Liverpool Banter Archive January 26 2015

26 Jan 2015 18:23:14
hey eds what is happening with Yesil i don't see him in any U18, 19 or 21 team is he still injured because whenever he played he looked deadly think he is a Lewandowski type of player. and wasn't he on the brink of going on loan to turkey in the summer ? or am I wrong. cheers

{Ed002's Note - Lost in the fog - too many in front of him.}

26 Jan 2015 21:07:39
Shame as hopes he would become a first team regular. Wish we would use youth more, just look at Harry Kane for Spurs. If you told me last year he would be Spurs main striker and get 20 goals in a season i'd have told you to get lost!

Even as eds said don't know how good they are till they play and if they don't make it a few appearances means they can be sold on for large sums (imagine Kane could be sold for £15m atm!). Where are set up saw suso and kelly leave for less then Kyle naughton who has been torn apart every time I've seen him play

26 Jan 2015 21:47:30
Sadl, injuries have probably ruined a potential career with us. 2 ACL injuries is tough to come back from

The thing is though Rodgers as worked with a lot of youth and younger sides. Surely he knows the young players more than anyone and we should trust his judgement. We really don't know how good they are.

Mighty, don`t fall for that line of thinking because it is BS and that is what BR wants you to think. BR doesn`t play the youth players because he simply does not believe in them. Why? because he prefers to by youth from other teams who can`t get a game to come play here in their place while either selling, (Suso, Kelly) loaning out (Tex, Ibe, Wisdom) or just not using them at all YET has no prob bringing in Manquillo, Luis Alberto and Marko (good player but did we need him w/ Ibe, Ojo and Suso already here?) while leaving the poor academy boys in limbo. That is just gross incompetence, mismanagement and being disingenuous conduct. The fact that they are not getting chances has nothing to do with them not being ready, IMO. It is that he doesn`t have the cojones to play them. The only time he plays the youth in his time here is when there are no funds for players (like Raheem, Suso, Wisdom when he arrived) or injuries (Flanagan when Enrique got hurt). If not, he would never use them. We have good players in our acadmey BUT ask yourself, how would we know who would make it and who would not if we take the excuses you just gave for BR not playing them and NEVER give them a chance to either convince us they are ready or not? Many of us including ED01 has mentioned this on numerous occassions which is one of the reasons why BR is under review by the owners. We have a striker Sinclair who is getting rave reviews for his goals and many think he has a good future along / many others (Tex, Ibe, Rossiter, Dunn, Ojo and so on) YET they can`t get a game because the manager would rather buy from other teams/academies to take their place and we can`t even knw if they are better because the academy boys NEVER play. I have no confidence in BR on tis topic and the facts I just entioned proves it. If you doubt me, ask ED01 and he will confirm all I just posted because HE gave us the info on the topic

Coaching and judging potential of youth are not the same, Mighty reds.

Redohio, i'm very interested in the views of our academy and yours seem pretty strongly in favour of the kids getting a chance, what are those views based on (watching live, watching on tv or based on others views, Ed01 for example who you mention). By the way who has Rodgers bought from other academy's? genuine question as I do not know.

27 Jan 2015 09:26:59
18and5, You should take with a pinch of salt what redohio says.He is so anti BR that it is now becoming vindictive and boring.I just skip over his rants nowadays because you know exactly what you are going to get.Great questions though about where he gets his information as I expect it is just his own personal prejudice

Great point RS64, it's the same over exaggerated rant everyday. As for the information, I guess most of it's from the Ed's, which is fair enough, as they do have some knowledge.

I think that there are many on this site who, worryingly IMO, take everything that is said as the gospel truth, and base most of their rants upon this. Even though there are many contradictory sources of information out there.

RS64 and Walton Red, I wasnt aware of redohio's alleged gripe with BR as I am on here a lot less lately as I hate all this regurgitated spiel from other sources etc etc just to sound knowledgeable (or to snipe at BR) rather than personal views built up over a sustained period via watching the kids first hand or on LFCTV.
I am very interested in our academy kids and if they are good enough to make the step up and obviously hope they are but there is numerous names being mentioned that will be the next big thing but history shows very few if any will make it and not just under BR.

27 Jan 2015 13:18:12
In fairness I watch nearly every LFC game but make a point to watch all pre-season games, cup games (particularly against lower league sides) and used to watch the reserve/academy games on LFC TV (which i don't think they show any more) to try see some of our young 'future stars'.

But I do read what people who say and take on points/views that seem reasonable and knowledgeable. Not very pro BR atm but nothing vindictive or unreasonable tbf but seems to have the same problems on and off the pitch (for example cringe every time we defend any set piece).

Think we have had a lot of talented youngsters talent that should have been given a better chance (kelly, suso, texiera, wisdom, etc) and other teams youth players given a chance and performing or being sold for decent money. But from what i've seen these players (kane, berahino, stones, shaw, wilson, anichebe, zaha) didn't look levels above our academy players that haven't made it.

It looks like financially we can't compete with top sides above us (chelsea, united,arsenal, & city) so will have to bridge to gap somehow. Can do what we have tried for the past 3 seasons and buy a lot of players for less money to find 'hidden gems', but would prefer it if we bought a few players in positions we need and try fill the squad with academy players.

Obvs want top 4 and is better financially for the club but think if we got Europa league and trimmed our squad massively (with a couple of good additions) next season could be great for us. Focus on the league entirely, then use fringe players + youth players in all other competitions (until the later stages at least). Can still compete for 4th/title and would be able to see how good are academy actually is! Added to personally don't see how our squad will be able to compete with the european elite because we are miles away (Real tore apart are starting XI 3-0 and don't see how we could get passed these teams over 2 legs).

You only have to look at the next question posted on the poll to see what direction the Eds push these mindless sheep.

"Was BR right to critise MB in public?"

Basically opens the the page up for another 300 posts of waffle about mismanagement and how bad the manager is.

We seem to have a team of expert analysts on the pages these days. You know, those same expert analysts who ask whether we're signing Messi in the summer. The same expert analysts that failed to highlight all these managerial flaws when we were tearing teams to pieces last season. After all, those flaws must have existed, but hey, I guess they missed them.

Oh, seems Real Madrid are under investigation about the 51 academy players they signed. Good ol' Brendan, must have had a say in there somewhere. Seems like the academies are working a treat all over Europe - we're the only ones with a few problems. Brendans fault of course.

27 Jan 2015 13:25:04
To be fair to redohio a few months ago he was disagreeing with a couple of anti BR posts I placed. No harm in a constructive shift of view.

Kpm100, Thank you for your post.
Let me thank, Jimmy Hustle, Red since 64, alton Red and 18and5 for their opinions of my posts. Now allow me to respond.

For those of you who accused me of being a BR hater or anti-BR, you don`t know me at all hence, judging me just because I disagree with you is quite childish and shows you do not have the stomach for healthy debate which unlike you, I do. Like Kpm100 noted, I have defended BR from the very beginning because frankly as a fan, I have to. I have been a fan for over 3 decades and have seen the highs and lows but does that make me a better fan than anyone? NO! I live in America hence do not have the same info as many other fans and the Ed`s so I differ to them for info and opinions about the academy, reserve games and the youth players with promise and draw conclusions based on the overall picture they paint. Many have said there are good players in the academy. They can`t all be wrong esp if the fans who disagree cannot make logical counter-arguments to prove them wrong. No smoke w/o fire. As a fan, I will always support the manager because if he succeeds, my team wins which should be the bottom line. In terms of the academy, I refuse to believe that there is NOT a single soul in that academy good enuff for the first team that BR could give a run out to and buying Manquillo from Athleti reserves or Luis Alberto from Seville reserves or the pro-BR brigades narrative that "BR knows them more than we do" will NEVER covince me of that ESPECIALLY as many fans and the Eds who watch the games regularly say that there are good players and prospects who should be in the first team. All in all, I`ll call BS on that pathetic "pro-BR no matter what" narrative being peddled here. Also, I have sufficient knowledge to know if a coach is doing his best, making mistakes YET learning fast, being a leader and getting the best out the squad HE built or just full of it. As a coach, if you are getting it done, he should be getting the credit as he got last year. And if he is screwing up, not learning from his mistakes, and the lot, he should be rightfully criticized and get the blame like he is rightfully geting, IMO. If he continues, he should get the sack REGARDLESS of whether I like it or not because he is an employee and not a family member I am stuck with for life. BR`s blunders are well-documented and his refusal to change (only just changed the system due to injuries and the threat of the sack which is still imminent) like Rafa and KK b4 him, will be his end. I criticized KK and Rafa for their blunders and due to their refusal to change and learn, got the boot and I was glad to see the back of them because their poor results at the end could no longer overcome their incessant errors and humongous egos. So why should BR be treated differently? He won`t from e because I am not a hypocrite and what`s good for the goose should be good for the gander. BR is on his way to that end, IMO. So To the above posters or members of the "Support BR no matter what" brigade, if you wanna ignore BR`s errors (on the pitch and in the TW) and refusal and inability to learn from them as well as his embarassing conduct in the media (that the owners have told him to stop opening his mouth for no reason) and his other blunders just to show you are more supportive of the coach than the rest of us, then HAVE AT IT. However, I refuse to close my eyes and pretend it is not raining while I am getting drenched in a storm just to prove I am supportive of the manager. It is called being in denial and sorry, I can see clearly, thank you. Now if you cannot prove me wrong or have a decent conversation about the issues, great. But some of you should stop w/ your bloviating and moral lectures about "supporting the manager no matter what" because to old fans like me, we don`t fall for that BS and you clearly lack the talent to pull off moral lectures.

Redohio, so to confirm, your views of the academy kids are based on other more informed peoples views?

26 Jan 2015 19:58:10
To Ed001 I have been watching the under 21s (first time this season) and watching Ibe, Ojo and Sinclair all three look top prospects as well as Brannagan, Chiveralla (spelling) and Canos. Just wondering if you know what the club think about each of the players whether they could be blended into the first team over next summer Ojo and Sinclair more so with Ibe already coming in, worried that with the abundance of attackers we have they may struggle to get through like other youth prospects such as Suso, Wisdom . Finally what do you make of the player Ed001 and is there any other prospects to keep and eye on?

{Ed001's Note - it is still very early to talk about next season, the likelihood is loan moves though.}

26 Jan 2015 19:01:31
Serious question, and I expect honest answers people. We're all all here for information and I think it's only fair if people own up. This matter is pressing and I think a ban may be enforced to the culprits.
Who put 'yes' to David luiz in the world XI?
I'm not angry. I'm just disappointed.

Not guilty

I guess David's mum must have voted.

YES we must know of this fiend!!

26 Jan 2015 13:25:17
"I've shown in my time here that if players who have been out the fold for various reasons work hard every day in training, and show intensity and focus, then they have every chance of getting back in the side and staying there." BR

Not sure how to take this really, I guess he is referring to players that haven't come through the academy?

Referring to skrtel I guess, who he wanted out a year or so ago, and sakho, currently and Jord, who he offered around in January 2 years ago.

Another self-serving comment from the Mouth from Melwood. He must be referring to Johnson and Allen. Suso, Lucas and and Sahko may very well disagree.

Balotelli

I Think he's Talking About Balotelli

Sure. Once they've worked hard in training for most of the season, and someone who is valued more by management goes down with a lengthy injury scare, that player will be given a chance. Then, the cycle starts over once the replaced player returns from injury.

See: Skrtel/Carragher, Sakho, Allen, Johnson/Flanagan/Enrique.

You also have the Alberto Moreno experiment, (coincidentally, the only player in our team who makes sense on the left side of a back 5) and the subsequent drop in form that comes with taking him out the team (to rest him?) and throwing Enrique to the wolves for one game.

26 Jan 2015 14:42:07
Put it this way - if a player DOESN'T work hard in training and DOESN'T show intensity and focus, they have NO chance of getting back in the side. Hmmm, who on earth could that relate to? Not exactly rocket science is it?

Enrique threw himself to the wolves a long time ago.
You can't blame Rodgers for Enrique.

26 Jan 2015 15:47:43
If Enrique spent less time on twitter and building a love nest, more on football he might be half decent

It's probably just dawned on Brendan that nobody is willing to buy ballotelli in January, so he is stuck with him and trying to backtrack on the comments from last week.

Sorry, but I can blame Rodgers for Enrique when he continues to play him! Don't get me wrong, dudes a class act as far as his personality goes, but he hasn't played a good game for us in far, far too long.

26 Jan 2015 20:59:39
He played him against a championship side who you think even Enrique would be able to perform against. Moreno can't play every minute of every game in a 3-4-3

Like the other underachievers who haven`t had a good game in ages YET were playing regularly under BR whose words are not supported by what we are all seeing.

26 Jan 2015 13:14:21
Hi Eds,
I understand we are unlikely to purchase any players before the transfer window but is there any interest in Leandro Damião (we've had links to him before) or Alexandre Pato (still young and was billed as the next big thing before injuries)?
Cheers,

{Ed002's Note - Not from Liverpool. The club has a large number of strikers already - some would need to leave before others are added. Sturridge will soon be back from injury. Origi will arrive in the summer. Borini, Balotelli, Lambert, Aspas, Yesil. Sterling and Markovic can play anywhere across the front. There are probably some youngsters as well.}

26 Jan 2015 13:53:12
Thanks Ed.
Do you know of any interest in either of the players from other premier league sides?
Cheers,

{Ed002's Note - Everton are considering Pato who is being offered around - QPR and Sunderland have been offered the player as well - but are not interested.}

We have loads of strikers, but only one really good one, and he's made of glass.

26 Jan 2015 09:31:11
Morning Eds and Fans.
I thought we played well enough at the weekend with no real end product.
It was one of them games where we could have been there all day and not scored.
The 5 changes made were the poorest performers in my opinion although Manquillo did nothing wrong defensively and Lallana is just unfit.
Lallana needed that game and the replay does give the likes of Sturridge, Balotelli, Lallana and any other crocks the opportunity to get some valuable game time.
Again I was disappointed not see any youngsters playing but overall I was quite happy with the performance apart from the finishing and decision making in the last 3rd of the pitch.
Sturridge should be on the bench against Chelsea and we should give him 30 mins regardless of the game situation.

I lied, Manquillo did make 1 error.
He failed to track a one two and they nearly scored. My bad.

26 Jan 2015 10:32:38
Rodgers hand is largely forced now. In both the replay against Bolton and the second leg with Chelsea he has got to put his strongest fittest available team out for both (whether he wants to or not) and go all out to win - again whether he wants to or not.

26 Jan 2015 08:44:52
who all thought that balo was going to come good for us second half of the season ?(sturridge coming back) .
well that won't happen now since BR has thrown that out of the window.
How is this guy still a manager ? he can't manage his own brain yet!
i personally believe balo is trying, he is at least not making a nuisance of himself like BR, goals aren't coming though for the lad, but discouraging antics from a pouty manager are the last thing he needs. he is a striker with decent ability and great presence, why not use that? Ever seen how giroud plays for arsenal?

whenever ifever sturridge returns he is going to need that second striker that takes out the defender for him

How do you know if he's trying or not? As rodgers stated, it was about how he is in training that isn't getting him in the first team. He needs to perform in training to even be in contention to getting picked.

For me, he hasn't done enough on the pitch when he has played either. Everybody dislikes Borini for some strange reason. Yes he isn't the best but the difference is he wants to play for Liverpool and shows that when he's on the pitch. I'd rather have that than somebody just moping around.

Balotelli is a immature overgrown kid with too much money! he thinks he doesn't have to put in the effort to qualify for the first team, just being who he is is enough!! WTF. he hasn't covered himself in glory has he? other clubs are not fighting each other to sign him, he looks like he could play forever and still not score, he is such a bad joke and i cannot believe we were stupid enough to buy him, then again, maybe i can believe it after the way our transfer dealings have been conducted, seeing as nobody wants him could we raffle him? lol, is there anyone daft enough to buy a ticket?

26 Jan 2015 12:38:42
Regardless of what you think of mario he IS a liverpool player and our team lacks strikers. Sterling is wasted playing striker and it is BR responsibility to manage a team, which involves having a striker (most teams tend to have more then 1).

We bought him (May be the wrong buy but is what we have this season) so is up to Rodgers to get something out of him. What gets me is look at all our strikers record before they joined (borini, lambert, mario, aspas) they scored 1 in every 2-3 games and since signing for us have 1 in 10.

At city he got 20 goals in 54 games (was 21 at the time) and yet Rodgers can't get a goal from him? Don't see why everyone blames mario for our season when BR has consistently failed to get the best out of players.

As Lennon said "I'm an artist, give me tuba and I'll create something worth listening" same applies to Rodgers has to work with what he has. Be great to sign Ronaldo and play him up top, but we don't have money (he spent it) so has to work with what's available, good managers get the most from their team

Roland is right, Stop blaming Mario! Some of you people`s comments sound like they came out of BR`s media playbook. He did not sign himself, the manager oversaw his arrival YET doesn`t wanna take responsibility for the boy`s woes. BR oversaw his signing with NO plan on how to get the best out of him. I don`t care who you have as the striker, even Suarez struggled in that mundane, possession footie BR shoved Balo into and NONE of the strikers performed in that system. IMO, BR pretty much washed his hands off him and hangs him out to dry in the media every chance he gets. Steve Bruce is the ONLY manager to defend Balo and encourage him and he can`t get any help from his own manager. What does that tell you? It tells me that BR is a self-serving politician and like Lucas, Sahko and Suso, if he wants you to fail, you more than likely will. Balo is also to blame and I think he is trying and due to his trying too hard, he is struggling even more. BUT we called him, he didn`t call us BR mismanaged the Balo situation by constantly trashing the boy in public EVEN tho it is clear the boy is trying (got chances in the Utd game and other gaes BUT still didn`t score BUT still hustled to get into position). If Balo was scoring, BR would be parading himself in the media as a genius who transfomed Balo. Now that he has contributed a bit to the boy`s failure, he is now washing his hands off him. Now he has gone again and stuck the boot in about Balo in the media yet again. PATHETIC! He is a Liverpool player and the manager should try to put him in a situation to succeed. BR will NEVER take responsibility for anything because he always seems to have an excuse for everything meaning, he takes responsibility for NOTHING, including Balo`s issues. For those that know nothing about Balo, he is supremely tough mentally and NOTHING you say to him, will break him because he is a beast in that realm. He responds mostly to trust, responsibility and confidence like Prandelli (who I like) was able to get out of him at the Euros where he was one of the stars of the competition. Rant Over!

P/S: Balo has won ore trophies in his young career than BR ever will in his. FACT!

26 Jan 2015 14:49:09
Sorry to continue but is talented just not utilised, in fairness is a handful to deal with but a manager should think of how to deal with that before taking him on.

Has 3 serie A titles, BPL title, super italia cup, coppa italia, fa cup (MOTM in the final as well), a CL, and a Europa league runners up at 24 yrs old. May be hard work but is something there to work with and getting nothing from him and is common knowledge he is hard work - so why buy him if you aren't willing to put the work in?

Or look at lovren, fantastic last season and now can't make the bench. Or sakho, France starting CB that is only getting played because rodgers had no other options (bought lovren to replace him).

Two starting XIs worth of players rodgers hasn't gotten anything out of and it is all the players fault? If you crash 5 cars in a row can't really say that they were rubbish, more likely you're at bad driver

You are awesome w/ your posts Roland.

26 Jan 2015 21:01:13
Not good with sarcasm so cheers! Just think he is being made a scapegoat and need to look at BR transfers as a whole plus his constant damaging of players careers (suso, ilori, aspas, borini, sakho, Moses, assaidi, etc)

Get a room Roland and Redohio! BR is to blame for signing Mario. But everyone knew he had an attitude problem. That was there before he arrived and unfortunately continues to linger. If you were a striker such as Borini what kind of message does it send if Mario gets in the squad when he "allegedly" refuses to train if it's too cold? needs to make an example. Sure this is inconsistent when Johnson still gets in the side but two wrongs don't make a right after all

26 Jan 2015 22:01:06
I might just get a room! But tbf "allegedly refused to train" until I hear it from a reliable source I don't believe it. Even did an interview where they went through stories printed about mario with the man himself and he laughed about how many were made up - tabloids sell papers, facts come second (lfc fans know this).

Agree he doesn't help himself but IMO manager has made the situation far worse! mario has shown he has great talent but is troubled, in fairness shouldn't need help (grown adult paid a fortune) but we knew this before and added to that BR history of not getting the most out of players makes me think it is harsh to blame everything on him.

End of the day BR wants to sell him, but wants more money then anyone's willing to offer so can't. So has to get something out of him or he can join aspas, borini, Alberto, ilori, Allen, and assaidi in players Rodgers bought then in a few months gave up on and tossed aside

Nice one, Higgins! If indeed Balo refused to train then he needs to be dealt with for sure. This does not change the fact that BR is to blame for the Mario fiasco BUT as nothing is ever his fault, he continue to talk about him in the media even when nobody asks him to just to save his skin.

BR needs to work with what he has at his disposal. With that in mind, if a player doesn't bring his side to the party then the manager has to work with other players in his team. We are LIVERPOOL (the biggest club in the world) and we demand results NOW! We can't waste time on wasted talent; Balo has to man up and play for the team, the club, the fans, his team mates and his manager.

26 Jan 2015 06:36:47
Delph sign's 4 and a half yeat Aston Villa contract.

What a relief!!

vrcomp
Y.N.W.A.

Its just me then. . ok. ha ha

26 Jan 2015 02:16:01
Anyone else think sterling hasn't quite earned his 100k a week contract yet?

Personally as it stands right now I can see him being the next defoe/walcott/lennon/wright-phillips type player.

Tipped to be world class future prospect but got found out very quickly then failed to reach the heights they were heading for.

Its evident already this season. Very rarely beats a place with his skill because anyone who has watched him play know what he is going to do.

Wouldn't be surprised if his agent is trying for a huge contract now because he can see it aswell.

I hope I'm wrong but I've had that feeling a few times

Sorry, but even out of position, Sterling is still scoring goals and being a general menace. He may not be overly consistent, but on his day he's almost unplayable.

I personally had my doubts about him in his first full season with in the 2012/13 season, but he's been pretty much our best player this season as well as being an excellent performer last season. The boy is going to be magic in a few years.

First of all no footballer should be paid 100k a week, not even Ronaldo or Messi let alone Sterling. It also feel like he is blackmailing us because he knows how desperatly we need him and in the current climate there will probably be other teams who will pay him these ridiculus amounts. I personally wouldn't be angry with the owners if they tell him listen this is what we are willing to pay - not good, go elsewhere.

It will be a shmae if he goes although it wouldn't be like losing the new Ronaldo. I think there are still a lot of weaknesses to his game, his decision making in the last third is poor and his passing and finish far from perfect. He is still good enough to score or make an assist every other game and would probably be better than that if play in a team with top scorers. For that reason he is not in the same leauge as the players you mentioned. On the other hand, IMO hs has sill a long way to get ot he level of players like Hazard or Ruben which have similar style of play and similar dribbling abilities and strength to him but are better passer have a much better finish and lose the ball less than him. Will he imprve to to that level? I am not sure. He night but I am not sure.

Any excuse to attack Raheem Sterling.
That is what I am seeing.

26 Jan 2015 07:52:29
In terms of the general way of the world? No. In terms of being arguably our most talented footballer, certainly our most valuable asset, and most likely the biggest blow we can have to lose him so we have to keep hold of him? Yes, he's earn't it. Especially if you don't want to be renegotiating contracts with him every season

I think he's the most consistently dangerous player we have (after factoring in Studge's injuries), and has the most potential, however he's not perfect yet and his finishing and crossing/passing are not world class. He clearly needs more time to develop before he can be compared to Bale or Ronaldo but I think he could get there. We also have Coutinho and Llalana as top class no.10's to back him up if he leaves so were not backs against the wall.

In short, I think he should absolutely be kept and we should do everything reasonable to reward him for his importance to the club, and his future potential, but not to the point of being held hostage. I don't think 100k is hostage though so long as it doesn't get ramped up again in the coming year or two!

If he does happen to leave for a great fee and we get a world class striker like benzema in his place, we'll survive and arguably we'd be fixing a far bigger gap in the bigger picture with Coutinho and Llalana around.

Its supply and demand.

With all the money in the game coming from TV revenue's its the way the game is going.

He is, by far, one of the most talented 20 year old's around at thi present moment in time and if 100K a week is what is needed for him to sign and LFC can afford to sustain it, then i for one have no objections to it being paid.

The only alternative is for him to run down his contact and we end up losing him for peanuts. (Suso ring any bells??)

vrcomp
Y.N.W.A.

I personally think Liverpool fans drasctically over rate Sterling. I don't think he's worth 100k at the moment. in fact at best half of that.

I also don't agree he's been our best player this year, that for me has clearly been either Lllana when he's been played or coutinho, who's hit a consistent run of good games throughout December and Jnauary, or Sakho when he's been played. I'd have Sterling lower than all of them, he did not look comfortable out on the right at all, and looks lost in the the striker position, so how people think he's playing well is baffling.

If sterling is our most talented player then we're screwed. All he's got really is pace and a couple of step overs which have been found out already just like what happened to all the players I mentioned above. Like I said. I hope I'm wrong but watch this space.

{Ed001's Note - that is very harsh on the lad. He has a lot more than stepovers to his game. He is a very skilful and tricky player, he is just concentrating on doing things to be effective, rather than being flashy. Nothing wrong with that at all.}

Totally agree, he might be doing well but certainly not worth 100k per week. not at the moment anyhow.

How do we know that he wants 100k per week?

26 Jan 2015 10:35:00
Whether he is worth 100K a week or not is largely irrelevant 0 it's what other clubs are willing to pay that drives the wage levels.

26 Jan 2015 10:41:35
I think what we need to ask is whether he could get 100k playing elsewhere, and I think he could. There are plenty of teams out there who will offer him that. It's not always about paying what players are worth, it's about keeping up with the competition. He has been a real asset this season, he works hard and without him no doubt we would have struggled immensely.

Seriously, do people like to downplay sterling's importance to us just to seem contrarian and 'different'?

sterling, however his overall performances may have been from game to game, has played with fire and desire throughout the year, every time he gets the ball he's looking to make something happen, to run at defenders and create for himself or others, he doesn't shy away or disappear when he's been expected to produce, and it's not his fault that for much of the season rodgers has expected him to be the solitary sparkplug of our offence, or that the press keeps hyping him up as the great hope of english football (which he could very well be). but i don't think anybody can deny that even with all this on his shoulders (nobody expects that from lallana or coutinho) he has done pretty decently and shown an incredibly positive attitude throughout as the press breathes down his neck and he gets kicked from post to post game in and game out. through all this, it is pretty plain for everybody to see that he is always improving, and that he could be two or three times the player that he is in the near future

think about the fact that sterling nearly dropped off the face of the earth after impressing with his first few appearances, worked through a lot of the obstacles that were preventing him from developing his game, and is continuing to learn from week to week, now the kid is rated as the most exciting young talent in europe.

it really baffles me how anybody would say that coutinho or lallana are our best players, in terms of form maybe coutinho is head and shoulders above everybody else right now, and lallana has turned in some man of the match performances for sure this year, but it seems to me that sterling is always the opposition defence's main concern, and is the only player besides stevie who would shoulder the responsibility of producing the magic required to win a game. would you play coutinho all the way up front, or lallana, and expect them to adapt and perform? it says something about sterling's character that BR would play sterling in a variety of roles and know that he won't crumble because of all the pressure heaped on his shoulders

whether he's worth 100K+ or not is another matter altogether, though i do expect that he would do well whereever he ends up because he has grit and developing intelligence besides his pace and athleticism, but it just really irks me when people say ibe could replace him (maybe, but who really knows?), that suso is better, that sterling is a load of hype, or whatever, seems rather disrespectful and, dare i say it, ignorant

Compared to most of the others at the club picking up 100k+ then yes I think he deserves that.

If GJ got 100k plus a week for years doing next to nothing then, Raheem deserves 200k a week, IMO.