When Fabian Delph recently went down injured with a suspected hamstring problem in his debut outing for Manchester City last week, on-looking Aston Villa fans could have certainly been forgiven for feeling an unwavering sense of satisfaction creep upon them.
Manuel Pellegrini’s newly recruited £8million man had seemingly been served his fair dose of karma in light of everything that has taken place for the former Villa Park favourite of late. A lot has been made of Delph’s dramatic u-turn away from the Midlands based club, in favour of the bright lights and endless wealth apparently on offer behind the scenes at the Etihad.
In the eyes of most Aston Villa fans, and the majority of supporters throughout the Premier League for that matter, the up and coming 25-year-old’s recent choices in the summer transfer window are riddled with disrespect and a clear sense of disloyalty. He was, after all, meant to go down as a solid first team starter for Villa next term, as well as being issued with the honour of wearing the captain’s armband at Villa Park ahead of the 2015/16 campaign.
However, thanks to Manchester City’s pulling power in the finance department, such an eventuality obviously failed to take place in the end.
So then, does Manuel Pellegrini’s latest signing represent a clear snake in the grass for the Premier League to contend with in the run up to the new season, or is Fabian Delph simply just another top-flight footballer looking to make the best of his career, and the best of his situation with all things considered?
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At this stage in the proceedings, the overall public opinion simply doesn’t look too good for Delph.
Yet why is that the case? Surely the former Leeds youngster has every right to make his own decisions about what takes place in his own life, and his own future. Like Raheem Sterling before him, Fabian Delph needs to consider how his career is going to pan out ten years down the line from now.
Whilst first team opportunities with City will certainly be harder to come by than they were at Villa, the chance to win some silverware and pick up some cold hard cash whilst doing so, is a notion that many of us within the public sphere would certainly be considering had we been given the option.
And perhaps the rapidly emerging centre-midfielder will become an even better player at the Etihad than he ever could have at Villa Park. Alongside the world class likes of Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and David Silva – Fabian Delph could well establish himself as a solid component among Pellegrini’s set-up, securing his long-term future in the Premier League and maybe even tying down a regular place in Roy Hodgson’s plans with the national team as well.
Therefore, whilst Aston Villa fans still have every right to feel aggrieved with their former captain, the 25-year-old England international shouldn’t be completely vilified for his decision to move on with Manchester City.
Having made that particular case for the player in question however, such an analysis would only hold true if Fabian Delph had not publically stated his love and desire to stay on with Aston Villa, days before he eventually made the switch to the Etihad. Within the ever pressured world of modern day football, that was the moment in which the ex-Villa man clearly crossed the line…
His famous last words simply couldn’t have been more damning for Villa fans in light of the situation; “I’m not leaving. I’m staying at the football club and I can’t wait for the start of the season and captaining this great football club.”
Fabian Delph’s recent decision to join up with Manchester City therefore only really serves to outline the concerning direction in which modern day English football is heading in. When players feel they can go back on their word to their previously loyal supporters just because the money is right, something is seriously going wrong.
If the likes of Manchester City aren’t careful with their seemingly endless ability to spend big in the transfer market, then concepts of loyalty, club development, and all-round dignity in the modern footballing era will be readily wiped clean from the English game sooner rather than later.
Whilst Fabian Delph himself ultimately can’t be brandished as an evil character or bad-boy of the modern generation in light of his recent decision, the former Aston Villa favourite simply won’t be talked of fondly any time soon thanks to the future ramifications his transfer to Manchester City will likely have on the rest of the Premier League later on down the line.
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