Liverpool FC: Why Dirk Kuyt's Departure Isn't That Bad
By
(Contributor) on June 5, 2012
Alex Livesey/Getty Images
At the risk of incurring the wrath of the majority of Liverpool fans, I stand behind my title.
The departure of Dirk Kuyt isn't all that bad.
I will be the first one to say that the Dutchman was one of my favorite Reds. He epitomized the Liverpool way and was one of the most hard-working members on the pitch, even when the game was lost.
Kuyt will go down as a Liverpool legend for his time put in at the club.
But it was time for him to move on.
Kuyt will be turning 32 in July, and while he definitely still has a lot of miles in the tank, those miles will be best served somewhere else.
With the Brendan Rodgers era on its way in, so is an emphasis on youth development.
Liverpool has an old guard of its own, with its own special brand of commitment and experience, but sooner or later, they will leave too.
By the end of the year, co-captain Jamie Carragher, who has been with the club since 1994, was relegated to the bench.
The younger, more talented duo of Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel in the middle of the back line was simply doing better than a center-back pairing of Carragher and someone else, coupled with the fact that Liverpool has promising young talent in Martin Kelly, Sebastian Coates, Danny Wilson and Jack Robinson waiting in the wings.
Many Liverpool fans were calling for Jamie to retire and take a coaching position within the club, and I was one of them.
Because it's his time to go.
Before we know it, Steven Gerrard will be retiring, and Liverpool will be losing another legend.
It was time for Dirk Kuyt to move on to the newest chapter in his career.
Besides, the hole left by Kuyt can now be filled up with exciting, new talent.
Brendan Rodgers has already targeted youngster Gylfi Sigurdsson and American superstar Clint Dempsey as potential replacements for the Dutchman, as well as Bologna's Gaston Ramirez.
Not to mention the exciting young talent Liverpool already has in the youth academy, such as Toni Silva, Suso, Krisztian Adorjan and hotshot Raheem Sterling.
So you see, Liverpool fans, we must look at Dirk Kuyt's departure not only as the end of an exciting and industrious career but also as the beginning of a new era at Liverpool. It opens the door for so many possibilities, many of which could prove to be prosperous for the club for years to come.
I know—I was sad to watch him leave, too. But Dirk Kuyt will always be a Red, and he will never walk alone.
Say goodbye to a Liverpool legend, and say hello to a new beginning.
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