There have been many articles on this site despairing about the lack of loyalty of players in the modern game, and the fact that money takes precedence over all other things. As Abhijan Barua talked about in his article on Monday on player agents, there seems to be a higher quotient of mercenaries than there has ever been, and along with this, players rarely staying at one club for the majority of their career.
It is not necessarily always down to money but the fact that the likes of Fernando Torres , Javier Mascherano and Raul Meireles have moved on from this club after relatively short periods of time, all of whom have stated before and after their moves to Chelsea and Barcelona their affection for the Reds, suggests that loyalty doesn’t really come into consideration anymore.
They were three quality players in my view who could have added something even more to the great squad that Kenny has assembled. Who wouldn’t have loved to see Fernando Torres (at his best) alongside Luis Suarez I ask? Yet, there would be nothing less satisfying than seeing Torres in a Liverpool shirt again because of the sense of betrayal.
I find it very hard to invest in a player any sort of adoration anymore, because as a fan it is hard not to feel paranoid about whether they are considering to move on to another club for either the pursuit of trophies or purely financial reasons. Even in a player such as Luis Suarez who I admire greatly, there will always be a nagging feeling that if we are not successful in the next few years, he will move on too.
That is why it is refreshing to hear Kenny Dalglish talking about Craig Bellamy ’s return. The Liverpool manager said:
“He’s really enthusiastic to be back and made a lot of sacrifices to come back here, financial and otherwise, because of what the club means to him, so we’re delighted to have people with that attitude here…he loves this club which is very important and he’ll be a fantastic asset for us.”
Bellamy’s commitment is demonstrated in the financial hit he took to join the club. Just like many of the others who have joined the club this summer, these players are here for the long term. Unlike Torres, Meireles and Mascherano, they want to be at the club and as King Kenny has said previously, there is not point having players at the club if they don’t want to be here.
Having players with such an attitude means that the squad is more together, there is a more positive atmosphere in the changing room, 100% commitment to the cause and it all combines to generate a team spirit which can win matches and eventually trophies. Hopefully I am not wrong in regards to our current group of players.
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Written by David Tully for http://live4liverpool.com
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Good signing. Time to stop starting future matches with TEN players KENNY .
Henderson(passenger) should be treated the same way as Carroll . Give play time towards the end when games are won . They will get their acts right I hope though realistically, I don’t know. Against STOKE we could see the potential, the good team when Henderson was replaced. Wish he was replaced start of 2nd half so that with ELEVEN players that r actually good but too little realistic time to change the inevitable. Kenny, managers make mistake or sometimes these players just turn out a different player after they join you. Its out of your control. Be brave, and don’t try too hard justifying especially when doing so is costing us the points needed and frustrating those playing well whole-heartedly and with so much passion just to accomodate HENDERSON(passenger). One mistake that will take you to the obvious and costlier other.