Loyalty in the modern game

Loyalty, something that is thrown around all the time in the game, but is there any? And should we kid ourselves its only the fans who show it?

With the current Suarez situation going on and we are all asking for loyalty, should we really expect it? In all honesty i think the Suarez situation is slightly different due to the situations he has found himself in during his career here and the way we have backed him over his 2 and a half years at the club, i kind of expected him to feel endebted to us and give us another year due to that and then we have this situation next summer, however i cant say i didnt expect to see it at some point with the type of character he is.. He has very much disapointed me with how he has gone about things this summer..

But lets look at the flip side in the current squad.. Two players.

1. Jay Spearing, now i will be the first to admit that i dont think Jay has the quality to take u to the next level, but the lad would cut a nut off to play his career at this club, yet we are happy to F**k off that loyalty bacause he isnt good enough
2. Stewart Downing, he also wants to stay, i dont think its money, id imagine Newcastle would pay him the same wages and he would start every week but from what i hear he wants to make it work here and doesnt want to give up without a fight.. But we are happy to F**k him off because he isnt good enough.

Now im not saying that being brutal isnt necessary in the game but can we bemoan loyalty when we wont give it to players unless they are good enough?

Im saying to an extent as much as it hurts the players such as Suarez and Torres of recent times may look at us and say, well i like Liverpool but they arent good enough.. So im off to fulfill my career...

The way we want to move Downing and Spearing off for the same reasons?

To an extent is it not double standards?

Look id love us to be at a stage where we are good enough to have players like Suarez and Torres not feel the need to go elsewhere to fulfill their ambitions but probably only the same way wee Jay would want to be in the side everyweek..
We arent and maybe we need to look at a more measured approach to getting back to the top, maybe we need more of a team than a star who we rely on and focus our game through?

The game and the world hs changed, the likes of Barnes and Dalglish stayed at the club because we were the best at that point, but also the money in the european game wasnt as much of a draw then, i heard Barnes say Real came in for him in his heyday but why would he leave?

Can we honestly say he would say the same had he been at his level and we were where we are now if he played in the modern game?
Probably not.

Its hurts where we are but maybe if we looked at a different approach rather than get fully attached and focused on one man?


The day of this fella are over id guess

Steven Gerrard - Liverpool Legend

We should be thankful to him for resisting the pull of anything but the shirt he loves and we love

I think Lucas and Agger may show in some way that loyalty is not a thing of the past JD.  Values is the key word, and they show it in spadefuls

I think Lucas and Agger may show in some way that loyalty is not a thing of the past JD.  Values is the key word, and they show it in spadefuls

I agree I think Lucas and Agger have been really loyal to us. Pepe too, I mean he would leave if his home town club came in and who wouldn't. I agree with Paisleydalglish though about Spearing (not Downing though .. I just can't). He isn't brilliant but he can play and his loyalty and passion are formidable. I think this should be rewarded and I think he will be good for us. I like what Henry did today with Suarez. I mean I know Henry is just issuing a press  release but we need to take the power back. Players who don't think we are going to take them to the top ... don't sign. It is about the fans. The trouble is with all the money given to the players comes the inevitable cartel of hangers on who want their piece.

Good OP as ever PD and I think you raise a very fair point our expectations on others but not of ourselves.

It may have something to do with the fact we 'believe' we are better than what we are and therefore any rejection is taken with a double sting. The first of course the simple rejection, but the second and sometimes more painful one is that the person moving, they could well be right to do so.

This manifests itself onto those we deem responsible and why a lot of anger is fired at our owners, with plenty of justification in my book.

The simple solution to this is get back where I feel we belong, no longer allow ourselves to be, or be seen as stepping stones to greater things. Get great things happening again at the club. Again a lot of the responsibility of that weighs directly on the shoulders of our owners and the less strain they take the more they heap on Brendan to do a job that others can't.

So while it's an answer to a lot of questions / problems, it is the true answer to most things in relation to our current predicament, back the manager, back him strongly and then maybe we have a chance of becoming a place players become loyal to once more.

 As far as I am concerned the problem has to be the fault of Mr Bosman and the type of contracts the players have with the clubs.Players today sign on for 2-3-4=or 5 years where the length used to be indefinite and could only be terminated if the player put in a transfer request or the club informed the player another club wanted to sign him.I recall a centre forward Sammy Smythe  who we signed from Stoke in the 1950s,he wanted to transfer to a club in Northern Ireland and L.F.C refused to release him.He walked out on us and went back to Northern Ireland and was eventually released from his contract about 3 years later. By the way he was not a bad player either he scored 20 goals in 45 games for us.

There is no such thing. Stevie and Carra admitted they could/would have left. The lads at utd grew up under 1 manager who was like a father to them and they won everything under the sun so it was easy to stay. They could have as easily moved had things been different

Del piero is the closest to loyal like players were years ago

And the kids are no better. They move clubs like I change socks. They have no clue of loyalty but then there heroes don't so why would they

Dirk Kuyt struck me as a fairly loyal type of player, to the club, maybe not in the same class as other players, but gave his all for the club.

I'd now only expect loyalty from a player who was a childhood supporter. Non-childhood supporters are using the club purely as a means to earn a grotesque salary while kicking a bag of air around. I'm sure there will be exceptions to this rule but probably not too many.

I'd now only expect loyalty from a player who was a childhood supporter. Non-childhood supporters are using the club purely as a means to earn a grotesque salary while kicking a bag of air around. I'm sure there will be exceptions to this rule but probably not too many.

This all day long to be honest.

Loyalty is a thing of the past. Modern football is riddled with greed, that rinses the poor and gives to the rich.

I'd now only expect loyalty from a player who was a childhood supporter. Non-childhood supporters are using the club purely as a means to earn a grotesque salary while kicking a bag of air around. I'm sure there will be exceptions to this rule but probably not too many.

Agree with that Finchie, also irritating how many people come out and say they're a childhood supporter when in fact they're not to garner support for themselves.

This all day long to be honest.

Loyalty is a thing of the past. Modern football is riddled with greed, that rinses the poor and gives to the rich.

Then up steps Daniel Agger, Barcelona interested ?

Nah F**k that mate I have YNWA tatooe'd on my fingers.

To restore our faith in some footballers.

Think Lucas may turn out to be the same too, think he'll stick around as long as the club wants him regardless of who show interest.

So it may not always be the locals, we  may just get one or two adpodted scousers along the way.

And the kids are no better. They move clubs like I change socks. They have no clue of loyalty but then there heroes don't so why would they

Much like Rooney, couldn't wait to get out of Everton.