Throughout the history of soccer there have been many examples of players showing admirable loyalty to their team and its supporters. Bobby Charlton, Paolo Maldini, Ryan Giggs, Tony Adams and Matt Le Tissier to name a few. Look at the list and you will notice a strong connection between the players, all were plying their trade for very successful clubs except for Le Tissier.



The exceptionally talented Southampton talisman could have taken his pick of teams during the 1990s and he deserved more England appearances than the records show. However, how many other soccer players are there that have talents like this but choose not to play for one of the top clubs? Not many, that is for sure.

With players like Chelsea's John Terry reportedly earning 130,000 pounds a week it wouldn't be a surprise for him to remain at the club for his entire career. He is Chelsea through and through and with the club chasing every title going each season it would seem foolish for him to move clubs. Supporters have a connection with their team and they hope and even expect the players to feel the same. Players like Giggs and Scholes would never have considered leaving Old Trafford and two Champions League Medals and ten Premier League titles justify those decisions. But what if they had started their careers at the unglamorous Bolton or Middlesbrough - would they still be there now? Unlikely.

Managers are under more pressure than ever to find the next big thing, as demonstrated by Arsene Wenger's youth policy at Arsenal. He has raided some of Europe's best teams with minimal funds and discovered talent of the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Gael Clichy, Nicklas Bendtner and the Carlos Vela. It has recently been announced that Arsenal have won the race to sign the highly-rated Aaron Ramsey from Cardiff City for approximately 5 million pounds.

Ramsey has played only 22 times for Cardiff and at the tender age of 17 is joining one of the best clubs in the world. A lot of pressure for a young player to live up to in one of the most competitive and demanding work environments. Is Ramsey disloyal to the club that nurtured his talents for leaving without achieving anything of great note or is this just another business and would any 17 year old in the world turn down the chance to work for a better company with a better salary and with much better prospects.

Soccer is not like any other business though. Take John Bostock of Tottenham Hotspur and previously of Crystal Palace as the prime example of the contemporary soccer player. As a seven year old, Bostock won a place at the Palace academy beating a whole host of other applicants. Nearly nine years later at the age of 15 years and 295 days he made his professional debut making him the youngest player in the club's history. The Daily Mail named him 'the boy Barcelona can't buy' as he looked set to snub many big-name suitors in favour of playing for his 'boyhood club'. The season ends and Bostock decides to leave for Tottenham Hotspur to better his career and not for money at just 16 years old. Another prospect that feels he needs to leave his employers to further his career.

Should the supporters expect players to move clubs as often as Nicolas Anelka or are we owed 20 years of service for our lifetime of heartache failures? Fans must understand that soccer is even more of a business now that it ever was and money talks. Bostock played football at the age of seven because he enjoyed it and he found something that he excelled at. Kids don't play football to make money, and it's unfair to criticise players for wanting to reach the very top. It just seems a shame that along the way vision and dreams are becoming distorted by the lure of glamour and glory at such a young age.