Has football ever produced a more annoying footballer than Luis Suarez?

The sport has seen some dislikeable characters in the past and there are even a few around now – Joey Barton springs instantly to mind – but none of them quite reach the level of obnoxiousness that is apparently second nature to Suarez.

Liverpool, as a club, have done nothing but support the player during his time at Anfield, often way above the call of duty. They stood by him during each of his self-inflicted incidents that have ranged from racial abuse to opponent biting.

In fact, some of their support for him has been so overboard it has actually damaged the club’s reputation – those outrageous T-shirts during the racism incident, for example, left the club looking ridiculous.

So how does the Uruguay striker repay them? By pledging his undying loyalty to the club, the team and its fans? By promising to stick around and help them fight for a top four finish?

Not exactly. By spending the summer stabbing Liverpool, and the fans who once adored him, in the back. And the side. And now even the front.

His latest attempt at forcing a move away from the club was to wait until everyone left on their pre-season trip to Norway (while he was left behind with one of those super-convenient ‘injuries’) and then go bleating to the press about how he wants to leave and how the club and Brendan Rogers had broken promises they made to him that he could go.

These latest antics have left Rogers fuming, and Suarez has been told, in no uncertain terms, to make a public, formal apology before he will be allowed to play for them again. Although, thinking about it, that’s probably not much of a threat is it?

I think the point has come now when Liverpool are just going to have to bite the bullet and let him leave. Yes, it will be a case of giving in to player power, and that is never very pleasant.

But equally, Suarez is a valuable asset and there is no point in having one of those rusting away in the stands. (Having said that, there are probably 40 million fans around the world that would be prepared to pay a pound each for that to happen).

I know the club’s owner, John Henry, has insisted that the player won’t be sold and that when the transfer window closes he will still be at Anfield, but I suspect that is more about ensuring he gets maximum price. Nothing devalues a player more than publically admitting he needs to be sold.

I’m just wondering how Arsene Wenger is feeling about all this. Arsenal’s £40-million-plus-one-pound offer is still sitting on the table and, as far as we know, that is the only offer around.

Henry also insisted that if and when Suarez does go it categorically won’t be to a Premier League rival like Arsenal.

And, having seen the player’s total disregard for the concepts of loyalty and integrity over the past few weeks, that may actually be a bit of a relief to Wenger.

After all, if he did move to the Emirates, how long would it be before Suarez wanted out of Arsenal for one reason or another? Like maybe, because of the weather or the shape of the stadium or the style of the kit.

At least Wenger can focus his attention on the rest of his summer transfer targets like…er… and….

Unfair play

Last year’s beaten play-off finalist Watford have made a pretty solid start to their season.

Despite the heartbreak of missing out on promotion from the Championship at the final hurdle, they have shown no hangover from their failure to reach the promised land.

Part of that, of course, will be down to clever management by Gianfrano Zola. I always believed he had all the right qualities to make a good manager.

But a bigger part of their decent start is that they are fielding what is essentially an entirely new team.

Suarez is a valuable asset and there is no point in having one of those rusting away in the stands

For their first match away at Birmingham they had no less than nine new signings on show, a pretty radical overhaul of personnel but not something unheard of in football.

What is slightly less common is that they snapped up all nine of those players without spending a single penny on transfer fees.

And the reason? The clubs they came from – Udinese and Granada – just happened to be owned by the Pozzo family that also just happens to own Watford.

Apart from the fact that this is grossly unfair on the rest of the teams in their division, it also makes an absolute mockery of the concept of financial fair play.

English football regulations state that the same person can’t own more than one club in the country.

I think Watford’s blatant rule bending should persuade Uefa and Fifa to make that a worldwide rule…

One to watch

One of the most satisfying things in football is watching a hard-working, determined and honest footballer work his way up through the divisions.

And you don’t get many better examples of that than Queens Park Rangers’ new signing Charlie Austin.

Just five years ago he was working as a bricklayer and playing for non-league Poole Town. But a run of 46 goals in 48 games brought him to the attention of teams further up the pyramid.

He moved to Swindon Town where he scored 31 goals in 54 games, earning himself a move to Burnley, where his run continued with another 41 goals in 82 games. Last season he scored 20 in his first 17 matches, making him the quickest player in the club’s history to reach that landmark.

Austin almost made it all the way up to the Premier League this summer, until a £5 million (€5.8m) move to Hull fell through on medical grounds.

But Harry Redknapp wasted no time snapping up the 24-year-old, who got off the mark for the London club last week just minutes into his first start.

There’s nothing wrong, of course, with players who burst on to the scene straight at the top – stars Michael Owen, David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and the like.

But when you watch lads start at the bottom and gradually work their way up, it has just got a little bit more romance about it.

Kieron signs off

In among all the shocking and dramatic retirements that took place this summer, one slipped under the radar almost entirely unnoticed.

Kieron Dyer, once one of the most exciting players in the English game, finally decided to call time on his injury-ravaged playing career recently.

Back in the mid-1990s, when he burst on to the scene as a speedy and exciting winger, Dyer was touted as the next great thing for English football. There was a time, in fact, when he was spoken about in a similar terms to the way Gareth Bale is spoken of today.

But despite showing flashes of his undoubted talent for club and country, he was never able to properly fulfil his promise thanks to the staggering amount of injuries he suffered.

I think it is fair to say that over the course of his 17-year career he spent more time out injured than he did on the pitch.

Considerably more time.

Dyer now plans to move into coaching and has his sights set on becoming the next Pep Guardiola. No point in setting yours sights low, I guess.

It’s always sad to see a player of exceptional promise not quite do the business, and Dyer is certainly one of those. And, unlike many others you could mention, Dyer’s failure to live up to his potential was due to reasons entirely beyond his control.

In this lad’s case, hanging up his boots must be doubly frustrating seeing as they are hardly used…

Predictions

Look out for my traditional Premier League predictions next week. I know you’ve all been waiting for them. Otherwise how would you know who not to place your bets on…?

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade