Liverpool youth player Raheem Sterling has signed his first professional contract with the club.
Sterling turned 17 on the 8th December, and Liverpool wasted no time in tying down the exciting prospect to a pro-contract.
Sterling's bio from the official LFC site:
"The talented winger joined from Queens Park Rangers in February 2010 with a reputation for pace and flair. He made an immediate impact when he scored on his U18s debut in a mini-derby triumph against Everton.
"Since then he has continued to make great strides and at the age of 15, was rewarded with a substitute appearance in the first-team's pre-season defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
"One of the highlights of his fledgling career came during a 9-0 FA Youth Cup thrashing of Southend in early 2010, with Sterling scoring five of the goals.
He has also represented England at youth level and helped his country reach the U17 World Cup quarter-finals in the summer of 2011".
Ian Rush is big fan of Sterling, and recently tipped him to make a breakthrough:
“There are a few young kids coming up. There is one young lad, Raheem Sterling. He is only 17. He is similar to Michael Owen at that age..."
This is great news! Next stop: first team action hopefully...
Jaimie Kanwar
Sterling turned 17 on the 8th December, and Liverpool wasted no time in tying down the exciting prospect to a pro-contract.
Sterling's bio from the official LFC site:
"The talented winger joined from Queens Park Rangers in February 2010 with a reputation for pace and flair. He made an immediate impact when he scored on his U18s debut in a mini-derby triumph against Everton.
"Since then he has continued to make great strides and at the age of 15, was rewarded with a substitute appearance in the first-team's pre-season defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
"One of the highlights of his fledgling career came during a 9-0 FA Youth Cup thrashing of Southend in early 2010, with Sterling scoring five of the goals.
He has also represented England at youth level and helped his country reach the U17 World Cup quarter-finals in the summer of 2011".
Ian Rush is big fan of Sterling, and recently tipped him to make a breakthrough:
“There are a few young kids coming up. There is one young lad, Raheem Sterling. He is only 17. He is similar to Michael Owen at that age..."
This is great news! Next stop: first team action hopefully...
Jaimie Kanwar
Really really want to see him given a chance for the first team, maybe when we're cruising as a sub or in the FA Cup game coming up. I do like the patience being shown by Kenny though, attacking players that are young need that, if they are suddenly the number one striker far too early e.g Ngog then it can shatter them.
ReplyDeleteHe's a minature Babel. No doubt we'll treat him badly somewhere along the line.
ReplyDeleteOn another note is anyone watching the City- Chelsea game? Ray Wilkins sounds like his commentating with a blue scarf on. When Cliche got sent off I could of swear I heard him say 'naa naa na naaa naa' Shocking bias.
Ha ha ha Sky made him apologise LIVE for his outrageous 85mins of bias. For the whole game he went quiet when city were in possession and praised Chelsea with orgasmic sounds every time Ramirez or Mata touched it. He was the same when Fulham played Liverpool. Where do sky get em?
ReplyDeleteAAll credit to the great Rafael Benitez for signing this talent ..whose hard work and someone else is bearing the fruits
ReplyDeleteGive him a chance to break into the first team but we must have patience with young players.
ReplyDeleteHaving been tutored by Rodolfo, it would be safe to assume he's probably almost on par with Jordan Henderson and could possibly make just as big a contribution. Sterling seems to have the confidence that Carroll, Hendo and Downing have yet to exhibit consistently. However, I would agree with the Babel comparison in that he probably doesn't understand the way the rest of the first teamers play yet! Then again, it applies to Carroll and Hendo too. If the kid is not going to make the bench yet, he should definitely be loaned out, maybe to Blackburn who could use him or Swansea who play a similar brand of football.
ReplyDeleteThose idiots comparing Sterling to Babel your are only doing that because he shares the same skin colour.
ReplyDeleteSterling is NOTHING like babel other than sharing the same skin tone and your lazy comparisons to him show you've never bothered to watch him play.
1 Sterling scores and sets up goals
2 He has no pretensions of being a striker
3 He's small not 6ft plus like Babel
Please please please stop it I remember when people compared Babel with Barnes...stop type casting Black Players.
Fair point. But Babel as a youngster was also a dribbling and scoring sensation in the Ajax youth team.
ReplyDeleteComparisons with Babel will only become valid I guess if Liverpool once again fail this promising youngster who, like Babel, has bags of talent. When was the last time we produced a world beater from our academy? It's getting frustrating.
This post is pretty insulting to my and other fans intelligence. They are nothing alike?
ReplyDeletethey're both:
-right footed players on the left
-loads of tricks and step overs
-prefer to cut in rather than hit the byline
-a vicious strike
-Not really a team players
-tend to shoot instead of passing
-bags of pace
-average at defending
-great at counter attacking
and you bring it down to the tone of their skin..... Mcmanaman was also described as the new Barnes when he came into the team and yes that is because Macca was a Jamaican born wing wizard.
babel at Ajax:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4obPPusISDM
I eagerly await your response.
Are you Patrice Evra?
ReplyDeleteLol,
ReplyDeleteWow your reaching but if hey that's the way it goes.
Sterling is not a team player ? at 17? and your evidence is based on what ? a Youtube video?
I have been to the reserve games and can assure you that being coached well he IS a team player.
Sterling DOES pass instead of shooting and that's at a young age.
Why not compare Babel to Quagmire AKA Riera or Gonzolez ?
Are you Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee?
ReplyDelete"lol" why? is someone tickling your feet?
ReplyDeletePlayers like Lennon, Babel, Pennant, Sterling, and Valencia will never evolve into players like Silva, Mata, Benayoun or Pires. They are what they are, players who rely heavily on their natural physical attributes but combine that with great ability. The second group of players are are natural born footballers who are more 'wide play makers' than wingers.
"sterling does pass instead of shoot"
Sterling will not evolve from a primarily physical player to a primarily technical player he will however grow tactically and possibly be become a Babel or Overmars type player (happy now :-) a right rooted player playing on the left whos preference is to score rather than create.
just to add I am unfortunately or fortunately a LFC.tv member so have the privilege of watching our u18 and reserve matches in full. My opinions are always based over many 90 minute matches.
ReplyDeletewell said
ReplyDeleteMy basis for comparing the 2 players was that they are more focused on what they are trying to do individually than being aware of what their team mates are. I never mentioned Barnes. My comparison even involved Hendo and Carroll who happen to be Asian. More than half of us who made the Babel comparison also did so for technical reasons and with regards to the way he plays. However, you did insinuate we made the comparison on racial grounds - something Evra is likely to accuse us of doing!
ReplyDeleteBy playing the colour card on me, it does highlight what you think the issue is and implying I've used it on you - once again, very much like what Evra would have done. However, I don't even know how you look. As far as I know, you're a shade of blue-grey.
I'd love to know what I've said or implied to suggest I could be Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee.