He represents their best hope of making the progression into a top four team. His goals, work-rate and general ability to get under the oppositions skin, make him Liverpool’s prize asset. But Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez is currently training alone.
He is loved by the fans, and respected by his team-mates. His club has stood by him, when he has incurred the wrath of the games governing body. Yet, throughout the summer Suarez has been agitating for a move away from Anfield.
It can’t have been easy for Brendan Rodgers to ask Suarez to train alone. Yet it’s his only choice. Suarez has broken the team-code. He has put his own needs before the group. He has put his own personal ambition before loyalty.
Suarez appears to be a very unsettled individual. Sure he can agaitate a move to Arsenal. But why? Yes, he could have a season or two of Champions League football. But what about the satisfaction of leading Liverpool’s development into a Champions League team. Whilst being adored and loved by the Anfield faithful and helping them achieve their deeply held dreams.
Maybe Suarez just can’t help himself. Perhaps the same personality flaws that cause him to bite opponents, could well be at play here. A deep self-sabotage psychology, that lead to hyped-up dramas and emotional theatre. Where being settled equates to boredom. Perhaps he is addicted to stimulation and change. Or feels that if he overcomes his personality flaws, his game will suffer.
Sure Luis Suarez will continue to have a good career. He will never be short of potential suitors, happy to take a chance on his temperament in exchange for his talent. But you suspect that unless Suarez comes to terms with his emotional limitations, his career will fall short of what his prodigous talent promises.