In the week leading up to Manchester United saying goodbye to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as the player, Sir Alex Ferguson commented on the state of our game, in terms of loyalty and contracts.
“Anyone serving more than 10 years at a football club these days is exceptional,” said Fergie. “Especially with freedom of contract, the Bosman Rule and agents… it’s very difficult to get players to stay for that length of time, particularly when they’re not from your country, which I think is even more difficult. It is difficult to say where people are going to be in two weeks’ time, let alone two years and I certainly would not want to talk about what is likely to happen at this club. It is not my domain.”
With FIFA president Sepp Blatter pushing for players’ freedom, it appears as though we are going to see more and more footballers moving to the highest bidder, regardless of when they last signed a contract.
“If the player wants to play somewhere else, then a solution should be found because if he stays in a club where he does not feel comfortable to play then it’s not good for the player and for the club,” said Blatter. “The important thing is, we should also protect the player. I’m always in favour of protecting the player, and if the player he wants to leave, let him leave.”
As I’ve already talked about, in a day and age when players are less loyal than ever before, it seems these disloyal players are intent in proving their allegiances. The latest culprit, Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor.
I have a lot of time for the Arsenal fans who have been booing Adebayor, following his ridiculous pimping of himself to all the clubs in Europe. Whilst booing is something that is often criticised, I think in the case of player loyalty, it is the fans responsibility to let the player know that what they are doing is out of order, because the club certainly won’t!
The Togo hitman slotted home a 50th-minute penalty winner then kissed the Arsenal badge in front of supporters. Adebayor, 24, had been booed at the start by large sections of the crowd before kick-off and again after the half-hour when he failed to nod home Robin van Persie’s cross. But, by the time he was taken off, the African ace — who had angered many fans by threatening to move — had gone some way to repairing a few bridges.
Asked if he must rebuild his relationship with fans, Ade said: “I don’t know. I think so. It’s normal because when there is speculation, they believe in what they read.”
So, what have Arsenal fans read?
May 9th
“I am very happy here. Reports which suggest I have threatened to quit are rubbish,” Adebayor said. “I love the club and the fans. We have a great set of players here with a fantastic team spirit.”
June 27th
“I am a footballer, I have a three-year contract at Arsenal but as you know, a lot of clubs are interested in me,” he said. “At the moment we are just going to sit down and talk and decide what to do. Nothing has been decided yet. We will decide next week.”
June 28th
“I had a dream of playing for Arsenal, and Arsenal are one of the loveliest clubs in the world,” he said. “But now I have a chance of playing with one of the biggest clubs in the world. I haven’t had a chance to speak to the manager yet. But we will sit down next week and decide what is good for my career. We will have to meet with the manager before anything can be decided. But, as you know better than anyone, a lot of teams want me to play for them.”
To take away some of the blame, Adebayor had the nerve to suggest that his move to another club would be him benefiting Arsenal. “If they’re going to get 50million for me and they bought me for 10million, everyone is getting the benefits,” he added.
June 29th
“Barcelona have made a good financial offer and there is also the chance to play alongside great players,” he said. “Yes, I am still under contract to Arsenal but it’s up to the directors to satisfy my demands or I’ll leave. If my good form of last season has increased my value, my employers have to take account of that.”
August 1st
“Now I can tell everyone that, yes, I will sign a contract,” he said. “I’m feeling very good here, very well here, and at the moment my heart is with Arsenal.”
Just last week we had former Arsenal player, David Bentley, proclaiming his love for Spurs after his £15 million move. Can these players really expect to be taken seriously? Fans know about loving their club, about the strong feelings they have for all connected with their team, and it’s entirely patronising and insulting for these players to spout rubbish about their love for the team they essentially know nothing about, not in comparison to us anyway, the fans.
“I grew up through the Arsenal youth team but it’s not a problem for me — all my heart is at Tottenham and all my passion will be tunnelled into doing well for Tottenham,” claimed Bentley.
Frank Lampard
“I want to stay at Chelsea,” Lampard said in March 2007. “I have never wanted to leave the club and I don’t intend to. I have everything I want in life where I am right now. For the past six years my life has been my family and Chelsea Football Club. Some players can say that and it sounds clichéd or fake. I can say it because it is absolutely true. I am very proud I play for Chelsea and of what I have achieved as part of the team. I’m very happy at Chelsea, they’ve been the best days of my career.”
However, his tune had changed a year later.
“Inter? Let’s wait and see,” he said at the end of June 2008. “For the moment I am here on holiday with my family, my future at Chelsea? I don’t know anything yet.”
Robbie Keane
“There’s always speculation that I’m going here, there and everywhere but I’m very content with my life and with my time at Spurs,” Keane said in May 2008. “I will continue to play there for as long as I am happy and for as long as I am wanted. It’s good to have a summer off but then I look forward to going back to Spurs next season.”
Two months later, he was being unveiled as a Liverpool player.
“I do not think I let Spurs down,” he said. “But this is a new chapter in my life and one that I am looking forward to. I had six great years at Spurs and thank them for that. There are players leaving Spurs, but there are also good players coming in. I can only focus on Robbie Keane and what is good for me.”
Alexander Hleb
“I have a contract at Arsenal until 2010 and now only think of the game against Germany,” he said in May 2008. “I have also read [that I have said I want to leave], but I do not know who has written it. That is nonsense. I have also read that I wanted to move because Arsenal would win nothing, this too is nonsense. But I would really not like to comment on the issue really because there is nothing more to say, because the club means so much to me. I have learned so much from Arsene Wenger. This man has always supported me and given me the chance to come to Arsenal. I would therefore never say anything negative about Arsenal.”
A month later, he was kissing Barcelona’s badge at a press conference unveiling him as their player.
And Blatter thinks this is a good thing?
I’m an Arsenal fan, and I was at the Emirates cup. I was happy to clap Adebayor’s goal and support him while he’s part of the team but I threw up a little in my mouth when he did the badge thing. He’s got a long way to go before that looks like anything else besides the cynical move of a mercenary, and frankly he would have done himself more favours by keeping his head down and getting on with the game imho.
Pros of the likes of Solskjaer, Adams, Pallister (I could go on naming ‘greats’ from both our clubs and lots of others) are a rare find now, just as SAF says.
I’d prefer to see people associated with my club that love my club, but I’d at least respect the likes of Adebayor and Heinze if they’d actually just say “Look, I’m going to do the best for you but while I’m here but I’m also going to do what is best for my career”. Maybe you wouldn’t like hearing that at first but at least it would be honest, and that seems to be in short supply these days.
Best of luck for the season, except while facing us of course
Scott the Red -
Good piece – Gooner here and I think Adebayor is an ungrateful spear chucker. He can fuck off and die for all I care (so long as Barcelona sign him up before said death).
However, AFC fans will welcome him back – they’re not like your lot who gave Pugface Ferdinand a hard time a couple of years back over his failure to sign a new contract.
The big question is how you boys will respond to Ronaldo? He is trying to make your club look small.
Don’t forget Ronaldo will be next, it’s a disgrace the way these players behave, no loyalty, nothing.
And as for the racist remark the twat herdee string made, you aint welcomed down at Arsenal you fucking bigot, and you are no Gooner just a sad racist
never ever had mr”slave” kissed his badge before…so if he ends up staying,i wont expect a lot from him…
regarding Adebayor, i think he`s a disgrace. for god`s sake, how the fans will believe him after all the shit he had said????
I’m also a Gooner, but I think that for Man U and Arsenal supporters to be spouting stuff about going to the highest bidder is real hypocrisy. Sometimes we have to laugh out ourselves! Man U can outbid just about any club in the world. Arsenal can to a lesser extent also shell out 10 million quid for a player where clubs in Holland, Germany or France could never compete.
Think Owen Hargreaves, think Nasri, think Flamini from OM, think a string of players who would probably not have arrived had it not been for the money.
Frankly, we don’t realise what a privelege we have supporting big clubs in the richest league.
@scott… do rem to post the same shit, when ronnie scores a goal n kisses the badge.. i sure hope he doesnt do it though!,i rather have glazer kiss it!
i dont think the players see badge kissing the same way we do, i mean when you see scholes, giggs or neville do it you know its from the heart because they breath and actually love our club.
but other players like ronaldo, like lampard, like helb just do it as a celebration because they scored. i mean rooney (as much as i love him) kisses our badge to annoy everton fans…
Scott your article is spot on
Ronaldo has never kissed our badge and has always made it clear he wants to play in Spain one day. Any United fan who feels let down by Ronaldo this summer is a mug, because he hasn’t done anything here we didn’t expect him to. He hasn’t spoken badly about the club, he hasn’t even said he wants to leave United, just chatted about “dreams” and what God knows. But he wants to go to Real Madrid one day, and we’ve always known that.
THIS_IS_MANCHESTER – do Giggs, Neville and Scholes kiss our badge? No, because they don’t have to. It’s plain to everyone that they love our club and they don’t need to prove their loyalty in the way Adebayor and Lampard do.
scott im merely refering to the differences between some of older generation of footballers and current, you are correct giggs, scholes and neville dont ever have to prove to us that they love our club but if they did you know its because they are loyal to us, as for the others they just do it to celebrate a goal they scored not really because they love the team.
Ade did great last season. His agent used the everybody wants him card( after phoning everyone) and now he`s getting a new contract . If this !! is what agents are doing to clubs then we`re on the verge of losing and giving power to the players. Ade is on the payroll and will always be on the verge of leaving .( he`s aving a laugh at the club imo) SAF must keep Ronaldo!!! bring power in order
Scott,we knew that Ronaldo would love to play in spain one day,but what really disappointed me as a lifelong man utd fan,was the way he acted since we won the C.L.had he had the balls to come clean and say what he wants ,it would have been a lot better for both sides.even winning the most important trophy in the world ,didnt make him realize that he is a king in Manchester.
He’s not interested about being the king in Manchester though, is he? And I can’t begrudge him that. If I was a professional football (!!) and broke on to the World scene whilst at Real Madrid, and Manchester United came knocking, I’d be there in a heartbeat, as would you, and any other red.
He’s always dreamed of playing for Real Madrid and whilst he enjoys playing for United, and will continue to enjoy playing for Manchester United, Real Madrid is his end goal. That’s fair enough.
He hasn’t come out and categorically said he wants to leave Manchester United because that’s not what he 100% wants. If a move to Real is on the cards, he’ll take it, but if not, he’s happy enough where he is.
I’ll never support him the way I did, but I don’t think he can put in the same category as the dicks who’ve been telling their fans lies.
Why aren’t all football fans convinced yet, that footballers all have 1st class honours degrees in bullshitting?. Agents are closely behind with degrees in CRAPOLOGY.
good to see some common sense postings from gooners on here
ade was disgrace and kissing the badge wont fool anyone ditto for ronaldo
If Adebayor has said those things, then I’m sure he deserves the booing and criticism but just like how I treat the Ronaldo situation, you shouldn’t believe everything a player has supposedly said.
Just like the Brazilian journalist who created the story about Ronaldo wanting out, it happens in today’s journalism and you should only really believe things if you see a video of the interview or it’s on an official club’s website (unless it happens to be that of Real Madrid).
I won’t boo Ronaldo when he plays for United next, so I won’t condone the same treatment of an Arsenal player, no matter how much I dislike them.
what adebayor did was a disgrace and the article was spot on. but, the author seems to forget to add his beloved united’s player in the article as one of the example.cough*ronaldo*cough. what can i say is that in the end, all that matter is bread and butter.
We all know who loves our clubsand who doesn’t!
They show it with tenure and performances…
Arsenal… Bergkamp, Adams, Dixon, Keown, Seaman, Windybum, Parlour, Freddie, Vieira, Henry, Wright
Man U… Keane, Robson, Nevilles, Schmeichel, Scholes, Ole, Giggs, Becks, Cantona
These men love their clubs and always will.
I am grateful to those who find more than money on their journey as a pro.
The reason we have so many is largely due to SAF and Wenger
sorry scott , have to disagree . ronaldo has been an absolute prick this summer . arsene wanker (kudos!) is certainly right when he says ronaldo has disrespected our adulation for him .
also when you say that we always knew ronaldo dreamed of playing for real madrid i think you’re just looking at his comments from the past 6 months . im sure i could be wrong , but what i have been reading for the past 5 years is –
”i dont know what the future holds .”
he had never once mentioned madrid until they started flaunting their big bucks . In fact , if i remember correctly , there was even a newspaper report last year about him supporting liverpool as a kid .
what are we to make of all this ?
Where did you get all these quotes? from a scandanavian website? whilst there is a semblence valid point somewhere within this article, I think the words dont believe everything you read spring to mind! you target players from other clubs whilst avoiding the worst culprit of all, Ronaldo. No wonder players heads are turned with clubs like Man U showing no respect in their tapping up of players. whilst in turn being deeply offended when clubs do it to them. I have no problems with Adebayour. Its the sh1t stirrers in the papers and on blogs like this that i have a problem with.
mattuso,
what’s wrong buddy? someone piss in your cereal this morning?
yeah emmanuel f*cking adebayour and then he kissed my arsenal teddy bear!!!!!!