Would you ever leave the club you support?

[Purdy]

May have been asked many a time before but.

Imagine you are a worldclass player (or just a bigger player than your club would normally have) and your club begins to struggle or you were already part of that club in the lower league or just lower down the table
I.E. Wayne Rooney at Everton

OR

Your club did a Leeds.


Would you stay with your club if it meant lower wages, no trophies, lower leagues potentially or just a midtable team.


Just asking this based on players who left their clubs they supported as a child or have nearly done (gerrard 05 flirting with chelsea =< or wayne rooney to everton), im sure there are plenty of examples but would the average person just relish in getting to pull the shirt on for their club and never leave if possible?

 

[Purdy]

Maybe im being too naive but i'd hate to have to score or play against the club i support.
Also if youre good enough you can possibly attract maybe new owners to drag the club up abit.

Was LeTissier a southampton fan or just wanted to be a big fish in a small pond?

 

[Purdy]

I would go, if you're capable of playing at the top then you should be playing at the top imo. Anything else would have me looking back with regret at what I could have achieved.

Wouldn't you love to look back at what you achieved with your club, even if it was just a huge win against a big team, or winning say the carling cup?

 

[Purdy]

No, I'd feel like I'd never reached my potential. Imagine if Rooney had stayed at Everton and never got to play alongside Ronaldo and lift the Champions League. Sorry but that would trump winning the carling cup for me, even if it was for the team I supported.

Can sort of understand that, but I think i'd always regret leaving the club i support.
Could maybe understand if you wanted to live in a different country.

 

[Purdy]

Maybe he just enjoyed idol status where he was. It's something that when tv money arrived around twenty years ago would cause football to change away from the rose tinted view its fans have.

These days you rarely get one club men, unless they're very good and nobody else would see the financial advantage in signing him e.g. Casillas, or they're paid enough to stay for a long time e.g. Ryan Giggs or they wouldn't do better anywhere else e.g. ... not sure. Arsenal a club that like bringing players through, but I don't see one that could possibly stay all the way through. Maybe Wilshere? I don't know.

People often cite Alan Shearer for these types of questions but don't forget that his contract stipulated he had to be the highest earner at the club. So he often got wage rises mid contract as the club bought in new players if memory serves correctly. The wanting to go back to his boyhood club is nothing more than something the fans created when they idolise him.

I guess with Giggs and Casillas though is why would you want to leave those clubs in the first place.
Shearer thing i don't know much about.

Has there been any world class player of the past 10 years who hasnt left a club outside the european places that they support(yes i know football doesn't just exist in europe)?

 

[Purdy]

Have you ever worked for a company you liked so much that you'd stay despite being offered more money and job satisfaction elsewhere? I doubt it.

Not really a fair comparison imo, I wouldn't really view football as a job.
I'd only consider another team if I was looking to move abroad but doubt that would happen.

Post above about Cahill and Rooney comparison is good, but i wouldn't care if I was viewed as a club legend or not, if I was helping the team rather than being the weak link that would be good enough for me

 

[Purdy]

Good point there Chong, I guess the most recent example in liverpool would be Lucas who Is turning into a great player and didn't deserve the abuse he was getting.

Still think I wouldn't view it as a job though.

 

[Purdy]

The press and no private life kind of applies to the players who are out acting a ****, Rooney, caroll, Terry.
Someone like carra or Giggs the press don't put much interest in because they know how to handle themselves.

Agree with the travelling and spending a lot of time in hotels.
I used to row and train 5-6 times a week, obviously not as intense as football but still enjoyed it.
And if my body could handle it I'd play as much as I could tbh.