Spot On Mascot…
He is definitely heading towards the ‘tipping point’ of patience as far as the fans are concerned…
I mean how difficult can it be to put the interests of LFC, the fanbase and most importantly, himself, before his international demands… I mean, we have all rang into work with a bad back once or twice in our time eh…!
Coutino did it when it suited… Even Sturridge tested the patience of Jurgen on occasion…
I have mentioned on many occasion…
Keita needs to wake the F*** UP to the opportunity he has with LFC
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But what exactly can he do? Play for us injured like how we are angry his country makes him do? Risk a 2 week absence ending up as a major issue instead? If he’s injured he’s injured.
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Something has been lost in translation here between earlier posts and your answers here…
The context of these earlier posts related to Naby Keita doing more himself, to refute the claims he is fit to play in internationals.… everyone else’s hands are legally bound, so it comes down to the individual himself, in a similar vein to ‘sick note’ tactics used by Coutinho when it suited him…
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But his national team call him up. If he rejects he gets a ban on club games. Even when he has turned up injured they’ve still had their medical department give him a pass so they can force him to play, injured, so what exactly are you asking him to do? I’m sorry I don’t understand. If they can force him to play when injured they’re sure as hell going to force him to play when he says he’s injured.
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AnfieldRdDreamer… I ain’t going down this rabbit hole with you…
All I know is… If I was a 24yr old athlete with the best years of my career in front of me… and my body tells me I have a tight hamstring, or a bad tweak in my back… to get told by my International manager to get there on that bone hard pitch to play for my country… You know what, and maybe this is the scouser in me, I would tell him I am unfit to play… and I ain’t going out there…
If it meant I had to get on a plane to be assessed by them… so be it…
If ten of his backroom staff shoved me out there… I would walk about for the full 90mins…
So like I mentioned earlier…
Lets you and I keep our opinions away from each other on this matter eh…
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In my opinion, it’s easier for us to say what we think he should be doing and what not, whereas things might not be straight forward for him. If his attitude or his commitment was really a problem, I believe Klopp would have addressed that the right way.
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Naby has a lot more power with his federation than he might assume. He is their most, and possibly only, bankable star. He can call the shots a lot more than he is doing.
If Guinea call him up, and he has a niggle or a tightness, he can dictate that he only play one of the matches, or comes off on 60. If he is following a particular fitness plan from Liverpool, he can insist it is followed.
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I don’t think people are appreciating how unprofessional this FA is acting and applying logic to predict the way they would behave in situations when they already aren’t acting logically. This FA in question have already forced him to play when he is injured and has told them he can’t. He could go out and put a half arsed or even quarter arsed performance in (not that we know he hasn’t) but even that is so important to them they are likely to still do it and potentially going to have a negative affect on his health. His only real option is to refuse to link up with them/go on the pitch. But then he’d likely get banned from playing for us anyway so we don’t gain anything and I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t be painted very well to the public back home. I’m not a huge fan of Keita in particular (although I love all this team more than some past teams) and think that with his injury issues we may actually have to move him on soon. But there’s nothing about this situation that’s his fault or within his control. It’s weird to me that it’s being suggested that it is. They’ve played him injured, insisting he’s injured isn’t a stronger case than that.
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We are ignoring the pure emotion these players have for their countries, especially in cases like Guinea. Most of the players will say “I’m fine” and play through a little niggle or something. So it’s more of a question for their management, playing him 180 minutes straight away after being out for a while.
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It’s just not how things work in the developing world. If he plays for the team he’s the nation’s pride, if he doesn’t then he’s a national shame. Much more so than in Europe. And all of that will also carry over to his family etc.
And coming back to Robbo. He clearly had a niggle, the qualification was secure. Liverpool had a big game coming up. Why did he play 90 mins in a dead rubber. Why didn’t he tell the Scotland set up to send him home. Clearly it doesn’t work like that.
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Not sure his country will Keita to Naby’s demands.
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It’s also entirely likely that he felt completely fine the entire time with Guniea and was happy to get minutes into his legs given his time out. The reality is he came back in fine shape otherwise he wouldn’t have been played in this game (I appreciate our issues but we still had options, and Klopp was not going to compound them by playing a struggling player). In these discussions we treat muscle injuries as if there is some clearly defined landmark we can use to know when they are going to occur, but it just doesn’t work like that. The Guinea FA played him and he got through the games. Klopp played him and he didnt. Klopp is no more at fault than the Guinea FA are.
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Absolutely. In my book, we are far too honest in that regard.
When you have to deal with dishonest national and international federations who don’t give a shit about your players’ health, repay them with the same.
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I think if Naby has a little word that unless they start playing the game he’ll look at following Joël Matip into international retirement, they’ll start playing ball.
Players can retire. They issue with Joel was around the paperwork.
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It was about the paperwork and if it hasn’t been fucked up at the other end he could have had a long ban. Which would be the situation with Keita. Players can’t actually retire whilst still playing the sport. If it gets nasty between them and Keita and they follow the correct process it’s us and Keita that miss out. With bans every time he refuses a correctly processed call up. It would also create emotional issues for him and his family that no footballer would voluntarily face if they could help it.
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Try to look at it the other way.
You are a 24 yo athlete stuck in liverpool reserves since you were 16. One day Klopp comes along and tells you he needs you because 10 of his players are injured.
But you have a tight hamstring… what would you do?
unfit to play?
ain’t going out there?
walk about for 90mins?
honestly
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The club will open itself up to disciplinary sanctions if it encourages a player to refuse a call up. There is the possibility of objecting on medical grounds and demanding an independent assessment through FIFA.
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No, players can’t technically retire under the regulations. They still rely on the national association to accept such a notification.
The issue with Matip was Cameroon’s paperwork, not Matip’s.
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And his manager being an absolute dick with a personal score to settle with Matip. Basically the idea was that few thought Matip was really retired, just that he had fallen out with and publicly criticized the then manager and he did not want that to be used as a justification for firing him (if we replace the manager, Matip will make himself available again) so in an act of self-preservation, the manager insisted on calling him up anyway.
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Ha…OK… exasperated here… 
There is absolutely no correlation in what you are posting as a reply on here to the Naby Keita thread, which is what has been the focus of the previous discussions across numerous posts.
Surely… when/if you read between the lines of my post… and refusal to play section… was/is in fact a hypothetical scenario outlining ‘MY’ stance/advice if I was a highly paid, £55m asset to LFC, that has not started to show any value for money return, in nearly two and half years… yet allow a governing body to dictate my welfare and jeopardise the longevity of my playing career, insisting I play through the pain barrier.
The Guinean International Body, like any employer, has ‘duty of care’ responsibilities. Historically, they have failed to uphold these. You only have to see the clip of the physio hauling Keita over his shoulder and off the pitch after he got injured to cite as an example…
Simply put, Loyalty should work both ways… Due to the injury plagued bit-part role Keita has been restricted to playing for LFC since his arrival, in part, and it is well documented, due to aggravating injuries sustained whilst pressurised into playing International football… For me, to date, Keita has been an expensive flop… Whether he ever becomes an icon or a success, could well depend on how he prioritises the opportunities he has in front of him, at LFC… His paymasters…! Blast from the Past, but still very very relevant…
Bill Shankly once saw Tommy Smith wrapping a bandage around his knee and asked what he was doing… this is what Shankly continued to say…
“You’ve hurt your knee? That’s not your knee son, its Liverpool’s Knee.!”
Blockquote
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