“LUIS SUAREZ is a c*** – but he’s our c***.”
I said that to an audience of 900 Liverpool fans when The Anfield Wrap put on a live show at the Hilton Hotel in Melbourne 12 months ago. Back then, Suarez was trying to engineer his way out of the club. Arsenal had put in a bid while Real Madrid were watching in the background. Suarez had made it clear he wanted to leave Anfield. Three months earlier he’d sunk his teeth into Branislav Ivanovic wearing the famous red.
C***ish behaviour. Yet I was booed for calling him a c***. Don’t get me wrong, I can understand why. There is no black and white in football despite the daily attempts to make it so. How we perceive football – or the people who play it – we all interpret things in different ways; we like different players for different reasons and we put our own expectations upon their shoulders. Some will champion those who work hard, bust a gut and never stop running. Others will look for skill and moments of magic first and foremost and consider anything else a bonus. It’s that very fact that makes it so interesting. If we all thought the same it would soon get pretty boring.
How people go about supporting the club is different, too, as are their expectations of other fans. Many think you support the club; the team; the players no matter what they do or what they say. And they expect the same of others. Goalposts are shifted to accommodate and conspiracy theories are sought. It’s admirable in many ways; naïve in many others. Simply because a player wears the red shirt, or a man sports a club tie, it doesn’t make them right. For reference, see the Hicks and Gillett era.
For some, Luis Suarez could do no wrong. Everything was excused simply because he was brilliant at football. Again, it’s understandable. Again, it’s naïve. When a player has so much ability, has scored so many jaw-dropping goals that others wouldn’t even attempt, never mind execute to perfection, then it’s anything goes for some. He made me happy, is the mantra. He’s mad but he made me happy. He’s one of us. For reference, see Eric Cantona.
Since Suarez’s most recent incident of biting, I’ve seen leading journalists tweet – and write pieces – about how Liverpool fans defended Suarez no matter what. Like that’s new. Or different from other clubs. They missed a vital word, though: Some. Some Liverpool fans did. Some didn’t. Some thought it was funny, laughed it off as mad and stuck their fingers in their ears about the rest. Others cringed. Others wished he wasn’t associated with Liverpool. Others thought he was a c*** for behaving that way again after all the support he had received and winced at that picture of him clutching his teeth as though he had been wronged.
Some loved him. Some hated him. Some were somewhere in between. That number included me. I loved what he could do with a ball at his feet but the associated bullsh*t made me want to scream. It’s never going to stop either. Is anyone seriously expecting a changed man at Barcelona? Well good luck with that.
If (when) he steps over the line again, this time while wearing a Barca shirt, no doubt it will happen there too. Barcelona pride themselves on being different, on being special. Yet that notion has disappeared into the belly of modern football. Some of the most passionate fans in Catalonia may just circle the wagons like some Liverpool supporters did. They too, may support no matter what and look at each other and say: “He’s one of ours.”
Some football fans have complete tunnel vision when it comes to their club. So yes, there were Liverpool fans that even when presented with video evidence of Suarez sinking his teeth into an opponent (again) looked for ways to excuse his behaviour, believed his embarrassing excuses (“I lost my balance and ended up falling on my opponent. At that moment, my face hit the player leaving a small bruise and sharp pain in the teeth”) and refused to believe that it wasn’t (yet another) media-fuelled conspiracy.
It was the same during Suarez’s numerous attempts to manufacture a move away from Liverpool. It was the papers. It was the radio. It was the telly. It was agents. It was anyone but Suarez, according to some. Yet there he was, giving another radio or TV interview on international duty. There he was, trying to move to Arsenal, to Spain, seemingly to anywhere at times.
Lost in translation? No. C***.
His international teammates spoke of his desire to move, too. His father in law did. His lawyer did. But he loves Liverpool, right? He’s going to stay, right? And none of all that media noise can possibly be orchestrated by him because, you know, he signed a new contract.
Right? Wrong. Suarez moved to Liverpool because it suited him. After his first biting incident in an Ajax shirt – coupled with his handball incident for Uruguay – he was perceived as damaged goods – as a risk. If we’re being honest, that’s how Liverpool secured his signature in the first place. Suarez went on to produce his best football under Brendan Rodgers, a manager who set up his team to accommodate him and billed him as the team’s No.1 star. That wasn’t before he threw Kenny Dalglish’s misplaced support for him back in his face by refusing to shake Patrice Evra’s hand after promising his manager to do just that.
C***.
The PR statement says Suarez loves the club, the city and the fans. That’s what they always say. But I don’t believe him. I think he loves the fact it helped him get to where he really wanted to get to. To Spain. To Barcelona. To the move he really wanted. Heavy heart? Heavy wallet.
Am I bitter that he’s gone? OK, maybe a little. I thought he might just have felt like he owed us after all what had come before. But now it’s clear Suarez signed a new Liverpool contract because it suited him. It gave him a cast-iron clause; a set in stone way out if the right club bid the right money. And that’s exactly what happened.
Liverpool won out of it too, of course. We had a player fired up to play to the best of his ability last season. He did that. He put it in. He won games, he set up others to win games, he entertained the fans and he made Liverpool box office, helping the club bank record TV money while going so agonisingly close to the title.
But he always knew he was off and we were kidding ourselves he wasn’t. He was always glancing at the Nou Camp. The World Cup bite was a mere sideshow – the family quotes about a move to Spain had already appeared, the Suarez laywer was already shuffling papers in public. It’s easy forgotten in the sh*tstorm that has come since.
Liverpool’s silence on his latest inexplicable on-pitch chomping fest also spoke volumes. They could have pointed out how well Suarez was managed last season at Anfield. They could have highlighted how the player had the option of one-to-one sessions with a leading sports psychiatrist in Steve Peters. They could have made it clear Suarez was made to train on his own at times during his previous ban before returning to play so well. They could have asked why Uruguay couldn’t manage similar, or questioned why Suarez, his team-mates, his manager and his country so laughably defended his latest actions.
They did none of that. There was no attempt to airbrush Liverpool’s public image. And why? Because they knew he was going. There was no need. They knew it was time up. Thanks Luis for getting us back in the Champions League, we don’t have to defend your barely believable actions any more. Bye. Oh, and another thing: No one’s bigger than the club. It had to be said, Brendan. And it’s true.
A 72-word statement on the club website heralded the end of Suarez’s Liverpool career and for me that felt about right. He was good, of course he was good. But he’s simultaneously been a cause of embarrassment. Look at that picture of him holding his teeth after the bite. Really? Read his excuse again. Really? Think of the transfer requests, the moans, the threat of legal action, the laughable blaming of the media. Ok, the lad was brilliant with a ball. But….
Liverpool have handled it well, banking the third most expensive transfer for a player who most see as a walking time bomb as well as one of the world’s best players. But within the walls of Anfield and Melwood, or indeed the living room of the Dalglishs, there must be people feeling disappointed or let down. They tried. They supported. They helped. And he threw it back in their faces. Suarez said he’d shake the hand and didn’t. Suarez said he’d pack in the theatrics and didn’t. He surely vowed to end the acts of cannibalism. And he didn’t. Then said sorry to “the football family.” Cheers. C***.
I’ll say it again, he’s a fantastic player; hugely entertaining, one of the best I’ve seen in the flesh. Ability-wise, he can match anyone that’s pulled on the famous red shirt. Is he a great though? Is he a Kenny, a Digger, a Souness, a Gerrard? Not for me. It’s not just about skill.
Suarez’s words about loving the club, the city and the fans feel empty, spun for him in an office somewhere as he jetted off to Spain.
As good as he was for Liverpool, he’s just someone who passed through. Ultimately – and he’s not alone in that respect – he cared more about himself than the club. So we used him and he used us. He got Barca, we got the Champions League. Thank you and good night.
Greats – in my opinion at least – stick around and win things. They make things happen when it matters, they score in the cup finals, lift the silverware and let their actions speak louder than their words.
A romantic view – maybe. An outdated assessment – perhaps. But think of this. Remember Kenny and you’ll remember Wembley. Remember Souness and you’ll think of Rome. Remember Gerrard and you’ll remember Istanbul.
Remember Suarez? Yeah, there he is biting a Chelsea fella while wearing a Liverpool shirt.
Liverpool will walk out on a sunlit Anfield pitch next month and the side that will acknowledge an expectant Kop before kicking off the season against Southampton will not contain Luis Suarez.
I can’t wait.
Liverpool are still Liverpool and Suarez is still a c***. And he’s not even our c*** now.
Pics: David Rawcliffe/Propaganda
Incredible article…well done. The one thing that always bothered me (above everything else) was the handshake episode. Glad you mentioned that.
Spot on
Well said. I think Torres was more genuine when he left, you could tell he didn’t want it.
Brendan will pull the team back into a new shape, just hope we can start with a win against Southampton, like we did against Stoke 12 months previous.
The Spaniards will find it even easier to wind Suarez up. El Chompo will return…
“I think Torres was more genuine when he left, you could tell he didn’t want it.” Did you really write that whilst conscious?
He’s done more harm than good. Been down all summer, first because him biting again and then the ultimate f**k you of forcing a move to Barcelona. I reckon it would’ve always been like that with Suarez, so it hurts now but will save us a lot of hassle in the future with him gone.
Best article on Suarez thus far.
Suarez, like any other player, is selfish. Nothing wrong with that, we all are. We want the best for me, my family, have my dreams and keep seeking nirvana. He is the best player I have ever seen play for Liverpool. Magical. Unpredictable. Dangerous. Selfish. All for good and for bad. Let’s not paint a different, more negative picture because he’s now gone. Flawed genius, one that cost us in some ways, yet delivered a return to dreams in another. It was time. He delivered. Let’s remember the genius he brought and regret his indiscretions. What a trip he took us on :)
So true. . No foreign players are loyal so to berate Luis for wanting to play at Barcelona means the article is REALLY bitter. Luis left it all out on the pitch. A flawed genius but he gave LFC fans a beautiful dream last year and restored pride to the club.
I for one think the time is right but am still addicted to watching videos of his goals and how he lead by example.
Hendo. … sterling…. Coutinho and others were inspired by his spirit and will to win and that legacy will carry LFC on. ..
So be Luis I shall watch your incredible talent in Spain and hope one day you put your demons and critics to bed. ….YNWA
Well stated, Mr. Handley
I agree, as soon as the teeth went in I knew he was gone and that Barca were rubbing there hands because not only would they get there man but would do at a reduced price. I watched him rolling around holding those big buckers and thought…..what a total C**T.
They didn’t get him at a reduced price though, they paid the release clause in his contract
Pile of uberfan fuckin tripe …but no doubt the (over)use of the word cunt wil add a few hits to the site
Only a little bitter? I would be interested to know if the “writer” can sum up this article in a single sentence, because it has absolutely no structure or actual point in sight.
Adorable. Spot On. In many aspects suarez’s departure is like a relief or a breath of fresh air.
Time for him to go but loved him for the goals, the entertainment, for making Sterling and Sturridge et al better players. He said before he joined Liverpool that his dream was to play dor a Spanish giant so good luck to him You can never accuse hiim of giving less than 100% for Liverpool. Will miss his outrageous talent next season but as a great man once said -“we go again”.
great player, great skill, world class striker
no class, no honour, C*** of a man
Replacing the player will be difficult …… but we’ve had plenty of time to plan it as he’s been on his way the second he signed his new contract ….. that just set the price ……
Great article! Well said, Gareth, and thank you.
It’s really not that difficult, Leroy. “Suarez is a c***; I’m relieved he is gone, and here are the reasons why.”
Bravo my thoughts aswell. Nothing but a c×××. Embarrest
Bravo my thoughts aswell. Nothing but a c×××. He let the club and fans down with his fuvking antics.
Tara lad. Fangs for the memories.
Really great article, I thoroughly enjoyed it. As a blue I always thought of him as a c*** all be it a genius of a c***.
A well written & concise article, well done! I’ve watched Liverpool & football for 35yrs & never seen a player quite like Suarez, it’s been a privilege but LFC can do without the foolishness & Suarez will eventually be replaced like those who have gone before him so i say thank you, good luck & goodbye to the man that EVERY club in the league would have loved to have on their side… Luis Suarez @;0)
It’s an honest to goodness article. Well said.
Uruguay will feel betrayed if Suarez had that unscheduled Italian meal just to ignite his chances of moving to Barca. He won’t get the same adulation in Catalonia as he did in Liverpool. He won’t even start every game in Barca colours. All the best to Luis Suarez but I suspect that he will turn back sooner than later and find the grass behind is greener and healthier.
I always enjoy how TAW articles put my thoughts in words. I’m glad it’s done now we can get on with it. I support Liverpool regardless of where they are in league tables or who is playing. Suarez, despite his obvious talent, is a liability and we no longer have to justify his tantrums or his antics. I, for one, am very excited for what the future holds. Brenden Rodgers has a way of making good players great and I can’t wait wait. In Brenden We Trust.
I read what your saying and agree for the most part but why do I still have this empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. My head is telling me it’s good for Liverpool fc but my heart differs. Maybe this will change next month.
It’s an excellent article and it’s nice but i wonder about peoples expectations of humans. What does he really owe us? He certainly owes us respect and the ‘heavy heart’ comment was showing respect. It may or may not have been genuine – that doesn’t concern me. At least he showed it. Did Torres? Truth is, most of us would do what is best for our career and our family. It’s not just about ‘on the pitch’. The signing of the new contract can also be viewed as a sign of respect. We did well out of him too.
Let’s not forget he’s one of the worlds best players and as a result he came with strings or baggage. Everyone of us has flaws and I accept other peoples. I’m not excusing his behaviour because of how good he is, I’m just genuinely not that bothered. I don’t want to use the logic of a Britain First leaflet and compare his ‘crimes’ to what’s going on in Palestine but I wasn’t as shocked and horrified as some Liverpool fans and I’m not going to feign a feeling of outrage over his acts because i don’t feel it. Maybe because I believe it to be pathological and I empathise with him or maybe because i look at it with a ‘world view’ and think there’s other things more worthy of my disdain. Whatever, at no time did i feel disgust and i won’t apologise for that. If anything I liked his role in the Premier League pantomime. Look at Lallana at the Saints end of season award night last month. ‘The club means the world to me. I’ve been here since I was 12 and I want to keep progressing with the club’. It’s just a game. An insurance policy. We shouldn’t read too much into it or expect too much from the player.
All i want from a Liverpool player is 100% commitment and for them to be good. So Suarez was always gonna be someone i respected and would have loved it if he’d stayed. He hasn’t but I’m not gonna turn on him. He’ll always hold a special place in my heart because of what he did last season.
So to summarise, Liverpool isn’t as important to others as it is for us, which is worth remembering. He’s from Uruguay not Merseyside. His dream is Barca not Liverpool. Always has been. He wants to fulfil it. He’d be stupid not to. Most would. We’ve been lucky to have him considering our position. Maybe he’s been lucky to have us. Regardless, it was great while it lasted. I don’t find what he did ok but then I don’t feel it’s the end of the world. I’m certainly not going to get swept away with hatred and condemnation because I’m not feeling it.
It would have been nice if he’d stayed this season but he didn’t and deep down I don’t blame him. In this era Barca are the pinnacle despite how we see Liverpool. He’s human. It’s his life and his career. I’ll miss his unpredictability but I wish him well for the future.
Exactly, there’s more to the story than Luis being known for the bad things. Luis was always too good to play for us and I knew it wouldn’t be long until he was on his way elsewhere. I just don’t get the hate that is fuelled with this though. We did all we could, but as fans we should see the player he was as well as the person. Players come and players go, Suarez is not a C***. He wouldn’t have played the way he did if he didn’t care, he tried to win every game in anyway possible. He doesn’t need to prove his loyalty to anyone. Just the fact that he did his job properly is what counts. I will always love Suarez as a player and wish nothing but the best for him.
Better than the article that.
very interesting piece alot of truths there.
pretty balanced article all things considered. i think well look back on this as good deal in years to come.
Maybe there was a clause last year and we didn’t stand by our word? Maybe we made him the best player in our history because we knew that was the case and we promised that he could move to Real or Barca this Summer if the price was right? The bite just made it easier to accept, not saying Suarez did it to force the move, but it just made things easier.
There are many things that Suarez is, but a C**t isn’t one of them.
Totally agree mate.
As you mentioned, ability wise he is as good as anyone that ever graced our hallowed turf. What he has done time and again is to spit in the face of Kenny, Buck, FSG, his fellow team members and the entire club including the fans.
I only hope that the amazing bunch of guys we have at the club can carry on to implement Bucks vision and philosophy going forward. It’s a very big summer for our beloved club and if we get it right then great things can be achieved by the group.
Brilliant, mate. Spot on!
Goodbye Mr Suarez, we have so memories, oh so many good, so many wow, oh, so some oooops he did it again. You were our Loon, not any more. A team was built round one player, now let’s build a team. Enjoyed reading Not Our C… Any More, also Robin Crimes good points. We Go Again.
Good article that sums up most fans feelings I would have thought. It certainly reflects my thoughts.
TBH I wanted him gone once he courted the Arsenal move. He showed at that point that he really couldn’t give a shit about LFC and the fans. It pointed the way to this move happening at some point.
Enjoyed his contribution last season though but always had in the back of my mind that his true goal was to be playing in Spain. Can’t hold that against him although he doesn’t really appreciate what he’s leaving behind. That may turn out to be tough for him down the road.
However, I won’t miss the “Bad Boy Suarez” one bit. Every dive, every bite, every time he did anything wrong I cringed.
Time to move on.
Good piece….. ”No one’s bigger than the club” – wonderful line
So we lost one of the world’s best strikers. Someone who dragged us back from obscurity to the CL and a photo finish for the Prem. Someone who ran his guts out week after week who didn’t stop until the final whistle. Someone who scored goals for your team, the likes of which you’d never seen before. To hear or read anything that suggests that him leaving LFC is anything other than a disaster makes me despair. I bet you’re the same sort whose response to getting binned by a girl was “didn’t like you anyway ” before sitting in your room and crying for a week.
Good article, even better without all the c***s
Its a shame he didnt go to chelski where mourinho could f***him up like he has our last big sale.A>A
I think you’re getting confused between ‘great’ and ‘legend’
Suarez was a great, but not a club legend.
Very good read.
Sad article. Suarez is a pro and is entitled to do what’s best for his family and career. Calling him a cunt because of biting incidents/transfer issues while having zero information on the substance of the Club’s undertakings to him is rich. Far worse things happen on the pitch than biting. He’s been massive for us and is virtually irreplaceable.
Well for me it’s well tempered with the loads of cash we got for him. I have thought that to win the league we need to have more than one proper world class player in the team, especially after yhis season where City, with at least 2, showed that even that does not absolutely guarantee success. This cash gives us the opportunity to do just that, to genuinely sup at the top table, and for that I am grateful to Suarez. Owen and Macca left for buttons, Torres and Luis have both left with enormous goodbye payoffs, and I am not into fantasy manager speculation, but one of the big hurdles this club faced to return to the genuine big time has certainly been shortened, both by Suarez’s fantastic contribution last season, and by the cash that performance secured. C*** he might be, but at this rate I wish we had a few more knocking about the club
Ferd
This notion that LFC didn’t know as well as him that he was always wanting to go to Barca is a joke. The only reason that contract was structured when it was the way it was, is so when Suarez left it would be a win win. The club knew this, and credit to Suarez for allowing that to be the way it was. Most other high profile players who want out bitch and whine and force a move. Suarez may have begun to attempt that the summer before, but after the season he had and everything he gave on the pitch, the right to call that into question is quashed.
Don’t make Suarez the villain for leaving. It’s the first thing he said when he came here to Comolli, and he’s always been consistent in his desire to get to Spain. It was his ultimate goal in life thus far since he’s been 15.
Give him credit. He’s insane, but he did right by us.
Everyone’s so quick to write a villainous narrative, but also quick to ignore the stark reality that this was set in motion long ago, and was set in stone when that contract was made with mutual consent from both parties. What followed was an individual repaying that with one of the best individual seasons in the history of the game in every way possible.
Oh and he only handed us Champions League and a genuine shot at the league title on a silver platter.
Get over it people. He’s still going to be my C*** for life.
I do very much like the way you wrote this article though and agree with a lot, just a bit of disagreement, but what’s the point if there isn’t any?
Great article Robbo, and to those slagging it off, try backing up what you’re saying rather than “you’re talking shite”. He could have left his Spanish dream for a couple of more seasons if he really “wants a challenge” what challenge is he getting now in the SPL with sunshine??? He will offend again over there and no doubt Barca will be able to blag it somehow, but to be honest I don’t care and don’t think I’ll be taking much interest in what he does.
Well done Gareth, you embody the spirit of ‘You’ll never walk alone’ alright. Fastest disownment ever! Suarez parted after a mutually beneficial time on mutually beneficial terms. He let us down at times but god, did he bring us joy! He was mental and couldn’t stop himself at times but a ‘C***’? He was the hardest working player in all the minutes on the pitch he ever played for us. I have respect for that and don’t begrudge a dream move to Barca at his age, yielding a not-bad £75M in return.
Anything for eyeballs I suppose.
Harsh.
I wouldn’t describe him as that.
Ther are a lot of genuine c%#ts in the game I could list here.
Any way sad to see TAW have become soulless, corporate butt kissers with their sell out to a fecking online casino. And you call him a c%#t !!
Nice to see TAW defending their words!
I can see why you dont want a barney with some ‘key board warrior’. But if you say it like it’s some kind of religious sermon than stand by it!
What? If i dont like it then go else where? Well Im putting right the shite spouted by glasses, sexy husky voice, adgender cross gendger roberts and other shite talkets in here!
*hicup