Who knew Branislav Ivanovic was finger lickin' good?
Personally, I'd have never guessed it. He doesn't look it.
But then again, I'm not gay, so I can't really profess to be the best judge of which professional Premier League footballers, "look a bit tasty", and which don't …
…The Girls of SkySports? …Sure, I have my opinions on just how tasty each of them is… but footballers?
(And fuckin Chav footballers at that?)
I can't even imagine what was going through the lad's mind to be honest.
I've played a lot of football in my years. I've been on the receiving end of some fairly rough treatment by lads bigger and stronger than me. And I've wanted to crack a few of them… but I can't ever remember wanting to eat one.
The Girls of SkySports? Well, I'd like to eat most of them… 
I've defended Suarez in the case of what I still believe were spurious allegations made by Evra, and Fungus, and the English media in general…
I've defended him in regards the diving accusations… Sure he has gone down dramatically, but for every dive, there are 3 clear-cut, and often dangerously "take-him-out" tackles that refs have waved on…
(in this very game David Luis and Ivanovic gave the lad some very rough treatment.)
… but for me, I draw the line (personally) at biting!
Maybe its as the TAW guys suggested today… it's a perception thing….
…biting is just so childish…
…like pulling hair is considered girlish.
If Suarez had hauled off and punched Ivanovic in the face, I might be well behind him (as I said, its not like defenders don't dish it out).
If he'd toe-nogged him in the testicles, so hard it drove his nads up into his intestines, I'd likely have written it off as nothing more than a Chav really deserved.
… but it was a bite… and a rather daft, lame, petulant, and not-even-blood-drawing one.
(If you're gonna bite the fucker Luis, at least leave him looking like Griffin Dunne in the movie theatre scene from "American Werewolf in London"… it's not like you haven't got the fuckin teeth for it after all.)
So here we are again… Yet another Luis Suarez Controversy.
I feel a bit daft writing a whole blog about it to be honest… but there is a larger issue at hand in my opinion…
I suppose if nothing else, the one thing you can count on is that LFC fans (fans everywhere) have an opinion one way or the other on this guy… no fence sitting where our Luis is concerned…
… but therein lies the problem for many of us…
… "our" Luis.
We like to take possession of our "best and brightest" at Liverpool.
It's why the likes of Owen, MacManaman, and Torres are so vilified.
We get behind these talents to such an extent…. we support them unconditionally… so when they "betray" us… Hell might not have fury like a woman scorned… but The Kop sure does.
So along comes a player who, at his best, is more unplayable than the aforementioned 3 players rolled into one… and of course, we love him.
… but at his worst, draws not just the ire of opposing players, managers and the media, but colours all those who rush to his side in support, (at least outside of the LFC fanbase) as racists, as cheats, as thugs…
… and none of those descriptions fit with our hard fought reputation as Liverpool fans.
There are those among our fanbase who have written this guy off. They did so following the Evra affair, so this is hardly even the last straw for some.
(My own nephew views him as a "stain on the City" in the aftermath of Evra, and would welcome his sale.)
There are those that see this as just another funny incident in the story of a mad bastard of an entertaining footballer, and continue to be fully supportive of him (provided he seeks some counseling.)
… but as was asked on TAW… can such inexplicably pushed-over-the-edge, blow-your-top behavior be "counseled" out of Suarez… without also dulling down that clearly deep-seated, win-at-all-costs mentality that contributes so much to what makes him such a terrific footballer?
The first is almost an emergency "need" for LFC right now.
The latter could be "yet another self inflicted wound".
It is almost universally accepted at this point, that he will be banned for the remainder of the season.
If that is the worst outcome, perhaps there could be a silver lining in the incident.
He was on course to miss the Asia Tour due to his other summer footy commitments.
Maybe we should just send him on holiday now… (but err, send a psych counselor with him)… and let him get some much needed rest and recuperation… prior to those commitments… so he can join up with the tour following his National commitments.
It is, however, also being suggested in some quarters that he may just have played his last game in a red shirt… (if Fungus has his way, the FA will push this agenda.)
I know Ian Ayre has stated that we have no interest in selling Luis… and let's be honest a word from Ayre is like divinely scribed stone tablets… so not to worry, then…
(… and without blindly walking into the trap I've so oft been accused of… while not "reading between the lines", or "taking him out of context", I personally don't trust such statements for a minute.)
There are those that have suggested we "take 50 million for him" in the summer and rebuild.
I don't think that is at all realistic, even if he were saintly.
The more oft talked about 35 million sounds closer to what I'd expect to see offered.
But it's worth reminding people that part of the reason we got Suarez for only 22 million, was a slight devaluation in his "worth" following his earlier flirtation towards cannibalistic tendencies in Holland.
How long the anti-Suarez fervor remains in the press (and we could get lucky in that the Mancs' 20th and developments in the tight race for 3rd and 4th should occupy most of the guttersnipes,) and just how severe the FA opts to be towards him…
… will I think determine whether or not there is any devaluation from that 35 million.
But he also has a FIFA charge pending against him for punching an opponent while on International duty (now your talking Luis lad, that's more like it, Scousers can get behind that, now back to yer corner and wait for the bell,) and the combination of the two charges, and their subsequent punishments, could very well limit his suitors and/or any offer they're willing to make.
My money would be on it lowering his valuation… but Henry still having had enough of someone who brings bad press to a brand he's trying to build…
… so I'm quietly betting… (he says publicly on a blog,) (and not that this is what I want, but more, what I expect to happen) …on us selling him for about 25-to-30 million…
… and Henry (in an attempt to "Andy" his sale in the same way they did Nando's) spunking that 30 million straight up on a player they hope will be a direct 30 goal replacement.
…Time will tell I guess.
There is a wide array of opinions about all of this… among my close circle of Reds friends… among the wider LFC community… no doubt on Kopblog… so let the comments commence…
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