Compare and contrast. While Joe Cole spent the first 48 hours of his Liverpool career beaming from ear-to-ear, Albert Riera could be spotted brooding in the background.
Spending time at close quarters with the Liverpool squad that travelled to Switzerland this week presented an opportunity to decipher the dynamics of the group and watch their interaction with new boss Roy Hodgson.
Admittedly, a number of the players who were in Bad Ragaz are going to find it difficult to force their way into Hodgson’s plans and some, like Philipp Degen, have already been told that it would be for the best if they find new clubs.
A dramatic overhaul will take place at Anfield this summer and while it is vital Hodgson brings in the right players – landing Cole on a free transfer could, in time, prove to be a stroke of genius – just as important will be the identity of who gets shipped out.
The exodus, of course, has already begun.
Yossi Benayoun departed before Hodgson arrived but soured the impression some had of him with a needless attack on Rafa Benitez, while Riera will soon follow Emiliano Insua and Fabio Aurelio out of the club.
While there were never any problems with the latter pair, the same could not be said about the temperamental Riera, who made the cardinal sin of publicising problems in the dressing room in March and brought shame on himself when clashing with one of the club’s young players.
Next on Hodgson’s list of things to do is deal with the potential drama that might surround Javier Mascherano; there is no disputing that he is a good player but Liverpool simply cannot afford to have him hanging around sulking if he does not want to be here.
“We would like to make some changes,” said Hodgson, as he chatted about his plans for the future.
“Every manager who comes into a new club wants to bring in new players, players who are fresh and anxious to make as good an impression as he is.
“I didn’t want to run the risk of maybe a player who hasn’t had as many chances as he would like maybe becoming disenchanted again, as that brings the atmosphere down.
"The atmosphere is very important.
"We have to bring a good atmosphere back to the club.
“That will come from training and matches at Anfield.
“We need to get back that Liverpool atmosphere that we have known and I have experienced to my cost over the years.
"We have to get away from the feeling that everything is not right.”
What wasn’t right, however, was the fact Mascherano has apparently not responded to the phone call and text message he received from his new manager; Hodgson stressed it was not a problem, that he did not expect him to ring back, but let’s just examine some basics.
Common courtesy demands you acknowledge when somebody gets in touch with you; manners cost nothing and surely Mascherano has not been so busy that it has been impossible to find the time to speak for two minutes?
If he wants to go to Inter, the move will happen much more smoothly provided he is open and honest with Hodgson and Liverpool’s board; there is no point hiding behind agents or going to ground, as that simply exacerbates problems.
Quite simply, there can be no repeats of the sulking that followed last summer’s aborted move to Barcelona, for if Liverpool are going to push for a Champions League spot once again, they are going to need a united squad.
At times last season, that was not the case and it was only on the road and rail trek to Madrid that you got the sense there was real bonding; indeed, something Mascherano said lifted the lid on how individualistic some can be.
“It was a good trip, we were talking too much together!
You have to take the positives and now I know my team-mates a little bit better,” he said at the time – that coming from a man who had been a Liverpool player for three seasons.
The football season is one, long grind and only the squads who have real unity thrive when the going gets tough; Hodgson, to his credit, is trying to restore some old fashioned values and having a clear out might work a treat.
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