What Is Loyalty In Football?

There is often a phrase that does the rounds in the press or in the media

However, I wanted to change the perspective on that: what is loyalty in football?

Loyalty or Best Mates?

When a manager seemingly picks the same player repeatedly irrespective of performances (often due to bias, these performances are being made to look worse), the manager gets called out as only picking his mates rather than potentially returning a favour for the player who has been a hard worker behind the scenes and worked their socks off more than others to get into the position they are in. The manager could also be loyal due to their work in the past and how they have acted and behaved in the past.

For example:

Underneath this post is a barrage of comments seemingly calling Southampton manager Russell Martin out for being, as he suggests, “fiercely loyal.” The comments point towards their performances in Southampton’s promotion season. The players in question are Jack Stephens, Will Smallbone, and Adam Armstrong. I wanted to focus my attention on the skipper, Jack.

Jack has come through the Southampton academy and fulfilled any academy player’s dream, captaining his side to success, as he did last season in the playoff final. Fans will always need scapegoats to blame, as fans sometimes can never accept defeat due to the other team being better; there is always blame. For example, Jack Stephens has been unfairly blamed for defeats this season and last season and regarded as Russell Martin’s best mate when being picked. However, apart from the Brentford game last time out, Jack hasn’t had an awful performance for Southampton, he takes up roles in midfield, stepping out of defense, and influencing buildup.

As shown from the post above, Jack is 7th for progressive passes in the league (outside the top 6, where he would sit 13th, which is still very good). All well and good for being a ‘sideways and backwards merchant.’ Jack can have off games, but he is never a standout in the side for poor performances. He is a leader and someone who loves Southampton dearly.

Why is it usually their own?

Another question on this topic is why academy graduates are seemingly always on the wrong end of the stick. For example, Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay at Manchester United regularly receive the most hate, with Marcus even being touted as ‘Lazy.’ Sometimes, low confidence can be determined as Lazy, but the responses to these different and often similar body language moves are two worlds apart. One is support, and one is online hate.

Marcus had to come out and deny these flimsy claims. As someone born in Manchester and coming through the Academy from a young age, he would never have felt more desire and passion for the club. For example, let’s say Rasmus Højlund had a bad game; you would never see claims of laziness. Why is that? Is that because he is the fancy new toy that fans get to see and not some boring player you have seen for years, making him effectively exempt from any media attacks?

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Specifically, Mark Goldbridge goes out of his way to constantly berate Rashford to the point that it becomes obsessive and unnecessary. As a player who looks out of confidence, the last thing that should happen to him is being berated online. He, as one of their own, should be supported and chanted about until the cows come home. However, it’s seemingly different when they are one of your own.

Similarly, Southampton’s Will Smallbone, a Southampton fan, showed up when Southampton needed him most. He scored a goal in the playoff semi-final and an assist in the playoff final, which was the only goal that would send Southampton back to the promised land of the Premier League. Will also talked about Wembley and the playoff final, suggesting he would be in the stands if he weren’t a player—one of their own.

Last season, he was constantly berated by ‘fans’ during the Championship season, even with some nasty remarks made regarding his alopecia, which off the back resulted in an unbelievable performance away at Birmingham City, where the academy graduate notched two assists and was lauded by the travelling Southampton fans, and again in the post-game interview, where Russell Martin was reduced to tears for his love, passion, and admiration for Will Smallbone, one of Southampton’s own. However, you won’t see the level of hate he gets for performance compared to what Joe Aribo or new signing Mateus Fernandes would receive. Will could get blamed even if he didn’t do anything wrong.

This season, Will hasn’t been at his best. He was superb vs. Newcastle; however, his performances vs. Brentford and Nottingham Forest were below what Will can produce. He should be, as Marcus Rashford should be, supported and chanted about relentlessly as one of your own. There is a difference between being a scapegoat and being criticised for one or two poor performances. As the saying goes, ‘Let the apologies be as loud as the disrespect.’

What is loyalty in football?

This brings me back to the original question: what is loyalty in football?

Stephen sums up the thoughts here perfectly. Fans scream for loyalty from players and get outraged at them ‘jumping ship’ or running out their contracts at clubs. So when players are loyal and the manager repays their faith, commitment, and determination to succeed at the club, they are met with remarks of ‘picking his best mates. There has to be some middle ground. You can’t preach about player loyalty but berate the loyal players, as in the case of the three mentioned above. There are loads more examples that could be used in this situation.