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The 'should have moved on' XI

Bobby Reds

By Bobby Reds
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Bobby Reds Newbie

Bobby Reds

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At a time when loyalty to your employer is unheard of in football, these are 11 players who have sabotaged their own careers (to varying degrees) by staying put...discuss...!Steve HarperAt one point Harper was playing so well for Newcastle that he and Shay Given were rotated game-by-game. Given pushed on to another level and Harper chose to warm the bench when he would have walked into most mid-table Premier League teams.Gary Kelly Once one of the Premier League's most reliable right-backs, long-serving Kelly stayed at Leeds throughout financial ruin and relegation. While he effectively committed suicide in terms of silverware prospects, rumour has it that the former Republic of Ireland international was sitting tight on one of Peter Ridsdale's mammoth contracts. Gareth BarryHis years in the wilderness have been overshadowed by his recent revival. The 26-year-old has crept along to 14 caps for England, but he would have had 30 or 40 to his name if he had jumped ship around the time of his first cap in 2000.Ledley KingOnce highly sought after property. Now the injury prone captain of the Premier League's 14th place side. King constantly finds himself further down the England pecking order and doesn't have a medal to show for his loyalty.Kevin NolanOnce a goalscoring midfielder touted as an England regular and admired by the country's big clubs. He now seems to have gone off the boil and is stuck in the middle of a relegation fight.Steven GerrardCame so close to leaving Anfield before backing down at the last-minute. Despite regaining his hero status after his change-of-heart, Stevie G is no longer a certain starter for Liverpool and is regularly played out of his favoured position. A backlash has now begun against him even among the Liverpool faithful.Matt Le TissierLe Tiss flirted with Tottenham so much that he nearly ran away and set up home with them. He could never quite ditch his beloved Southampton though and sacrificed his England career to remain an overweight fish in a small pond.Francesco TottiRegarded as God around Roma, Totti has gaps on his CV under the section headed 'European Trophies'. He has drifted along in recent seasons, picking up injuries and looking a shadow of his former self most of the time.Tom FinneyThe great man didn't have much choice in his decision to stay put. Italian outfit Palermo offered him a £10,000 signing-on fee (hmm, wonder where that Sicilian money was coming from...) to join them. When he handed in his transfer request Preston North End chairman Nat Buck reportedly told the former plumber: "What's 10,000 quid to thee? Nay lad, tha'll play for us, or tha'll play for nobody." Ah, the days before player power!RaulThe Real Madrid striker is like an old piece of furniture. There is nothing wrong with him per se. He is still performing his function nearly as well as he was a few years ago. It is just that he has become a bit too familiar. He is still adored by the Real Madrid faithful and has started this season in great form, but his elder statesman persona (despite being only 30) means he is being overlooked for the national team.Alan ShearerBig Al's last-minute change-of-heart to join Newcastle rather than Manchester United back in 1996 is well-documented. It could have been very different if he hadn't stuck it out for 10 years in his hometown. The former England skipper picked up no silverware in his decade at St James's Park.

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Guest ya_mum_and_ya_dad

Guest ya_mum_and_ya_dad

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Bait an arsenal fan wrote this.
Reckon Gerrard, Totti, Raul and shearer did the right thing by Becoming Icons of thier respective teams and arguably the defining player of that club. the other guys (Le Tissier particularly) i agree with.
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Bait an arsenal fan wrote this.
beat me too itTOTTI f*ck*ng TOTTIwhole arsenal squad has gaps under the European sectionand raul WTFmanager should be wenger
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JJ Newbie

JJ

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Its easy to say this for players like King and Barry, but what people dont realise is where could they go?Any move would be a step back or sideways unless it was to a big four club, and for players like King and Barry who have been at their clubs for so long it's gonna take a long time to learn the change, you don't get that time at a top four club.And there has been countless examples of players moving from a club they love, where they are happy to 'the next step' only for them to realise the grass isnt always greener and inturn ruin their career.ala michael owen.

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JJ Newbie

JJ

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GERRARD?!?!?!He's won every club trophy bar the Premier League.
And so it will remain
is that a mistake though?i mean, what will a move to another club achieve?a premiership medal?thats not always everything, as ashley cole is finding out.sometimes players who stay put are showing more ambition than those who are ready to jump ship when the first lucrative offer comes along.
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The Infamous Newbie

The Infamous

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Gerrard made a mistake biggrin.gif Club trophies:Got a Champions League medalGot FA Cup medalGot Uefa cup medalGot Carling cup medalGot Super Cup MedalPersonal:Got PFA Player of the year 2006Got PFA Young Player of the Year 2001 ( I think it was)Got EUROPEAN MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR (twice)Got Champions League Most Valuable Player 2005Got Premier League Most Valuable Player (twice)Got an MBEBeen nominated 4 times for the world player of the year shortlistANDCaptainMISTAKE?Everman in world football would hope they make a similar "mistake"

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