Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling revealed two days ago that contract negotiations with the club were taking 'longer than expected', but it now seems that the 18-year has finally reached an agreement with the club.
Sterling is set to sign a new five-year deal at some point over the next two days, which is great news for Liverpool.
Manchester United and Arsenal were reportedly preparing £15m bids for Sterling, and to be honest, if the club had decided to sell, I would've been fine with it.
It may be a minority view, but I just don't rate Sterling as highly as everyone else. Granted, he's only 18, but his end product/final ball leaves a lot to be desired, and 1 goal/2 assists in 26 appearances is not the greatest return.
If Tom Ince signs in January, I'd much rather see him take Sterling's position for most games, and with 13 goals and 9 assists in 20 games so far this season, Ince is clearly the more effective and consistent creator.
If I was Ince, I would only move back to Anfield if Rodgers provided some kind of guarantee of first-team football. The possibility of wasting away on the bench was the main reason the 20-year old left Liverpool in the first place, as he confirmed recently:
"I worked with some great people [at Liverpool] but I didn’t want to sign a four-year deal and not play. Blackpool gave me the stage to play regularly and I haven’t looked back".
If - as is looking increasingly likely - LFC sign both Ince and Sturridge, I don't see how Rodgers can accommodate Sterling and Ince in the same team on a regular basis. Suarez is always going to play if he's fit, and Sturridge would surely play regularly, so it's likely to be one or the other in most games? Possible permutations:
EXAMPLE 1
-------------------- Sturridge
Sterling ----------------------------- Suarez
EXAMPLE 2
-------------------- Sturridge
Ince ----------------------------- Suarez
EXAMPLE 3
-------------------- Suarez
Sterling ----------------------------- Sturridge
EXAMPLE 3
-------------------- Suarez
Ince ----------------------------- Sturridge
Additionally, where do Fabio Borini, Oussama Assaidi and Suso fit in? My personal preference is Example 2, and I just hope that Rodgers doesn't favour Sterling over Ince when it comes to pitch time.
I don't see the point in signing Ince if he's not going to be a regular first-teamer, and with Sterling in need of smart-management to avoid burn-out, there's no real excuse not to play Ince consistently if he signs.
Having said that, the same argument could've been made when Oussama Assaidi signed for the club. Assaidi is older and much more experienced that Sterling, and I'm sure most Liverpool fans thought he'd be playing regularly, but for some inexplicable reason, Rodgers has barely utilised him.
It will be incredibly frustrating if the same thing happens with Ince, who in my view is a more effective player at this stage than Sterling.
Jaimie Kanwar
Sterling is set to sign a new five-year deal at some point over the next two days, which is great news for Liverpool.
Manchester United and Arsenal were reportedly preparing £15m bids for Sterling, and to be honest, if the club had decided to sell, I would've been fine with it.
It may be a minority view, but I just don't rate Sterling as highly as everyone else. Granted, he's only 18, but his end product/final ball leaves a lot to be desired, and 1 goal/2 assists in 26 appearances is not the greatest return.
If Tom Ince signs in January, I'd much rather see him take Sterling's position for most games, and with 13 goals and 9 assists in 20 games so far this season, Ince is clearly the more effective and consistent creator.
If I was Ince, I would only move back to Anfield if Rodgers provided some kind of guarantee of first-team football. The possibility of wasting away on the bench was the main reason the 20-year old left Liverpool in the first place, as he confirmed recently:
"I worked with some great people [at Liverpool] but I didn’t want to sign a four-year deal and not play. Blackpool gave me the stage to play regularly and I haven’t looked back".
If - as is looking increasingly likely - LFC sign both Ince and Sturridge, I don't see how Rodgers can accommodate Sterling and Ince in the same team on a regular basis. Suarez is always going to play if he's fit, and Sturridge would surely play regularly, so it's likely to be one or the other in most games? Possible permutations:
EXAMPLE 1
-------------------- Sturridge
Sterling ----------------------------- Suarez
EXAMPLE 2
-------------------- Sturridge
Ince ----------------------------- Suarez
EXAMPLE 3
-------------------- Suarez
Sterling ----------------------------- Sturridge
EXAMPLE 3
-------------------- Suarez
Ince ----------------------------- Sturridge
Additionally, where do Fabio Borini, Oussama Assaidi and Suso fit in? My personal preference is Example 2, and I just hope that Rodgers doesn't favour Sterling over Ince when it comes to pitch time.
I don't see the point in signing Ince if he's not going to be a regular first-teamer, and with Sterling in need of smart-management to avoid burn-out, there's no real excuse not to play Ince consistently if he signs.
Having said that, the same argument could've been made when Oussama Assaidi signed for the club. Assaidi is older and much more experienced that Sterling, and I'm sure most Liverpool fans thought he'd be playing regularly, but for some inexplicable reason, Rodgers has barely utilised him.
It will be incredibly frustrating if the same thing happens with Ince, who in my view is a more effective player at this stage than Sterling.
Jaimie Kanwar
As soon as we bench Sterling, and BR said it's time to do it, we'll get his best.
ReplyDeletei don't think we should be worrying about where he and he would fit in. it's just creating more depth for us. if sterling has to spend more time on the bench, that could only be good for him considering he's only 18, provided he still gets enough game time
ReplyDeleteBy now its quite clear that Sterling cant yet handle a full season in PL. he is tired and cant produce form constantly. He is talent and i think with a manager like Rodgers he can have a bright future.
ReplyDeleteThen again Sturridge, more of a central striker kind of player, a bit selfish, allways looking to score. i think he is just what Liverpool needs. he is a young lad with good feet, pace, and ability to cut inside and score goals. our wingers really have lacked that whole season.I doubt that he can play disciplined football and backtrack to aid defence. but then again im certain that he will outscore the rest of midfield from january to end of season if he comes in and starts games.
Ince is intresting. for 4 mil id buy him back and rotate sterling and him at the other side and offload downing alltogether, he is rubbish.
Borini as backup for suarez in central striker. Doubt Suarez has it in him to play over 40 games a season for 90+ minutes and his form wouldnt dip?
And for the people calling Borini a flop? its too early. what ive seen him, he has good touch and positioning + he makes very clever runs, i want to see more of him. i want to see him start games against lesser oppositions. and we still are superior to most of teams in PL , we just lack the cutting edge going forward. once we find remedy to a problem , why we stop the play when we are 30m from opposition goal. and a player to give the perfect final pass (which could be sahin but he is not playing), well be just..... dandy.
there's a very big difference between the championship and premier league. as a 17 year old he's already proved himself in the top flight and been capped, and you want him sold! clown.
ReplyDeletesomeone willing to ship out 20mil which seems to be rate for decent british young player. id move him too. i think with this whole contract mess Sterling has shown some sort of attitude problem. 17 year old kid with 3 kids?!? and wasnt there somekind of assault claim. im a bit more concerned bout sterlings frame of mind that sturridges.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, no point in signing Ince if he plays Sterling. May as well save £6 million. But if he does play Ince more, or mix it up with both, then Im happy to see him come. Just a shame we let him go for free...
ReplyDeletewhy dont you apply for managers job if you know more than BR who spend more time with player than you, you are proper d1k head
ReplyDeleteKanwar shut up u low life peice of fucking scum I go on a real website called liverpool rumours and not one fucking fan likes u your a little smear on society you should av been a sain in the bed sheets!
ReplyDeleteI think Ince will turn out to be the better of these 2 signings as he'll be in direct competition with Sterling. IMO Sterling has seemed a bit comfortable with his playing time, why else would he drag his contract talks out, he knows he's going to play the majority of games so why not get more money...
ReplyDeleteInce will make Sterling have to raise his game and surely the next step in Sterling's development, although maybe a little early, is for direct competition for a starting place every week.
In regards to Sturridge, I'd rather we tried to take Bent on a 6 month loan with an option to buy for the same £12m. I'd bet the wages would be similar to whatever Sturridge would ask for. I also think we need an older more experienced head upfront to provide a bit more leadership and his record is miles ahead of Sturridge's
At 6m minus the sell-on clause I can't see much wrong with signing Ince. And I can't see why Sterling signing a new contract is bad news for Ince either. Sterling has played too much for my liking, and it shows. Having another forward player in his position isn't the worst idea. Also heard (rather read) that Sturridge may well not end up with us. Guess we can get someone better for that kind of money.
ReplyDeleteSterling has three kids? Never heard of that to be honest. You're right about the attitude problem though. He more than once kicked out at opponents after going down himself, which, according to the rules, is a red card offence.
ReplyDeleteJaimie you have hit the nail on the head...and its one of the points i keep banging on about...we seem to keep signing players without any notion of how they will fit in or how to utilize them...the numbers just don't stack up no matter how you analyze it....Ince and sturidge want first team football that is clear.....that means borini ( 11m fee by the way )Assadi ( 24 years old) Sterling ( who i feel will throw his toys out of the pram if we upset him ) and suso ( arguably the one with the most potential )and potentially Gerrard, Enrique ,shelvey ,downing ,yesil,morgan, carroll ,cole ....will have to be placated in some ways to stop disharmony and devaluation....im not mentioning suarez like you say because hes a cert....id like someone to tell me these reasons arnt valid or rogers has a plan but i just cant see it. ps i know ive repeated most of jamies points but its so annoying what seems to be happening
ReplyDelete--------------------Suarez
ReplyDeleteInce--------------------------------Sterling
--------------------Suso
-------------Allen-----------Shelvey
or
--------------------Suarez
Ince--------------------------------Sterling
-------------Allen----------Shelvey
--------------------Lucas
depth is all when and good when your competing for the big prizes on all fronts, when you are not unless you have a highly motivational manager you have a lot of players on a lot of money milling about getting frustrated.
ReplyDeletetbh I did say the same thing about preferring Ince's game to Sterling's well before we let him go (back when everybody was harping on about his apparent 'bad attitude'). Having both competing for a starting slot will be great for LFC though - we need options that offer different qualities and also need good competition to push the young players to continue to improve.
ReplyDeleteNeither Ince nor Sterling would be starting for any other team with top 4 aspirations though and we should be no different. They are both good prospects, but not starter quality yet.
I'd still like to see another pacey centre-forward arrive, with Suarez primarily used as another wide-forward, giving us a versatile young strike force full of options;
Starting attacking line: Suarez - New CF - Sturridge
Backup attacking line: (Sterling/Assaidi) - (Sturrudge/Suarez) - (Ince/Assaidi)
there are no lesser games in the PL .....Villa and Swansea are proof of that ..if you do not plat your INFORM eleven from the off chances are you will get beat or draw
ReplyDelete- I've never had any confidence in Borini, from the time that we were rumoured to be interested in him, and still look at him as a reserve calibre striker (that cost us starters money), who offers little more than the likes of Yesil/Morgan/Ngoo etc.
ReplyDelete- I like the look of Assaidi as he obviously has lots of pace and skill, and although he hasn't shown any goal threat for us, he does have a record of goalscoring so deserves time to play his way into form for us.
- Suso is a central player and is not done any service by being deployed out wide
Because England are crap and hodgson is in charge...pitty he wasn't still at west brom..if he he spent 4m on poulson he would buy downing for 30m and double coles wages
ReplyDeleteVery negative debate, its always good to have competition.
ReplyDeleteWandered what took you so long..
ReplyDeletewhere does everyone get the idea he's a bad lad. The press! As far as I am aware he's not been in any serious trouble on or off the pitch and he is entitled to a decent contract. Especially compared with others out of the first team
ReplyDeleteI am not really rating Sterling, and also, not at all impressed with Gerrard either this season. £15 mil for Allen was insane...he's not done much at all either...
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see Ince back, but not Sturridge..He isn't really up to it...
I'd much prefer Lucas, Shelvey, and Suso as our midfield 3. Assaidi and Suarez as the wide men, and bring in a serious 25 a season goal scorer!! we also need to shift Skrtel, and I don't rate him as much as people are..and finally, whatever plaudits Enrique might be getting, he needs to go as well as Downing! rant over...hehehe
Ince is perfect, as rotating him with Sterling will give them both 20 or so games in a full season with cups. This will maintain hunger, and avoid burnout. Ince has yet to prove he can still do what he does in the Champoinship in the Prem, and there would be too much pressure on him leading to loss of form. Both can develop at a proper pace, foro 4m for goodness' sake. No brainer. And yes, we do need depth. We are aiming high, remembver, in the medium term. Look how many teams have been left with few options following two or more injuries at the same time. Even Utd suffered with that most of last season (Carrick at CH)
ReplyDeleteIf we are relly going to rejoin the top clubs we need to stop having these thoughts. Too many good young players? Tell that to Barca or Dortmund!
If we ever get there, there's always the loan market.
Thats utter nonsene...most attacking players do this especially when consistently kicked because your an elusive person. dont jump on the 'oh he's got attitude' bandwagon his attitudes been spot on.
ReplyDelete"Reds to use Carroll to land Ba." Sounds good,plus there is money for Ince there...
ReplyDeleteIve said for a while that Sterling doesn`t do enough. His position means he has to score min 10 goals a season. He is very young, and I dont think we should be on his back too much, just think he is being used wrong. He should always come on from the bench. Give him more time to adapt, grow and be used when other teams are tired to use his pace and skills against tiring fullbacks, this should hopefully get him a few goals. I would prefer Ince to start and Sterling to come on later in the game. Both can be amazing players if we use them wisely.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Sterling should be a squad player rather a guaranteed starter at this point in his career, but I'm not sure that Ince is the player that we need to relieve him.
ReplyDeleteI'd much rather have Suarez and Sturridge as our starting wide forwards, with Ince, Sterling and Assaidi as their alternatives, and a new centre-forward joining to play through the middle. (Borini to drop to 4th choice centre forward status, just as Chicarito/Welbeck/Dzeko are at the Manchester clubs)
If you don't see he's got attitude maybe you don't really know which one is him...
ReplyDeleteAgree with most of that. Trouble we have is Suarez getting a longer term injury God forbid. Our options don't look so good with him out, take a look at Jamie's examples and take Suarez out and you'll see what I mean. With Borini as the main striker the left/right side forwards really need to be up to scratch
ReplyDeleteI see your point, but I think BR will keep Luis as the main central striker. I might be wrong but I just get that hunch. I think he will use (if signed) Sturridge out wide and Ince on the other side. With Sterling, Borini and Assaidi as the back ups. Its still a pretty weak back up line. Ince has looked real good, just will he also look so good in the Prem??? I`m not so sure. If we had the cash, I would say sign Ince but loan him back to Blackpool for the rest of the season so he can carry on improving. Then sign someone else. I can`t see Ince being happy with being on the bench for us, as that was the main reason he left. This would make him unhappy and more than likely play worse for us.
ReplyDeleteIn fact I would have said loaning him instead of selling him might have been a better option to start with, but hindsight does help there lol
ReplyDeleteDzecko is 3rd choice but take your point. We need 4 good options for sure
ReplyDeleteyou mean wondered...
ReplyDeleteWalcott, Sturridge and Ince. OMG I would love it if we got them three. So much stronger in the attack, so many more options....It is xmas I can dream (while still keeping it within possible targets terms) can`t I.
ReplyDelete--------Walcott----------
ReplyDelete--Suarez------Sturridge--
With Ince, Sterling, Borni, as direct back up.
Wont happen, but does look good
Wondered while wandering through the site, squandering my time... Am I off the hook?
ReplyDeleteonly thing signing ince that i dont quite like is the fact that we let him go once already. It shows the lack of judgement and vision by the club lately, up untill BR came anyhow. letting players walk near free and then signing them a year later. Also the unwillingness to tap the talent from so called "lesser leagues" i think there is something seriously wrong with our scouting department as it is.
ReplyDeletenow it begins to seem that Sturridge deal is off. im keeping fingers crossed for Hooper (who is realistic target). Banging loads of goals in scottish premier. Again people are going to claim that scottish premier is BullS***. it is tough physical league fact. i rate him over Jelavic who hasnt turned out to be such a poor player either.
If Dzeko is 3rd choice, then Balotelli is 4th choice.
ReplyDeleteEitherways, they're both a hell of a lot better than Borini yet have to make do with their spot on the bench
Ince left because he wasn't getting a look in in the first team at all, rather than because he was on the bench.
ReplyDeleteAt this point in his career, he shouldn't realistically expect to be a guaranteed starter for a team with European ambitions, but even as a backup to a new front 3 he (and Sterling) could legitimately plan to easily get +20 starts a season in all competitions (10 league + 10 cup...) which would be enough to develop him adequately imo. Assuming of course that Rodgers learns to rotate the squad and drop even key players every now and again to keep the squad fresh...
I don't jump on any bandwagon. Simply talking about my personal observations. Retaliation is a red card offence. It actually doesn't even matter whether he succeeds in kicking back as the attempt is punishable. Gladly for young Raheem refs don't have replays and slow-motions, otherwise he would have been sent off a fair few times by now. And I actually don't care if others do it too. That is never a good excuse. If the others jump from a high building, do you jump too?
ReplyDeleteOf course he has an attitude,and yes he does kick out at players,not so much because he is being booted around the park but he"s p***ed off,step over left,right, left again,nutmeg fail,oh well i"m thin enough maybe i can go right through him,now he is on the deck frustrated.Let him be a star in minor league another year,beef up and work on 'tude.jmo.
ReplyDelete