Liverpool FC Forum

[LittleHobo]

saying that "he is just not that good as he was hyped up to be yet" is ridiculous

the kid is 17, hes had to be fast tracked to the first team cause rodgers was useless in the transfer market!! really he shouldnt be anywhere near first team yet, a sub at best!!

that said hes done really well for a rookie kid who still has growing to do

[mart]

saying that "he is just not that good as he was hyped up to be yet" is ridiculous

Why? There are many people here talking about him as if he is the finished article, but he is just a talented 17- year old kid.

[dmagall89]

Really exciting prospect, should be coming off the bench as an impact sub to ease him into the premier league though.

Could easily have been sent off yesterday, Gerrard saved him from a booking from his scissor tackle, and he kicked out at the RB when he got tackled twice. Very immature player, and will be a great player but isn't near that yet.

[JC_81]

Sterling's performances this season have made him pretty much undroppable... Much like when Fowler, Owen then Gerrard burst onto the scene. He's in the same bracket as them in terms of quality. If he can fulfill his potential he'll be a great player in a few years. When you consider he's only 17 it's incredible.

I don't think Rodgers intended to start him so often but he's in the team on merit. I also don't agree that 'so many games so young will ruin him'. Why? He'd be playing just as many games at U21 level and he'd be in the NextGen team too if he wasn't first team. It would be different if he was struggling and getting his confidence knicked but he's actually improving rapidly.

Top player in the making.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

Sterling's performances this season have made him pretty much undroppable... Much like when Fowler, Owen then Gerrard burst onto the scene. He's in the same bracket as them in terms of quality. If he can fulfill his potential he'll be a great player in a few years. When you consider he's only 17 it's incredible.

I don't think Rodgers intended to start him so often but he's in the team on merit. I also don't agree that 'so many games so young will ruin him'. Why? He'd be playing just as many games at U21 level and he'd be in the NextGen team too if he wasn't first team. It would be different if he was struggling and getting his confidence knicked but he's actually improving rapidly.

Top player in the making.

i dont think it`s the number of games which ruins players mate but the sudden jump in intensity, reserve and next gen football is nowhere near as intense and frenetic as premiership football.
i think a lot of coaches think that gap should be bridged slowly because if a young player tries to bridge it in one step the `shock` as it were to his system manifests itself as injurys down the line.
gerrard in a way was lucky because he was in and out of the team anyway because he had minor injuries due to growth spurts but fowler and owen were both thrown in at the deep end, playing week in and week out and they were both basically finished at 22, injuries had ruined their games, and when they were in what should have been their late 20`s prime they were pale shadows of the players they were at 20.
i do worry a bit about sterling because it tends to be the quick, sharp players that burn out early, i remember that tony daley at villa in the late 80`s, when he first burst onto the scene he was going the length of the pitch taking everyone on (and scoring wonder goals at goodison  ) but he played a lot of games before he was 21, picked up injuries and was finished early too.

[JC_81]

Sterling's performances this season have made him pretty much undroppable... Much like when Fowler, Owen then Gerrard burst onto the scene. He's in the same bracket as them in terms of quality. If he can fulfill his potential he'll be a great player in a few years. When you consider he's only 17 it's incredible.

I don't think Rodgers intended to start him so often but he's in the team on merit. I also don't agree that 'so many games so young will ruin him'. Why? He'd be playing just as many games at U21 level and he'd be in the NextGen team too if he wasn't first team. It would be different if he was struggling and getting his confidence knicked but he's actually improving rapidly.

Top player in the making.

i dont think it`s the number of games which ruins players mate but the sudden jump in intensity, reserve and next gen football is nowhere near as intense and frenetic as premiership football.
i think a lot of coaches think that gap should be bridged slowly because if a young player tries to bridge it in one step the `shock` as it were to his system manifests itself as injurys down the line.
gerrard in a way was lucky because he was in and out of the team anyway because he had minor injuries due to growth spurts but fowler and owen were both thrown in at the deep end, playing week in and week out and they were both basically finished at 22, injuries had ruined their games, and when they were in what should have been their late 20`s prime they were pale shadows of the players they were at 20.
i do worry a bit about sterling because it tends to be the quick, sharp players that burn out early, i remember that tony daley at villa in the late 80`s, when he first burst onto the scene he was going the length of the pitch taking everyone on (and scoring wonder goals at goodison  ) but he played a lot of games before he was 21, picked up injuries and was finished early too.

But mate there is absolutely no medical explanation as to why a 'shock' to the system at the age of 17 manifests as a player being injury prone in his mid-late 20's.  Also to say Fowler and Owen were 'finished' at 22 isn't really true.

Beckham was also finished by his late 20's, yet he wasn't a regular starter at United until he was 20-21.  Scholes, Giggs and Neville were playing regularly at that age and lasted well into their 30's, two of them are pushing 40 and still playing in the Premiership FFS.  Rio Ferdinand was playing regular Premiership football at 17-18.  Rooney is 27 and has been playing regularly in the Premiership since age 17 without showing signs of fading.  Fabregas was a regular at 18-19 and is going strong in his mid-20's.  Casillas isn't ruined either and he's been Real Madrid's keeper since he was a teenager.

The only thing that all of the above have in common isn't that they made the step-up as teenagers, or that they cut their teeth in the Premiership rather than abroad, or that they burnt out young, it's that they were all world class players (with the exception of Neville anyway!) who were good enough to make the step up at that age.  If there was solid evidence that it would do them harm in the long run then the club medics and 'sports scientists' wouldn't let it happen.

Injuries are down to bad luck and and genetic susceptibility, and probably a bit to do with how well players looked after themselves (thinking about Gazza and George Best who were a shadow of their former selves in their late 20's also).

Fowler's 2 bad knee injuries were as a result of clashes with goalkeepers, one in the merseyside derby and another in a pre-season game against Glentoran in N Ireland where their keeper later admitted to deliberately leaving one on Fowler as he was a 'Man United fan'.  Fowler never recovered from that one and it had nothing to do with playing regular football at the age of 17.

Owen and Giggs had hamstring problems which can happen to any quick player (and may yet happen to Sterling) regardless of when they break into the team.  Overmars and Henry suffered a similar fate.  Giggs and Henry adapted their game, but Owen and Overmars couldn't and faded out.

Rant over!

[stmichael]

Sterling's performances this season have made him pretty much undroppable... Much like when Fowler, Owen then Gerrard burst onto the scene. He's in the same bracket as them in terms of quality. If he can fulfill his potential he'll be a great player in a few years. When you consider he's only 17 it's incredible.

I don't think Rodgers intended to start him so often but he's in the team on merit. I also don't agree that 'so many games so young will ruin him'. Why? He'd be playing just as many games at U21 level and he'd be in the NextGen team too if he wasn't first team. It would be different if he was struggling and getting his confidence knicked but he's actually improving rapidly.

Top player in the making.

i think all those fans who consider thenselves so called "medical experts" better run and tell our clearly clueless medical staff that they don't know what they're doing.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

john craig


But mate there is absolutely no medical explanation as to why a 'shock' to the system at the age of 17 manifests as a player being injury prone in his mid-late 20's.  Also to say Fowler and Owen were 'finished' at 22 isn't really true.

Beckham was also finished by his late 20's, yet he wasn't a regular starter at United until he was 20-21.  Scholes, Giggs and Neville were playing regularly at that age and lasted well into their 30's, two of them are pushing 40 and still playing in the Premiership FFS.  Rio Ferdinand was playing regular Premiership football at 17-18.  Rooney is 27 and has been playing regularly in the Premiership since age 17 without showing signs of fading.  Fabregas was a regular at 18-19 and is going strong in his mid-20's.  Casillas isn't ruined either and he's been Real Madrid's keeper since he was a teenager.

The only thing that all of the above have in common isn't that they made the step-up as teenagers, or that they cut their teeth in the Premiership rather than abroad, or that they burnt out young, it's that they were all world class players (with the exception of Neville anyway!) who were good enough to make the step up at that age.  If there was solid evidence that it would do them harm in the long run then the club medics and 'sports scientists' wouldn't let it happen.

Injuries are down to bad luck and and genetic susceptibility, and probably a bit to do with how well players looked after themselves (thinking about Gazza and George Best who were a shadow of their former selves in their late 20's also).

Fowler's 2 bad knee injuries were as a result of clashes with goalkeepers, one in the merseyside derby and another in a pre-season game against Glentoran in N Ireland where their keeper later admitted to deliberately leaving one on Fowler as he was a 'Man United fan'.  Fowler never recovered from that one and it had nothing to do with playing regular football at the age of 17.

Owen and Giggs had hamstring problems which can happen to any quick player (and may yet happen to Sterling) regardless of when they break into the team.  Overmars and Henry suffered a similar fate.  Giggs and Henry adapted their game, but Owen and Overmars couldn't and faded out.

Rant over!

good post mate.
i dont think medical staff are infallible, after all didnt they tell lucas to go out and `run it off` when he thought he`d pulled something during the warm up in the city game.
i agree with what you say though, a lot of it is probably down to the individual, rooney was built like a tank at 17 and carragher was like an old warhorse at 23. apart from that broken leg he got against blackburn he hardly missed a game in years.
we`ve just got to hope sterling is one of the lucky ones that arent succeptible to injuries.

[Kenny Kan]

Sterling's performances this season have made him pretty much undroppable... Much like when Fowler, Owen then Gerrard burst onto the scene. He's in the same bracket as them in terms of quality. If he can fulfill his potential he'll be a great player in a few years. When you consider he's only 17 it's incredible.

I don't think Rodgers intended to start him so often but he's in the team on merit. I also don't agree that 'so many games so young will ruin him'. Why? He'd be playing just as many games at U21 level and he'd be in the NextGen team too if he wasn't first team. It would be different if he was struggling and getting his confidence knicked but he's actually improving rapidly.

Top player in the making.

i dont think it`s the number of games which ruins players mate but the sudden jump in intensity, reserve and next gen football is nowhere near as intense and frenetic as premiership football.
i think a lot of coaches think that gap should be bridged slowly because if a young player tries to bridge it in one step the `shock` as it were to his system manifests itself as injurys down the line.
gerrard in a way was lucky because he was in and out of the team anyway because he had minor injuries due to growth spurts but fowler and owen were both thrown in at the deep end, playing week in and week out and they were both basically finished at 22, injuries had ruined their games, and when they were in what should have been their late 20`s prime they were pale shadows of the players they were at 20.
i do worry a bit about sterling because it tends to be the quick, sharp players that burn out early, i remember that tony daley at villa in the late 80`s, when he first burst onto the scene he was going the length of the pitch taking everyone on (and scoring wonder goals at goodison  ) but he played a lot of games before he was 21, picked up injuries and was finished early too.

Tony Daley, blast from the past. I enjoyed watching him play.

[lakes10]

not to forget Mike Marsh, he looked great for about 25 games........and then that was it.

saying that he was great for Southend.

[stmichael]

some idiots on twitter claiming he wants 50k a week 

[tubby]

TBH If our seasons continues the way it's going currently ie we don't get any bodies in Jan... then I can see Sterling leaving.

[woof woof !]

some idiots on twitter claiming he wants 50k a week 

Read somewhere , think it was "Caught Offside", that he wants a significant pay rise £50k is the figure mentioned whilst Liverpool are talking closer to £20k.

Meanwhile Man City are supposedly monitoring the situation.

[LFC1990]

He's already signed a new contract, about a month ago and it wasn't for massive money either.

No he hasnt. He has 18 months left on his existng one and wants a significant increase.

[NorfolkRed]

he posted on twitter (although since deleted) that he wasnt asking for anything like the amounts being mentioned and that he was waiting till he turned 18 for the next contract