The big
dilemma which came out of the match against Chelsea was that of how to deal
with the erratic Luis Suarez. Surely, Liverpool’s best player as well as their,
and the premier leagues, top scorer with 23 goals, Suarez clinical finishing
has been a revelation this season. However, football players don’t come much
more controversial than Luis Suarez; in his career he has been involved in a
huge number of incidents on the field. Including his handball in the world cup
for his native Uruguay, his alleged racial abuse of Patrice Evra last season, a
bite on PSV’s Otman Bakkal whilst playing for Ajax in the Eredivisie, and the
latest altercation, another biting incident, this time with Chelsea centre back Branislav Ivanovic.
A player of
Suarez’s skill and stature would get a game at any club in the world; however
there comes a point where the pros of having a player’s on field abilities are outweighed
by the cons of the controversies and bad PR which he brings to the club. This
could well be the final straw for Luis Suarez, another high profile incident
and a probable multi-match ban could see him sold in the summer by Brendan
Rodgers who may deem him a liability.
On the
field, even with Suarez, Liverpool have struggled for scoring form and could
well sink further into impotence without the clinical Uruguayan. However, if
Suarez leaves for a significant fee then Liverpool could well bring in another
top class striker from elsewhere to share the load with the likes of Daniel
Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho and Steven Gerrard. The question must then be
asked, who else in world football can do what Luis Suarez does? The answer is
not many people, and Brendan Rodgers will have to scour the ranks of world
football to find another player who can score as freely as Suarez can; a talent
like that will not come cheap.
It seems
Brendan Rodgers will have little choice as to whether Suarez stays, with
Liverpool’s American owners, Fenway Sports Group, extremely pre-occupied with
public relations; Suarez could well be shown the door regardless of whether or
not Rodgers wishes this to be the case. If Suarez is put on the market,
Liverpool must be shrewd in finding the best deal in order to maximize funds
for new signings and a much needed replacement for Suarez.
Assessing
the conundrum of Luis Suarez will very much be a case of pros and cons, and
Brendan Rodgers could well spend long hours at Melwood mulling over whether or
not to sell his prized asset. This will be a big test of his managerial skills
and if he makes the wrong choice he may well find himself out of a job in the
not so distant future.
That’s the
Rosey roundup on the Luis Suarez conundrum,
By Jake
Rosengarten
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