What it means to be a traitor - Matthew T Reynolds

What it means to be a traitor.

Dante’s Divine Comedy is a work in three parts describing earth, heaven and hell. Most famous of the three is no doubt The Inferno. It illustrates a trip through the underworld, which has been divided into circles, the lower the circle, the more heinous the sin its occupants have committed. At the very lowest level, resides the Devil, with three heads. And in the mouth of the central head is Judas Iscariot. The very worst place in all creation has been reserved for traitors. So, given the choice, where would you put Sol Campbell? Or Luis Figo? Or Eric Cantona? Or Paul Ince? Or…well, you get the idea.

When you last changed job, did any former colleagues burn your effigy and leave it hanging from a lampost? I’m going to guess probably not. A lot of us care deeply about our work and allow it to dominate much of our lives yet, if the (very proud of his gold stars) manager of the MacDonalds on the high street went on to become the regional manager for Burger King, no one would bat an eyelid.
Football, is clearly very different. But what can we really expect in terms of loyalty and where is the line drawn between a professional decision and treachery of the foulest kind?

To start with, the quality and value of the player shouldn’t matter but is clearly a factor. Does anyone really care when someone who’s a bit rubbish leaves, no matter which club they may sign for?

Where money is increasingly important in football (Liverpool apparently needed to win the Champions league in 2005 so they could play in the competition again the next year as opposed to simply being for the glory of the game) and player power keeps rising; Michael Essien refusing to play unless Lyon agreed to sell him to Chelsea, Rio’s Man Yoo pay rise, Pierre Van Hooijdonk’s walk out, Bolo Zenden and Christian Ziege from Boro to Liverpool, Citizen Neville threatening to take the England team out on strike. The list of course goes on. I only wish I could have seen how Brian Clough would have dealt with them…

Eric Cantona was a pivotal figure in transforming the fortunes of Manchester United in the nineties. But having come from Leeds United, their supporters were bound to voice their hatred of him. Not least for leaving for a paltry £1.2 million (although the blame for that may be put on Howard Wilkinson who was allegedly in a hurry to get him out the door after a dalliance with then Leeds’ player Lee Chapman’s wife. Allegedly. So some might say. Not necessarily my opinion. And I certainly don’t recall any Man U supporters singing “He’s fast, he’s flash, he’s shagging Leslie Ash. Cantona, Cantona”)
There are instances where how it’s done is what really does the damage. Paul Ince played for both Manchester United and Liverpool yet neither set of supporters particularly hold that against him. West ham supporters though, will unleash a stream of vitriol about his being pictured with the Manchester United shirt before he signed and how disrespectful it was to his hometown club.In the case of Ronaldo, the beaver toothed sometime goal-machine screwed over Inter, who had kept paying his wages while he was injured almost his entire time in Milan, by demanding his move to Real Madrid while simultaneously screwing Barcelona, the club which really made him by going to their fiercest rivals.

Club rivalries certainly play their part. Luis Figo leaving Barcelona for Real Madrid, even if it was for £37 million was pretty dodgy and resulted in some extraordinary scenes at the next match between the two Spanish clubs. Iain Dowie’s trip to Charlton from Crystal Palace and Harry Redknapp’s there and back again with Portsmouth and Southampton are pretty bad when it comes to football ethics of things you simply don’t do. But one case really stands out.

Sol Campbell.

The tenebrous signs were there for a while. Getting on for two years in fact. Not only had he come through the clubs youth system. Not only did he lie to the club and it’s supporters about his willingness to sign a new contract for well over a season. Not only would he have brought in some much needed revenue for the club. Not only did he have offers from clubs abroad (never likely to cause too much offence if you sign for someone in Spain or Italy). Not only was he the club captain. Not only had he already established himself in the England team and so couldn’t use that as an excuse. But he chose to go to Arsenal. Ethically, this has to be as close to Enron level naughtiness as football has ever seen.

It doesn’t have to be that way – Pat Jennings remains much loved by supporters of both Arsenal and Spurs. Peter Schmeichel has a place in the hearts of City and United fans. That may not still be the case if he insists on pursuing his career as a pundit. And no one really cared about Abel Xavier or Nick Barmby crossing Stanley Park.

If it’s not the players fault or if they’re not very good (as redundant as a kamikaze pilot's helmet in the case of the latter two) then what is there to really be upset about? Is there a case to answer and if so, where does the blame lie?

How about with the supporters?

If, as they say, supporters are the club and playing staff are just the latest mercenaries to be there, doesn’t that make a supporter who changes allegiance something akin to the anti-Christ? What of the traditions of supporting your local team compared to following success? When I was younger, being born in London didn’t stop a fair number of kids supporting Liverpool. Then came Manchester United. And now the rest of the country has vast numbers of Arsenal and Chelsea supporters. This is the equivalent of being born in Norway but deciding your patriotic duty is to change your nationality to American because they’re doing a bit better, really.

The game has certainly changed and while there will always be contentious transfers that will enrage supporters, perhaps it’s time to simply accept that club loyalty no longer exists for players. And that supporters exist as a source of revenue for the clubs but only shareholders have opinions that matter.

Matthew T Reynolds, Matthew Reynolds, Matt Reynolds, Matthew T Reynolds, Matthew Reynolds, Matt Reynolds, Matthew T Reynolds, Matthew Reynolds, Matt Reynolds, Matthew T Reynolds, Matthew Reynolds, Matt Reynolds,

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