then Liverpool have
acted and given him a better deal, which is what he deserves, but had he
and his agent chosen to wait, would this have made him disloyal? Not
one bit in my opinion.
It’s hardly surprising he was approached quickly, knowing that 30miles
up the road Luke Shaw is allegedly on 100K a week. A player, who cannot
get into United’s first team due to fitness and was a squad player at
the World Cup. Also, were either Shaw or Lallana considered disloyal
when they left Southampton after two good seasons to further their
careers? I don’t think they were.
I can maybe accept this argument on a 5% level with home-grown English
players, because of an emotional attachment, however when it comes to
foreign players I find it hard to contain my laughter.
Arsenal fans have had field day throwing this “loyal” argument around.
Now they have seen Nasri, Clichy, Van Persie, Fabragas & even Sagna
leave for trophies and success elsewhere. This must be hard, I accept
that, but all of the above players have justified their decisions by
being successful elsewhere. Nothing to do with loyalty, it’s about
success as a top level athlete.
Players such as Carragher, Gerrard, Scholes, Giggs & Terry are a
dying breed now. As touching as it is they remained “loyal” to their
home-grown teams, this does not make a player who decides to leave or
hold off on contract talks disloyal for doing so. Oh and there is
another ironic catalyst with all of the above players, they have all
been massively successful at all of their respective clubs. They have
all won practically everything in the game, so I can’t imagine their
contracts where too difficult to negotiate.
Would anyone try to tell me with the exception of Scholes maybe, that
the rest of the above players would have stuck around had Liverpool
Chelsea and Man United not won anything for ten years? I think not,
however I can’t prove this obviously.
The only time I feel loyalty can be thrown at a player, as a valid
argument, is if they have suffered nothing but bad injuries, received
full pay and full rehabilitation from their club. Michael Owen at
Newcastle comes to mind and currently Andy Carroll at West Ham is a fine
example of this. I can fully understand fans being aggrieved with them
jumping ship at the first sign of a successful pre match warm up.
Perhaps I'm taking a cold approach here and I don’t want to take the
romance out of playing and representing a club, however I find it hard
not to when players are being branded disloyal for simply wanting to
further their careers, again at the highest level, and holding out for a
deal that matches their worth.
