A Crazy Week in Review: Liverpool's Leadership Stands Strong

Here's a quick recap in case you were living under a rock:

-Suarez decides that he would rather be at Arsenal after they submit a 40,000,001 bid for him.

-Liverpool told Arsenal no way.

-Suarez claims the clause in his contract requires him to be sold for any bid over 40m. Liverpool say he is only required to be informed. PFA Chief backs up Liverpool's interpretation.

-Suarez played in Stevie's testimonial, albeit halfheartedly

-Suarez then claims to have injured his foot and is left out of the squad for the trip to Valarenga.

-Suarez then goes and uses the same English media he despises to force a transfer claiming that Liverpool promised him that if they didn't make the Champion's League he could go.

-Brendan Rodgers takes exception and breaks his silence, "We have a standard at Liverpool that I will fight for my life to retain; there will never be any player or person bigger than the club."

-Suarez is then ordered to train away from the club by himself.

-Suarez begins to backtrack...a lot...and states he wants a "friendly" solution to the issues.

"I'm still defending the Liverpool shirt and I will do so until the last minute"

"My aim is to reach an agreement with the club in a friendly manner and I hope the clause we agreed a year ago is fulfilled. Up to now, it hasn't been."

"It's not that I want to or am desperate to leave, but I like things to be clear and a year ago I made my position to the club clear."

-skysports.com

-John Henry makes some of the strongest statements:

"We are not going to sell Luis"

"We're not in Europe this year and have not been in the Champions League for a while. To sell to a rival for those positions, or one of them, would be ludicrous. Liverpool needs to be playing in Europe, it needs to be playing in the Champions League. That's what Liverpool football club is about."

"I'm unequivocal that we won't sell to Arsenal, whatever the bid is," he said. "I have not said it to Stan (Kroenke, Arsenal's majority shareholder) but I had a personal conversation with Ivan Gazidis (Arsenal chief executive) and told him we would not sell."

"He won't be sold even if a foreign club comes in, because we do not have time to sign a suitable replacement."

"It's a football reason, it's not about finances. That's why, at this point, so late in the window, with everyone who's already moved or isn't moving, we can't replace him. So, for football reasons, we can't sell, and especially to Arsenal."

"The manager is upset, as he should be, and the supporters are upset, but we need Luis. Hopefully this will pass."

-skysports.com

Whew, what a week. Why did Suarez wait until now when it was apparent well before the end of the season that Liverpool would not be in the Champion's League? It just doesn't make sense. Now though Suarez is talking out both sides of his mouth. He'll have a good future in politics after his football career.

With or without Suarez, Liverpool must move forward. It is absolutely vital that they hold out for proper money if they are going to sell AND sell him abroad as JWH has indicated he will. This week has set the tone not just for Liverpool in showing they will not be held ransom and are serious about moving forward, but also laid a blueprint for other teams to follow to mitigate damage when their players do this in the future.

It is remarkable how well Liverpool have handled this situation, allowing Suarez to effectively hang himself in the court of public opinion. Beyond that, it is even more remarkable that Liverpool's PR department hasn't screwed this up like so many recent disasters. Either way, Suarez's behavior is going to make the start of next season awkward if he is still here. That said, if he is still here and willing to fight for the Liverbird upon his chest as he claims, there is plenty to be excited about even if it makes your stomach turn a bit to think about at this point.

Oh, and to top it all off Raheem Sterling got arrested and Jay Spearing was sold to Bolton.