Who do Liverpool need to sign to retain the title? Keep up with all the Reds news with our free daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

There is no doubt that Luis Suarez has tried hard - very hard - to reign in his excesses this season.

The haters will deny it of course, but he undoubtedly has attempted to curb his instinct for going to ground in the penalty area, and has even tried to control his explosive desire out on the football pitch.

It seems almost bizarre to be point it out, but at times this season the Liverpool striker has stayed on his feet when it would have been easier - and acceptable - to go down to win a penalty.

He has taken some fearsome stick and not responded and has even shrugged his shoulders and not bothered complaining to referees when opponents have smashed him around in an attempt to stop his stunning skills.

And yet, bubbling away just beneath the surface, there is always a volcano waiting to erupt. And the simple message here is, get used to it, because that is what you get with a player whose talent is based on raw emotion.

Let's make this clear right now, this is not a defence of Suarez, or an excuse for his excesses. It is merely an explanation of what makes him tick, and perhaps a nod towards the contradictions in what we expect of our footballers.

And we are schizophrenic in our expectations. On the one hand, we place impossible standards on barely educated kids from generally humble backgrounds, demanding they are perfect in their standards even before they are shaving properly.

On the other, we want them to show roaring desire, almost psychotic commitment, fighting and battling for their cause - our cause - until they are run almost into the ground. God help any player who seems to lose interest, who isn't passionately driven for every single minute out on the pitch - as Marouane Fellaini will testify after his FA Cup performance completely.

Suarez IS driven. He taps into incredible reservoirs of desire, of anger, of competitiveness to give him the edge in a game where the need to win has to be at fever pitch to even get through the selection process at youth level.

Ask yourself this question. Why do most footballers come from working class backgrounds? And they do, believe me. You don't get many public schoolboys playing professional football, where the worlds of rugby and cricket are stuffed full with them.

The answer is complex, but without doubt part of it is because the middle class lifestyle doesn't provide the motivation required to fight as hard as it takes to make the grade as a football pro.

Suarez gave a fascinating interview to the Mirror earlier this season, where he quietly detailed his early life in Montevideo. Again, he offered his experiences as a kid not as an excuse, but a mere detail in what is a fascinating story.

He was offered a place at Uruguay football's youth academy, but couldn't accept because he mum couldn't afford to buy him any boots, and he didn't want to embarrass her. That was nothing to him though, because there were times when the family couldn't afford to eat.

For most of us, it is hard to imagine such an existence. But maybe we CAN imagine how hungry (if you'll forgive the bad joke) that would make you. Is it any wonder a player would have an almost uncontrollable competitive spirit under those circumstances?

Not an excuse, merely an observation. Suarez is a quiet, mild mannered young man off the pitch, on it he plays at the edge, and sometimes steps over.

Which brings us to his latest indiscretion. He clearly punched Gonzalo Jara during Uruguay's World Cup qualifier with Chile, there is no doubt about that. But watch the video of their encounter closely, and you will see him being manhandled by the West Brom defender.

The pair obviously trade insults with each other, and then, with passions still high, you can see on the TV pictures that Jara manhandles Suarez, places his arms around the striker, seems to perhaps pinch him under the arm and there is even a hint of a Vinnie Jones-style grab of the nuts.

That's just South American defending, right? But when Suarez responds by delivering a right hook, there is outrage. And I suppose it is right there is, to keep the game from descending into anarchy. But really, are we right to be so surprised, and so outraged, when a player who stands constantly on the edge, sometimes steps over it?