Crossing THAT great divide

[bluedan 93]

Ok,look at derbies around the world and then look at the players that have crossed over. Forget the micky mouse derbies im talking about Roma/Lazio,Boca/River,Inter/AC,Barca/Real,Gala/Fenerbache and of course the OF.

With the speculation of Elvis maybe going to them it made me think that this is starting to become a trend of the modern day footballer.And i dont like it.

 

Now we all know Judas Miller jumped to Torbett Towers ( not that i give a shit about him ) but if Elvis also went then for me it would be taking the piss just a bit too much. He came through our ranks and learnt his trade and professionalism from Goughie and others. I presume he's a Rangers boy but im not sure. Ok we sold him but we also gave him his start and full backing and this is something he shouldnt forget. Now you could argue that Mo Jo did exactly the same to them to come to us but i've never said that was right. Yes it was great cause it was 2 fingers up at them but now the shoe is firmly on the other foot. I could maybe understand it if it was Jonny foreigner but these guys ar SCOTTISH and have grown up Knowing the traditions of each club. What im trying to say is that very few players these days are loyal or have any hint of it. They are loyal to themselves and they're bank balance.

At the end of the day i dont care about Miller and i dont care too much if Elvis signs for them but id welcome him to Ibrox. I'm thinking of the future, imagine the outrage if one of our young hotpropertys left us for them? Christ just recently the gutter press were linking Burkey with a move to that scum in the east end. WTF? Sure of course its the press stiring things but surely these stories shouldnt even be thinkable?

Nelson Vivas was a Boca player for many a year and he eventually signed for River where he retired after just a month because of the abuse and death threats. A similar thing happend recently when a player left Galatasaray to go directly to Fenerbache. No suprise he didnt last long and he'd left club and country saying he couldnt handle the abuse. And of course we all know what happend to MJ.

 

The great divide is the great divide for a reason, you shouldnt cross because it's just too dangerous. And if you do cross then prepare for the wrath of the fans you've just screwed. Think about it Elvis, is it really worth it???

 

People this ones an interesting debate so lets hear it.

[Leppardized2001 0]

Interesting debate, but there are a few glaring gaps in your opening argument.

 

Starting from the top, you can't really compare the examples of Steven Pressley and Maurice Johnston. Yes, Steven learnt his trade at Rangers and had some first team exposure before heading to Coventy and then Hearts. ( but did he leave of his own will, shall come back to that under loyalty ) but Maurice was at Partick Thistle and Watford before arriving at Celtic. There were several factors which made his move to Rangers so bitter, namely being the first high profile Catholic to sign for Rangers, being a former Celtic player, and the fact that he'd already agreed to join Celtic before changing his mind.

 

As for loyalty, for me that's a 2 way thing. Player shows loyalty to his club and the club shows loyalty to their player. The lack of players earning testimonials for 10 years service at a club in the modern game shows that loyalty is dying on both sides in the modern game. Just need to look at Pressley's sacking from Hearts to see this. Also when he left Rangers was it due to fact he wanted to get first team action or was it because the club felt he wouldn't progress to level they wanted??? Sure players want to earn big money, this is their career after all but for me agents play a big part in stirring up disloyalty. For this I give the example of the two Hibs lads, Kevin Thomson and Scott Brown. There was no hint of revolt from them till they appointed Willie Mackay as their new agent.

 

Onto players who crossed the 'great divide' and you omitted probably the 2 most high profile cases in recent years, namely Figos move from Barcelona to Real Madrid and Sol Campbells move from Tottenham to Arsenal. Could also throw in this summers move of Ashley Cole from Arsenal to Chelsea. In the case of the first two, sure they got a bit of grief when going back to their former stadiums with their new team ( who could forget the throwing of pigs head at Figo whilst taking corner at Nou Camp ) but both players at fairly long and successful spells at their new teams. Also there are numerous players who have played for both the Milan teams.

 

The biggest differences between the Old Firm derby and the rest, and the facts that make crossing that divide even harder, are the religous aspect and the fact that Glasgow/SW Scotland is so insular compared to the big cities where the other derbies take place.

 

 

 

Malky