Comments on: Loyalty In Football – We Need More

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:23:59 +0000

Why would we all have liked Ronaldo to stay?
I for one am pleased he cannot influence the next generation of our footballers as he did when he played in this country.
He was a bad example. Undoubtedly he had great skill and talent but he was also a cheat and con artist.
When you see very young kids throwing themselves to the floor and claiming to be doing a Ronaldo (in all innocence) then you know we have a problem.
The true greats do not have to try and get other players into trouble, they rise above that and let their ball talent do the damage.
Pele he is not. He is not even Maradona.

By: Robbert

Robbert — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 09:30:36 +0000

The comparison with Ajax is an interesting one. Ajax has always traditionally been a selling club; we as Ajax-fans know that our best players leave for the big European sides when they’re 22/23. Even though this is an inevitability and we’re resigned to it, it still hurts every time it happens.

By: Neil Jones

Neil Jones — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:38:47 +0000

Nice article Andrei, and thanks for the big-up in the intro!

Obviously I disagree with the premise, but you raise some valid points. I personally find it bemusing that we as football fans can talk about “loyalty” and “being owed” by men that we have never met and know very little about. Footballers are lucky in that they collect adulation and a wonderful salary, but it does not render them immune from suffering the same insecurities, the same ambitions, the same worries as anyone else.

Of course some footballers are money-driven, which is a sad indictment of society in general I’m afraid, but not every transfer is solely money-orientated, and I do think that we as fans need to keep things in perspective when talking about how we are “owed anything by players.

By: UnitedMan

UnitedMan — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:18:50 +0000

Why is it that we as fans have such a double-standard?

The minute a player sucks, we want him kicked off the team as fast as possible through whatever means possible yet we want the player to be as loyal as possible

Players should start being “loyal” when the teams start being “loyal” to the players

It is about winning and money for both sides.