(Apologies; this will go behind a fire wall do had to copy & paste) What do we think: are we yet again looking like incompetents in the office? Tony Barrett It was the tweet that was meant to be a denial and an attempt to put the record straight, only for it to create a sense of mystery and intrigue instead. Raheem Sterling responded to claims that he had told Liverpool that he wanted £50,000 a week to stay at the club with an outraged reaction on Twitter, but within minutes of making his feelings known the teenager had deleted the message, probably following advice from his representatives that he wasn’t helping their bargaining position. “Morning tweeps, I’ve just woken up to this rubbish,” Sterling tweeted. “I can assure you that I’ve not asked for that stupid amount. We’re waiting until I’m 18 to sign.” All fine and dandy and all in keeping with the reality of a situation in which Liverpool are yet to open formal negotiations with either the player or his representatives, although tentative soundings-out have been under way for several weeks. Had he stuck to his public position there would have been no further interest and the story which had prompted him to take to Twitter in anger would have been dismissed out of hand. By erasing it, from his own timeline if not the public consciousness, the winger merely added another layer of intrigue to a situation that could and should have been resolved some time ago. That it hasn’t is not the responsibility of Sterling. It is Liverpool who should never have let things drag out this long. The club’s official position is that Sterling cannot sign a long-term contract until he turns 18 on December 8 and that is certainly the case, but Uefa rules do not prevent a player from agreeing a deal in advance of signing it and by failing to do so in this instance Liverpool have put themselves over a barrel when negotiations finally do begin. Contrary to Brendan Rodgers’ assertion this weekend that Sterling “has become a very talented young man in the space of four months”, the 17-year-old’s talent was well known by Liverpool long before they signed him from Queens Park Rangers in February 2010 for an initial fee of £600,000. The reason why they shelled out such a huge amount on a youngster was that he was the most highly rated player in his age group in the country. His talent, therefore, has not been in any doubt from the moment he first walked through the Shankly Gates. So why have Liverpool taken so long to get round to tying Sterling’s future down? There is an argument that they needed to see how he would perform in the first team before committing themselves to an expensive contract that could become a noose around the club’s neck if Sterling fails on the big stage. There is certainly merit to that point of view, but not enough to explain why they are still to agree a deal despite the England international (for that is what he will become tomorrow) being described as one of the best players in his position in the country by Rodgers. The more important question is why Liverpool have allowed Sterling to reach so many career landmarks, the kind which inevitably increase his value, without ensuring both that his future lies with them and that they sign him up before his personal demands rise in keeping with his reputation? Wouldn’t Sterling being called into Rodgers’ squad for Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States have been the signal to get a deal done? If not at that point, then how about after he impressed in his full debut against Manchester City, a club who have kept a watchful eye on his development over the last 12 months? Or perhaps, in the immediate aftermath of Sterling being called into the full England squad for the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine? The meter has been running for several months and at no point have Liverpool done enough to stop it from spinning beyond their control. One thing that is not in any question is that Sterling’s personal demands and value are now at an entirely different value to what they were in August. What might have been a £10,000 – £20,000 weekly contract three months ago is now likely to cost them in the region of £30,000 a week. Considering John W Henry demands “bang for his buck”, it is unlikely that this flawed approach will win favour with Liverpool’s principal owner. Perhaps Henry should look at himself, however, as once again the problems come down to Liverpool’s flawed hierarchical structure. After Damien Comolli was dismissed as director of football last April – the timing of which was necessary to allow the club to prepare for the summer transfer window, according to Henry – no one was appointed as a direct replacement. That meant responsibility for contracts that previously lay with Comolli fell to Ian Ayre, a managing director whose brief seems to grow with every passing day. Unlike Manchester City who are putting a definitive football structure in place, Liverpool do not have a Txiki Begiristain, a Ferran Soriano or a Brian Marwood. And with the numerous changes that have taken place at Anfield in the last two years nor do they have continuity. Ayre is trying to cover up all of the cracks, but with Liverpool appointing a new manager who needed to get to know the players last summer, failing to have a scouting team in place until September and going back on their initial decision to appoint a director of football, responsibility for Sterling’s contract situation could not possibly lie with him. Now Liverpool are in a position in which they are going to have to pay Sterling more than they would want to, either for the health of their finances or the development of a teenager with so much still to learn. They have to come up with a contract that reflects Sterling’s growing importance to the team, the international recognition that has now come his way and, most importantly, the reality that he could leave for nothing more than a compensation payment in 18 months’ time. Should Liverpool fail to pay the going rate then they will run the risk of losing him to someone who will. They now must rely on Sterling and his advisers falling in line with their belief that it is unwise to pay a teenager the kind of salary that could potentially damage him. The director of football model was supposed to prevent this kind of situation from arising by providing continuity through an overseer who is not beholden to results, which was why it was favoured by Henry and his acolytes at Fenway Sports Group. From the moment they dispensed with that approach without bolstering Liverpool’s structure they made it inevitable that this kind of problem would occur, at least until Rodgers becomes experienced and powerful enough to run football operations on his own. Eighteen months ago, Comolli gave an interview in which he insisted Liverpool would not sign anyone who could potentially inhibit Sterling’s progress. He was always destined for the first team and the strong likelihood, given his talent, was that he would flourish once he got there. Liverpool should have been prepared for that eventuality but they weren’t and now Sterling and his advisers will enter into negotiations in the knowledge that the bargaining power lies with them, regardless of the contents of his hastily deleted tweet.
Interesting, imo we have to pay him the wages that he deserves as not only do we want him signed long term but we also want him happy at the club or many years. So forget about his age just pay him for the player he is.
We simply have to cough up. I don't think Raheem will be after £50k (yet) but he will command at least £20k. Who else can we get that is as good and young as him for under £50k per week?
Bit stupid deleting the tweet, it's not as if it is a binding contract. He must be a real **** agent, if he can't negotiate around his client trying to calm the fans.
There's two ways to look at this: 1) He's only 17 years old. Should a young person be on such high wages? Rodgers hates this as he believes young players will lose that drive and hunger if they get paid too much too soon. 2) Wage parity - Downing, Henderson, Carroll are all on significantly higher wages than Raheem. All undeservedly so I might add. Surely a player who plays consistently in the first XI should be on the same wage as the fringe players? (Or at least closer?)
It's a sad state of affairs when a 17 yr old lad sends a tweet to quash new stories & then his agent (who probably seeded the stories in the first place) tells him to remove it, so it doesn't affect his 'position' in regards to his contract negotiations. What has football become? I hate this side of the game.
I think he'll get his £50k in an improved contract in May, after playing a first full season and knowing the likes of Cole are coining it in on the bench on mega wages why wouldn't the kid expect at least £50k?
I think I do agree with the part that it was a no brainer to have an agreement already drawn up. If only a psychological advantage against his agent. Knowing agents though it probably wouldn't have made that much difference once he saw how stuttering our start was & how much we need The lad. It does still smack of that lack of authoritative decision making at paper pushing level. A hesitancy to take any risk at all now which is as bad if not worse thank taking big risks & failing. It makes us look like we lack belief in our direction stated.
As far as I'm concerned, if we paid him the wages he deserved he'd be stuck on his 2k or whatever along with all the other primafuckindonnas in pro football today. I cant believe we talk about these obscene amounts of money as though it weren't mind- bogglingly insane. Not having a go at you, luv- just my regular rant on these things.
I would tell him to **** off. £50000 a week when hes done **** all in his career? Cant believe you guys are even considering it a worthwhile investment. Sure you have some massive piles of **** on higher wages but these players to be fair have done much more as footballers than this Sterling chap has done in his entire life. Hes 17 years old ffs. Cleverly who has done more as a footballer isnt on £50k, I dont think Rafael is. De Gea probably isnt and hes a european trophy winner. Its one thing experienced top class players demanding high wages but a 17 year old nobody who has played a dozen games wanting his wage increased 25 times...... by the time hes 21 he will expect 200k and he will expect it to be paid.
Sterling would get at most 10k elsewhere and not a penny more. the only clubs who would pay him more are the idiot clubs of Chelsea and City and if he was to go there he will be of no threat to Liverpool as he rots away.
This ^ Apparently he has an 'interesting' family and he got thrown out of a club recently. God only knows what 50K a week would do to him
Good stuff as it would be insane. At United there are no 17 year olds getting regular first team appearances but if they did and asked for insane wages I suspect unless they were Messi mkII or Ronaldo mkII they wouldnt play for the club again.
