The Luis Suarez situation does not seem to be coming to an end anytime soon.
Suarez, whose has looked terrible in training, was sent to train with the reserves and Brendan Rodgers said that the striker would not rejoin the first team squad until he apologizes.
“Initially there will be a recognition that (there needs to be) an apology to his team-mates and the club,” said Rodgers when asked what Suarez needed to do next.
“I have seen him over a period of time I know it is not the Luis Suarez we know and I have to protect the fans and the players because they deserve more than that.”
That idea did not fly well with the Suarez camp, who over the weekend leaked that there would be no apology. So Rodgers tried a different tact on Sunday saying that he wants the clubs relationship with Luis Suarez to be ‘resolved amicably’.
“It is something that we have to do everything we can to fix,’ the Liverpool manager told the club’s official website.
‘If we have got to sit and wait, then so be it. But this is a club that has got great values, and we hope that the situation can be resolved amicably, and I am sure it will be.’
‘It doesn’t matter who you are, if they’re not pulling their weight then they are letting down the club, the city and everyone who has stood by them.
‘So until I get that assurance that we are going to get nothing but 100 per cent commitment, then there will be no solution.
‘There has been a lot said and a lot reported, and we have made a stance, as a club and as a manager, of the commitment and the standards required.
‘If you don’t have that commitment and those standards then you won’t play. It’s as simple as that.
‘There’s no problem between me and him, it is quite calm. But obviously I have got to respect the club and the team.’
The problem for Liverpool is two-fold. One is that they don’t want to sell Suarez to a rival, especially one who they hope to be challenging for a Champions League spot with.
Second is that without Suarez in the line-up Liverpool look a little light up-front as we saw this weekend against Celtic. Liverpool dominated possession, but lacked that bit of quality in front of goal to turn that possession into goals.
On paper, Liverpool are a much better side with Suarez in the lineup than without him. But that assumes that Suarez is the player he was last season.Jamie Carragher said over the weekend that he was shocked how bad Suarez was looking in training. If Suarez’s attitude means that Liverpool are not going to get 25+ goals this season from the striker, then are they not better off selling him and getting someone else in who will?
