Player loyalty. What is it?

Steven Gerrard is possibly the finest player never to win a Premier League winners medal and unless there is a massive change in fortunes it's doubtful he will win one by the time he retires. It pains me to say it being a Liverpool fan but we are firmly behind Man Utd, Man City and Chelsea in the food chain and it's gonna take on hell of a season for Liverpool and Gerrard to finally hold aloft the big one by the time the great man retires which leads me to this question:

Has he been overly loyal staying at Liverpool?

He could have gone to Chelsea in either 05 or 06 and there has always been (at least speculative) interest from abroad but he's remained loyal and in doing so has missed out on that elusive first Champions of England gong. That said he has won everything else there is to win and he'll probably go down as one of the best players to ever don a reds shirt so it's not all doom but still....I wonder if he ever wonders what could have been had he moved on?

One of my favourite players growing up was Matt Le Tissier. Easily the best player to play for Southampton but I always found it fascinating that he never jumped ship. It's no secret that Glen Hoddle tried in vain to take him to Chelsea. It would have been totally understandable had Le Tiss made the move because of both ambition and financial motives. He stayed put. For me he was too loyal. He deserved better.

Robin van Persie is entering a critical period in his Arsenal Career and is entering (I think?) the final 18 months of his contract. Arsene Wenger is asking for loyalty from van Persie (Arsenals best player by a mile) after the club stuck by him during his numerous injuries in his seven years at the Emirates/Highbury. He could quit football tomorrow and never have to work again but the lure of, lets say, a Man City could be too much for the man. How much will loyalty play a part in the deciding of his future? Has he already proved his loyalty?

This time last year Wayne Rooney had one foot out of the Old Trafford door but a huge swing via a 200k a week new contract kept him there for a further five years and when he gets to end of this deal he will probably be lauded for his loyalty while last years strop will be largely forgotten but he will have the argument of probably a couple more PL titles and possibly another Champions League winners medal.

...and these are just a few examples.

Is player loyalty really that important in football? Can players be too loyal? And what constitutes loyalty? 5 years, 10 years or a whole career at one club?

Cheers guys.

I think a huge part of Gerrard's game is his passion, and I don't think he could ever recreate the passion he has for Liverpool anywhere else. I don't want to be dragged into a debate as to whether he supported Liverpool as a child, but the facts are he grew up at the club and I think is a huge fan of the club and would never be able to recreate the same drive that he has for Liverpool. The biggest example of this IMO is his England performances, while they can be good, they never seem to be as motivated as the ones he has for Liverpool. I think Gerrard might know this himself, which is why he never tried to move.

Perhaps it is the same for Le Tissier, who felt it could ruin his career if he moved as he wasn't confident he couldn't perform to the same level at a different club, especially if he wasn't their main man.

This for me marks the difference between them and Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie, they have both joined the clubs they are at from their own clubs that they grew up with because they are successful, so it would be naive to suggest they wouldn't jump ship to a club they view as more successful or can offer them more money. I wouldn't be surprised if Rooney's was all just a big publicity stunt, and I definitely wouldn't be surprised if Van Persie left Arsenal.

I think player loyalty does mean a little less these days, but at the end of the day, they are human, and are moving for the best of reasons. I think most of us would jump ship to a more successful job which is offering us more money even if we did feel slightly loyal to the company we currently worked for.

I don't think there is any such thing as player loyalty anymore. Yes there will always be the odd player who manages to sign for his hometown club or boyhood heroes and stay there for the majority if not all of his career but there is too much money in football nowadays and either
(1) a player will want to move clubs for more wages or wait till his contract expires and get a huge lump sum in a signing on fee rather than a transfer fee being paid or
(2) any lower division clubs will be offered ridiculous amounts of money for the best young players and not be able to refuse any offers.

Can any club justify paying 10-15 million for a 17 - 19 year old such as Oxlade -Chamberlain, Jones or Wickham or 20-30+ for a 21 or 22 year old such as Henderson or Carroll. Thats the same if not more than the likes of Shearer and Owen were sold for.

The sooner agents were banned from football then maybe we wouldn't see as many astronomical transfer fees being paid and as much paid in salaries. The fact is if a professional footballer signs a contract they should honour it and not after a year or so be talked into holding their employers to ransom.

invincibleILeak (CL-6WF) wrote:


I think player loyalty does mean a little less these days, but at the end of the day, they are human, and are moving for the best of reasons. I think most of us would jump ship to a more successful job which is offering us more money even if we did feel slightly loyal to the company we currently worked for.

The difference with us jumping ship to a better paid job is that most if not all of our employers didn't have to pay anyone else to acquire our services. Once clubs have agreed a transfer fee the player has agreed personal terms and signed a contract then he should honour that contract for it's entirity not just for the first 12-18 months

to be fair if the club wants the player to stay then he has to see out his contract.

the reason they let them leave is so they can get a transfer fee.

I think loyalty is based on the individual player's values. Really and truly there are 3 types of players

1) Those that play for money - Winston Bogarde the finest example of this. Jimmy Bullard became this type of player when he left Wigan, ended up at Fulham and Hull. Carlos Tevez is on this path. Players that basically make the grade and then start looking at the money and put a value on themselves.

2) Those that play for the love of the game - Alan Shearer left Blackburn to turn out at Newcastle. Le Tissier stayed at the Saints. Totti has always remained at Roma. Del Piero at Juventus, Xavi at Barcelona. Players that enjoy the game and feel that performing when they are happy and comfortable. They put the love of the game before success and money. Steven Gerrard falls into this category.

3) Those that are driven by success - Roy Keane, Roberto Carlos, Patrick Vieira are all examples of being driven by being the best at their craft and this is often reflected in success in titles and accolades.

I think if players are driven by No.1, there is no sign of loyalty.

If players have 2 or 3, then there is a chance that loyalty exists.

Think you also have to remember there are circumstances which change them however, you have to remember that they can have disagreements and stop enjoying there time at a club.

If they're not enjoying playing football for a particular team even if they've been playing there for a while then can you blame them for leaving? Even if it's not money based?

erm has anyone mentioned the reasons why gerrard stayed-

i dont want to post stuff that might not be true.

however there is/wsas a rumour going around that he was odds on to go to chelsea- bar death threats.

there is/was rumours that gerrard and his friends/family are linked to organised crime

" 'Ere mate, am gonna make you an offer you can't *bleeping* refuse... I'm going on the rob..."

Don't see the whole La Cosa Nostra thing working out for him...

"2) Those that play for the love of the game - Alan Shearer left Blackburn to turn out at Newcastle. Le Tissier stayed at the Saints. Totti has always remained at Roma. Del Piero at Juventus, Xavi at Barcelona. Players that enjoy the game and feel that performing when they are happy and comfortable. They put the love of the game before success and money. Steven Gerrard falls into this category."

firstly although i dont know much about why le tissier satyed on at saints. I think its obvious that someone like xavi has no reason to leave a top club, just like scholes,giggs and keane at united. Thats not neccesarily loyality they are just at the best club anyway. In terms of gerrard staying at liverpool i think he fails into a completely different catergory.

There are some pretty selacious rumours about Gerrards ropey wife that have been doing the rounds for a while. He certainly wouldn't want them to be verified.