Joe Hart (joined Torino on season long loan - Official)

[Metalartin]

I said I cannot 100% guarantee to know what he feels, nobody can (other than him).
In the absence of that, you have to go with some sort of logical view, and I don't think it's cynical to believe players don't feel the same as we do. I'm not criticising it. I've not said it's a bad thing, but I think it's a sensible conclusion that when your relationship with a club is a contractual one first and foremost and you're a professional sportsman, it's effectively impossible to see and feel things as a fans does.

Of course every fan comes in different flavours and has a different perspective, but the one thing they have in common is that they are outside the circle looking in and a player is insider the circle looking out. That's a fundamentally different view. Each fan has his own 'angle' but it's still looking in. Each player has their own angle, but it's looking out.

What's cynical about that?

When a surgeon operates on a child, they care, of course they do. They care about that child and might even have developed a very strong attachment against all their attempts not to. But if that child dies, their pain isn't like your pain would be if it's your child. Of course I can't tell you precisely how each parent feels, or how each surgeon feels - of course it's different in every case, but would you not agree that the parent's pain if far greater and deeper than the surgeon's?

Again who says they have to feel exactly like you to call themselves a fan? I agree and I've said as much they don't feel the same way(but don't have to) so why are you even arguing that point? They are still fans of the game they can still be fans of a team, they still have values maybe not in the same way but not as little as you seem to believe. Your analogy is bizarre and has no relevance to this discussion.

Like I said he's going and there may be good reasons for it in end but there's no need to change the narrative to suit the end result to make ourselves feel better. Feels like the bitter guy who's relationship falls apart and says to himself: "She was a woman, didn't even care about me anyway" just wish him well and give him a good send off I say. We don't want any protests either to be fair, I doubt there's many feeling that way about it, I think there's a sense we're in good(the best) hands with Pep.

 

[JoeMercer'sWay]

what would be the point in that and how do you know he briefing the press ?

because the club wouldn't brief about looking for a loan deal, so it's come from his camp. He's trying to dick wave in public, hence why people are coming out with criticism for us despite us playing it above board the whole time.

 

[Walking on the blue moon]

How do you know how he feels about the club, do you mean you don't think he's a fan or cares about MCFC?... you really think that when he does leave he wont follow City and hope they win in the same way Micha does right now? We can't really say for sure but I genuinely believe Hart is the same as Micha might not have even started out a fan but well and truly is now, it's his club in his eyes. 10 years is significant for a player at any club these days why downplay that just to defend Pep, you don't need to defend Pep anyway he's just made a call he feels is best for the team that's it people will get over it. He knows the club better than most players that has value, he IS attached to the club he'd have gone ages ago if that wasn't the case. Does any of that mean he should stay no matter what, if he's stepped out of line or if the team needs something different? No but lets not change the narrative just to suit the end result.

You are right about him leaving for a bigger club if we were relegated, it's a job first, loyalties/fan aspect second(Micha was a good example to make he left for his own career but we didn't feel the need to question his loyalties or downplay them in such a way) and by the same measure if Hart got a bad injury or just turned shit over night he'd have been shipped off long ago too. Does any of that matter though? Not for me, it's a harsh world especially in football these days but it shouldn't change your own values, you can understand something but you don't have to like it or even agree with it. I still think we'd have been better off giving him one more season to fight for his place back but I'm not the manager and the decision has been made for more than footballing reason IMO so in the end I might even agree depending on that.

Great post.

Although football is ultimately a profession, I think many players do develop a sense of attachment for their clubs, just like we all do for our jobs. Like you said, 10 years is a long time, and when good memories such as winning the league were created, those long years seem even more precious. Players come and go, but the romantic part in me always believes that the club holds a place in their hearts. For every James Milner there is a Mario Ballotelli and Micah Richards, and for every Nicolas Otamendi there is a David Villa and David Silva. I think Hart does love the club so as fans, I can feel sorry that he has to leave, unlike the management who have to make tough and sometimes ruthless decisions.

And so what if Joe Hart turns out to have absolutely no loyalty to us? He still contributed a lot to our titles, and just because he has no love for us doesn't mean that I can't thank him and wish him well in the future. The world may be cruel, but I cherish every second that reality has not wear thin my empathy and sentimentality.

I think he will leave, and that it will be the right decision for both parties. It can be very difficult to sit on the bench knowing that the chance of being able to change Pep's mind is slim. But what I don't get is why, as you said, some people change the narrative just to suit the end result, when the narrative is based on mere rumours and speculations.

 

[mcfcsupporter]

how many homegrown players do we have for the squad if/when he leaves?

 

[Robinho's Subbuteo]

Seems sad the way it's all been handled I imagine joe probably thought he'd be here for the rest of his career. I guess you can't be sentimental at the top but I can't help feeling we might regret it. He has won the golden gloves 3 or 4 times and has consistently been our best player in europe for the past 3 years. He is imo a club legend and I feel he's been treated pretty harshly

How is he being treated harshly? Pep has been 100% professional and has had nothing but good things to say about him and explained that the reason he's not picked Joe is because he needs a different type of goalkeeper to Hart. What else are the club/Pep supposed to do exactly?

 

[FanchesterCity]

I don't understand the 'harshly treated' thing either.
The impact is a shock to many City fans, and probably to Joe too, and this industry can be 'harsh' in that sense, but I don't think he has been treated harshly per se.

It's a sickener that one of our most popular players is going through this - just like losing to Wigan was a sickener. But it IS part of the game. I can't see what City or Pep have done wrong, or what they could have done differently. All these Olympic athletes that train incredibly only to discover they didn't make the grade this season, and don't go to Rio. That's a sickener too, but it's not being harshly treated.

If there was / is a personal grudge against Joe, then it would be different, but as long as it's purely sporting, it's a harsh reality, but not a harsh treatment.

 

[sir baconface]

If the BBC report on Hart seeking a loan move is true, then all I can say, is if it is really true, then he's welcome to leave permanently as far as I'm concerned.

The last thing Pep needs is a player (possibly Kompany too because of unreliable fitness) who might create a bad atmosphere within the squad, because they are no longer shoe-ins for each game.

I'm confident the board will give Pep 100% backing and will be willing to sell both Hart and Kompany if he recommends this. There will be no individual player allowed to dictate to Pep whether or not they play, this is the way all football teams should be managed.

Dear oh dear.

 

[FanchesterCity]

Can't see anything wrong with a player seeking a loan if they can't get a game with us. To me, that shows a desire to still play - a good thing.
It's hard to know if a loan indicates they want to come back to City, or if it indicates they'd like to play but keep their big salary... but on the face of things, a loan would give him the chance to prove Pep wrong, or at least restore a very good reputation as a top keeper and get a move to another top club. As it stands, his reputation as a keeper is falling and it's a bit harsh. There's a big difference between Guardiola not thinking you fit his specific plans and being a bad keeper.

 

[Cellarite]

What go to the X factor final with a united fan? I would. What's wrong with that. Crikey I love city but I don't choose all my friends on the basis they support and like everything I do.

To be honest - I'm not sure I'd admit to attending the x factor final on a public forum but that's me.

 

[Englisc]

If Joe leaves good luck to him and a big thank you.
Sad that it may come to this but if he isn't willing to try change his game or its just the fact Pep doesn't really rate him,then we have to move on.
He isn't the first to leave who many love and he wont be the last,its sadly what the modern game is now.Very rare you get a one club player these days.
But some Blues who are giving him stick and what not should give him some respect,the lad has pulled us out off the shit enough to earn that much.
One game that will always stand out for me was the 0-0 down at Spurs,first game of the 2010 season. World class that day.
So cheers for the memories Joe.