Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has waded in on the debate around the guard of honor, and has suggested that the Reds shouldn’t receive one from Arsenal this weekend.
Having wrapped up the Premier League title with four games to spare, Liverpool’s remaining opponents are all set to show their respect over the next few weeks. Chelsea was the first side to implement the guard of honor at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, although Blues supporters were far from happy at the showing.
Arsenal is next, with Mikel Arteta’s side due to follow Chelsea’s lead despite some former players suggesting the guard of honor should be scrapped.
Ex-Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is perhaps the most high-profile voice of dissent so far, with former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch surprisingly agreeing. Roy Keane though has taken the opposite view, insisting that respect should be shown to the newly-crowned champions.
While not completely agreeing with Ferdinand, Aldridge does feel that the gesture should be more limited, rather than being played out over multiple games.
“I’ve seen plenty has been said about guard of honours and whether the tradition should be abolished or not,” Aldridge wrote in his column for the Liverpool Echo.
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“Rio Ferdinand spoke out about it, you can hear it in his voice.
“I get it, I’m the same against Manchester United. But who is he to make these decisions? He can have his opinion on it.
“I just think it should be saved for the last game of the season when you get the trophy. We’ve won it easily this season. It’s every game.
“It must be galling for some to see Liverpool get a guard of honour before every game.
“So I do think it should have been saved for the last game against Crystal Palace. But I enjoy watching Chelsea and the fans hating the fact we got one.
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“And I will enjoy watching Arsenal have to endure it against us next weekend too.”
Liverpool.com says: It is odd how this is suddenly turning into a debate now that Liverpool has won the title. What’s the betting that there wouldn’t have been this amount of fuss had Manchester City won it again instead?
People are reading too much into the gesture. In essence, it’s no different to the runner-up giving a guard of honor to the winner after a cup final, which is pretty commonplace. And it’s not like it’s a gesture that is exclusive to the Premier League, no matter how much people act like it is.
What’s more, it should act as an incentive for the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal to try and get on the other side of it. We will say though, referees joining in on it is a bit weird.
