Expert Opinion
Don’t talk to me about loyalty. The fan is a hypocrite
Welcome to September. It’s the month in which we say goodbye to summer and football fans everywhere say hello to the squad of players they now know they’ll be stuck with until January. The transfer window has shut but the recriminations continue. And Arsenal fans etch the date of 7 April into their diaries – the day on which Samir Nasri will return to the stadium that he found just a smidgeon too quiet for his tastes.
Nasri is not a popular boy at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. He didn’t show any loyalty, you see. Oh sure, he spoke of a desire to win ‘trophies’ but in the world of football we are only too familiar with that little euphemism. Let’s assume a doubling of his salary helped smooth the deal.
The Arsenal message boards were suitably apoplectic. Cesc Fabregas had moved to Barcelona for love. That the Catalan giants happen to be the finest team on the planet and not exactly notorious for rewarding their superstars with nuts and berries was to miss the point. The judgement was clear – Nasri’s betrayal was beneath contempt.
Such is the myopia of the football fan that you would be forgiven for thinking every playing squad in the land had been assembled without assistance. But Arsenal’s squad, like others, was not acquired by cherry-picking a handful of talented young scamps found kicking a can in the local park. Instead, their charges were acquired from Southampton, Charlton and Cardiff; from Auxerre, Lille and Marseille.
You can be sure that every new signing spoke of a desire to win ‘trophies’ – and many of them left behind disgruntled fans bemoaning a lack of loyalty. Supporters of the purchasing club try not to dwell on these troubling thoughts, though. Better to take the view their club is merely giving the player a more suitable platform to showcase his talents.
But a failure to empathise with other supporters is not the only failing of the über-fan. Loyalty is expected to be a one-way-street when it comes to their heroes.
A player can sign a four-year contract. He can uproot his family and commit himself fully to life at his new club. But should the fans decide his abilities are not commensurate with their ambitions for the team, he will be booed and heckled without remorse.
Woe betide the player if his employer comes to the same conclusion as the fans. He will soon find out what four years really means in football-speak. He can expect to train alone and generally be made to feel about as welcome as a Twitter rep at the LMA dinner.
In truth, like a cynical marriage, the relationship between player and club only works when each is satisfied they can do no better. A little bit of badge-kissing never did anyone any harm – everybody plays along and it makes the situation more palatable. In football, a pleasant lie is infinitely more preferable than an uncomfortable truth.
So with the window of opportunity closed until January 2012, let the platitudes continue. Let Nasri talk of his excitement at joining Manchester City with their ‘good atmosphere’ and their quest for ‘trophies’ – and we can all chuckle when the media tell us Roberto Mancini has finally got ‘his man’. I’m sure they’ll be very happy together.
That is, until Bill Gates decides Everton Football Club really is the biggest charity case out there and wants to make Monsieur Nasri his first signing. Or, perhaps I should say, until the City fans discover Lionel Messi fancies one last gargantuan pay day at Eastlands? This is loyalty… football style.
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See Adam’s many other insights into football tactics at GhostGoal and follow him on Twitter @GhostGoal
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