Roy Keane has repeatedly stood up for the rights of footballers, claiming that clubs treat them like meat, selling them on whenever they want to, so why shouldn’t the players do what is best for them?
To a certain degree, I agree with what Keano has to say, but what I can’t abide by is these players who claim to be loyal, who repeatedly speak to the press about their desire to stay at the club, then stab their fans in the back by handing in a transfer request. We’ve endured how that feels recently when conned by Wayne Rooney’s badge kissing, but the future Liverpool and Chelsea strikers are the latest of a long line of mercenaries who lie to the fans to earn the adulation, but don’t back their words up with the commit they profess to have.
August 3rd 2010: “This is the best club in the country so the targets and expectations are always high. I am really happy to be back, really happy to stay with all my team-mates. My commitment and loyalty to the club and to the fans is the same as it was on my first day when I signed. I felt at home from the first day, I feel the fans love me and everyone knows I am really happy here and really happy to play at Anfield.”
5 months later, Fernando Torres hands in a transfer request and is in talks to join Chelsea.
October 8th 2010: “All I have ever wanted to do is play for Newcastle. That’s been the case since I was a teenager, playing for the juniors and deserves, and it’s still the same now. Every time I pull on the black and white shirt – and even more so now that I have number nine on my back – it means the world to me so to be able to do that for at least the next five years is brilliant.”
3 months later, Andy Carroll hands in a transfer request and is in talks to join Liverpool.
