Jamie Carragher has spoken a lot of sense about the latest development in the Virgil Van Dijk transfer saga, pointing out there is a pecking order in World football but he has missed the point.
Speaking on Sky's latest sports programme The Debate, Carragher spoke about Virgil Van Dijk's protracted attempts to leave St Mary's, unlike some of his peers in the Ex Liverpool players club he has put things in perspective, rather than merely hyped up the Anfield PR spin, however he has still missed the point or indeed several.
Carragher Said.
"There was talk that he refused to train...players come and go, and you're never happy when it's your own club. He's put in a transfer request, and that happens. He's denied that he has refused to train, or play, and I hope that's the case. It's somewhere you should never go as a player. It's wrong. I also think that if you are hoping to move, what about your fitness levels?"
"The frustration for Southampton, and this is for every club except possibly Real Madrid and Barcelona...there is a football chain. If you're Southampton, and you have a player wanted by Liverpool, Chelsea or Manchester City, then he'll want to go. There's nothing wrong with that. That's football."
"Same with Liverpool and Phillippe Coutinho today. I don't think he's going to go, but he will want to go. Who wouldn't want to go to Barcelona? There are ways of going about it, and I'm sure that either this summer or next summer, Phillippe Coutinho will want to wear that Barcelona shirt. There's nothing wrong with that, that's football."
"Unfortunately for Southampton, that is the football chain. Liverpool are above Southampton, and Liverpool have the same problem if it's Real Madrid or Barcelona."
Carragher having spent all his career as a one club man knows all about loyalty and no one can deny that even though they havent won a Premier League title or indeed the title itself in 27 years, that as they go into the 28th season chasing that elusive accolade they are still a far bigger draw to a player than Southampton Football Club.
However that does not give Liverpool or any other club for that matter, the right to ignore the rules of the FA and Premier League and ride roughshod over us.
There is a chain in World football, there is a chain in English football, but players know when they sign contracts that they are legally binding and that they protect both player and club.
Van Dijk points out that his spell on the sidelines put things into perspective for him, he realised that a career is too short and can finish in an instant and therefore wants to get out and earn the big money and chase glory now in case it never happens.
Whilst I can understand why he might think that, he should also reflect on what would have happened if his career had been ended at the boot of Jamie Vardy or if he returned to action with Saints and was not the same player.
Would we have been able to dump him to a lower league club on a fraction of what we were paying him ? No we would have had to have honoured the lucrative 5 years left on a contract signed barely a year ago.
If Van Dijk had wanted to keep his options open and leave himself relatively free to a big transfer should it have arisen, then he should have not agreed a new six year deal with the club in the first place, he should have stuck with his original term that would now have seen him with only two years left and Saints having to seriously consider selling him or his value plummet next summer.
But when he signed up till 2022 he did so for several reasons, the first was that he wanted a lot more money, nothing wrong with that, who wouldn't ! the second was that is was the best offer on the table, Liverpool or for that matter any other club were not interested in him, as they weren't when he originally signed for Saints in 2015.
The final reason is that he is not the same man, a year ago he was a level headed model professional who by all accounts was polite and courteous, but after a change of agent to Rob Jansen and his Wasserman Group, suddenly his attitude changed.
This is not surprising after all it was Jansen who was charged with bringing in a new manager to Everton a year ago, it was Jansen who persuaded Ronald Koeman that he should change his agent to Jansen himself and then persuaded him that money mattered over morals to break his Saints deal.
Of course both Koeman and Van Dijk are adults and should know their own minds, but money talks in football.
Jamie Carragher does well to point out the fact that there is talk that Van Dijk has refused to train, the player has denied that, but he has admitted that he told Saints that he was not in the right frame of mind to travel to their training camps and play in pre season friendlies, whilst not exactly refusing to train, it is metaphorically speaking the equivalent of pulling a sickie when you are not really ill but fancy the day off.
The ex Liverpool player does not shy from the fact that this behaviour is wrong, that a player should never do that and he points to the fact that Phillippe Coutinho is in a similar position at Anfield as Van Dijk is at St Mary's, yet the Liverpool player is behaving in the right manner and not throwing his toys out of the pram. Carragher does miss the point here, in that Barcelona do not appear to be almost encouraging the player to break his contract, their hasn't been a media campaign unprecedented in football to try to force the move through.
Indeed Carragher alludes to the fact that you don't want players who behave in the wrong way in your team, although he shies away from saying it directly he knows that ultimately it only ends in tears, it leads to a break down in team spirit.
He also knows that the complexity of the situation could cost Liverpool dearly, not only Van Dijk is now a month away from full fitness, meaning that the likes of Dejan Lovren are going to have to play knowing they are dead men walking in the team, but if Van Dijk does not arrive then Jurgen Klopp is going to have to play his current central defenders who as shown in the past are not up to the level needed and more to the point are extremely hacked off that the manager has been trying to replace them, Klopp has stuck all his eggs in one basket and gambled, it could backfire and Liverpool be back to square one.
Van Dijk himself is probably missing that point as well, another year at Saints would probably see him being courted by the likes of Barcelona next summer, however Liverpool have shown they can be just as resistant to letting a player go as Saints are, he should carefuly consider whether he will be effectively making the final big move of his career and if that is the case in the pecking order Liverpool are at best 4th in English football an further down in a European list.
So Carragher speaks a lot of sense here, he is right there is a pecking order, he is right Van Dijk is no different to Coutinho or indeed every other player in football, in that he wants to play at the highest level that he can and in doing so earn the most money he can, there is nothing wrong with that.
But where Jamie Carragher truly misses the point is that there is a pecking order in football in terms of contracts, no club should be above the law, of course agents talk to clubs and discusions go on behind backs, that is football, but ultimately in the main all these discussions do is speed up the process, clubs know who is available and who isn't before they make a bid and they back off when it is not worth their while.
But there is a new breed of agent out there, ones that don't take no for an answer and don't think that contracts, rules and laws of the land apply to them and that is the trouble in this case, Van Dijk is an adult, but he is one that has never had to live in the real World, he has spent his life being cosetted and when he is being told to do something by his agent he will do.
Jamie Carragher loves Liverpool Football Club, a feat in itself for someone brought up an Everton supporter, but he is a genuine guy, in many respects similar to our own Francis Benali, a man who has not lost touch with his roots nor reality, when Saints were being badly run Frannie and Le Tiss were not scared to stand up and be counted, will Jamie Carragher stand up and tell this story how it is and how the attempts to force Van Dijk out of St Mary's and up to Anfield stink to high heaven ?
In the 125th year of a club that love of hate them were once known for their integrity, I hope that he would be honest enough to stand up and tell the truth and show that he has not missed the point after all !