http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/br-confident-on-birthday-boy-deal Sterling is offical a man now... he can drink legally... take responsibility for his own actions and own up for all those kids... no seriously. I think its time to say his perfromances so far have been good but not spectacular and he needs to start building his career. He's small, light and full of talent and its a big ask for him to be all he can be instantly. I hope is actually signs a deal and then starts to follow this "progression plan" rodgers is on about. In 5 years Sterling could be the very biggest star in english football... but he's a lot of work to do to get there. So far he's not a Rooney or Owen but we're also using him in every game which i think is becoming an issue. I just hope in 5 years he's not injury prone or a SWP type figure. The boy is lucky to have a regular starting slot at a club where he's got a chance to play at a highish level without that much pressure. If he tries a SWP path and flips about rich clubs he could easily end up at the likes of qpr or sold down even more. He'll still play for england along that path but I think if he gives if 5 years he can then choose that move. After all being realistic we bought him for 500k we didn't develop a local lad so if he chooses to move and we make oodles of dosh we can't stop it... frankly in the "old days" we wished souness and rush well and improved. Just cos we became so unprofessional we let owen and mcmanaman hurt us by being unprepared its not sterlings fault for moving if he wants to. I beleive that apply this thinking and you'll see the only two valid reasons for hating torres are the facts that first he basically lied and insulted LFC in what he said before and after said deal and the fact it was done so late in a transfer window. Its not ok to hate torres cos our team is muck , we wasted the cash not him. So i say to sterling, keep saying nothing. let rodgers tals all he wants. make no promises you can't keep and know that you've a lot of work to do to be the player LFC think you can be. Surely this is the best way to think of players? Alonso not gerrard or torres should be his example.
Sterling currently can't control the ball without looking at it, and anyone who gets within 3 foot of him walk away with the ball. So far all I can see that he does have is pace. Now he did have these other skills at the start of the season, but as he has been played so much, his game has faded. We really need to rest him for a couple of weeks.
There is a lot in what Noblelox says. Whilst he has maintained the pace, he appears to have less trust in is own control. For his own good I think he needs Assidi, Yessil and Suso to step up to the plate and take the load off him. If he carries on as he is then I predict a repetition of the Lennon story - lots of pace but little outcome. Or, worse still, another Owen.
Bit harsh IMO. The lads been a breath of fresh air this season. Sure he could work on his finishing and he could be more adventurous with the ball (didn't Rodgers have a go at him for dancing with the ball too much?) but he eighteen years old today! He needs to be rested every now and again but at the minute he is a key player, when the second string have been struggling we have seen him along with Gerrard and Suarez introduced to change things. He is much better defensively than he was and his work ethic as improved too.
This. Give him a break or we will expect too much and he will fail. Tracks back really well and can actually tackle so he is getting better at things he isn't used to doing. Good sign
I think we need to play him on the same wing as Jonno all the time. Jonno is one of our best and most consistent players at the mo
I have to disagree with some of the above, I think he could do all of those things in training without much hassle, his brains gotta work twice as fast during a match and he just has not got the experience to make those snap decisions as he's not been in enough of those situations. He's shown great strength, yeah he's lost the ball but also won it back from much bigger players too, often so considering his size that's been good enough, he's a battler but I see little temperament issues that need to be curbed. He's shown a cool head at the start, got his eyes on a bit of glory lately which sees him running into crowded areas and making silly errors. He's lost his edge because he's played too much, he needs to step back and absorb what he's learned and then back in for another spell. Right now his sheen has been dulled. Pace strength and decision making beyond his years, he adapted very quickly, he has game intelligence and natural ability, he works on the rest, a real player for the future but a long way to go for the lad, I hope he lives up to his POtential
I still feel that there is just a little too much optimism about Sterling. Yes he has dome well but he is far from being the finished article. He is NOT as advanced as Owen was at the same age. My concern however is that he may end up suffering the same fate.
I agree with those who think maybe we're expecting too much from the lad. The end product isn't quite there yet, but he more than pulls his weight in the team, tackling back in a way that belies the fact that his kit weighs about as much as he does. Last year, when people were clamouring for him to be called up, I thought he needed to be bled in carefully. At that age, and with his body type you have to be careful not to stretch him too much while he's still growing. Owen suffered badly from too much too soon. Rooney was different because he was built like a brick ****house from about 15. Raheem needs careful mentoring, to make sure he isn't pushed too far physically, and to keep his feet on the ground metaphorically. Anyway, belated happy birthday to him. It was my birthday too, but I've got a few years on him.
Interesting read about Sterling and in a way I think both sides are right. He has been a breath of fresh air in that it is great to have young talent come through again and it's nice to have pace up front as an option. He has however not justified a lot of the hype in terms of actually delivering an end product to a lot of his good work. Personally what concerned me more than anything was how his attitude would be once he made the step up to the first team. Either you can judge this on what you read in the papers about contract talks or you can judge it on what you see on the pitch. Where the paper talk is concerned I hope it's all bollocks, I'd love him to sign and stay at Anfield because I think it will benefit both us and him. What I've seen on the pitch so far in terms of attitude and commitment I really can't fault. Never moans, works really really hard, plays like a terrier, doesn't pull out of 50/50s and has linked up well with the full backs especially Johnson. I think Sterling has an issue with the system as well. For a fella with raw pace it will always be less advantageous to play in a team who pass it 40 times before getting to the half way line (slight over exaggeration granted). His best moments so far have come when he's received the ball in front of him with space to get at defenders. It nullifies his best assets when he's getting the ball to feet and has three defenders and a midfielder crowding him. This for me is something we have to work on as a team (counter quicker and play the bloody ball in front of him) and something Sterling has to work on within his own game (finding space better, learning about opposition defenders weaknesses etc). Having just read Saints post above ^^^ I'd like to say a belated Happy Birthday to Hareem Sterling, The Saint and myself for yesterday How bizarre
