For me, the big thing about this whole Raheem Sterling palaver is that I don’t actually agree with either of the two prevailing arguments that seem to be currently raging at the moment.
Those arguments seem to be either
A) Sterling wants out of Liverpool so he can get more money elsewhere
Or
B) Sterling wants out of Liverpool because they aren’t a big enough club anymore to match his ambitions
To me, neither of those arguments really comes into the situation at all. For me, this is very much a case of
C) Raheem Sterling wants to guarantee success, and he’s not below having it handed to him if needs be
It’s a sad fact of life that a lot of players today would rather go to an already successful club rather than graft and earn success where they currently are.
It’s why players like Adam Johnson and Sean Wright-Phillips leave “smaller” clubs to go and sit on a bench and pad their medal income. Ultimately, players want a sure thing. Rather than work hard at a club with aspirations, yet also limitations, players would rather get the guaranteed success.
That’s not to say that all these players go to clubs knowing that they aren’t going to have prominent roles. I’m sure Scott Parker thought he was going to be a pivotal part of Chelsea’s Premier League challenges. I’m sure Owen Hargreaves thought that when he moved to Man City, he’d get to play more than he did. I’m sure Joleon Lescott didn’t think he was going to get frozen out of that same City side when he left Everton.
Players don’t consciously go somewhere for an easy ride and nor do they go somewhere with a certainty that they can’t earn a slot in the first team, but it has to be in the back of their minds.
Be honest, who wouldn’t like to say they were a Premier League Champion? If someone said you could play 8-10 games a season and still get a medal and run around the pitch with a cup, wouldn’t you take it? You’d at least consider it.
Raheem Sterling could sign with Chelsea in the summer and could very well have a Premier League medal in his back pocket by the end of just one season. But if he did make a move to a Chelsea, or a Man City or a Real Madrid, how much playing time would he actually see?
I don’t think Sterling would be a first choice starter for any of those teams. Chelsea and City would be signing him primarily to fill their English player quota. Yeah, he’d probably get some games, but nowhere near as much as he would at Liverpool.
Madrid would be signing him so they could market the fact that they’d purchased one of Europe’s most promising players. There’s no way he’d get straight into that side. He’d probably have 2 years or so toiling there before he’d even play a handful of games. And if he did ever get a game, he’d be under the harsh scrutiny of the Madrid Media and Ultra Groups.
And that’s not because he isn’t any good, he’s just not THAT good yet.
I’ve always felt that Sterling could be a player who plays regularly for a top side. However, I always maintained that opinion under the assumption that he’d get there after 2-3 years being the big star at Liverpool and playing regularly for both them and England.
If Sterling were to stay at Liverpool, he’d by THE guy. He’d be the player whose job it would be to carry the club. It would be a high pressure role but ultimately one that would prepare him for the future.
The inbuilt media sympathy for all things LFC would in some ways cocoon him from the harshest element of the pressure. So long as he was grafting, excuses and platitudes would be cultivated for him amongst the usual gaggle of simpering hacks and LFC apologists (And we all know who they are).
All the ex-players having a go at him would soon change their tune if he signed a new contract. He’d be back to being a great young talent again and all this Jordan Ibe talk would be forgotten. They’d create a bubble of protection for him, so long as he “behaves”
If Sterling is to be the player I personally think he could develop into, he’s got the absolute best chance of becoming that player if he stays at Liverpool.
He’s developed well there and I think a season or two more at Liverpool would be incredibly beneficial to him. They have, up until the past week, been very good to him and he’s responded in kind with some excellent performances.
He could do his big move in 2 years. It benefits both parties. It benefits Liverpool, because they’ll net a tidy sum and retain the usage of a talented player, and it benefits Sterling because he will be a better player at the end of it who could likely walk into a top side and get regular games.
If Sterling skips town and heads to Chelsea, he’ll sit on a bench and collect a medal, but his development will slump due to lack of regular games. He’s not ready, he really, really isn’t.
He’s still so pitifully young. Right now, he needs to think about his development as a player. I think neither Sterling or Liverpool have come out of this situation looking all that good, but if both sides could get around a table and sort out a contract extension, I really think it’s the best outcome for both parties at this current juncture.
With all that said, I expect him to be unveiled as a Man City player as soon as the season finishes.
Football eh?
Peace Out
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