22 Jun 2019 17:11:56
On social media there is this debate over who was the biggest 'snake' in respect of leaving Liverpool - Sterling, Torres, Suarez or Coutinho.

For me, Suarez tops that list easily. Biting, racism, t shirts, Arsenal. all that activity affected the club's reputation and ultimately meant he was too much of a liability to keep against his will.
I don't think any of the other 3 did anything worse than what another pro has done at any other club and no conducted actions which affected the club's reputation.

Interested in the views of other cos social media seems to make Coutinho the bad guy.


1.) 22 Jun 2019
22 Jun 2019 17:25:28
because most people on social media are fickle idiot fans that forget a player is a human being . If Torres, Owen, Coutinho etc thought they'll have a better life on warm spain than icy cold Liverpool, then no one should blame them, I'll do the same, most will do the same (but most are hypocritical idiots to admit it) . For the players you listed, Liverpool got a very good price so really was a win win situation .
Suarez is slightly different . for most of us that had the club reputation ahead of anything else . we were very happy he left, don't get me wrong he was a great footballer and we missed that . but he was a despicable human being and the further away he was from our club the better.


2.) 22 Jun 2019
22 Jun 2019 17:34:31
Yeah, I'd probably agree Suarez.

Imo, Coutinho is getting more stick than the others atm because: He's the one who left most recently. He wasn't as good as Suarez, so there's less sense of 'owing' him anything for his performances. There was a sense the team as a whole was being built up to something good rather than relying on one or two players as we had done since the 90s, and he 'abandoned' us at that time instead of trying to be part of it. And finally Schadenfreude. His move hasn't worked the way he wanted it to.

Out of Sterling and Torres, I'm not sure who should get the least stick. (Apologies if my memory is wrong on any of this) :

Torres didn't refuse to train or play (at least that I've heard of), but maybe he would have if we'd tried harder to resist the move, and is alleged to have basically told the club late in the transfer window "I'm going to Chelsea, tough! ".

Sterling did refuse to go on a pre-season trip, iirc, and did that cringeworthy interview at the behest of his agent, but the way we handled him in 2014-15 was farcical. He should've been offered a new contract in the summer but wasn't, instead we waited for it to become apparent that BR was out of ideas for breaking down defences without Suarez and that another 'transition' period was in the offing, then offered him a contract. And then before Sterling or his agent said anything publically, BR started talking to the media about what a great offer he'd been given and that he should sign it. Clever.


3.) 22 Jun 2019
22 Jun 2019 18:10:01
Suarez without doubt.
Torres got stick because he went to a direct rival.
But we did well out of all deals really.


4.) 22 Jun 2019
22 Jun 2019 18:36:50
Torres had one knee and we sold him for 50 mil and that was a huge sum back then. He never stopped trying for us. I feel no ill will towards him at all.

Suarez is the worst human on the list withoit doubt

Owen still loves liverpool, i know he played for utd but its a bit different for players than it is for us fans

For me, the way sterling wormed his way out was shameful, the interview made everyone but city look like clowns. So as for being a snake and forcing a move its raheem for me.

Coutinio wasnt as bad as he's being made out. He really wanted to leave in the summer, Barcelona wanted him. But he gave us until January and i think it was being said that if we had a chance at the league then he would have left at the end of the season. As it was city had all but tied up the league and he left. Shame, we could have done with his magic against real madrid, we were so flat once salah was injured.

{Ed001's Note - why 'still' with regards to Owen? He treated the club with contempt while with us? Even as a kid he would turn up in Everton kit, despite turning them down to join us. He has never shown LFC any respect, so I am intrigued why you say he 'still loves Liverpool'?}


5.) 22 Jun 2019
22 Jun 2019 18:41:12
Andy Carroll - he played like he was absolutely garbage virtually every game so could get a move away haha.


6.) 22 Jun 2019
22 Jun 2019 19:26:27
I think Torres was sold false promise by bill and Ben back then (H&G) about new signings etc so u can’t begrudge nando as for the others they just wanted to play for bigger clubs in Barcelona and real part in parcel but I think Owen was the biggest snake!


7.) 22 Jun 2019
22 Jun 2019 19:30:04
Couts and Suarez for sure for me. Suarez because of what has already been very well documented above. Couts for me not because it is the most recent, but the way he behaved before his ultimate move to Barca. The fake back injury, the sulking and the way he gave up if he lost the ball. He acted petulant in my opinion. Another one that hasn't been mentioned is Javier Mascherano. Just pitiful. But Ed001 makes really good points about Owen. I really can't blame Torres for wanting to leave at that point in time.


8.) 22 Jun 2019
22 Jun 2019 20:34:22
For some reason, [some] Liverpool fans seem to have this assumption that our players should be die hard LFC fans, desiring to play out the rest of their careers at the club, and go on to retire as LFC legends.

Footballers are human beings, with dreams and ambitions which do not usually revolve around the club; they may be career related, family related, money related, religion related, etc.

They also have feelings and anyone can suffer depression, anxiety, etc. This can affect performance, attitude, desire, etc. Feelings can cause a decent bloke to behave unusually, just look at how poorly Torres performed towards the end of his LFC days - he just had no desire whatsoever.

I, myself, left a job in the past in order to seek pastures new. I went from being one of the hardest workers to not being arsed at all due to depression, and then I packed it in and moved away, and the move was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. For footballers bound by such great contracts, sometimes forcing the move is the only option. For a player suffering depression I can only imagine how much greater the burden would be, being told that you must see out the remaining 3 years of your contract. Would this not worsen the depression and the symptoms?

Unfortunately, the technology addicted fans of today look at footballers as robots or FIFA players; without dreams, ambitions, feelings etc. They do not take into consideration that there may be underlying factors leading players to seek a move away from the club.


9.) 22 Jun 2019
22 Jun 2019 20:37:10
Suarez for me. It even felt as though that bite at the world cup was deliberate in his way to get out of the club so that we'd take a lower offer. Absolutely vile human being.

Another player, while I know he never stepped a foot wrong for the club, is Steve Mcmanaman. I think he should have showed a desire to move to La Liga and been honest about it so that Liverpool could have got a decent fee for him. It just came out of the blue. We all thought he was about to sign a contract extension and then BANG, he's sign a pre-contract with Real Madrid.

I know it's the club's fault deep down, but he'd have fetched a pretty penny back then and if he'd have been up front about his desire, the club would have acted differently. I actually put the loss of Stevie Mac as one of the pinnacle moments in our decline/ failure to rise back up. He's still one of the most skillful players I've seen in a red shirt for us.


10.) 23 Jun 2019
23 Jun 2019 02:24:14
In the champions league final, linekar introduced owen and said "liverpool through and through of course" and owen nodded. I felt there was a little dig at him by gary, since he did play for utd and left us for such a low fee.

But i remember last years final, owen was asked who he thought would win. He said in his heart he wanted liverpool to win but his head said real. that's respect surely? Owen may have been a blue but he isn't now. Same with gerrard isn't it?

{Ed001's Note - Gerrard was never a blue.}