A Dangerous Precedent

by Richard Buxton. Published Tue 23 Nov 2010 13:33

Steven Gerrard's injury picked up in England's friendly with France has seen the club versus country debate rear its ugly head again.

The midfielder faces up to four weeks on the sidelines, which has seen understandable anger from Liverpool fans after it emerged that a deal had been struck between Wembley and Anfield to take the inspirational captain off after an hour.

But despite being a fully paid up member of the 'Scouse not English' contingent, this agreement has forced a rethink on my stance that players should take a vested interest in their duties to club rather than country.

Gerrard's absence will be sorely felt in a Liverpool side that has lacked all the airs and graces it possessed little over 12 months previous as will his ability to drag the side out of the mire on countless occasions as he proved against Napoli earlier this month.

And yes, Liverpool do pay his wages so fans will understandably feel that the club effectively 'own' the player and have a right to give their input on decisions that may affect his ability to perform at the highest level of fitness for them.

As a result they are within their rights to seek compensation from the bigwigs at Wembley as Newcastle United did for the injuries Michael Owen suffered on international duty.

But the fact remains that Gerrard was called up by his country and he was willing to accept that call, essentially giving carte blanche to Fabio Capello and the FA as he is duty-bound to act on their orders. On international weeks, the countries effectively own all players called up.

There is no place whatsoever for these pre-agreed deals. If countries decide to make a goodwill gesture as the Netherlands did by sending Dirk Kuyt back to Melwood to allow him to rest up ahead of last weekend's game with West Ham then that is of their own volition.

Roy Hodgson insisted that Gerrard was keen to put a "tin lid" on the matter, which is the correct solution, but these deals have set a very dangerous precedent as other clubs will now look to exercise pre-agreed deals on playing time during internationals.

How long will it be before Manchester City are demanding that Capello hauls off James Milner and Gareth Barry after 45 minutes to avoid injury?

Similarly, what would the reaction be from Liverpool fans if Capello struck a deal with Hodgson to withdraw Gerrard after an hour of their game with Sunderland in mid-March to reduce the risk of him missing England's Euro 2012 qualifier with Wales a week later?

Players answer call-ups because they are proud to play for their country, regardless of what their fans think. Clubs and national sides have to cooperate in the best interest of players, but this 'nudge nudge, wink wink' approach will actually damage the club-country alliance.




Comments about A Dangerous Precedent

some good points made, but haven't manure been doing this 4 yrs, i see ferdinands and manure's agreement wasn adhered too.
Paul, liverpool around 1 year, 5 months ago
Right or wrong, if a deal was struck it SHOULD have been adhered to. Funny how Barry played 90mins for City on Sunday.
Robin Duke, Belfast around 1 year, 5 months ago
i could not disagree more. the players are paid by the clubs. the clubs should make the rules. if Nat teams want a say, pay the salaries.
jason friedman, harrisburg, PA around 1 year, 5 months ago
in friendly matches these agreements should be adhered to, however in qualifiers and finals the club should be willing to take that risk
tylerp, uk around 1 year, 5 months ago


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