Javier Mascherano's exit from Liverpool is an extreme example of player power, says Andy Gray.
Lucrative global market has only strengthened player power
Javier Mascherano's exit from Liverpool is an example of player power taken to the extreme and it doesn't sit well with me.
Back in 2008 the Argentinean signed a four-year deal at Anfield yet barely two years on he's on the brink of moving to Barcelona.
It's no secret that he has wanted to go for some time and I find that sad but not surprising in a sport where the vast majority of players have little or no affinity to the club they join.
It feels as though there are an increasing number of players who, despite having more than a year still to run on their contracts, are happy to say 'right, I'm off now'.
When they're told they are not leaving the club they decide to down tools and refuse to play. I seriously object to that.
I don't see why a club shouldn't be within its rights to withdraw a player's wages if that player withdraws his labour.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure how much difference that would make to footballers who these days are multi-millionaires. I'm sure there are more than a few out there who would sacrifice their dough for a few weeks to get their own way.
The big players are able to call the shots these days because we now have an extremely well-financed, global market and there are not enough top-quality footballers to fill it.
The likes of Robinho can say to the Fenerbaches of this world 'thanks very much for that magnificent offer but I don't want to play for you, I want to play in Spain or Italy'.
Frustration
What grates me most is that Liverpool have been good to Javier Mascherano.
The 26-year-old had no real home when they first came knocking in 2007; he was just sitting on the substitutes bench for the majority of the time at West Ham.
Liverpool took him in and gave him a home and a career path that helped him become captain of Argentina. They've been really good to him and I think it's really shabby the way he's treated them in return.
Alex McLeish said earlier this week that players have more power now than when he was a player; that's only a bad thing when it's used in the way Javier Mascherano has used it.
Liverpool are one of the most famous clubs in the world and yet find themselves saying 'Thanks very much Javier - so all that money and adulation we've given you, you are just going to throw back in our faces, are you?'
I can understand Roy Hodgson's frustration.
It would be foolish to say Liverpool won't miss Mascherano but can they replace him? Absolutely.
As a defensive midfielder, a protector of the back four, he did a very good job but he didn't offer a lot in terms of scoring or creating goals.
Christian Poulsen is sufficient cover for now and Leiva Lucas can also slot in there when required; ok, neither is as good as Mascherano, but I think they are good enough.
The area Roy would love to strengthen with the cash from the sale is up top. Liverpool do have plenty of attacking talent but he could do with another frontman of genuine quality to give him some extra firepower.
If Roy can buy well in the next few days - and address Liverpool's well-documented weakness at left-back - then I think he'll be happy enough to move forward until the next transfer window arrives.
Hypocritical
While we're on the subject of allegiances and player loyalty, plenty of people have asked me what I think about the possibility of Mikel Arteta playing for England.
Personally, I wouldn't want him to. As a Scot I wouldn't want to see anyone who doesn't have Scottish blood in them playing for my country and I suspect plenty of England fans will feel the same about theirs.
It's one thing if a player has a family link to a country but Arteta has no link with England other than the fact he's played here for five years.
However, I think the FA have backed themselves into a corner on the issue by appointing foreign coaches.
How can they sit there and say 'we don't want Arteta to play for us because he's Spanish' when they've already made a statement by appointing Sven Goran Eriksson, then Fabio Capello as England manager.
It's hypocritical of them to say on the one hand 'we will ignore all of our young English coaches' but we don't want Arteta playing because he'll hinder the development of our English players.
At this stage Arteta has only said he'd consider playing for England. I hope, if offered the chance, he declines and that Fifa then step in to clear up this grey area.
On Sunday Arteta and Everton travel to Aston Villa, who are still without a permanent boss.
The sooner owner Randy Lerner sorts out the managerial void, the better. I understand why he wants to take his time but it's so important not to fall too far behind at the start of the season.
You don't want to be playing catch-up after three or four games because it is so very, very difficult to get back.
It's not as though the players are working for a man they don't know because Kevin McDonald is very much a Villa fixture but the longer Randy doesn't make a permanent appointment, the more he is giving the players an excuse not to perform.
