The beautiful game is turning ugly
Rebel Mahrez

The beautiful game is turning ugly

In the aftermath of deadline day in a week when transfer fees have exceeded £100s of millions and players wages have rocketed to over 300k a week, are me missing more relevant and pressing issues in the English game?

Football clubs and supporters in the National League rally to raise money to save their clubs, while Leicester City rebel Riyad Mahrez has spat his dummy out and handed in a transfer request after seeing his move to Man City collapse. 

The 26 year old who earns £100,000 a week missed several days of training and was left out of yesterdays 1-1 draw with Swansea. The disrespectful playmaker is rumoured to being depressed and stressed out.

The Algerian international has made the unforgivable mistake of being disloyal to the very people that wear his name on their shirts and sing his name loud and proud from the stands. 

His ego and greed have overtaken his responsibilities of being a teammate and a Leicester City player.

I have no doubt Mahrez wants to be part of the revolution at Man City, win trophies and make history - who wouldn’t?  I would also agree that he is worthy of the opportunity and riches being thrown about as he has earned it. 

It’s the way he has gone about it that leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth and will infuriate players and supporters like myself.  

Downing tools and being so called down won’t cut it with the football fan that works every hour under the sun to provide for their family.  Be disappointed but roll your sleeves up and do what’s right.  Get on with it, at least until the summer.

He now makes himself an undesirable teammate and casts doubt over his commitment to the cause. Will he be welcomed by hand shakes and high five's or will he be greeted by the bigger characters at the club with a vacant stare or honest hammering?

His attitude will be questioned and under intense scrutiny, every pass and attempt to track back or not will be highlighted and welcomed with boos from his once doting fans.

In the summer Liverpool favourite Philippe Coutinho was denied his dream move to Barcelona. He accepted the clubs decision not to sell until the price was right and the club was ready.

Despite personal disappointment the Brazilian showed character and a respect to his teammates and club. When the star left Anfield he left a hero and will no doubt always have a place in Liverpool hearts.

In stark contrast spare a thought for players in the National League who are not being paid and struggling to pay bills along with loyal supporters on the verge of loosing their football club. The same players who are not being paid by employers are 100% committed to their club, teammates and supporters despite not knowing when or if they will get paid again.

Hartlepool United is up for sale, National League leaders Macclesfield Town have been unable to pay players and staff, Dagenham and Redbridge have made all players available for transfer and Chester FC are in financial crisis. 

While making the 7-hour coach journey north from Eastleigh, we are reminded on the bus of how we are worlds apart from other professionals in the Premier League.

The news of Mahrez going AWOL in the same conversation of players and friends not being paid hits home and strike a chord. Players with families are the ones who will be stressed out because they might not be able to pay the bills or fill their car up.

A large percentage of players in The National League juggle two jobs, car share to save money, wash their own kit and bring their own food for away games.  The use of local leisure centres has become the norm due to waterlogged pitches but the spirit and the buzz remains high.

This past fortnight English football has fallen foul yet again to poor financial management only to be galvanised by the very people that make it possible for us professionals to do the job we love. 

It’s these passionate people fundraising and donating money that deserve the headlines and the money, not Riyad Mahrez.

Maybe Mahrez’s £200,000 fine can be donated to help save jobs and football clubs in the lower leagues or improve the 1000’s of football pitches that are deemed unplayable this time of year … unlikely I know but what a refreshing idea.

I fear that selfish individuals are starting to turn this beautiful game ugly!

Please share and comment.

Stacky

Kassi Slade (née Denman)

Sleep Specialist | Founder of The Positive Sleep Coach | Transforming Sleep Health | Industry Leader sharing science-based sleep knowledge and support to optimise health and performance | Ex-Sports Marketing Professional

7 年
回复
Josh Green

Chief Creative Officer at House 337

7 年
回复

So said... it's the business these days however it’ll never die the hardcore committed community that are classed as true fans ... which ever club u support.. let’s hope yes the bodies put their supporter head on and support them

Good article Graham however you can’t compare Mahrez’s situation to Coutinho. It's more similar to Payet. Coutinho missed the summer deadline and went in January. Mahrez won the league and put in 3 prior transfer window requests. His wages were mediocre from a league standpoint so they redid a contract put him on £100k/week and gave him a 4 year deal. This gave Leicester power so in 2 years time a club would have to pay a large transfer fee. If he did a 1-2 year deal it would be a Sanchez situation or he would've walked on a free. Leicester knew what they were doing and you can’t just throw Mahrez under the bus. In the swap Leicester would've received over £60 cash plus a city mid and they already have that brilliant young winger as a replacement.

Mark Kelly

Changing the World of Team Building with Interactive Technology - Passionate about Online Employee Engagement

7 年

its all just pure greed from the majority in football today

要查看或添加评论,请登录

Graham Stack的更多文章

  • Developing Young Goalkeepers

    Developing Young Goalkeepers

    Developing young goalkeepers comes with its challenges when trying to get them exposure and experience. The Watford…

    52 条评论
  • Hanging my gloves up

    Hanging my gloves up

    After 20 incredible years the time has come to call time on my playing career. I am sad and gutted to be hanging up my…

    43 条评论
  • The GSSA - The beginning and my inspiration

    The GSSA - The beginning and my inspiration

    I wanted to share this promotional video shot recently at my Soccer Academy along with the story and inspiration behind…

    13 条评论
  • Always Learning

    Always Learning

    Yesterday morning I left my home in Hertfordshire at 6.00am armed with a notepad and a few pens ready to embark on a…

    7 条评论
  • The Transition

    The Transition

    At a Cross Roads I am reaching out with this article hoping for some advice, ideas and guidance from Professionals in…

    23 条评论
  • My Indian Adventure

    My Indian Adventure

    The story so far After agreeing a contract with Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League (ISL3) I packed my boots and…

    64 条评论
  • Exciting Times Ahead

    Exciting Times Ahead

    Magical Moments and Memories After a summer of uncertainty and no contract signed I arrived back at Barnet FC for pre…

    21 条评论
  • A Special Award

    A Special Award

    THIS SEASONS SILVER LINING After being left frustrated with injury for a large part of this season it has been…

    9 条评论
  • Preparing Young Players

    Preparing Young Players

    Having read numerous articles on social media and in the papers, it has become apparent there are lots of issues that…

    55 条评论

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了