Liverpool must play Rhian Brewster ahead of disloyal Philippe Coutinho.
Some would have you believe that winning, collecting silverware and championships is all that matters to a football club. At any cost, any way you can. Winning is everything.
By any means necessary to gain a competitive advantage against opponents. This might be true, I say maybe, if we are talking about war.
But this is not war, it is sport. And the two should never be confused, or thought of as interchangeable.
Sir Alex called King Kenny the night Liverpool wrapped up the league title to tell him that the two teams were not at war.
Liverpool have always signified something more, than just winning, or winning at any cost. There is a greater responsibility at play here, and that is the inherent responsibility to ‘the game’. And it’s overarching integrity.
And there is something to be said for loyalty. Apparently Philippe Coutinho is in a bit of a fix, having bombed his chance at Camp Nou. On loan to Bayern, where he has struggled in his two loan seasons in the Bundesliga. Now he wants a return to Anfield.
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‘The grass isn’t always greener on the other side’, it is often said, and Liverpool just can’t afford to have wantaway drama kings on this team. His loyalty was never with the Reds. Jurgen Klopp and FSG can not afford to buy the same player twice. This sets a terrible precedent.
Say no to Phil. The money is better invested in a player who wants to play for Liverpool and Klopp. I would give Rhian Brewster or Harry Wilson a chance before ever entertaining the idea of a Coutinho return.
Brewster has had an excellent half-season with Swansea City as he’s scored nine Championship goals in 19 appearances, while Wilson has eight Premier League strikes with Bournemouth.
Otherwise you run the risk of damaging relationships with players coming through the youth system who have a proven commitment to the Reds, and the project Klopp and FSG are building.
The same goes for a ‘Raheem Sterling’, incidentally. Although there is little chance of that return due to bad blood between the club and Raheem.
Klopp wants players who are committed to playing and staying with the Reds. This is key to building any kind of long term excellence in the team. Rhian Brewster does that, Philippe Coutinho does not.