I think what I skipped (it was said in my head at least) was that sure, we all have emotional responses to things like that, but I like to untangle emotional responses and temper overreactions where I can, especially my own.
I don’t think emotions have to be illogical, and I don’t think everything has to be completely logical either. I just think that there is a decent amount of space to be had in between.
I’m disappointed that he’s going, I don’t really feel that he will have as much of footballing success as he would have had here, especially in the intangible aspects. As successful as he might be there, he’ll always just be another player for them rather than someone truly special.
But to boo him like that? I think that’s overboard, unnecessary, and shows to anyone who plays for us or who may play for us that ultimately, Liverpool fans are as fickle as pretty much any other team.
It’s more to do with the manner of his departure, and the way this has been clearly orchestrated for two years or more.
We know Real Madrid do this. They get in player’s ears and they promise them the big move with big wages and signing on fees. But you have to run down your contract. We aren’t paying a fee.
Of course Trent has no obligation to LFC. If he wants to treat as a business then he is within his rights to do so. And all the fans who have invested in him emotionally down the years are equally entitled to make it clear that they dislike him, they don’t approve and, yes, they are entitled to boo him.
I don’t particularly like it, but I’m not going to get on my high horse and act superior by telling people they can’t have an emotional reaction in a sport that thrives on and demands emotion (this club more than others).
As an aside, I was listening to John Gibbons on the Anfield Wrap, who was saying that around him it got tetchy because people started booing, and then other people started booing those people for booing, and other people started kicking off at them because it sounded like they were booing Trent as well.
Basically, crowds are weird things and nobody should be having kittens because a crowd got a bit out of control.
Put it on the other foot, if we clapped and applauded Trent leaving then it would show our players that it is easy to make the decision to leave as the fans are all jolly about it.
Whereas now they know the ire that is felt by some and it has been expressed.
Those are the regular game going fans who pay their hard earned money to support the team week in week out, so if they feel displeased then they have paid for the right to show it.
So you’re saying the fan in Aus/NZ that gets up at 2/3/4 am to watch games isn’t as entitled to have an opinion because they aren’t local? Or the fan in SE Asia, or India or Africa that spends a higher % of their income buying a shirt from the club compared to what a local would pay?
This saga looks like it will go on forever which is a shame.
Still the days of playing for the shirt are gone,sadly forever but it keeps the bank manager happy.
He is going,his call,and nothing us fans can do about it.
But..we don’t have to like it.
At the end of the day he is replaceable,he will become a memory soon
enough,like Torres, Cou and a bunch of others.
To some fond memories,to many others,maybe not so much!
I was merely pointing out why fans were treating Virg and Mo’s situation differently to Trent despite all 3 being in the same basket. That was black and white.
I don’t have an issue with Trent seeing his contract out and I don’t even have an issue he wants to go to Madrid for a payday - go for it, I have an issue with his attitude, his sulky bullshit, his lazy defending, his massive ego, bigging up the ballon d’or whilst sucking cunts like Jude off…he’s not a player I’ll ever have any affection towards and clearly many others will share the same feelings.
But to bring it back to the analogy around relationships – if you’re going to demonstrate that when someone leaves it’s going to be quite toxic, then who’s going to want to start a relationship with you?
The analogy is OK but I would also like to point out the difference in how fans treated Alonso, Mascherano and Suarez when they departed (minus the sagas revolving around transfer requests, obviously) and Torres, Coutinho and TAA. You do your best, you pay respect to the shirt you’re wearing, no one will bear any ill will towards you.
I do hate the feeling of players leaving empty-handed to win trophies elsewhere, especially on the back of an outstanding season. In TAA’s case, it’s thankfully the opposite on both counts, which makes his departure easier to deal with from an emotional point of view (for me at least).
They certainly were as far as their Liverpool contracts were concerned, what stage they’re at in their footballing career has no bearing to the fan’s response…why do you think the fanbase were far more worried about losing the 2 players at the so called “end of their careers”, every player’s prime years is different, some have it early, some have it late. Trent hasn’t been at his “prime” ever since he decided he didn’t want to be a wide attacking RB anymore.
Virg and Mo reiterated their desire to stay, they put the club first and every fan resonates with that. Trent chose to go down a different path when he said he’d rather win the ballon d’or than another CL then refusing to do any other media, he put his ego first.
As for Suarez, I don’t recall his treatment being particularly good either, even though he had the genuine mitigating factor of his partner’s family having been settled in Barcelona for a decade, with all his attempts to move to Europe in search of being closer to them. I also wonder how much of an influence the previous summer had on perceptions, with many people possibly believing that he gave us an additional year.
I’m not sure any of this would work at all for him because (a) it would change the economics of the deal, and (b) why wouldn’t the other club just wait until the contract expires?
EDIT: Also, have there ever been any top clubs which have made such a deal? The only ones I’m vaguely aware of are situations where such a fee, while relatively reasonable for the purchasing club, are of significant importance to the selling club.
Or was it that summer when he got himself a 4 month ban from football for biting an opponante for the 3rd time in his career, and 2nd time whilst being a Liverpool player
