During his time at Liverpool, Reina has matured into arguably the top flight’s best goalkeeper. He may still prone to the odd horrendous error, but his dominant presence in between the sticks is invaluable to Liverpool’s ambitions and he has undoubtedly been the club’s most consistent player over the last 18 months or so, which tells you everything you need to know about how Liverpool have fared. Irreplaceable is a strong word, but put into the context of the fragility of the side at the moment and how crucial he is to their future ambitions and hopes for success and Reina does begin to look irreplaceable. To lose him in the summer would be a crushing blow.
You can trace Liverpool’s recent woes back to the sale of Xabi Alonso, a player alienated by the harsh managerial style of Rafa Benitez and his very public pursuit of Gareth Barry as his replacement. Alonso was crucial to the side’s style of play, yet it was only after he departed that everyone began to realise just how crucial he was. It could well prove to be a very similar situation with Reina – a goalkeeper whose ability on the ball, command of his defence and skill set between the sticks is unmatched in terms of influence on the rest of his team mates.
He is undoubtedly the most influential goalkeeper currently operating in the top tier of English football. The club remains one that is in transition and with situations of this nature the one thing above all that is required is time, whether Reina has that though remains to be seen and the initial signs are not promising. Liverpool should be bending over backwards to keep him at the club, and sorting out his future should be the club’s top priority in the summer.
They say that pride comes before a fall, and if the club wish to take the ‘no player is bigger than the club’ stance that has become the mantra for embittered fans up and down the country, then they may well lose Reina in the summer. The natural reaction to incidents like this is to side with the club above the player, yet in this instance, it is down to the chaotic nature in which the club has been run in the past that has pushed certain players out of the door in order to pursue their own personal ambitions.
Man Utd were forced into an embarrassing climb down of sorts over the Wayne Rooney contract debacle. Ferguson was forced to meet the player’s demands in order to keep him at the club – an unheard turn of events for a manger famous for his cut-throat nature in dealings such as this. Ferguson realised that a Man Utd side with Rooney in is stronger than any transfer kitty they may receive from the deal, let alone seeing their local rivals, Man City in this case, profit from the move.
Saving face is all well and good but if it comes at the expense of success, then in the long-run, this is no way to run a football club – Liverpool will do well to remember this when discussing Reina’s future at the club.
It may not be what most fans want to hear or like to see, but the truth of the matter is that players garner more power over their clubs now than their clubs have over them. Reina remains an irreplaceable asset at a pivotal point in the club’s recent history, it would be to their detriment not to pull out all the stops to keep him, even if it isn’t easy on the eye or the palette as Man Utd and Arsenal look to be waiting in the wings for his services.
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Can I just tell you…..Nobody is irreplaceable! All argument aside after a very long life I can tell you that. If you believe anyone is irreplaceable you have leaned nothing!
Everybody can be replaced, Owners, managers, strikers, keepers,journalists!
The bottom line is if you have fallen out of love you should part company.
Reina wants CL football, well he should not have scored for Chelskis in the 4-4 draw.
if your heart & mind is elsewhere you make mistakes, many of them, like HE did against West Ham, three of them.
There are others out there who would & can lovingly fill the void.
Long Live LFC, UNWA
It’s almost certain he’ll leave in the summer. Will be a shame but I can’t fault him completely. Hopefully we’ll get a sizable fee that can be used to replace him and patch up a few other positions.
@ sharde . UNWA ??? and you call yourself a liverpool supporter… lmao
Look, if he was staying he’d have publicly declared that he was!, therefore he should be dropped, put on the transfer list and sold at the nearest opportunity!.
NO more Spanish mercenaries!!!.
For once I would like he club to tell the player (reina if he asks to leave) to turn around, take his agent and return when his contract ends.
Sorry Pepe, you signed a 6 year contract. Shut your whinging, and get on with it. Only 1 team per year wins the title so you have no guarantees anywhere else. 2 Years and we will be back in the CL. Your a keeper, you have another ten years.
should he want to leave,we want 22million which is his transfer price and off to any team he wants..the club needs hungry players(like Suarez and Carroll) and not bored and overrated player(like Torres and,i hope not,Reina)..no one is irreplaceable and there are some keepers out there who could do the job:Akinfeev,Lloris,Stekelenburg,Neuer,De Gea,Given,Diego Lopez,Muslera to name a few.My favorite from these is Akinfeev who i rate greatly and is young(24 years old)..but still if Reina is commited and wants to stay,i’d never sell him.
Akinfeev
Johnson Dann Agger Baines
Young Gerrard Adam Dzsudzsak
Suarez Carroll
YNWA