Apologies for stating the obvious but football is governed by the almighty buck and club's fortunes are dictated by over-paid egotistical players.
Loyalty counts for nothing any more. Steven Gerrard proved that when he put Liverpool supporters through emotional torture in summer 2004 and 2005 claiming he wanted to leave the club. In my opinion, the one thing that kept him at Anfield was the fact that the club were held to ransom and had to beat Chelsea's weekly wage offer. His team-mate Jamie Carragher, another highly-rated player, did not hold the club to ransom and threaten to walk if he didn't get his own way. Carragher conducted himself off the field the way he does on it - with minimum fuss or attention and was more than happy to pledge his future to Liverpool in summer 2005.
There are several more shining examples of financially-driven players and once again they do involve Liverpool Football Club.
Cast your mind back to summer 2005, Liverpool had just won the Champions League, Steven Gerrard had pledged his future to the club and all seemed positive at Anfield. Meanwhile in Madrid a disgruntled Michael Owen, who had twelve months previous left Anfield to win trophies in pastures new, wanted a return back home in order to help him fulfil this ambition and cement a regular place in the England team.
The sale of Wayne Rooney to Manchester United upset and angered
Evertonians who never thought their hero would turn his back on them.
There were reports in the media that both Liverpool and Newcastle United were both in for his signiture. Michael had one of two choices - to return to the club who had made him into the internationally recognised star he was, or to go to Newcastle and create a new legacy for himself.
Michael chose the latter but it seems that his motives for snubbing a return to Merseyside in favour of running out in front of the Gallowgate end every other Saturday were motivated by money.
For the second time in two years, Owen had turned his back on the club who had nurtured him from an early age for pastures new and it appeared to have been the wrong choice on both counts. In the 2004-05 season, Owen played in a trophyless season for Real Madrid whilst his old club Liverpool were crowned Champions of Europe. The following season Owen featured (briefly) in another trophyless season, this time with Newcastle while Liverpool won the FA Cup.
The other notable and even comical example of how players are driven by money is Lucas Neill, currently of West Ham United. There was a lot of talk in the media that Liverpool were interested in Neill as a replacement for what appeared to be the outgoing Sami Hyypia. These reports confirmed what most people in the game had known already - that Neill was unhappy at Blackburn and wanted a new challenge.
Days before the transfer deadline, Neill snubbed Liverpool in favour of West Ham United. He said in the press conference that he had always wanted to come to West Ham and that Liverpool never wanted him. To be honest anyone would find the statement about preferring West Ham to Liverpool laughable as he would've had Champions League experience at Anfield instead of the relegation struggle he is currently involved in at Upton Park. At the age of 29, his chances of reaching the Champions League with the Hammers is a very bleak possibility.
Another example of how finance is valued more over loyalty is the transfer of Wayne Rooney from Everton to Manchester United in August 2004. Rooney had progressed through the club's academy system and had a remarkable Euro 2004. Prior to the tournament in Portugal, Rooney had revealed a t-shirt proclaiming 'once a blue, always a blue' which left most fans to presume that he was an Evertonian for life and wouldn't turn his back on the club even if the financial overtures of bigger clubs were a-calling. Wrong again. Rooney turned down Everton's offer of a new contract in favour of a move to Old Trafford.
As I said before, proof if ever it was needed that loyalty counts for nothing in this game.
However for every set of self-obsessed players who turn their backs on their clubs, there's always one who doesn't adhere to the rule.
The shining example of this is Liverpool's Robbie Fowler who captained the club to a cup treble in 2001. Fowler was sold to Leeds in November of that year despite protests that he didn't want to leave the club he loved. When Rafael Benitez offered Fowler the chance to return to Anfield in January 2006, the Kop favourite jumped at the chance and even took a pay cut, such was his determination to pull on the red shirt again.
Unfortunately in today's money-driven game, not everyone is as loyal as Robbie Fowler.