Traitors!

Mr. Presentable

This article got me thinking
http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/topten/traitors.html

Who'd be your top traitors?

As a Leeds fan I cannot see past Alan Smith and Eric Cantona crossing the Pennines.

What about Nick Barmby going from Everton to Liverpool?

Is there one that really burns you?

Headshot

Ashley cole would be a big one

sol campbell too

admiralofthefleet

roy keane

mikemac

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

roy keane

+1

Alan Smith was a good servant to Leeds who managed to secure a move to a bigger club. Traitor? Not in my book.
A traitor is someone who walks out or lets down a team. Not someone who tries to further their career.

Mezcita

nipplenuts wrote: »

This article got me thinking
http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/topten/traitors.html

Who'd be your top traitors?

As a Leeds fan I cannot see past Alan Smith and Eric Cantona crossing the Pennines.

What about Nick Barmby going from Everton to Liverpool?

Is there one that really burns you?

Gah. Always hated that lark about us giving Smith grief just because he went to Man United. Was an absolute legend for Leeds during that season.

As for Cantona, they fecked up by selling him.

Mitch Connor

Heinze.

RacoonQueen

Harry Kewell signing for the turkish side then saying they were the best fans he'd played for.

OPENROAD

Headshot wrote: »

Ashley cole would be a big one

sol campbell too

I would say the way Cole went about things made it worse in particular his book. I actually didn't mind Bentley until he started coming out in the press and bitching about Arsenal.

RacoonQueen

How anyone can have respect for Smith is beyond me, the way he conducted that transfer and acted before AND after his move was a disgrace.

Mr. Presentable

Mezcita wrote: »

Gah. Always hated that lark about us giving Smith grief just because he went to Man United. Was an absolute legend for Leeds during that season.

As for Cantona, they fecked up by selling him.

No doubt but that you are absolutely correct in what you say, but both went to the club most despised by their fans. For Smith it was not a step up in any case.

Mitch Connor

nipplenuts wrote: »

No doubt but that you are absolutely correct in what you say, but both went to the club most despised by their fans. For Smith it was not a step up in any case.

What - going from a team in the championship to a team fighting for the title is not a step up?

Carcharodon

Smith gave everything to Leeds, legend in my opinion.
If Man U want you, not many players are going to turn it down, especially the situation Leeds were in.

buckfasterer

kenny miller.....the typical modern day pro who couldnt care less who he plays for as long as money is involved!!

RacoonQueen

Carcharodon wrote: »

Smith gave everything to Leeds, legend in my opinion.
If Man U want you, not many players are going to turn it down, especially the situation Leeds were in.

Legend? Bremner was a legend, Charles was a legend, Shezza was a legend, Radebe was a legend. Smith's name doesn't deserve to be uttered in the same breath as players like them. He was an over rated, headless chicken who wasn't prolific at Leeds and hasn't been since he left. Must be easily the most over rated player to every play for Leeds...only reason he got so much acclaim at the time was because so many Leeds fans suffer from localitis. Was never his biggest fan, the little like I did have for him was wiped out the day he stole a record from a 16 year old boy.

Mr. Presentable

Mitch Connor wrote: »

What - going from a team in the championship to a team fighting for the title is not a step up?

What I meant was, while obviously the intention was stellar, it just didn't work out.

Mezcita

mp1972 wrote: »

Legend? Bremner was a legend, Charles was a legend, Shezza was a legend, Radebe was a legend. Smith's name doesn't deserve to be uttered in the same breath as players like them. He was an over rated, headless chicken who wasn't prolific at Leeds and hasn't been since he left. Must be easily the most over rated player to every play for Leeds...only reason he got so much acclaim at the time was because so many Leeds fans suffer from localitis. Was never his biggest fan, the little like I did have for him was wiped out the day he stole a record from a 16 year old boy.

Meh. You're pi.ssed because he went to Man United. Big deal. I love this about football. That a player should play for a team where he never has a chance of winning anything, rather than a rival club. The guy had ambitions to win things, which he subsequently did with them. Good luck to him.

In terms of playing for Leeds he was one of the few who looked like he was actually trying the year we went down.

RacoonQueen

Mezcita wrote: »

Meh. You're pi.ssed because he went to Man United. Big deal. I love this about football. That a player should play for a team where he never has a chance of winning anything, rather than a rival club. The guy had ambitions to win things, which he subsequently did with them. Good luck to him.

In terms of playing for Leeds he was one of the few who looked like he was actually trying the year we went down. Instead, you call him "scumf" just because he went to Old Trafford.

Bravo.

You couldn't be more wrong if you tried. Just drag out the ''you're pissed because he went to United'' retort without even actually considering what I've said/would have to say about it.

Bravo.

And did he **** look like he was actually trying the year we went down, he was as poor as he was during his entire time with us and he's been found out since he left and doesn't have fans suffering from localitis kissing his arse all the time.

Headshot

if your including managers

harry redknapp would be the biggest of the lot

Mezcita

mp1972 wrote: »

How anyone can have respect for Smith is beyond me, the way he conducted that transfer and acted before AND after his move was a disgrace.

You're right. I've obviously completely misunderstood your opinion of him as a result of his move to Man United......

Regarding his performance during the year we went down, he was voted "Supporters Player of the Year". For the second year in a row. But that was obviously localitis arse kissing..... He fooled us real good.

Finally, his performance since he left. He's been fecked with injuries. Hardly seems like the same player as when he was younger.

eZe^

Luis Pighead Figo.

Bobalicious93

Not really a traitor but I lost a lot of respect for Schmeichel when he went to City.

Same goes for Mark Hughes

therecklessone

One poster is already taking a break from this forum as a result of his behaviour on this thread, I really hope we can discuss the topic without resorting to abuse. Thanks.

Carcharodon

mp1972 wrote: »

Legend? Bremner was a legend, Charles was a legend, Shezza was a legend, Radebe was a legend. Smith's name doesn't deserve to be uttered in the same breath as players like them. He was an over rated, headless chicken who wasn't prolific at Leeds and hasn't been since he left. Must be easily the most over rated player to every play for Leeds...only reason he got so much acclaim at the time was because so many Leeds fans suffer from localitis. Was never his biggest fan, the little like I did have for him was wiped out the day he stole a record from a 16 year old boy.

Ok buddy, calm down :cool:

I never compared him to Bremner or the likes, you are the person uttering their names in the same breath.
Maybe legend might be too strong a word and you may not have the capacity to see past that word and understand that some people view Smith as a very good servant to Leeds during his time there.
Smith was not the greatest player to play for Leeds without doubt but in my opinion he left everything on the field. He always showed great passion while playing for Leeds and that to me is a great attribute.

aodea

Mcsheffery to Birmingham (may he rot in there reserves)

Boetang, Hadji, Dublin to Villa. Dublin really hurt.

Guy:Incognito

Mick McCarthy. x2

event

smith is a definate traitor in my eyes

im not going to slag him, as he was top quality for us and always gave his all. he sacrificed himself to play anywhere for us. I wont slate him for performances and anyone who does is allowing themselves to be clouded by his move

but he committed the ultimate sin in our eyes. some united fans might not dislike us as much as we dislike them, but thats not the point. in every leeds fans eyes, united are the the most hated team. this is the team we despise the most, and always want to lose

the year before, when we nearly went down, smith said he would never leave leeds if we went down. he said he would rather stay with leeds in the championship than another club in the PL. that his club means more to him than money and england ambitions.

also, he was on soccer AM and he was asked which is the only club he wouldnt play for. he said man united, that they were "the enemy".

these were his words and a year later he had left and joined them.

liverpool and everton came in for him at the same time, and he chose united. he chose to join his most hated rivals.
some of you will say that we cant be angry at him, that he joined a team to win trophies. i accept that.

but dont think that i wont call him a traitor for it, because thats what he is

and harry kewell.

i would rather not get banned, so i wont comment on him

ShooterSF

Heinze. Fans player of the year and outsold jerseys in comparison with Rooney that season. Reason I can't wear the Jersey the season we took the title back from the chelks. My favourite player (replaced by Vida) a no nonsense hard working tackler.

Another in a different way would be Stephen Ire.. Hunt (ha got yas!). The guy has been handed a new contract every window and has shown no loyalty. He wants out at the sniff of any interest. Sickens me.

~Rebel~

Would have thought Batistuta would have been on the ops list, leaving Fiorentina who had erected a statue in his honour, to join Roma, and help them win the league.

ShooterSF

Can I add the great dane to the list. I think he spent so long at United that it wasn't overshadowed by joining City but I thought it a bit low.

redout

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

roy keane

Someone please explain this one to me.

~Rebel~

redout wrote: »

Someone please explain this one to me.

Im going to assume its a Saipan dig, even though that has nought to do with the thread...

...but for the same of argument, i guess it could be called after he'd agreed a deal in principal to join Blackburn, but renaged on it to join ManU. Even thats a bit of a stretch though as nothing was signed.

Xavi6

100% agree on Alan Smith. The way he treated Leeds was an absolute disgrace and signing for United after saying he never would was the ultimate kick in the bollox. I don't any Leeds fan would have begrudged him leaving to further his career given the circumstances but he went about it completely the wrong way.

eZe^

Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo Figo.

kinaldo

Luis Enrique, saw out his Madrid contract after 6 years at the Bernabeu to move to Barca on a free.

drkpower

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Im going to assume its a Saipan dig, even though that has nought to do with the thread...

Well the thread is titled "traitors".......?

redout

Di Stefano

Madrid, cabrón, saluda al campeón

Had to say that.

eZe^

redout wrote: »

Di Stefano

Madrid, cabrón, saluda al campeón

Had to say that.

Hahaha, although I know the entire Di Stefano deal, and even though Real were dirty to go behind Barca's back, there is a little more to the story.


Nobody can match Figo for traitor qualities.

-Captain of FC Barcelona
-Most important player of FC Barcelona
-Won two league titles and two Copa Del Reys, so it wasn't a move to win silverware.
-Was paramount to his team if any European silverware was to be achieved.
-Went straight to Barca's biggest rivals.




Puta Figo.

LuckyLloyd

eZe^ wrote: »

Hahaha, although I know the entire Di Stefano deal, and even though Real were dirty to go behind Barca's back, there is a little more to the story.


Nobody can match Figo for traitor qualities.

-Captain of FC Barcelona
-Most important player of FC Barcelona
-Won two league titles and two Copa Del Reys, so it wasn't a move to win silverware.
-Was paramount to his team if any European silverware was to be achieved.
-Went straight to Barca's biggest rivals.




Puta Figo.

One of my favorite little football moments is from the 2004 European Championship final between Portugal and Greece. As ye may remember, Greece got a goal from a setpiece and clung on for the rest of the game.

With time running out and Portugal looking unlikely to get an equalizer, some randomer managed to break onto the pitch and ran over towards Figo. When he got there, he handed Figo a Barcelona flag! And then ran headed towards the goal at the other end of the pitch, sprinting into the back of the net before he was escorted off the field by the stewards.



BOOM!

Take that Figo!!:D

eZe^

I remember reading a story about how his agent made the deal with Real and then was legally binded to it, so Figo was given three choices;

Pay the money (which they couldn't afford) and continue at Barca.
Not pay the money, have his agent thrown in jail (pretty long sentence too) and continue at Barca.
Move to Real Madrid.

Dempsey

Luis Figo, Luis Enrique, Ronaldo, Mo Johnston, Kenny Miller

ratinakeg

This comes to mind;


Then this happened;



Surprised nobody mentioned it!

~Rebel~

drkpower wrote: »

Well the thread is titled "traitors".......?

Thread is clearly about players who switched clubs, turning their back on the fans who adored them and joining a rival. Thread can be titled whatever it wants, the topic has nought to do with anything keane related (bar the very tenuous one i pointed out), no matter how much some people just love to drag these things up.


Another could be Abel Xavier i guess, but was never enough of a mainstay at either Everton or Pool for people to really care much.

pierrot

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Would have thought Batistuta would have been on the ops list, leaving Fiorentina who had erected a statue in his honour, to join Roma, and help them win the league.

Then its twice a traitor for him, I think he went from River to Boca, or maybe vice/versa.

Eirebear

Kenny Miller and....Kenny Miller :pac:

SlickRic

sol campbell - big money grabbing judas.

ashley cole - smug '£60,000 a week is an insult cos i'm as good as thierry and patrick' little w***er.

wayne rooney - 'once a blue always a blue' my arse. don't pretend you care about your city, club or football history.

alan smith - 'once a leeds man always a leeds man' my arse. don't pretend you care about your city, club or football history.

luis figo - sol campbell x 10 imo.

craig bellamy - ok, not even close to being on a par with any of the above, and city & west ham aren't great rivals, but it's recent, and he's a grubby little pest who showed west ham no loyalty after they got him fit. sorry, any excuse to take a dig at him i suppose :rolleyes:


[mod edit]Guys, please quit thanking this post as you'll be in breach of the charter

Mitch Connor

ratinakeg wrote: »

This comes to mind;


Then this happened;



Surprised nobody mentioned it!

think that is a bit unfair - everton were prepared to negotiate a deal with Newcastle to sell the lad, so why should he have rejected Man United when Everton were clearly prepared to let him go. Are United and Everton really that big rivals?

SectionF

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

roy keane

+1.

jaykay74

SectionF wrote: »

+1.

Did you even read the article Its about club transfers. unless you count the move to celtic or stabbing kenny in the back for snubbing blackburn.

Mr. Presentable

Mitch Connor wrote: »

think that is a bit unfair - everton were prepared to negotiate a deal with Newcastle to sell the lad, so why should he have rejected Man United when Everton were clearly prepared to let him go. Are United and Everton really that big rivals?

Agree with Mitch on this one*. We are talking direct rivals, clubs with history between them, not players sans morals.


*(/must scourge body)

SectionF

jaykay74 wrote: »

Did you even read the article Its about club transfers. unless you count the move to celtic or stabbing kenny in the back for snubbing blackburn.

Don't see any reason it should be confined to clubs. My direct answer to 'Who is your top (football) traitor?' is 'Roy Keane.' He surely is the most celebrated traitor in Irish sporting history.
I'm not so hot on crossings of the Pennines, or on other grave breaches of geographic boundaries in Britain.

Edit: a few years ago, I might have nominated Glen Crowe, but he's back where he belongs now.

therecklessone

SectionF wrote: »

Don't see any reason it should be confined to clubs.

Nor me. If we're going to be exclusive, the article posted refers to Italian transfers, so why is anyone talking about English and Spanish transfers?

I also see no reason why a poster couldn't give an objective assessment of a players moves within another jurisdiction, I'm not Spanish but I can recognise Figo going to Real for what it was.