BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – Sunday, December 17, 2017: Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho Correia takes off his shirt to give to a supporter after the FA Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool at the Vitality Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
IT’S that time of the year again when, depending on your personality type, you’re either signing up for the latest celebrity diet, resolving not to drink any more alcohol for a month, deciding in what ways the next 12 months will be completely different to the last or, for the rebels, making a concerted effort not to do any of those things and steadfastly working your way through the left-over chocolates and Baileys to see how far up the scale you can push your body weight.
It’s also time for every media outlet in the country to post stories about Philippe Coutinho moving to Barcelona.
I have no better idea than you as to whether the little magician will be booking his entire family onto Easyjet flights from John Lennon Airport this month, but things have certainly changed in the tone with which the football club talks about his potential departure since the cast-iron assurances of no sale we were given last summer. It seems to me that most Liverpool supporters have also reached a level of acceptance with the potential transfer that many hadn’t just a few months ago.
Fenway Sports Group statement on Philippe Coutinho: https://t.co/xf7GaeskPL pic.twitter.com/FANC2BIqWo
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 11, 2017
I remember saying in the summer how we would be hypocrites of the highest order to question the power of the player ultimately being able to force through a move when we were simultaneously blocking a move for Coutinho while (allegedly) taking Virgil van Dijk on fairground rides in Blackpool to convince him of the allure of the north west of England, and asking him to force his way to Anfield against the wishes of Southampton.
Van Dijk has of course just finalised his dream move, and it seems like the stuff of make believe to think that our number 10 won’t be getting his way sooner or later, either in this window or next.
There seems to be a belief in some sections of the football community that considers this all to be some modern-day phenomena started by Jean-Marc Bosman and heightened by the money pumped into the game by Sky and, latterly, BT, but player power was around long before Rupert Murdoch got his murky little hands on the beautiful game.
We only have to look back over the history of our club to see that Kevin Keegan and Ian Rush once departed for new adventures in foreign countries, and we all know how close Steven Gerrard came to leaving for Chelsea, which the club were seemingly powerless to stop at one point.
All three of those examples were British players who wanted to test themselves in a new environment, with Keegan and Rush wanting to move despite playing for Liverpool sides that challenged regularly for titles, unlike the current incarnation.
That Coutinho and, possibly, Emre Can, want to move away from the north west of England is even less surprising than our former legends wanting to get away. After all, save for having worked around these parts for a few years, the Brazilian and German nationals have no affinity with Liverpool and no reason to stay outside of professional considerations.
Philippe Coutinho (Photo by Майоров Владимир, http://www.soccer.ru/gallery/45228, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)
Those of you who have read or listened to me discuss football and footballers previously will know how much I like to remind everyone that they are, as much as many of us don’t like to admit it, just human beings making their way through life like the rest of us. They get paid handsomely to do a job most of us would give our left arm for but, at the end of the day, it’s just a job.
It’s always interesting at times like this to see the argument between two defined camps, one saying that we should force these humans to continue working in a place against their will, while the other argues vociferously that we should be booking the budget airline flights ourselves for anyone who is so rude as to not want to spend the rest of their life living near Sefton Park or the Formby pine woods.
It’s funny, isn’t it. I can’t imagine any other area of life in which we would consider it acceptable in a free, western country to force another human to work for a company against his or her will, just because people who like that company don’t want them to leave and just because they said at one point they would stay for a while.
When I put it like that it feels like an episode of Black Mirror. Jim from Morecambe who works at Apple wants to take his family on a gap year to explore Japan, but is forced to carry on developing the iPhone XV chained to a desk because the Apple acolytes refuse to let him leave, he’s just too important to the features on the new camera.
Is that what we’ve become?
The ‘make them stay’ argument also completely ignores that the footballers who represent us have personal lives that, as with the rest of us, weigh heavily on any decision they make about their work life.
Those of you in serious relationships — with or without kids — will no doubt have more sympathy for a footballer whose partner might have a strong desire to move to a city with a culture more akin to their home country, with friends already in place to help them to settle in.
On the flip side, I do also think that a strange modern-day phenomena is an acceptance that every footballer ultimately wants to play for Real Madrid or Barcelona. Was a vote taken on that at some point that no-one mentioned to me?
None of the three legends I mentioned above wanted to play for either of the Spanish giants, and for the vast majority of my life watching football both of those clubs had more problems than they did success.
In fact, once upon a time, playing for the mighty Liverpool Football Club was all that many footballers wanted in their lives, and arriving on these shores signalled the fulfilment of a dream. No doubt it still does for many players, as it does signing for Manchester United, Juventus, Bayern Munich or AC Milan.
I remember Alex Ferguson acknowledging that keeping a player like Cristiano Ronaldo in Manchester for a number of years was an achievement in itself, but that was more to do with the climate in the north west of England than any assumption that he would inevitably end up in Madrid or Barcelona.
Ultimately, his desire to move to a warmer country coincided with Madrid regaining a position of power in world football, but I doubt he would have moved there had they been toiling in mid table La Liga.
If our ultimate desire is for footballers to sign for Liverpool and never want to leave, we’d be better served only ever bringing on board the likes of Jamie Carragher or his new mate Gary Neville, who are happy spending their entire careers close to home and have no desire to explore foreign cultures.
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It’s incumbent on our football club to make playing here such an attractive proposition that leaving becomes more and more difficult, but we must accept that no matter how good their current job, the high-performing individuals attracted here in the first place might inevitably be the type of personalities who want to experience new challenges in their lives.
Even away from the playing staff, it’s been sad to read that Pep Lijnders is leaving the club just a few months after Michael Beale departed for a new opportunity (although he has since returned). While Jürgen Klopp is “gutted” to see the young coach go, he accepts it as an inevitable part of life, as I think we all do.
I can’t imagine any Liverpool supporter claiming that we should force Pep to stay against his will despite him having received an offer to progress his career that he wasn’t expecting.
Regardless of what happens to Coutinho this month, my suspicion is that in the future the best players in the world will either refuse to sign long-term contracts or will ensure that any release clauses inserted into those contracts are effective in reality so that they have true freedom of movement should an opportunity arise that they didn’t expect.
Either that or we’ll start inserting them all with microchips that remove their autonomy and convince them that they’re happy at Liverpool until such time as we want to discard them.
Happy New Year.
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Pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda Photo
I’ve no doubt that Phil signed his no-RC contract because he was informally promised that he would be allowed to move on if Barcelona came calling. But that doesn’t mean that it can happen whenever it’s convenient for them rather then them and us. Last year, he wanted to leave 72 hours before the start of the season, with the possibility of bringing in a suitable replacement all but gone.
This year, he wants to leave mid-season, to a club we may well face in the CL. I’m at peace with the idea of him going: We’re not the all-conquering Liverpool of the 70s and 80s, that’s Barca’s role currently. Until we get back on our fecking perch, we’ll have to deal with this sort of thing. But the deal and timing have to make sense for all parties.
Absolutely. He goes at the end of the season. End of.
What we really need to be doing is ensuring we are the team that every fucker wants to join, at any point in the season.
“we are the team that every fucker wants to join, at any point in the season.”
I agree with you, but in this modern football world, what would be your approach then?
Linders may well sort us out yet. Take on our younger players as loanees, spot us the ‘new Suarez’.
Pep’s gone.
Think the intention is that Pep at his new club takes young LFC players on loan and develops them for Klopp…
“Do you think as Sam Allardyce is crumbling his oxo cubes he’ll be thinking about Michael Balls comments” pmsl. Quote of 2018 so far from Gareth Roberts
Erm, hate to break in on all this fake news nonsense, but the best and only thing FSG should do is ………nothing.
Coutinho has four more years remaining on a five year contract and nothing remotely approaching his value has been offered to the club for his transfer. The days when we were desperate to keep Suarez are long gone, without Luis we would have nose-dived, without Coutinho the team will continue to win games and Phil wont be at the World Cup this summer.
Perhaps more pertinently, Barcelona are trying to conduct football business the way they have for too long and if FSG cave into this, they may as well leave along with the player because the fans will never forgive them. We don’t want to simply finish in the top four and win the occassional trophy, we now have a manager who has the ability to make us the best, FSG’s job is to provide him with the tools, not hamstring him.
YNWA
Hi Paul.
Thanks for the article.
I think the vast majority of fans agree with your overall point about not keeping players who don’t want to be here but I think we probably disagree on the timing/conditions of his leaving.
To use your business analogy, if I signed a contract between my business and someone else I have to deliver on the terms of that contract or face a penalty – regardless of whether my wife suddenly wants me to sell the business and move to Spain with her. The point is that the player agreed a new contract not so long ago on vastly improved terms. He was happy to accept a very large increase in salary in return for committing his services to Liverpool. That should (and I think does) have consequences.
So, by all means accept that he wants to leave but the club should stick to whatever valuation they have and control the time of his leaving. If the club decides that it shouldn’t be until the summer, then I’m all for holding the player to his contract until then. If Phil (or more likely his agent) can’t see that as fair – then tough shit … that’s life.
Good point
I’m completely behind that.
Plus I’m all for making this as expensive and awkward for Barca as possible after all their antics.
so if we decided to get rid and Coutinho dug in and said he’s going nowhere – how does that look?
A contract, in football at least, is meaningless outside of protecting value of the asset for the club and the players getting paid.
Although it hurts, I have absolutely no issues with players leaving. When Liverpool drop youngsters or even established players for what ever reason there is no uproar from fans etc. The issue with Coutinho (and he may argue it’s not his problem ) is the timing of it. In the Summer he left us absolutely no time to get a replacement, whilst Winter transfers are notoriously more difficult and expensive. The other problem he causes if he does leave, is that his replacement will almost certainly be cup tied in Europe, again not Coutinho’s issue but that’s what makes it harder to accept.
I get it. They are human, BUT footballs have to know that they are largely corporate assets. They have real world value. Don’t like it? Don’t become a footballer.
Liverpool payed big for VvD; he also was riding the bench. Didn’t matter to Southampton if he left in January. Phil and his entourage need to realize this is bigger then him. This is a hugely crucial time for the club. He needs to put on his big boy pants and finish the season strong then he can get his big move to Barca. If he is worried that they will look elsewhere come the summer; then they didn’t want him that bad anyway. I am sure PSG will take him after he pulls Brazil to the World Cup semis or better.
Not seen any explanation yet as to why we have to sell (unless FSG actually want to)? It’s bizarre. All this talk of an inevitable sale and yet why? Honestly, please explain if anybody knows. He has a contract through to his 30th birthday. He couldn’t be in much more of a corner. No way is he going on strike. If he were to (and I don’t see it at all) there is a commercial value to making a stand as City did with Tevez.
Surprised with you Paul- so he wants Barcelona and they want him! Again. And they’re pushing the former players/media/Phil on strike buttons. All the more reason to ignore them and him.akes nonsense to let him go till at least the summer. Because of theirs and his behaviour- he’ll be lucky to be let go for £150m+. We need him for the CL- he can’t pkay fir them in it. They all know this yet, continue to dispute us.
Let him sulk for a month- we’re able to run games without him too, Pete
If the club allow Coutinho to leave in January it could prove to be one of the biggest mistakes FSG have made. The club has a feel good factor at the moment on and off the pitch. Results have been good and we have secured a valuable signing. We are in the last 16 of the champions league and are in a good position to finish top four. Selling our best player now could derail our ambitions for the season. I think we all accept that if happens in the summer that would seem to be the best solution. I can’t think of one reason why making this deal now will help LFC. It should be done under our terms and in the time that suits us. We might as well have let him go last summer if we were only going to back down mid season. Please FSG don’t do this now, wait untill the end of the season.
It’s a standard labor contract, not at-will employment. No one can COMPEL him to ‘perform’, but he cannot compel his employer to continue paying him if he fails to ‘perform’. His employer can most certainly seek to prevent him from ‘performing’ for any other employer.
This is not at-will employment, again.
I feel he owes it to the club to give us a full season. I don’t mind him leaving in the summer too
I thought Gary Neville did spend time away from the North West in his Stella management spell @Valencia…
By ignoring Barcelona and keeping PC until the Summer, as a minimum time period, the main benefit to Club and Player is both parties will see how serious Barca’s intentions are.
Let’s be clear on this issue, they were trying to unsettle Coutinho and prize him away on the cheap with almost half of the proposed fee being subject to a Bonus structure, which I’m sure FSG scoffed at. They be many things however FSG have proven they are far from being pushovers when conducting transfer business.
I think as a fan base we’ve accepted that Coutinho will move on this summer. He’s being asked to honour the contract, he happily signed this time last year for 6 months longer.
For all intents and purposes Barca have La Liga on ice and cannot play for them in the Champions League. Are Barcelona trying to force the transfer through now to avoid getting into an auction with Madrid & PSG.
I’ve seen Phil’s partner and child at the match on several occasions. They generally are one of the 1st people there and the last to leave. She’s never struck me as somebody desperate to leave the North West.
Most LFC fans acknowledge that Phil desperately wants to leave for Barca and that they desperately want to buy him. However, with at least 4yrs of his contract remaining…and with no buyout clause…and an upcoming World Cup for Phil to maintain his epic form for…WE HOLD ALL THE CARDS!!
This should be FSG’s easiest ever negotiation! If we agree to sell Phil to Barca then I would insist on the following:
1.) Negotiations will start at a figure of more than £150M (and that’s before the vague add ons) – if they can’t afford him they can fuck off.
2.) Any fee agreed over £150M will be paid in full, up front – if they can’t afford him they can fuck off.
3.) Any deal agreed will only see Phil leave at the end of the season (at the earliest) – if they don’t like it they can fuck off.
We’re in a position of power and I will be disappointed if we don’t maximise that to our full potential. We did well to hang onto Suarez as long as we did but I felt that we allowed a world class player at the top of his game go cheaply…and I don’t know for sure but I bet Barca paid on tick just to take the piss. Also, we wanted Sanchez as part of the deal but he allegedly wanted to go to London…how hard did we push Barca on that? In a position of strength we could have easily told Barca that if they sell Sanchez to Arsenal or another Premiere League rival, the Suarez deal is off. Maybe that would have pushed them harder to make a swap deal happen, who knows? All I’m saying is let’s take Barca for every last penny/cent they have and on our terms, because not all deals will be this favourable. There’s a lot of people saying Barca can’t afford the sort of money we should be asking, so hopefully they pull out and we keep Phil. Yes he will be unhappy at the failed move but not because we wouldn’t allow him to leave but because his beloved Barca wouldn’t and couldn’t cough up the dough!
Up the hardballing fuck you Barca Reds!
Great article. Although, even in the ‘normal real world’, employees in many positions are contractually obliged to give a substantial period of notice and in some cicrumstances are prevented from working for rival companies. Being an elite professional footballer is not contractually akin to stacking shelves at the local supermarket – which I’m sure you were not implying. I agree that we cannot keep hold of Coutinho for the rest of his contract, which merely protects both player and club. However, I think it is entirely reasonable for clubs, which base entire tactical systems and recruitment strategies on key players, to expect a player to see out the current season – be it one week before the season begins, or one week before it ends.
We get past Porto and suddenly we are four legs away from being champions of Europe. Anything can happen in the course of four games, and with our attack as it stands we would do well against any side willing to go toe-to-toe.
Every step along the way increases the prestige and attractiveness of the club. As much as I would like to grant the wishes of a player, he must recognize that he would be actively hurting the club by demanding to leave in January – not to mention forever ruining his reputation. As talented as Raheem Sterling may be, he significantly damaged himself in the way he forced his exit.
Better for everyone involved to simply lock in a deal for summer, and then get down to the business of becoming European champions.