Player loyalty

[filbertway]

And what's all this talk about jobs?

Of course people would change their job for better prospects, but who's saying that we are 'loyal' to our jobs (i'm certainly not loyal to my job, even though i like it)?

Loyalty (loi' l-tē)

A feeling or attitude of devoted attachment and affection

The last time I checked, being footballer was a job...

Somebody saying they will stay and work for their employer and then leave is the issue.

[Joe.]

I don't understand.

Did people expect to see Stearman stay here forever? This is football and this is what happens. I don't question Stearman's loyalty in this, at the end of the day he's always going to do what's best for him.

Clearly moving from a League One club to a promotion chasing Championship team where he can earn more money is beneficial to him, especially when he's making England Under-21 squads occasionally.

Come on people, get a grip.

[Jack]

He was offered more money at a club that are in a better divsion, we'd all do the same.

[James.]

I think you're missing the point.

That was one example of loyalty, i could take this out of a football context if you'd prefer?

I'm saying that if you have to buy loyalty - it was never loyalty in the first place

Fan loyalty and a players loyalty are completely different.

But anyway we can debate a word all day and night or we can try to move the discussion on which is what I was doing when I asked these questions...

How do we get the desire back? How do we get to the point where players want to play for the club again?

[Raj]

Fan loyalty and a players loyalty are completely different.

But anyway we can debate a word all day and night or we can try to move the discussion on which is what I was doing when I asked these questions...

I now support Arsenal and the lovely Cesc Fabregas.

Hows that for Loyalty.

[Guest]

And what's all this talk about jobs?

Of course people would change their job for better prospects, but who's saying that we are 'loyal' to our jobs (i'm certainly not loyal to my job, even though i like it)?

Loyalty (loi' l-tē)

A feeling or attitude of devoted attachment and affection

I still don't understand why shouldn't we compare football with other jobs?

I do, on the other hand, know what loyalty means, thank you very much.

[Spiritwalker]

If hume had gone to shef u or wolves i would be more sympathetic

but he chose to leave us for barnsley,why? cause they offered the

most money. They might get relegated next season and he'll be playing

in front of 9 thousand. It's all about the money.

[James.]

If hume had gone to shef u or wolves i would be more sympathetic

but he chose to leave us for barnsley,why? cause they offered the

most money. They might get relegated next season and he'll be playing

in front of 9 thousand. It's all about the money.

Or maybe it's because he was employed by a shit club that has just been relegated with a lunatic owner, had worked under numerous managers and was played out of position on ther wing for most of the previous season even though he was blatantly our best chance of scoring goals.

We did f**k all to earn his commitment so all the best to him.

[Spiritwalker]

Or maybe it's because he was employed by a shit club that has just been relegated with a lunatic owner, had worked under numerous managers and was played out of position on ther wing for most of the previous season even though he was blatantly our best chance of scoring goals.

We did f**k all to earn his commitment so all the best to him.

fair comment, but barnsley!!

surely we've not sank so low that barnsley is a more attractive club?

[davieG]

fair comment, but barnsley!!

surely we've not sank so low that barnsley is a more attractive club?

Oh yes we have!

We're League 1 don't you know potentially 25 places away from Non League footy.

And unless we're No 1 all season we'll be breaking records for our lowest position EVER on a regular basis.

[billyfox1]

ALL fans are loyal. MOST players are not.

[Jonbluefox9]

fair comment, but barnsley!!

surely we've not sank so low that barnsley is a more attractive club?

I think Hume went to Barnsley because he felt he had more chance of playing every week there. Maybe he did go because they offered him more money than the other clubs that were supposedly interested in him but I have a feeling that he would've looked at the other clubs and thought 'there's no guarantee of getting games there'. Plus Barnsley are more attractive than us at this moment in time as sad as that is. They have a chance, however slim it may be, of being in the Premiership in 2009/10, we don't.

[Alexikokopops]

fair comment, but barnsley!!

surely we've not sank so low that barnsley is a more attractive club?

Oh but we have. Much more attractive.

[vanfox12]

Frankly loyalty is over rated if you ask me. Just because a player says he's a fan of the club as in the case of Stearman doesn't mean he won't go elsewhere if it means he can further his career (although it would have been seen as a better move if he had gone to Villa instead). However players will only generally stay if they are really happy with whats going at the club i.e winning games and getting on with whoever the manager is at the time and also more importantly they are actually liked by the fans. In the case of Stearman and Hume it seems while they have support amongst some of the fans, there are a equal number who don't rate them. Also i don't believe in this things were better in the old days crap that players were more loyal the only difference is now players have agents which muddies the waters further and is in my opinion why players lack loyalty.

[Lovejoy]

At the end of the day if you were in a job , and got the chance to move to a position that would earn you more and be of higher status, you would take it.

The same applies here.

[Bert]

They way we should really look at it is how The Boy Wonder says.

If you were offered a better job, on more money, that you think could help your career prevail, would you stay where you are, or go to the new job?

Stearman was never going to be here forever, we were lucky to have him last season, and if he stayed this season, he most certainly would've gone next season.

What also makes me laugh, is toward the start of last season, many people were starting a hate campaign against Stearman.

[gosfox]

Loyalty to one club pretty much went out of the window when mega bucks started sloshing about in football. Footballers have always been bought and sold it is part of the game, and always has been, so why get so upset when someone decides to move on to pastures new??? Most players in any team have been transfered in from another club so very few players can be deemed to be totally "Loyal" and why should they be.... A footballers career can end at any moment through injury so why the hell shouldn't they search for the best deal possible. And lets face it, if a "loyal" player is no longer cutting the mustard then the fans will soon enough want him out

[Zorrovolpe]

It's unfortunate that there doesn't seem to be a way of creating greater interaction between players and supporters so that a degree of our commitment might rub off on even the most lackadaisical of players. Does the club have any system whereby players are obliged, for instance, to attend supporters' club engagements around the county on a regular basis? I'm not saying that it would have a miraculous effect, but in most lines of work, people will tend to apply themselves more conscientiously if they know that otherwise they'll have the prospect of handling several hundred disgruntled "customers" a couple of days later. Players seem to live in some sort of protective vacuum, insulated from the values of ordinary supporters, and surely there has to be some way of bridging this gap?

[Houdini Logic]

The last time I checked, being footballer was a job...

Somebody saying they will stay and work for their employer and then leave is the issue.

I wasn't talking about football. I was refering to people on here talking about their own jobs

[davieG]

It's unfortunate that there doesn't seem to be a way of creating greater interaction between players and supporters so that a degree of our commitment might rub off on even the most lackadaisical of players. Does the club have any system whereby players are obliged, for instance, to attend supporters' club engagements around the county on a regular basis? I'm not saying that it would have a miraculous effect, but in most lines of work, people will tend to apply themselves more conscientiously if they know that otherwise they'll have the prospect of handling several hundred disgruntled "customers" a couple of days later. Players seem to live in some sort of protective vacuum, insulated from the values of ordinary supporters, and surely there has to be some way of bridging this gap?

They used to catch the same bus to matches at Filbert St once upon a time.

[Joinesy77]

I blame MM for the losses. I believe Hume would have stayed and Stearman could have been persuaded to stay with some effort. Hume said at the end of last season he wanted to stay to get us back to where we belong. MM has forced him out of the club just for some money which probably won't be reinvested in new players. He probably needs the money to keep paying off all the managers he's sacked in the past 18 months

[cecchini]

I've not had time to read all the posts (am supposed to be working) but for me the club is the important thing. The club is about the fans, the stadium and its history. The actual players that form the team are just employees that are supposed to bring success, this also involves the manager and in our case the chairman.

A good manager will buy/sell players to improve the clubs standing - if the funds exist, nowadays clubs are run as businesses so it becomes important to stay solvent - Mandaric is not Abrimovich.

It is most important that we stay loyal, players come and go based on results and money

thats it

[Guest]

A footballers career can end at any moment through injury so why the hell shouldn't they search for the best deal possible.

That really winds me up. There was a time when a footballer's football career ended, and they either became a manager, a coach, a scout, or even got themselves a job outside of football (my grandad worked in a factory with the legend that was Sep Smith). Why anyone should be allowed to put up their feet and do bugger all for the rest of their lives at the age of 35 just because they can play football better than everyone else, is beyond me. But that's another argument.....

[AyewJoking]

That really winds me up. There was a time when a footballer's football career ended, and they either became a manager, a coach, a scout, or even got themselves a job outside of football (my grandad worked in a factory with the legend that was Sep Smith). Why anyone should be allowed to put up their feet and do bugger all for the rest of their lives at the age of 35 just because they can play football better than everyone else, is beyond me. But that's another argument.....

Probably cos they can afford to put their feet up and do nothing. Anyway, I hold no grudges against players leaving or in this case, "jumping a sinking ship" even if they were partly responsible for putting the club in this mess.

Furthermore, how can anyone expect loyalty from a squad of players that couldnt even muster passion or determination for the majority of last season?

I'm more concerned about the players coming to the club, if we get round to signing any that is.

[James.]

I'm more concerned about the players coming to the club, if we get round to signing any that is.

This is the point I've been trying to make. There's no point mourning the departure of any of our current squad (with the exception of Gradel) as from their perspective we have done nothing to deserve their commitment and from our perspective they were a part of the worst season in our history.

The critical issue now is building a team with the right spirit which will encourage commitment and loyalty from players. Fair enough more will still leave to pursue other opportunities but we need to minimise this and foster the right mentality involving passion and pride for the club.

We've had that before, we can have it again.