Is there loyalty in football? You hear fans and owners moaning about players showing no loyalty to the club, but loyalty cuts both ways. When a team starts to perform badly it does not take long for fans to start calling for the managers head. 3 years ago there were City fans who wanted GJ out despite what he had done for us - arguably he had the last laugh because look where we and he are now!! Owners have little loyalty, especially rich overseas ones - let's take Chelsea as an example where DiMatteo won the Champions League, but was booted out in the Summer. Why should any Chelsea player show loyalty to a club that does that? Liverpool are moaning about Suarez. While I have some sympathy, they farmed out Pepe Reina this season to Roma in a way that obviously hurt the player (he was agrieved enough to buy an ad in the Liverpool Echo). Fans have short menories when a player performs badly - how about Liam Fontaine who has been at our club for 7-8 years. Yes, he's going through a bad time, but doesn't he deserve our support. Everyone it seems needs to have a good look at themselves before critcising a player for lack of loyalty.
I am loyal to the club. Managers and players come and go and always will and there is a lot less loyalty in life in general as well as in football these days. Most clubs used to have squads of mainly local players and in the days before mass transit then I guess it made the local lads 'loyal' in that going anywhere of any distance took an eternity and took people away from their families permanently. Fontaine has never been a star and has been truly awful for the last couple of seasons, which has made his continued inclusions even more baffling.
Is there loyalty in football? No there isnt as when there is so much money involved most owners wont be. As for GJ he has a very poor start and the club stuck by him when most called for him to go. He had great success in two seasons only, got us promoted and took us to the play off final where he cocked it up tactically (hind sight) Since then we struggle and the board let him go as he was seen as he had taken us as far as he could. The club probably have shown too much loyalty with DM and Millen since then which might be why we are where we are. As for GJ yes he is doing well at Yeovil now but look at what he did at Peterborough and Northampton (4 clubs in 2 years). The Suarez one will be around for awhile. I look at it as what happened at Man city that the same happened that Tevez refused to play so Mancini told him he would never play for the club again until he said sorry (and the club wouldnt be selling him). Halfway through the season he said sorry went straight back in to the team, was probably their best player for the rest of the season and they won the league. I think that was one of the first time in years that a club took power back from the over paid footballers and Im sure Liverpool will do the same. As for Reina, he hasnt been anywhere near the keeper he used to be so they have brought in one of the better keepers last season in the Prem who is younger and on half the money so dont think most Liverpool fans are complaining as saving the club nearly £3m a season. "Liam Fontaine who has been at our club for 7-8 years. Yes, he's going through a bad time, but doesn't he deserve our support". Should we still have Bas Savage or Stern John playing up front for us then? We arent talking about the odd game Fontaine has played badly, it has been about 2 / 3 seasons now. He was a very good defender under GJ but he hasnt been the same since GJ left. Should be show more loyalty to Fontaine or Carey who has been here longer probably still better and is close to the record of most appearences so show some loyalty to the younger players coming through the system rather than buying else where. I would say given the number of people who bought season tickets most of us fans are very loyal given how much we have paid for our returns the last few seasons. Dont know if this article comes on the back of John Barnes who was speaking about loyalty on the radio earlier where he was blaming fans for putting some players on pedestals
I have a loyalty to BCFC. That loyalty wanes yearly. Is it really my club? What Loyalty do they show me? I now have a philosophical disillusionment, my attendance is based upon the continued attendance my friends, and a culture that is being eradicated not only by football, but also BCFC. I donât like football [professional] that much anymore, or many aspects of BCFC. Its a grubby game! A Southampton fan choosing the kit at BCFC has more say than its fans.
I have followed City for a tad under 60 years now man and boy I have never booed one of our players during a match no matter how rubbish they are playing and believe me I've seen some players have absolute stinkers. That is what I call loyalty, However I reserve the right before or after the game in a pub or nowadays on social media to make my feelings known about players who do not appear bothered or are not putting any effort in or are basically just not performing to the standard they should be. I do not dispute that I am one who has led the slating of Liam Fontaine but I have never done it when he was on the field of play and I have had many a row with City fans who have been insulting to our players whilst they are playing most recently Woolford, Fontaine and Foster I agreed that probably they shouldn't have been on the field but whilst they were wearing they Red of City I will give my whole hearted support regardless of my personal feelings about the players, even Nicky Hunt who, I have to admit that because that was the position I had played, it hurt even more to see such inept performances at every game he played that I had the misfortune to see.
Loyalty opens both ways. Do the fans treat a player that spends numerous years at a club well if that player is ****? If Fontaine stays at Bristol City until he retires, will you support the clubs call for a testimonial?
Yes I would - and Fontaine has had a poor season and a bit If he was so sh*t before why on earth would Southampton (Adkins) be willing to pay £1m for him
Yes, I suggested that would happen at the time, yet the so called City fans harangued me on this site (what ever happened to them he asks), and have continued to climb on every manager's back since, while we have gone down further into the mire with every successive manager. And still they are at it - one defeat and they were calling for SOD's head. Heaven knows what it will be now we have 2 defeats. If these supporters had had a voice back in the turn of the 70s then Bristol City would never have seen any of the short but bright times that visited us then, because AD would have been hounded out of his job like GJ was. The supporter doesnt always know best, but we're an arrogant lot aint we !
Read that twat Robbie Savages 11point guide to forcing a transfer on the BBC football homepage and it tells all you need to know about player loyalty. He is an utter Cnut
