NUMBER ONE: Dean Bouzanis in action for
Liverpool's youth team last season.
On Saturday afternoon I was on the Mid-Wales coast to watch a Liverpool XI take on Aberystwyth Town to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Seasiders' formation. The Reds had previously visited Park Avenue nearly 20 years previous to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the Ceredigion Evacuees Association in August 1989. The result that day finished 2-1 in the visitors' favour with a young Steve McManaman in the Reds' team that day.
The team of Liverpool youngsters that took to the field at the weekend included rising stars from the club's Academy, such as Lauri Dalla Valle, Jordy Brouwer and captain Victor Palsson to name but three, and ran out 4-1 winners over the Welsh minnows but it was upcoming goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis who made the headlines. The keeper was not called into action much during the game with the notable exception of Aber's goal in the early stages however it wasn't what he was doing on the pitch that got all the attention.
A group of Liverpool supporters made the trip to the game and took issue with the young Australian; aiming chants and a spray-painted banner at him, relating to an incident last September when it is claimed he tried to tout a complimentary ticket for the Merseyside derby to a supporter for £80. When one considers that the face value of a ticket for the Goodison derby was £36, it doesn't reflect too well on the player himself. Nor does it reflect too well when it also emerged that this wasn't the first time that Bouzanis has been known to tout. He offered tickets to supporters for the Champions League encounter with Real Madrid in February, via Facebook no less, for up to £750 a pair.
LOUD AND CLEAR: Supporters made their feelings
about Bouzanis known during Saturday's pre-season
friendly at Aberystwyth
This was the worst kept secret amongst many match-going supporters but it was made public by the banner and the chanting that originated from the small section of travelling supporters. Some supporters have said that it was wrong for Bouzanis to be targeted in the manner he was and have even condoned his actions which begs the question what's the difference between your average man on the street touting a ticket for extortionate amounts and a youth team player doing exactly the same? The answer is that the latter is a professional footballer and, in this instance, not only a Liverpool player but also an ambassador for the club both on and off the pitch.
Those tickets were issued to the player by the club, completely free of charge, for his own personal use as well as additional stubs for friends and family. To abuse that privilege is not part and parcel of the moral code at the Liverpool academy nor has it been. Whilst it is common knowledge that the Academy lads aren't exactly on megabucks compared to the likes of Gerrard and Torres but he and the rest of the Academy squad aren't exactly sat in a doorway on Bold Street pleading poverty are they?
In the player's defence, it is worth mentioning that Bouzanis turns 19 in October - therefore he is still only 18 years of age. You would be very hard pressed to find someone who hasn't done something they regretted at that age and if he has any sense, which he probably does given where he is career-wise, Saturday will have served as a mini wake-up call and deter him from trying to abuse his privileged position because it will remind him that these things have a habit of surfacing as he found out at Park Avenue.
As far as the supporters involved are concerned, the point was made to him loud and clear and the matter is now closed unless he fails to learn from his mistakes and history repeats itself for a third time. Bouzanis is a very good goalkeeper and, like Palsson, Dalla Valle, Brouwer et al, has a very promising future at Anfield but he will need to learn from this incident and try and conduct himself like a model professional should in order to make the grade both on and off the pitch.
