Redknapp raves: 'Explosive' £20m LFC star has no 'weakness' to his game. Irresponsible?

The hype over Raheem Sterling just keeps on coming, and Jamie Redknapp is the latest ex-LFC star to heap exaggerated praise on the 19-year old attacker.

Last night, Sterling - rated at £20m by Reds legend John Aldridge - put in another impressive performance for England, and after the 2-0 victory, Redknapp raved:

"Sterling is England’s David Silva. He is such a weapon for England and Liverpool. He is now our best player, and I can’t see a weakness in his game"

Redknapp appears to have changed his tune a little, as a couple of weeks ago, he highlighted one specific weakness in Sterling's game, when he told reporters:

"Sterling is an explosive powerhouse, but needs to score more goals. The challenge will be for him to hit double figures as he continues his rapid rise".

I know I'm in the minority here, but in my view, the hyping of Sterling is out of control. Whether it's Brendan Rodgers comparing him to Lionel Messi; Dietmar Hamann claiming the 'outstanding' young attacker is the best attacker in the Premier League, or Redknapp insisting he is the complete player, the ego-massage is endless, and arguably irresponsible.

Take Redknapp's comments, for example: If Sterling has 'no weakness' to his game, where does he go from here? How does he improve? Where is the incentive to improve if everyone keeps telling Sterling that he's amazing, outstanding, and already at the peak of his powers?

Yes, the hope is that Brendan Rodgers will keep Sterling grounded, but at the end of the day, he's a human being, and he's just as susceptible to believing his own hype as anyone else.

I just don't see why Rodgers, Redknapp et al have to grossly overpraise a 19-year old to this extent. Does Sterling have such a confidence issue that he needs to be mollycoddled to this degree? Probably not, so why is the constant adulation necessary?

Rodgers prides himself on having his finger on the pulse, so it surprises me that he engages in such irresponsible ego massage of young, impressionable players. Indeed, a few weeks ago, he claimed that English football has a 'massive problem' with young players who 'lose their hunger' when they earn so much money. He explained:

"We have to be careful because when you reward young players too quickly, that will be their downfall. Over half the world watch the Premier League, and our young players get carried away, then they wonder why their careers fall away."

The irony here is that Rodgers doesn't seem to appreciate that he is contributing to the very 'downfall' he describes. Rewards don't just come in monetary form; constantly lionising a player like he's some kind of deity can also lead to the player getting 'carried away', and can (IMO) seriously dull competitive edge.

In my view, Liverpool should institute an official internal policy barring excessive public praise of young players, and request that ex-Reds in the media tone down the endless fawning.

Author: Jaimie K