What is it about SFC that makes some players stay when there are greater financial and playing rewards available to them elsewhere. I find it refreshing in this post Thatcher me, me, me, self centred world of selfishness and greed that we still have players who remain loyal to our club. What it does mean is that I have greater admiration and respect for players like Adam and Le Tissier.
Gee Godders........Footballers were showing loyalty to football clubs long before Thatcher was born. None of the others desire to move on for more money was ever a political motive. So for goodness sake stop trying to bring politics into every story! It is however true that some players do move on because of greed...but most would argue that their career is so short that they need to make as much money from their career as they can. On the other hand people like Le-tiss, Adam and a few others over the years...Terry Paine and co perhaps...were not so money motivated.
Let's look at the pros/cons for Adam should he - a) stay at Saints, or; b) go to United a) Stay at Saints - Outside chance of a trophy - Extremely remote chance of playing in Europe - Continued presence in the England squad/team - Guaranteed to play every game for Saints - Likely continued Saints captaincy until retirement - Absolutely guaranteed cult status among the people of Southampton b) Sign for United - Increase in salary - Very likely chance of winning a trophy - Very likely chance of playing in the Champions League - Guaranteed presence in the England squad/team - Will face more competition for his place in the Utd team - No captaincy - Will sacrifice the bond he has with the people of Southampton - Will become just another byword in the overwhelming history of talent at Utd. Not really much in it. Basically choice between improved likelihood in winning something and bigger salary, or cult status among a certain group of people. I think this is the situation we have at Southampton; if all the players and manager stay, we will achieve many fantastic things the likes of which a club of our size should be very grateful for (ie; high finishes, cup wins, European football). However if one or two players were to leave, I think the rest would soon follow and the chance-of-a-lifetime we have in terms of potential will be shattered, and we will eventually slip back down the ladder. Much of this is in Lallana's hands. Not only must he choose what to do with himself, but as captain/star player, he needs to influence the young players and the rest that they really are better off showing some loyalty. I think this group, should they stick together, can become a truly remarkable football team (three years down the line). Adam and Poch have to believe this, and they have to instill this belief into the rest.
Quite right but many, many more moved after she destroyed everyone's sense of community. All of life is about politics.
Damn and I thought the inventor of the automobile was responsible for the destruction of people's sense of community. Damn car, allowed everyone to drive to a different cave.
I am working from home and I am in my "sloppys" If I was in my pyjamas, the postman would be very scared
Why so cynical Godders? Lots of people work for less than they are probably worth. Footballers are extremely well remunerated so another £10k a week is not necessarily going to be life-changing. Why uproot your family, leave your friends, etc, if you are already extremely comfortable? Sure, some are more ambitious/cut-throat than others, but it's not so difficult to understand.
Footballers (like all sportsmen are competitive) so we could expect that they might quite reasonably move to bigger clubs to further their ambitions and earn more money. I would suggest the difference is that for some players (generally the young who achieve success too soon) the money (and everything that goes with it) becomes more important than the game. I would also suggest that is not the case for most players...most want to play with top players in big competitions i.e. they love the game. Adam is that rare creature...a player who is a fan of his club. Mauricio remarked how much Lallana loved Southampton. Most of our other players are showing loyalty because they are enjoying life...there is a team spirit that makes them feel part of something special. Most are achieving levels that even they may not have felt possible...therefore, they will stay if they think this is the best place for them. They have latched onto Mauricio and his playing style, so Nicola leaving had less impact than it may have done. Clubs drop players when they want someone else or a players form goes, so we shouldn't complain if a player wants to move on either. All we can ask is that they give their all whilst they are here. P.s. Letting an obsession with Mrs Thatcher affect all your opinions is like letting a long ago ex decide your whole life. It hurts you more than the object of your ire.
I suspect there would be a lot more loyalty from players toward their clubs if they didn't all have agents whispering in their ears trying to secure their own cut of a lucrative move.
Le Tiss only stayed because he wasn't offered high enough wages. If I remember right he was offered 2k more a week at Spurs. He said he would have gone but it ment he would have to moves homes etc and he couldn't be bothered. So he wasn't really loyal he was just settled in the area.
Agree, loyalty has to be TESTED and Le Tiss & Lallana, never really had theirs. If an offer from Man Utd or Chelsea was put on the table in front of them, where they could see what they'd get paid, when they could think about the increased chance of winning things and with an agent in their ear, keen for himself to get a payday... then that's a REAL Loyalty test.
Agreed. Fergie wanted Le Tiss before buying Cantona but was quoted silly money by Saints, so went for the mercurial Frenchman instead.
He took quite a gamble in doing so. Makes you wonder what might have been if we'd struck lucky with our own mercurial Argentine/Italian.
Surely doing Matt a disservice with those comments. He had opportunities to leave, maybe it didn't get to the negotiating table, but that's something we should praise him for (never earned more than 5K a week here remember). When Matthew Harding was at Chelsea, he pursued Matt over a couple summers, if Matt had made the slightest noise about leaving Saints a bid would surely have been forthcoming. ......Either that, or my rose tinted have really been blinding me for quite some time.
He did a interview about the Spurs deal on a article I read ages ago. He admitted if Spurs have offered him more money then just 2k more he would have gone. He just said for only 2k a week it would have been a lot of hassle moving.
