The Luis Suarez saga; time to move on

The media may have contributed somewhat to the downfall in his love affair with Liverpool and the English game, but they cannot possibly be held fully accountable for Suarez' intention to leave Liverpool.

Luis Suarez arrived from Ajax in a similar situation to the one he finds himself in now; a ban for biting. This inevitably gave him a bad reputation ahead of his arrival in the Premier League, along with his deliberate handball for Uruguay whilst on International duty against Ghana, a deliberate handball on the line which ultimately led to a missed penalty, along with Ghana's opportunity to progress in the World Cup.

Suarez is certainly guilty of some undeniably severe infingements during his time at Liverpool, and they have stood by him through times of sheer madness, both during Dalglish's time as manager and since Brendan Rodgers took the reigns. The media has been drawn to his inability to suppress his anger and frustration on the pitch; he repeatedly loaded the bullets for the press to fire them back in his direction.

His statements in recent interviews have been unfathomable. His claims of lack of support from Liverpool are without substance, and quite contradictory to what he has been saying earlier this year following his punishment being confirmed by the FA,  when he iterated his desire to remain a Liverpool player.

Perhaps his head has been turned by someone in Spain. His agent could possibly have received contact from someone in the Spanish game to discuss interest in his services, and a possible way forward in enabling Suarez to leave Liverpool and join the ranks of one of La Liga's most successful sides.

The rumours continue to circulate that Real Madrid are indeed going to put an offer forward. Liverpool have since come forward and commented on the recent development, confirming their intention to keep Suarez for the remainder of his contract.

Indeed he has said in his interviews that he remains a Liverpool player and he has a contract to honour, however he has also made it clear that he wishes for the club to listen to him and is insistent upon leaving.

If he goes, he'll be the same player; capable of moments of individual brilliance, sparking the toughest of games to life, however he will always play on the edge, one step away from his next controversy, something that the British football community have grown all too familiar to over the past two years...

Perhaps the behaviour he has demonstrated in England will not have quite the same impact upon the media and the Spanish footballing body as it has over here. Somehow I doubt that though. He will take with him a reputation for controversy, and despite the incredible talent he possesses, he is likely to attract the wrong attention from day one, both from the officials and opposing team players, meaning it'll be highly unlikely that we'll be talking about his incredible footballing prowess; instead we will be mulling over the latest drama he has taken centre stage in.

Liverpool need to decide, and act quickly. They know that for the first six games of the season they will be without their top goalscorer of 2012/13, but is his quality worth the wait? His current attitude could also be taken into account; he clearly wants away from the club, and the country, to move over to greener pastures, so perhaps this will psychologically affect his performances when he does return.

For the substantial sum of money Liverpool would receive for Suarez, they'd be capable of bring either one top striker, or one or two good quality players to bolster their squad even more. The colossal task of replacing Suarez as their star striker, however, could prove near impossible. He demonstrated just the other evening against Spain in the 88th minute of their defeat just how capable he is at pulling a goal out of the hat when it seems so unlikely.

The lack of Champions League football will also prove to be a sticking point when it comes to attracting players of the highest caliber. However, Liverpool have been improving even when Suarez hasn't played. Their style of football hasn't suffered too much, and since the capture of Coutinho and Sturridge, their form in the second half of the season proved to be that of a top four team.

I believe Liverpool can move on from this. Sell Suarez, bring in a replacement, perhaps without instant impact, but certainly the potential to reach the heights which Suarez did, but, notably, without the lows.

Unwanted media attention can cause great impact on a team, and their outlook, and perhaps within the dressing room the atmosphere can change. Any team would be better without the disruption Suarez has brought, and so, in the best interests of the image of this  club as a whole, they should close the final curtain on the Suarez saga.

Football's Worst Kept Secret is Out

'The Special One' - Mourinho

Today, football's worst kept secret has finally been 'revealed'.  The time has finally come, when the most worshipped manager in recent times at Chelsea returns home.

Jose Mourinho.

A 4 year contract has been agreed between Mourinho and his former club, Chelsea, to work his magic and bring the glory days back to Stamford Bridge.

Significantly, the one thing Roman Abramovic desired the most was the one thing Mourinho couldn't provide in his previous tenure as the Blues boss; the Champions League trophy. Instead, the first person to succeed at satisfying Roman's craving was Roberto Di Matteo. This, however, did little in guaranteeing his position on the touchline, and despite being handed a contract as a reward for winning Europe's elite competition, his days with the European champions were numbered.

As mentioned in my previous post titled 'Mourinho - The Special One', Benitez replaced Di Matteo, and succeeded in stabilising Chelsea last season in the Barclays Premier League, proving his doubters wrong in the process, but as interim coach his impending replacement was the subject of unrelenting speculation. With a little help from Mourinho himself, all eyes were soon fixed firmly on the Bernabeu, following a spate of hints dropped and comments made by the self-proclaimed 'Special One', pointing towards an almost romantic return to the Premier League.

Starting today, Mourinho will commence his plans to take Chelsea to the top of English football, and indeed, he will undoubtedly be gunning for that coveted yet seemingly elusive Champions League trophy, and to banish that European hoodoo which indeed haunted him during his first spell at the London club.

My question is, where will he start? Does he stand by the experience of veterans Terry, Lampard, Cole and Cech, or does he turn over a new leaf, and start his own revolution at the club?

In celebratory mood...

Rumours are already surfacing regarding the possible sale of David Luiz to long-admiring Barcelona, for a reported £30m. If this is indeed true, then a defensive signing would certainly seem logical and extremely probable.

He is inheriting a squad which is teeming with creativity, class and competition, but he has his own style, his own vision; one which will slowly become clear as the transfer window and pre-season progress. I'm sure we'll see some outbound transfers, but you can bet your mortgage that Mourinho will have a reason for these; a higher calibre replacement.

Manchester's top two clubs, United and City, will be looking over their shoulders now, that's for sure.

Whatever the season holds for Mourinho, I'm under no illusions when I say it will be eventful, entertaining, and exciting.