When it comes to transfers, players shouldn't mess with fans (ESPN article)

[tlw content]

by Dave Usher for ESPN

 

A common trait shared by football supporters the world over is that they don't like good players leaving the club they support. Some departures are handled better than others, of course, and quite often it can be a clean break with no hard feelings and a mutual "good luck for the future" from both parties.

 

But even when it's an amicable enough split, football fans as a rule do not like to see their best players leave.

 

Supporters of the bigger clubs tend to take these "breakups" far worse than those who follow sides lower down the leagues. Players "moving up the ladder" is just a natural part of life for a supporter of a small club, but for fans of the big boys there's a much bigger grey area in terms of what is considered a "step up" -- and that can often lead to bad feeling when players move on.

 

When it's clearly a case of a player getting a much better offer -- one that not even the most fervent of supporters could begrudge them -- more often than not, depending on the club he's moving to, said player tends to move on with the best wishes of the fans ... providing he's done it the "right way," of course.

 

Which brings me nicely on to Javier Mascherano, who made headlines this week after an interview he did in the Times that apparently "revealed the reason" for his Anfield departure.

 

Didn't we already know the reason for his exit? Moving to Barcelona at that time was a complete no-brainer; not even the most biased of Kopites could have made a compelling case as to why Mascherano should have stayed at Anfield when opportunity knocked at Camp Nou.

 

No, what the fans really wanted to know was his version of events relating to the accusation that he refused to play in a game at Manchester City just before he moved to the Spanish giants.

 

After reading what the Argentine had to say, I have to say I'm still none the wiser as to what happened. Liverpool boss at the time, Roy Hodgson, claimed at the time that Mascherano was not selected because he was "not in the right frame of mind" to play, but it was widely reported that the midfielder had refused to play. A move to Barca had been mooted for weeks, but no fee had been agreed and as far as LFC were concerned, until a deal was agreed, Mascherano was a Liverpool player and should have been available for selection.

 

Read the rest of the article here.

 

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[Trumo]

Agree with your point about Mascherano stating the truth about what transpired yet revealing absolutely nothing.

 

I think one reason why there appears to be more and more examples of players leaving clubs under a cloud is that they generally seem to move around more frequently than, say, 20 years ago. Another is down to the terms of their contracts and the influence of agents. If the club makes it overly apparent that they want to sell, they'll like have to pay out a huge chunk of the player's contract plus loyalty bonuses etc. If the player makes it obvious that he wants a transfer, he'll probably have to forfeit a lot of money. So it becomes a game of bluff, and because it can drag out for so long in this age of instant news coverage and massive interest in the game, the fans are more likely to become upset with the player.

 

In these situations, it always looks to me as though the player and his agent is forgetting that he'll be handsomely remunerated at his new club anyway. In the end, it all becomes murky and the player will end up talking about broken promises and there being more to it than is being let on. There is so much subterfuge and needless waste of money involved in transfer and contract negotiations these days, and nobody really comes out of it with any credit.

[DanDanShaw]

I didn't read the report, and I don't know what really happened.  But if any player ever refuses to play for a club who have them a millionaire and afforded their family a life of luxury - they can get to fuck, should be fined/banned heavily and if it's a Liverpool player, they're dead to me.

 

That's not necessarily about Mascherano because as I've said, I don't know what happened but just in general, because it does happen.

[Jairzinho]

"Seems like Mr. Usher is new to the fact that the previous owners, Hicks and Gillett, were tearing apart the squad with their lack of ability."

[stringvest]

saw that.  That's what happens when you talk to the wools.

[xerxes]

Too often fans, whose loyalty to a club is life-long, believe that loyalty is shared by professional sportsman whose loyalty to a club is loosely defined by length of contract.

 

Single contracts which can guarantee financial security for life, and factor in the quantum of foreign players who at some point will almost invariably want to go back home with the cash, and the gulf between players and fans has never been greater.

 

Mascherano? He was virtually human – trafficked to West ham by his agent with Tevez, he was a star for us and we received a decent fee on departure. It’s hard to grumble. Did he simply refuse to play, the hanging crime in the eyes of most supporters, or was it that, quite reasonably, he did not want to risk injury for a dream move? The lure of Barca and Madrid for Latin American players will always provide stiff competition to the PL.

[stringvest]

Cheers xerxes. You've just repeated what Dave said, in a less interesting way.

 

[Kevin D]

I reckon Usher was pissed when he wrote that.

[xerxes]

Cheers xerxes. You've just repeated what Dave said, in a less interesting way.

It was a bit boring, wasn't it?

[Lurtz]

It was a bit boring, wasn't it?

 

#xerxesarentwe

[stringvest]

It was a bit boring, wasn't it?

 

i put it down to the squabble with RAWK's resident freelance architect

[ZonkoVille77]

building us up for a Suarez departure Dave?...

[Dr Nowt]

"...after I fucked the ball into the net against the dirty English dogs, I mean Roy Hodgson's esteemed national team, the media there wrote articles about me when I was trying to be carried around Montevideo on Cavani's shoulders, so it became impossible for me to buy nappies in Costco, or some bollocks."

[Babb'sBurstNad]

I've often wondered how much the phrase "not in the right frame of mind" covered. Is it always a striking player or has it become a bit of a tool clubs can use to their advantage?

 

Much like "tired and emotional", it's a useful shorthand for intimating something you can't say, but everyone naturally assumes the worst connotation.

 

The annoyance with Masch's transfer was exacerbated by the low ball offer though, and further salt poured in the wound with hard luck stories of unhappiness and finally Messi chiming in about us being humane or suchlike. No one likes to think they're being held over a barrel to sell a world class talent.

[Dr Nowt]

We got dry bummed on his price, didn't we. 

[Trumo]

We got dry bummed on his price, didn't we. 

 

I think it was something like £17m plus about £4m in add-ons depending on Barcelona's success. If that is accurate, then it's probably fair to say that Barcelona have had to cough up for those add-ons because they've won everything they could compete for at club level since he's been there.

[Tony Moanero]

Edit: Bollocks! Wrong thread.

[stringvest]

Zlatan comes across as a massive cuntola, but there is no denying that he's both a great goal scorer and a scorer of great goals.

 

?

[Tony Moanero]

?

See above.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

We got dry bummed on his price, didn't we. 

 

They allowed us to bite down on a pillow, but that was about it.

 

One of the best DMs in Europe, Argentina captain, coming into his peak years, and we couldn't find one oil rich Bond villain of a club to bid and bump it past the £25m it should've been.

[Dr Nowt]

* Thinks about Masch and Xabi.  Heart briefly soars and then becomes heavy *

[Tony Moanero]

Incidentally, I've just downloaded an Etch A Sketch app and tried to draw a picture of a set of cock and balls.

[Dr Nowt]

Incidentally, I've just downloaded an Etch A Sketch app and tried to draw a picture of a set of cock and balls.

 

Come on mate, we're in the 21st Century now.  Digital all the way.

 

Warning! The following content is NOT WORK SAFE. Click the Show button to reveal.

[Tony Moanero]

To be fair, my Etch A Sketch cock and balls attempt doesn't look too disimilar to that ^

[Kevin D]

* Thinks about Masch and Xabi.  Heart briefly soars and then becomes heavy *

This team with those two in it would be under criminal investigation for the rape, pillaging and destruction of at least 10 cities, with foreign governments making it clear that admitance into the Champions League would be considered an act of war.