Hurt Feelings and the transfer market, where no one is sad to see Suarez leave.

Nick Kaufman

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What is a tragedy is that one more year, Suarez and Cutinho's European ambitions will remain unfulfilled.
 

teddykgb

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What is a tragedy is that one more year, Suarez and Cutinho's European ambitions will remain unfulfilled.
One of the many really detestable things about Liverpool as a fan base is this ugly habit of turning every player who leaves into a villain. Suarez was a tough loss at the time but Coutinho was likely the best piece of business your team will ever do. He was never special and you somehow milked Barca for all that money. You should be building the guy a statue not worried about dressing him down.

Edit: meant to include that then you’ll eat alive any player who doesn’t work out like Karius or Carroll. Not even trying to start a fight but man you just made it to the CL final in consecutive years enjoy your team and thank whatever deity you wish that a tram like Barca paid you for Coutinho
 

Nick Kaufman

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One of the many really detestable things about Liverpool as a fan base is this ugly habit of turning every player who leaves into a villain. Suarez was a tough loss at the time but Coutinho was likely the best piece of business your team will ever do. He was never special and you somehow milked Barca for all that money. You should be building the guy a statue not worried about dressing him down.

Edit: meant to include that then you’ll eat alive any player who doesn’t work out like Karius or Carroll. Not even trying to start a fight but man you just made it to the CL final in consecutive years enjoy your team and thank whatever deity you wish that a tram like Barca paid you for Coutinho
One, I was tongue in cheek and I am not every Liverpool fan.

Two, I don't care that Coutinho's departure worked well for us. He wanted to leave and we begged him to stay yet he forced our hand.

Third and most important, it's vitally important for a team like Liverpool to establish that it's not a stepping stone for a player's ambition before they move on to bigger and better things. They must establish they are the bigger and better thing so that we don't have our best player force a transfer out of the club every couple of years.
 

teddykgb

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One, I was tongue in cheek and I am not every Liverpool fan.

Two, I don't care that Coutinho's departure worked well for us. He wanted to leave and we begged him to stay yet he forced our hand.

Third and most important, it's vitally important for a team like Liverpool to establish that it's not a stepping stone for a player's ambition before they move on to bigger and better things. They must establish they are bigger and better thing so that we don't have our best player force a transfer out of the club every couple of years.
I get that it’s a bit of an easy joke and today isn’t the day anyway, we can discuss it in offseason or something. Good day for your boys it’s a real statement win. Really don’t even want to try to encroach on what is surely an awesome moment right now. Was just seeing a lot of the same sentiment around the internet at the same time
 

PedroSpecialK

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One of the many really detestable things about Liverpool as a fan base is this ugly habit of turning every player who leaves into a villain. Suarez was a tough loss at the time but Coutinho was likely the best piece of business your team will ever do. He was never special and you somehow milked Barca for all that money. You should be building the guy a statue not worried about dressing him down.

Edit: meant to include that then you’ll eat alive any player who doesn’t work out like Karius or Carroll. Not even trying to start a fight but man you just made it to the CL final in consecutive years enjoy your team and thank whatever deity you wish that a tram like Barca paid you for Coutinho
I don't begrudge Suarez at all - I think he'd outgrown the club given where they were at in 2014 and went about getting his transfer in a reasonable way (a year after trying to pull some shit to go to Arsenal, but I digress). He's a pain in the dick to play against, but he gave Liverpool supporters some of the best football they'll ever see.

Coutinho's choice was:
  • Wait six months while making a newly-upped Sanchezian weekly wage, helping the team progress in the UCL and qualify for top 4, have an outstanding Liverpool legacy, or
  • Leave and only play League and CdR games while Barcelona was already walking the league
This was after he'd twice feigned injuries to force a move in the preceding summer, notably missing the Hoffenheim UCL qualifying tie. The absence of a player of his caliber in the UCL Final was huge, especially as AOC (lol) had done his knee - Liverpool had to bring Lallana into that match for significant minutes.

Liverpool supporters' attitudes toward Coutinho aren't the result of a Larry Lucchino-concocted hit piece - Coutinho put that finger up and let it hang for the better part of a year. I hope he never has anything to show for it. If that makes me bitter, so be it
 

koufax32

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I don't begrudge Suarez at all - I think he'd outgrown the club given where they were at in 2014 and went about getting his transfer in a reasonable way (a year after trying to pull some shit to go to Arsenal, but I digress). He's a pain in the dick to play against, but he gave Liverpool supporters some of the best football they'll ever see.

Coutinho's choice was:
  • Wait six months while making a newly-upped Sanchezian weekly wage, helping the team progress in the UCL and qualify for top 4, have an outstanding Liverpool legacy, or
  • Leave and only play League and CdR games while Barcelona was already walking the league
This was after he'd twice feigned injuries to force a move in the preceding summer, notably missing the Hoffenheim UCL qualifying tie. The absence of a player of his caliber in the UCL Final was huge, especially as AOC (lol) had done his knee - Liverpool had to bring Lallana into that match for significant minutes.

Liverpool supporters' attitudes toward Coutinho aren't the result of a Larry Lucchino-concocted hit piece - Coutinho put that finger up and let it hang for the better part of a year. I hope he never has anything to show for it. If that makes me bitter, so be it

QFT

The only Suarez hate I’m aware of is because he’s just a generally unlikeable player. Like a John Lackey on steroids.


Edit: if Lackey were a whiney, racist scumbag who bites people.
 

Dummy Hoy

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I don’t think the issue is treatment of Coutinho...I mean, I think he’s an ass for how he handled it. But why even bring it up right now?
 

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I really don't have a problem with Suarez. He stayed another year after he wanted to leave and gave absolutely everything to a near-title-winning season. I wouldn't have had any issue with Coutinho if he'd finished the season last year and they sold him, but he basically went on strike to force a move. It's not a huge thing in the end because of the fee they got for him and how they've strengthened the team with those funds.

If he was having a great season with Barca I wouldn't care. I'm just glad he struggled in these two games.
 

SocrManiac

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Coutinho did what every aspiring diva does. It’s one of my gripes with the modern game. I’d much rather see a player that deserts his contract be blacklisted rather than rewarded. He abandoned his side in-season for his own benefit. Regardless of accomplishment, that is garbage behavior. While Liverpool won the long-term “argument” over his transfer, the fans are absolutely entitled to their anger over his methods.


As for Suarez... He’s a disgusting player. He’s insanely talented, but he has absolutely no shame. His methods are filthy, despicable, and interminable. I hated him with LFC, I hate him with Uruguay, and I hate him with Barca. He has all the negatives of Diego Costa, but with a much higher overall level of play. I don’t understand how he’s given the benefit of the doubt time and time again while showing up refs around the globe.

I don’t know what folks around here think of me, but it really doesn’t concern me. My fan lineage is clearly with Juventus, but I married a Liverpool fan and “inherited” them as a kindred side to my pre-‘04 Red Sox fandom. If the two sides met, I’d be black and white to my core. I’m devastated over the loss to Ajax, but I’m enjoying the ride on Merseyside. This result felt just over two legs. I’ll proudly wear my red during the final and at Fenway. I’ll pull on my stripes again in August (even if Adidas decides that wasn’t the way anymore... Fuckers).
 

Zomp

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As for Suarez... He’s a disgusting player. He’s insanely talented, but he has absolutely no shame. His methods are filthy, despicable, and interminable. I hated him with LFC, I hate him with Uruguay, and I hate him with Barca. He has all the negatives of Diego Costa, but with a much higher overall level of play. I don’t understand how he’s given the benefit of the doubt time and time again while showing up refs around the globe.
Ugh I wish you were here during the racism incident.


As for Liverpool being a club where the best players want to stay, they absolutely are. Some players though will want to leave no matter what. I stopped wondering why a long time ago. Cristiano left us when we were one of the unquestionably best two teams in the world (and he didn’t leave us for the other). The way Coutinho handled it, I can see why it bothered the fans. If Salah wanted to go for a new challenge, for example, I think fans would be okay with it. Hell, at my club I could see most players leaving and right now I wouldn’t blame them.
 

Gunfighter 09

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Third and most important, it's vitally important for a team like Liverpool to establish that it's not a stepping stone for a player's ambition before they move on to bigger and better things. They must establish they are the bigger and better thing so that we don't have our best player force a transfer out of the club every couple of years.

I think this is 2015 thinking. I think, with the huge disparity in revenue streams between the EPL and every other league, that no big six team, even Spurs, have to be a stepping stone unless it makes good business sense to sell a player. That includes being able to say no to teams like Real and Barca unless they are getting a stupid ransom.

Obviously what happens with Hazard, Pogba and Eriksen this summer will reveal the accuracy of my belief.
 

teddykgb

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Remind me again how Van Dijk going on strike to move to Liverpool is different from Coutinho going on strike to leave Liverpool?

These guys are all highly paid and use the leverage they have to control as much of their careers as they can. I think it’s absolutely insane to expect kids from South America and even continental Europe to feel anything more than a passing connection with a club or fan base toward a club in the Uk. Some City fans do this with Milner because he ran his mouth a bit after leaving (ran down his contract because he seemed to have a side deal with Liverpool, btw)and while my mind has indulged that some at times it never really bothered me because these guys have like 10 years to earn as much money as possible to setup their families for life. We don’t allow them to talk about their club like it’s just a job but then get livid when the platitudes they say so we can pretend they bleed for the club seem empty when they decide to take their job in another direction.

I guess for me we as fans need to just cherish when those weird special connections do arise instead of expecting them. I mean Pablo Zabaleta was one of those for us and I know it is different because he left while old but the dude just wanted to keep playing regularly and earning while he could. Good for him, can’t wait until he comes back as a coach. Kompany May be facing the same choice. Coutinho was hardly a club legend and I don’t think he had any kind of special connection with the fans except for their adoration when he curled in his yearly screamer against City. Aguero was linked to Madrid for years and it never bothered me at all, if he went we’d have replaced him. I guess maybe that’s where I think the mistake is in the big clubs don’t sell their best players comment above: true big clubs can and do but they do so knowing they can replace with similar quality or better. Featuring Mané and getting Van Dijk and the other 7 players you spent the Coutinho money on was a big club kind of move. More like Madrid selling Ozil or Di Maria than a sign that the club couldn’t keep top talent
 

Nick Kaufman

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I think this is 2015 thinking. I think, with the huge disparity in revenue streams between the EPL and every other league, that no big six team, even Spurs, have to be a stepping stone unless it makes good business sense to sell a player. That includes being able to say no to teams like Real and Barca unless they are getting a stupid ransom.

Obviously what happens with Hazard, Pogba and Eriksen this summer will reveal the accuracy of my belief.
Problem is that in soccer, contracts are more of a suggestion. If a player decides he wants to leave, eventually he ll have his way.
 

Pesky Pole

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I really don't have a problem with Suarez. He stayed another year after he wanted to leave and gave absolutely everything to a near-title-winning season. I wouldn't have had any issue with Coutinho if he'd finished the season last year and they sold him, but he basically went on strike to force a move. It's not a huge thing in the end because of the fee they got for him and how they've strengthened the team with those funds.

If he was having a great season with Barca I wouldn't care. I'm just glad he struggled in these two games.
I pretty much co-sign this. I didn’t like how he left but he’s proof that no player is bigger than the club. In retrospect, it was a great move for Liverpool. If he moves to United in the summer, I reserve the right to make “Phil really wants to win the Europa League” jokes.

Can we go back to the second greatest comeback in John Henry ownership history?
 

Time to Mo Vaughn

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As for Liverpool being a club where the best players want to stay, they absolutely are. Some players though will want to leave no matter what. I stopped wondering why a long time ago. Cristiano left us when we were one of the unquestionably best two teams in the world (and he didn’t leave us for the other). The way Coutinho handled it, I can see why it bothered the fans. If Salah wanted to go for a new challenge, for example, I think fans would be okay with it. Hell, at my club I could see most players leaving and right now I wouldn’t blame them.
Yeah, that was a pretty silly comment. Neymar left Barca. Ronaldo left United and Real Madrid. Pogba may force his way out of ManU this summer. Liverpool is a clear top destination and club for star players.
 

67YAZ

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Yeah, that was a pretty silly comment. Neymar left Barca. Ronaldo left United and Real Madrid. Pogba may force his way out of ManU this summer. Liverpool is a clear top destination and club for star players.
A huge piece of the puzzle is wages. Recent success and the manager’s reputation play a role, but players are usually following the wages...which track pretty closely with reputation, unsurprisingly.

Here’s the latest UEFA top-20 wage bills. Liverpool fall in at #9 with €244m/season - €10m more than Arsenal, €12 less than Chelsea, & a Ronaldo less than Juve.

The list more or less lays out the club hierarchy I had in my head already. How often do we see player spurn a higher wage-bill club to sign with one lower down on the list? There’s Jorginho, an aging Ronaldo, and Neymar (who also got a fat side contract to be the face of Qatar 2022...).

 

Mighty Joe Young

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Remind me again how Van Dijk going on strike to move to Liverpool is different from Coutinho going on strike to leave Liverpool?

These guys are all highly paid and use the leverage they have to control as much of their careers as they can. I think it’s absolutely insane to expect kids from South America and even continental Europe to feel anything more than a passing connection with a club or fan base toward a club in the Uk. Some City fans do this with Milner because he ran his mouth a bit after leaving (ran down his contract because he seemed to have a side deal with Liverpool, btw)and while my mind has indulged that some at times it never really bothered me because these guys have like 10 years to earn as much money as possible to setup their families for life. We don’t allow them to talk about their club like it’s just a job but then get livid when the platitudes they say so we can pretend they bleed for the club seem empty when they decide to take their job in another direction.

I guess for me we as fans need to just cherish when those weird special connections do arise instead of expecting them. I mean Pablo Zabaleta was one of those for us and I know it is different because he left while old but the dude just wanted to keep playing regularly and earning while he could. Good for him, can’t wait until he comes back as a coach. Kompany May be facing the same choice. Coutinho was hardly a club legend and I don’t think he had any kind of special connection with the fans except for their adoration when he curled in his yearly screamer against City. Aguero was linked to Madrid for years and it never bothered me at all, if he went we’d have replaced him. I guess maybe that’s where I think the mistake is in the big clubs don’t sell their best players comment above: true big clubs can and do but they do so knowing they can replace with similar quality or better. Featuring Mané and getting Van Dijk and the other 7 players you spent the Coutinho money on was a big club kind of move. More like Madrid selling Ozil or Di Maria than a sign that the club couldn’t keep top talent
Going back a decade ..some notable leavings (all money in GB Stirling)

Fernando Torres - January 2011 - 50m to Chelsea - was a massive fan favourite who forced his way out. Given the state of club ownership (Hicks and Gillete) and manager at the time (Hodgson) who could blame him? He was definitely booed a lot on his return with Chelsea, but that animosity has faded with time. The fact that he was in decline when sold (actually Chelsea was fleeced) certainly lessened the blow.

Rating: A+
Vilified ? Yes Unfairly ? No

Luis Suarez - July 2014 - reportedly ~65m - while revered for his skill and work effort - and the near title in 2014/2014 - it was accepted that he was a complete shithead. I don't think he was vilified on the way out the door. If he had gone to Arsenal it would have been a different story. Received a lot of abuse the past week over his behaviour in the two legs. While a huge blow the transfer fee was fair.

Rating B
Vilified ? No

Raheem Stirling - July 2015 - ~50m to Manchester City. It was always recognized that his potential was enormous but was never seen as a big fan favourite. His constant whining about his contract gave him a reputation as strictly a mercenary (a view that preceded his LFC career). The sale was seen as coup of sorts. He has been booed mercilessly subsequently.

Rating A+
Vilified ? Yes Unfairly ? No
* Note - has completely restored his reputation by a) reaching his potential and b) his laudable public stance against racism
* Note 2 - he will still be booed at Anfield

Philippe Coutinho - - January 2018 - 105m-142m - Coutinho was a much loved player, and a loyal club servent for his 5 years with the club. While a good to very good player he was never a superstar. Upped his game in 2016/2017 and caught the eye of Barca. It's hard to compare transfer fees post Neymar but it was still an excellent deal. I think the general animosity is a result of the way he forced his way out - despite his self avowed love for LFC over the years.

Rating A+
Vilified ? a little Unfairly ? No

You are right that players are more or less mercenaries. But I think that you are wrong in stating that LFC fandom is unique in it's treatment of ex-superstars.

Everybody vilifies players who have rejected their home team for greener pastures. Its only natural.
 

Zomp

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Raheem Stirling - July 2015 - ~50m to Manchester City. It was always recognized that his potential was enormous but was never seen as a big fan favourite. His constant whining about his contract gave him a reputation as strictly a mercenary (a view that preceded his LFC career). The sale was seen as coup of sorts. He has been booed mercilessly subsequently.

Rating A+
Vilified ? Yes Unfairly ? No
* Note - has completely restored his reputation by a) reaching his potential and b) his laudable public stance against racism
* Note 2 - he will still be booed at Anfield

You are right that players are more or less mercenaries. But I think that you are wrong in stating that LFC fandom is unique in it's treatment of ex-superstars.

Everybody vilifies players who have rejected their home team for greener pastures. Its only natural.
I don't think you are right on Sterling. How can a view of him as a mercenary be there before his LFC career began...at the age of 16? I don't understand your rating system but while 50M may have seemed like a good deal at the time, I can remember a lot of fans saying they fleeced City for that money. Well, Sterling has become a top 5 player in the league and is still only 24. If City went to sell him now he'd at least be worth 150M with today's prices.


I also think you're wrong about fans vilifying their players who have left. Cristiano's name is still sung at Old Trafford. Berbatov is remembered fondly at Spurs, same with Modric. Chelsea fans don't harbor any ill will towards KDB or Lukaku...
 

Mighty Joe Young

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I don't think you are right on Sterling. How can a view of him as a mercenary be there before his LFC career began...at the age of 16? I don't understand your rating system but while 50M may have seemed like a good deal at the time, I can remember a lot of fans saying they fleeced City for that money. Well, Sterling has become a top 5 player in the league and is still only 24. If City went to sell him now he'd at least be worth 150M with today's prices.


I also think you're wrong about fans vilifying their players who have left. Cristiano's name is still sung at Old Trafford. Berbatov is remembered fondly at Spurs, same with Modric. Chelsea fans don't harbor any ill will towards KDB or Lukaku...
When Stirling was having his contract dispute with LFC there were lots of stories that he had forced his way out of QPR(?) in the same manner .. no links sadly - just my foggy memory.
 

InstaFace

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Coutinho did what every aspiring diva does. It’s one of my gripes with the modern game. I’d much rather see a player that deserts his contract be blacklisted rather than rewarded. He abandoned his side in-season for his own benefit. Regardless of accomplishment, that is garbage behavior. While Liverpool won the long-term “argument” over his transfer, the fans are absolutely entitled to their anger over his methods.
Was everyone this sneering about what Virgil Van Dijk did to Southampton? Because that's pretty much how it went down. He basically withdrew from the team, went about training on his own, and whined until he got his transfer to Liverpool. But I'm sure you're only disgusted by this behavior when it disfavors your team, rather than having the result of giving you the best defender in the EPL, right?

Also: If he did it to get to you, he'll do it to you. When you buy a player who's only in it for himself, you get a player who's only in it for himself.

(Edit: I see Teddy got the same argument in yesterday, but it can't be said enough. What was Nip's old line about the main board - go back far enough in the threads, and you can see we're all hypocrites?)
 

ehaz

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I don't think you are right on Sterling. How can a view of him as a mercenary be there before his LFC career began...at the age of 16? I don't understand your rating system but while 50M may have seemed like a good deal at the time, I can remember a lot of fans saying they fleeced City for that money. Well, Sterling has become a top 5 player in the league and is still only 24. If City went to sell him now he'd at least be worth 150M with today's prices.


I also think you're wrong about fans vilifying their players who have left. Cristiano's name is still sung at Old Trafford. Berbatov is remembered fondly at Spurs, same with Modric. Chelsea fans don't harbor any ill will towards KDB or Lukaku...
Those are crazy comparisons. Sterling was a 20 year old that was made the focal point of the team by his manager and was offered huge wages by the club for a player that young. LFC did all they could to protect him by even allowing him to go on vacation to Jamaica in the middle of the season due to fears that he would become exhausted from playing too many games at a young age. In response, he refused to negotiate any contract offer, had his agent go on TV to say Sterling wouldn't re-sign for even $700k a week, and basically forced Liverpool's hand after feigning an illness to get out of pre-season matches.

In comparison, Emre Can (despite privately rejecting offers and planning in advance to leave) played hard and made himself available for every game until his contract ran out and left to Juventus on a free. I didn't recall any Liverpool fan hate directed towards him.

Cristiano was the best player in the world not named Messi when he left ManU for a record fee. He's from the Iberian peninsula. He helped Man U win three consecutive league titles, a CL, and broke all sorts of records. Even though he publicly wanted a move to Madrid (and said as much) after achieving everything there was to achieve in England, he changed his mind even with Madrid leaking an agreement to the media, shot down all speculation that he was leaving, and literally won the Ballon d'Or and another title. There is zero reason for Manchester fans to not hold him in high regard.

Berbatov was a foreign player who only played two years for Spurs and he left after they finished 11th in the league.

KdB and Lukaku were literally pushed out by Chelsea and never had a chance to play because that club is a disaster when it comes to promoting younger players.

Everton fans vilified Ross Barkley when he left. Same with Arsenal and Robin van Persie. There are plenty of other examples out there.
 

67YAZ

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All of these responses to TeddyKGB’s snark?

If only Liverpool had the oil wealth of a despotic prince to throw around, the supporters would never have to watch a key player leave in his prime. C’est la vie.
 

teddykgb

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All of these responses to TeddyKGB’s snark?

If only Liverpool had the oil wealth of a despotic prince to throw around, the supporters would never have to watch a key player leave in his prime. C’est la vie.
Yeah poor little plucky Liverpool who have spent what like 400 million pounds in the last 3 windows? Christ you guys spent at least 150 this summer to add onto a CL final squad and are somehow convinced you’re David against Goliath
 

67YAZ

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Yeah poor little plucky Liverpool who have spent what like 400 million pounds in the last 3 windows? Christ you guys spent at least 150 this summer to add onto a CL final squad and are somehow convinced you’re David against Goliath
Touchy, eh?

Moralizing about professional sports is utterly pointless. But getting a rise out of people on a message board? Always enjoyable.
 

teddykgb

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Touchy, eh?

Moralizing about professional sports is utterly pointless. But getting a rise out of people on a message board? Always enjoyable.
Man do you guys make it hard to be happy for you.

Besides, Moralizing about sports is about the only trophy Liverpool has won in the last 20 years
 

67YAZ

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Ah, yes, the arrogance born of having won a single European cup 50 years ago.
 

Zomp

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Those are crazy comparisons. Sterling was a 20 year old that was made the focal point of the team by his manager and was offered huge wages by the club for a player that young. LFC did all they could to protect him by even allowing him to go on vacation to Jamaica in the middle of the season due to fears that he would become exhausted from playing too many games at a young age. In response, he refused to negotiate any contract offer, had his agent go on TV to say Sterling wouldn't re-sign for even $700k a week, and basically forced Liverpool's hand after feigning an illness to get out of pre-season matches.

In comparison, Emre Can (despite privately rejecting offers and planning in advance to leave) played hard and made himself available for every game until his contract ran out and left to Juventus on a free. I didn't recall any Liverpool fan hate directed towards him.
But at the time it wasn’t crazy for Sterling to want to leave Liverpool, who were in disarray, to go to City. Yet Liverpool fans acted like he committed treason. He left for a better chance at winning, and at the time he was right.

If Anthony Martial wanted to leave United right now for a PSG, a Chelsea, a Bayern, I don’t think United fans would hold him in disgust. I’m not saying I speak for an entire fan base but I think I’m right.
 

SoxFanInCali

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But at the time it wasn’t crazy for Sterling to want to leave Liverpool, who were in disarray, to go to City. Yet Liverpool fans acted like he committed treason. He left for a better chance at winning, and at the time he was right.

If Anthony Martial wanted to leave United right now for a PSG, a Chelsea, a Bayern, I don’t think United fans would hold him in disgust. I’m not saying I speak for an entire fan base but I think I’m right.
What if Martial called United a joke and said he wouldn't play there again for any amount of money, and demanded to go to City, or worse...Liverpool. How would the reaction next time he played there be then?

Are Liverpool fans sensitive to the idea of looking like a selling club? Yes. Do they often overreact at perceived personal slights? Yeah. But it's hardly exclusive to Liverpool, and following a team is about emotion. You think a crowd full of people that shrug their shoulders over players leaving because they think they are too good for the club could create the atmosphere that existed at Anfield last night?

A couple of different people have brought up how Liverpool fans are hypocrites because of the way Van Dijk came. But again, not a single Liverpool fan is giving Southampton fans grief for booing him every time he touches the ball now. I'd be surprised if they didn't.

The backlash in this thread is basically over Teddy throwing out some silly comparisons to Zabaleta and (potentially) Kompany leaving, which missed the point entirely. I mean, seriously, who is the last player to leave City that the team actually wanted to keep?

Plenty of players have left Liverpool and been greeted warmly when they return. Xabi Alonso left to go to Madrid when the team was a train wreck, and fans understood and continued cheering for him. Bellamy wanted to play for Cardiff and fans supported him (just as they will if Leeds come up and Milner decides he wants to finish with them). And even for ones that left on bad terms, time often heals wounds. Torres and Owen have come back for charity games and been greeted warmly, and Suarez was as well, he only got booed when he did Suarez-type stuff against us. Generally, don't be an ass on the way out and people will still support you. Pull a Roger Clemens and you might (as his wife said) get treated worse than Hitler.
 

teddykgb

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
11,016
Chelmsford, MA
No, I was responding to the chatter here and elsewhere about Coutinho 5 minutes after one of your clubs biggest wins. Really just remarking that you guys are so sensitive still over something so relatively common. I mean come on read that post above about each player and how they deserve scorn because they had the audacity to force a move away. It’s just crazy man.

The point about Van Dijk isn’t that you begrudge other fans who would boo him. It’s that you guys will unironically work yourselves into a lather about players who have done this to Liverpool while practically worshipping a player who did the same thing to move to your club. Instead of taking the appropriate lesson: that’s just how it is sometimes, there’s somehow this undercurrent that if you don’t write a poem about the magic of the Kop on the way out you are some sort of traitor.

Sterling is a red herring. LFC fan treatment at the time was absurd but at this point it seems to affect him so I do t blame the fans one bit in that regard. For me this really comes back to Coutinho. You fleeced Barca and somehow feel insulted by it.
 
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Mighty Joe Young

The North remembers
SoSH Member
Sep 14, 2002
8,401
Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada
No, I was responding to the chatter here and elsewhere about Coutinho 5 minutes after one of your clubs biggest wins. Really just remarking that you guys are so sensitive still over something so relatively common. I mean come on read that post above about each player and how they deserve scorn because they had the audacity to force a move away. It’s just crazy man.

The point about Van Dijk isn’t that you begrudge other fans who would boo him. It’s that you guys will unironically work yourselves into a lather about players who have done this to Liverpool while practically worshipping a player who did the same thing to move to your club. Instead of taking the appropriate lesson: that’s just how it is sometimes, there’s somehow this undercurrent that if you don’t write a poem about the magic of the Kop on the way out you are some sort of traitor.

Sterling is a red herring. LFC fan treatment at the time was absurd but at this point it seems to affect him so I do t blame the fans one bit in that regard. For me this really comes back to Coutinho. You fleeced Barca and somehow feel insulted by it.
Can’t we have it both ways? I certainly wanted him to stay .. and was a little miffed with the fake injuries and all that. BUT .. I thought they DID fleece Barca .. they sold Coutinho at the very apex of his value. And I don’t want him back .. he has no place in the team. His work rate just isn’t up to Klopp’s standards and he’s easy to dispossess. Plus his wages are now unaffordable.

I don’t think you will hear many Pool fans complaining about the transfer. After all it did finance VVD, Keita, Fabhino, Allison , Shakiri, and post dated Ox.

And let’s not pretend that City hasn’t vastly outspent Liverpool over the past three years.

Net spend:
Liverpool: 141m £
City : 399m £

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/premier-league-transfers-big-six-13014572

And the fact of the matter is Pool only spent big last year .. VVD in January and Keita, Fabinho , Shakiri and Allison in the summer. What’s more there’s no big signings on the horizon for this summer.

Edit: and to make it very clear - I think City have the best team this year and are full marks for their impending victory.
 
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