Speaking at the launch of Sky Sports‘ biggest ever season of football in London, Graeme Souness pulled few punches as he gave his views on Suarez, Liverpool and the upcoming Premier League campaign in typically bullish fashion.
ESPN: How would you handle Suarez if you were managing or playing alongside him at Liverpool right now?
Graeme Souness: I have been in so many dressing rooms down the years and if I was at Liverpool, I’d go to Suarez and let him know that this behaviour has to stop. I’d let him know that I was going to have a fall out with him if he didn’t come in line quickly.
ESPN: Do you think he can play for Liverpool again after everything that has gone on in the last couple of months?
GS: Suarez is rapidly putting himself into a situation where he is at a point of no return at Liverpool and this problem needs to be halted now before it’s too late. He may well start this season as a Liverpool player and if that is to be the case, all concerned need to take a step back from what has happened in the last few weeks and think about what they say and do from this point forward.
ESPN: Do you think the Liverpool fans still support Suarez after all his negative comments about the club this summer?
GS: We are getting to a point now where the fans will just not accept this fella behaving as he is and coming back to play for the club. It cannot go on like it has done for the last couple of months and it’s not just the supporters who will feel like that.
ESPN: Will this ongoing story affect morale in the Liverpool dressing room?
GS: I think it will. He is Liverpool’s main goal getter and I just feel that the moment has come for senior players to go to him and say something like this: Okay Luis, you are not going to get what you want here and we all need to get back into this together.
ESPN: What kind of example is Suarez setting with his antics in the last few months?
GS: He is not setting a great example is he? It’s not just for Liverpool we are talking about here, this is for football in general. This kind of behaviour has been going on for years and it will continue to go on, but it doesn’t do much for the image of the game.
ESPN: Was he wrong to come out so publicly and say he wanted to leave Liverpool?
GS: I can only assume that his agents were telling him that Real Madrid were going to buy him when this whole story started. When he came out and said he wanted to leave English football and claimed the media were making his life difficult in this country, he must have been under the impression that Real were in for him. As it turns out, that hasn’t happened and now he is in this tricky situation.
ESPN: Is Suarez worth all the hassle he has caused Liverpool?
GS: The answer to that question has to be yes he is. The reality is that Suarez is as good as anyone when he is on the pitch and that’s why I believe he is worth the money and the baggage that comes with him. He is a top class goal scorer and there are not many of those about right now.
ESPN: Can Liverpool take a stand and put Suarez’s career on halt by not playing him this season?
GS: Chelsea and Manchester City might be able to turn around to a player and say, ‘okay you disappear for a while and we will get on without you’, but that can’t happen at clubs that don’t have very rich benefactors. Liverpool have budgets to work with, shareholders to keep happy and they cannot say ‘let’s forget about a £50m player to make a point here’. They can’t afford to do it.
ESPN: So should Rodgers and Liverpool cut their losses and sell Suarez now?
GS: Rodgers is in a very difficult situation. Sell him and you are without a guy whose goals kept your season afloat and then you will struggle to replace him as you have a load of cash and no one to buy. Premiums for possible replacements also go up when selling clubs know you have a load of money to spend. Where would Liverpool be without the goals he scored last season? Not in a good place. You cannot forget that.
ESPN: Suarez seems to suggest Liverpool are not strong enough to finish in the top for this season. Would you agree with that assessment?
GS: I would. I don’t think Liverpool will be top four even if Suarez stays. Chelsea will be stronger this year, Manchester City will take some steps forward under their new manager and Man United are still a very strong squad. Those three are ahead of Liverpool and Arsenal are stronger as well. The trouble is, so long as Liverpool are not in the Champions League, they will fall further behind the top four. It is a problem they need to address quickly.
ESPN: If Liverpool are not ready to challenge for the title again, where do you see it going in this new season?
GS: You would have to say Manchester City and Chelsea look to be the strongest sides at this moment, but United won’t be far away either. Having Jose Mourinho back is great for the Premier League because while I had my reservations about him at the start and his ‘Special One’ tag, you have to say he has lived up to that billing. He is a proven winner and he will get Chelsea going this season.
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