Respect is slowly going out of the modern game.
By respect, I mean respect for the club, for the fans, for
the manager and for the players.
Youngsters, brainwashed by selfish football agents, are
willing to switch clubs for quick money and fame. Stable players are ready to
join arch rivals in the hope of ‘game time’ and ‘medals’. Former players, once
celebrated, are booed by fans on their return. Players celebrate goal against
their former teams. Manager’s neck seems forever on the line in the wake of
unrealistic expectation from the club and fans.
A hot topic over the last few months has been Raheem
Sterling and his contract saga at Liverpool. This is surprising and befuddling
at the same time. Anyone who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s would give a limb to
play for an institution like LFC. So
Sterling’s decision is surprising. The great season that LFC enjoyed was mainly
due to the menacing presence of Luis Suarez and not due to Sterling or
Sturridge or even Gerrard in his quarterback role. Sterling was “nobody” before
he signed for the Merseyside club and many would suggest he is still “nobody”. They
offered him an improved contract but the kid is unwilling to sign on the dotted
line. This befuddles me.
Whom does he want to play for? Madrid - Even Bale is finding
it tough there. Barca - Where would he fit in with the Trinity? City - Has he
forgotten what good time a promising Everton youngster Jack Rodwell had at City
for two years? At such a young age, why would anyone compromise guaranteed
playing time and settle for time on the bench? Many good players have moved to
bigger clubs in the hope of silverware and glory and all they end up doing is
get a fat pay check and grow frustrated. Just recall how well Pienaar, Sidwell,
Adam were doing for their clubs before making the jump to Spurs, Chelsea and
Liverpool respectively?
What is common to Van Persie, Tevez, Figo, Laudrup? Other
than they are/were good players and demigods at their clubs, they
controversially switched to rival clubs. I just cannot understand such moves,
even if these moves carried the blessing of their former manager. These guys
are nothing but footballing mercenaries. Show them the money and they are
willing to die for you. Club loyalty in my eyes has always been sacred. Even if one has to part ways with a club, it
should be to another club which is not a direct rival of your existing club. Go
to a smaller club in the same country or go to a different country. Matt Le
Tissier was chased by the who’s who of English football but decided to stay at
Southampton and he was some player! Do you remember Buffon and Del Piero going
to second division of Italian league with Juventus rather than opting to sign
for any other club?
Players leave their clubs for various reasons. Many a times the
club itself wants to get rid of them. However, the fans have no right to jeer
the players on their return. They served
you well during their time here and now deserve the same respect that was once
accorded to them. We have seen numerous instances of booing during this current
season and I think there is no place for such behaviour. Similarly we don’t
want to see antics similar to Emmanuel Adebayor’s most asinine reaction after
scoring against Arsenal.
It is impossible to comprehend what was happening at Chelsea
and is happening at Madrid for many years? Yes, I am hinting at the constant
managerial changes. What more could Ancelloti or Grant or Di Matteo have done
during their time at Chelsea? Not much. Still they were shown the door for no
reason. For all his cockiness and confidence, I don’t think Mourinho will be
able to stay there if he has two barren years. However, in this regard, Madrid
is the mother of all clubs. Nothing is guaranteed to a Madrid manager except a
piece of footballing footnote as lots of managers have found out.
Just as in life, most things related to football even out over a long period of time. Clubs, managers, players will go through ups and downs and all they need is for us to show is a bit of R-E-S-P-E-C-T (Aretha Franklin, huh?).
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