Financial security or club loyalty - the star player’s dilemma

If, as a player, you were offered a double-your-money deal, a longer contract and promotion opportunities to fulfil your job elsewhere, would you take it?

It would be hard to say no.

Alternatively, is it hypocritical of fans to criticise that player, or is it that football, unlike other walks of life, operates under separate rules, where players are expected to put loyalty to fans and clubs ahead of their own individual ambitions and finances?

This January transfer window saw two such examples in Yorkshire with Barnsley and Doncaster Rovers losing key men.

Ten-goal Rovers striker Billy Sharp swapped a side in the bottom three for one second in the table as he joined Southampton on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

Ricardo Vaz Te traded 15th place Barnsley for Championship leaders West Ham United on a two-and-a-half-year contract.

They were moves that are surely going to leave Rovers and Barnsley fans alike disappointed and frustrated at their star players’ decisions to move.

But individually, can they be blamed?

With Vaz Te’s departure, Barnsley fans saw their top goalscorer - a player unwanted by other clubs at the beginning of the season - have his head turned from a team that had rejuvenated his career.

Similar could be said for Sharp, who, after a big money move back to Sheffield United from Scunthorpe, found himself on the fringes of the first team, until a loan and subsequent full transfer to Doncaster led to a resurrection of goalscoring form.

Their departures leave a bitter taste in the mouths of their former employers and any animosity from supporters is perhaps understandable given how they would feel towards players who have turned their backs on clubs that had done so much for them.

However, in a playing career that will only span approximately 15 years, should players not grasp such opportunities?

Or should we expect them to wait and see if they can achieve such feats with current employers?

In this instance both players have reunited with former managers; Sharp with his former Scunthorpe United manager Nigel Adkins and Vaz Te with his old Bolton Wanderes manager Sam Allardyce.

Not only does this mean familiarity in new surroundings but they have also subsequently traded a possible relegation battle and mid-table struggle respectively, for the prospect of playing in the Barclays Premier League next season.

So, more money and a better opportunity is the outcome for the players, despite the fact that their former clubs are left bereft of their services.

In an era where finances rule, we cannot be too surprised when players move on, especially when a club is unable to contend financially.

Unless the player is a supporter of the club himself, professionally speaking, the club only acts as the player’s employer.

When a bigger club comes in for that player, it is the footballing version of being headhunted by a better firm.

For fans, it is always a disappointment to see a star player leave.

But should there not be part of us that supports their move, as we would when a work colleague leaves for bigger and better things?

Or does a fan’s unwavering support for their club blind them to the reality that the deal is probably the correct one financially for the club and personally for the player?

After all, Barnsley and Doncaster no longer have to pay wages to Vaz Te and Sharp, respectively. They also received a transfer fee. And the player is allowed to move forward in his career.

The flip-side is that supporters question the ambition of a club that sells their best players.

When Sharp returns to the Keepmoat Stadium he will likely be clapped by an appreciative crowd. The Sheffield-born striker served Doncaster well and could have left Rovers long before he did.

Vaz Te, on the other hand, is likely to be on the end of a rough reception from the Oakwell faithful, given he gave the club less than six months of his time.

It is a harsh reality of the life of a professional footballer and the mid-ranking club that faces a constant battle to keep prying eyes at bay.