I know what you mean, but it's not entirely true. He thought about going, but didn't, and will spend his entire career at the club he started at. If Sterling does that, then brilliant.
I heart Raheem
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I know what you mean, but it's not entirely true. He thought about going, but didn't, and will spend his entire career at the club he started at. If Sterling does that, then brilliant.
Fuck all if we don't improve. If Rooney didn't stay at Everton why would we expect him to stay here.
Ah, so that explains the EMS.
So we'll sell Sterling to QPR where he'll spend the rest of his playing days?
Raheemio is going to need to sign for City or Real Madrid simply to meet his Child Support Agency payments.
If he signs a new contract (say 5 years) - His value would shoot up. I wonder what he would realistically be worth then?
2 dolla
If he turned down a contract and decided to leave, given his age, how is his value determined? Isn't there some ruling for this type of thing? In other words, would he be cheap?
I wouldn't care if I was 5 years old, if I was playing every game on 5 grand a week or whatever he's on, knowing what Downing, Cole and Henderson are on, I'd want 50 a week too.
According to Barrett we havent begun talks about a new contract with Raheem and his agent. So, instead of getting him to sign for 10-20k in August. We now face the possibility of having to pay him 30k a week or something.
He'll have 18 months left of his contract in january and if he doesnt sign a new one we'll get compensation for his development and thats it if he leaves.
Once again nice work by the men in charge.
He'll have 18 months left of his contract in january and if he doesnt sign a new one we'll get compensation for his development and thats it if he leaves.
Once again nice work by the men in charge.
Not sure I believe that, considering they tied Suso onto a new contract.
Keep your pants on, like Raheem himself said on twitter, he's not 18 yet, he can't sign a new long term deal. Anyway if we sign him at 30k for 5 years, boo hoo, it's not like he isn't worth it and it's hardly loads of cash (relatively)
Liverpool powerless as value of precious Sterling rises
Tony BarrettNovember 13 2012 08:11AM
It was the tweet that was meant to be a denial and an attempt to put the record straight, only for it to create a sense of mystery and intrigue instead. Raheem Sterling responded to claims that he had told Liverpool that he wanted £50,000 a week to stay at the club with an outraged reaction on Twitter, but within minutes of making his feelings known the teenager had deleted the message, probably following advice from his representatives that he wasn’t helping their bargaining position.
“Morning tweeps, I’ve just woken up to this rubbish,” Sterling tweeted. “I can assure you that I’ve not asked for that stupid amount. We’re waiting until I’m 18 to sign.”
All fine and dandy and all in keeping with the reality of a situation in which Liverpool are yet to open formal negotiations with either the player or his representatives, although tentative soundings-out have been under way for several weeks.
Had he stuck to his public position there would have been no further interest and the story which had prompted him to take to Twitter in anger would have been dismissed out of hand. By erasing it, from his own timeline if not the public consciousness, the winger merely added another layer of intrigue to a situation that could and should have been resolved some time ago.
That it hasn’t is not the responsibility of Sterling. It is Liverpool who should never have let things drag out this long. The club’s official position is that Sterling cannot sign a long-term contract until he turns 18 on December 8 and that is certainly the case, but Uefa rules do not prevent a player from agreeing a deal in advance of signing it and by failing to do so in this instance Liverpool have put themselves over a barrel when negotiations finally do begin.
Contrary to Brendan Rodgers’ assertion this weekend that Sterling “has become a very talented young man in the space of four months”, the 17-year-old’s talent was well known by Liverpool long before they signed him from Queens Park Rangers in February 2010 for an initial fee of £600,000. The reason why they shelled out such a huge amount on a youngster was that he was the most highly rated player in his age group in the country.
His talent, therefore, has not been in any doubt from the moment he first walked through the Shankly Gates.
So why have Liverpool taken so long to get round to tying Sterling’s future down? There is an argument that they needed to see how he would perform in the first team before committing themselves to an expensive contract that could become a noose around the club’s neck if Sterling fails on the big stage. There is certainly merit to that point of view, but not enough to explain why they are still to agree a deal despite the England international (for that is what he will become tomorrow) being described as one of the best players in his position in the country by Rodgers.
The more important question is why Liverpool have allowed Sterling to reach so many career landmarks, the kind which inevitably increase his value, without ensuring both that his future lies with them and that they sign him up before his personal demands rise in keeping with his reputation?
Wouldn’t Sterling being called into Rodgers’ squad for Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States have been the signal to get a deal done? If not at that point, then how about after he impressed in his full debut against Manchester City, a club who have kept a watchful eye on his development over the last 12 months? Or perhaps, in the immediate aftermath of Sterling being called into the full England squad for the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine?
The meter has been running for several months and at no point have Liverpool done enough to stop it from spinning beyond their control. One thing that is not in any question is that Sterling’s personal demands and value are now at an entirely different value to what they were in August. What might have been a £10,000 – £20,000 weekly contract three months ago is now likely to cost them in the region of £30,000 a week. Considering John W Henry demands “bang for his buck”, it is unlikely that this flawed approach will win favour with Liverpool’s principal owner.
Perhaps Henry should look at himself, however, as once again the problems come down to Liverpool’s flawed hierarchical structure. After Damien Comolli was dismissed as director of football last April – the timing of which was necessary to allow the club to prepare for the summer transfer window, according to Henry – no one was appointed as a direct replacement. That meant responsibility for contracts that previously lay with Comolli fell to Ian Ayre, a managing director whose brief seems to grow with every passing day.
Unlike Manchester City who are putting a definitive football structure in place, Liverpool do not have a Txiki Begiristain, a Ferran Soriano or a Brian Marwood. And with the numerous changes that have taken place at Anfield in the last two years nor do they have continuity.
Ayre is trying to cover up all of the cracks, but with Liverpool appointing a new manager who needed to get to know the players last summer, failing to have a scouting team in place until September and going back on their initial decision to appoint a director of football, responsibility for Sterling’s contract situation could not possibly lie with him.
Now Liverpool are in a position in which they are going to have to pay Sterling more than they would want to, either for the health of their finances or the development of a teenager with so much still to learn. They have to come up with a contract that reflects Sterling’s growing importance to the team, the international recognition that has now come his way and, most importantly, the reality that he could leave for nothing more than a compensation payment in 18 months’ time.
Should Liverpool fail to pay the going rate then they will run the risk of losing him to someone who will. They now must rely on Sterling and his advisers falling in line with their belief that it is unwise to pay a teenager the kind of salary that could potentially damage him.
The director of football model was supposed to prevent this kind of situation from arising by providing continuity through an overseer who is not beholden to results, which was why it was favoured by Henry and his acolytes at Fenway Sports Group.
From the moment they dispensed with that approach without bolstering Liverpool’s structure they made it inevitable that this kind of problem would occur, at least until Rodgers becomes experienced and powerful enough to run football operations on his own.
Eighteen months ago, Comolli gave an interview in which he insisted Liverpool would not sign anyone who could potentially inhibit Sterling’s progress. He was always destined for the first team and the strong likelihood, given his talent, was that he would flourish once he got there. Liverpool should have been prepared for that eventuality but they weren’t and now Sterling and his advisers will enter into negotiations in the knowledge that the bargaining power lies with them, regardless of the contents of his hastily deleted tweet.
Tony BarrettNovember 13 2012 08:11AM
It was the tweet that was meant to be a denial and an attempt to put the record straight, only for it to create a sense of mystery and intrigue instead. Raheem Sterling responded to claims that he had told Liverpool that he wanted £50,000 a week to stay at the club with an outraged reaction on Twitter, but within minutes of making his feelings known the teenager had deleted the message, probably following advice from his representatives that he wasn’t helping their bargaining position.
“Morning tweeps, I’ve just woken up to this rubbish,” Sterling tweeted. “I can assure you that I’ve not asked for that stupid amount. We’re waiting until I’m 18 to sign.”
All fine and dandy and all in keeping with the reality of a situation in which Liverpool are yet to open formal negotiations with either the player or his representatives, although tentative soundings-out have been under way for several weeks.
Had he stuck to his public position there would have been no further interest and the story which had prompted him to take to Twitter in anger would have been dismissed out of hand. By erasing it, from his own timeline if not the public consciousness, the winger merely added another layer of intrigue to a situation that could and should have been resolved some time ago.
That it hasn’t is not the responsibility of Sterling. It is Liverpool who should never have let things drag out this long. The club’s official position is that Sterling cannot sign a long-term contract until he turns 18 on December 8 and that is certainly the case, but Uefa rules do not prevent a player from agreeing a deal in advance of signing it and by failing to do so in this instance Liverpool have put themselves over a barrel when negotiations finally do begin.
Contrary to Brendan Rodgers’ assertion this weekend that Sterling “has become a very talented young man in the space of four months”, the 17-year-old’s talent was well known by Liverpool long before they signed him from Queens Park Rangers in February 2010 for an initial fee of £600,000. The reason why they shelled out such a huge amount on a youngster was that he was the most highly rated player in his age group in the country.
His talent, therefore, has not been in any doubt from the moment he first walked through the Shankly Gates.
So why have Liverpool taken so long to get round to tying Sterling’s future down? There is an argument that they needed to see how he would perform in the first team before committing themselves to an expensive contract that could become a noose around the club’s neck if Sterling fails on the big stage. There is certainly merit to that point of view, but not enough to explain why they are still to agree a deal despite the England international (for that is what he will become tomorrow) being described as one of the best players in his position in the country by Rodgers.
The more important question is why Liverpool have allowed Sterling to reach so many career landmarks, the kind which inevitably increase his value, without ensuring both that his future lies with them and that they sign him up before his personal demands rise in keeping with his reputation?
Wouldn’t Sterling being called into Rodgers’ squad for Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States have been the signal to get a deal done? If not at that point, then how about after he impressed in his full debut against Manchester City, a club who have kept a watchful eye on his development over the last 12 months? Or perhaps, in the immediate aftermath of Sterling being called into the full England squad for the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine?
The meter has been running for several months and at no point have Liverpool done enough to stop it from spinning beyond their control. One thing that is not in any question is that Sterling’s personal demands and value are now at an entirely different value to what they were in August. What might have been a £10,000 – £20,000 weekly contract three months ago is now likely to cost them in the region of £30,000 a week. Considering John W Henry demands “bang for his buck”, it is unlikely that this flawed approach will win favour with Liverpool’s principal owner.
Perhaps Henry should look at himself, however, as once again the problems come down to Liverpool’s flawed hierarchical structure. After Damien Comolli was dismissed as director of football last April – the timing of which was necessary to allow the club to prepare for the summer transfer window, according to Henry – no one was appointed as a direct replacement. That meant responsibility for contracts that previously lay with Comolli fell to Ian Ayre, a managing director whose brief seems to grow with every passing day.
Unlike Manchester City who are putting a definitive football structure in place, Liverpool do not have a Txiki Begiristain, a Ferran Soriano or a Brian Marwood. And with the numerous changes that have taken place at Anfield in the last two years nor do they have continuity.
Ayre is trying to cover up all of the cracks, but with Liverpool appointing a new manager who needed to get to know the players last summer, failing to have a scouting team in place until September and going back on their initial decision to appoint a director of football, responsibility for Sterling’s contract situation could not possibly lie with him.
Now Liverpool are in a position in which they are going to have to pay Sterling more than they would want to, either for the health of their finances or the development of a teenager with so much still to learn. They have to come up with a contract that reflects Sterling’s growing importance to the team, the international recognition that has now come his way and, most importantly, the reality that he could leave for nothing more than a compensation payment in 18 months’ time.
Should Liverpool fail to pay the going rate then they will run the risk of losing him to someone who will. They now must rely on Sterling and his advisers falling in line with their belief that it is unwise to pay a teenager the kind of salary that could potentially damage him.
The director of football model was supposed to prevent this kind of situation from arising by providing continuity through an overseer who is not beholden to results, which was why it was favoured by Henry and his acolytes at Fenway Sports Group.
From the moment they dispensed with that approach without bolstering Liverpool’s structure they made it inevitable that this kind of problem would occur, at least until Rodgers becomes experienced and powerful enough to run football operations on his own.
Eighteen months ago, Comolli gave an interview in which he insisted Liverpool would not sign anyone who could potentially inhibit Sterling’s progress. He was always destined for the first team and the strong likelihood, given his talent, was that he would flourish once he got there. Liverpool should have been prepared for that eventuality but they weren’t and now Sterling and his advisers will enter into negotiations in the knowledge that the bargaining power lies with them, regardless of the contents of his hastily deleted tweet.
Dear everyone,
Tony Barrett is shit stirring, even if they agreed a deal in principle now it wouldn't be binding because Raheem is still a minor. Nothing the club does now has any legal effect whatsoever.
Feel free to ignore this and jump on the bandwagon that none of the top brass have any idea what they're doing because the team Brenten Rodgers is managing is shit.
Tony Barrett is shit stirring, even if they agreed a deal in principle now it wouldn't be binding because Raheem is still a minor. Nothing the club does now has any legal effect whatsoever.
Feel free to ignore this and jump on the bandwagon that none of the top brass have any idea what they're doing because the team Brenten Rodgers is managing is shit.
Yes, it's a strange one from Tony. I agree with the latter part of the article about the structural confusions, but as Rosco says I'm sure the 'informal' talks will lead to a quick resolution when it can happen formally, and I suspect Sterling deleted his tweet because the club doesn't like players tweeting about contract info.
Do the top brass know what they are doing though? Is Ian Ayre compentent enough in these situations? Did we not ship out Andy Carroll without having a replacement ready?
Barrett is shit stirring, but we can absolutly question the top brass.
I'm not bothered about that, I just want us to have control over these situations.
We're talking about the biggest talent around
I swear that I have NO confidence in their ability to run the club properly based on the long series of cock-ups since they have taken ownership. I don't doubt their intentions (yet) but do seriously doubt their competence to run a football club.
You can doubt them all you want, but have a realistic look at the situation first.
Agreeing a deal now makes no difference, we have zero control over the situation until he signs a contract which he can't do until he's 18.
LOL
Have you seen Osman's moustache?
I'm not watching the match because i'd like to actually sleep tomorrow.
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