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Raheem - dawn of greatness

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red_maradona

red_maradona

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How good can he get? Still 19.

In 2 years time are we looking at him being contender for world player of the year? I'm serious. He has been phenomenal. What impresses me most is his football brain - a la the goal against Man City.

He seems to have incredible acceleration, great ball control, an eye for a goal and excellent passing range.

I would not be surprised if he went on to be a second striker like Henry.

 
There's so much he needs to work on, it can still go either way.
You only see positives from his goal vs City, but one could also see negatives from it.
He's not great in front of goal. A confident player would have shot first time, and he's actually lost out on several occasions last season for dithering about in front of goal a la City style where shooting would have been the best option.

A lot will depend on how much Rodgers can keep him on the straight and narrow. Stevie too.
 
I'm still weirdly unconvinced. This should probably bode well for him to be fair as I haven't a scooby about any footballers really. I normally wax lyrical about any new talent that rocks up and Sterling is certainly getting a lot of press. He just doesn't thrill me like Owen or Fowler or Gerrard did. He's good but I sometimes feel that Suarez is a big factor in that. I'm almost certainly wrong though. We'll see I guess.

For the record - I hope I am wrong.
 
Way over the top there RM. He's had a half decent 6 months. He's worlds away from the level Ronaldo, messi and recently Suarez have been performing at.

The way just about every English player has bugged him up in the press in the past week makes me incredibly uneasy about him . I wouldn't be surprised if he had a productive and personally fruitful World Cup but likewise I wouldn't be shocked if he did sweet fa.

He has a long way to go
 
They've already started re-writing his past. I remember watching him avidly in the youth and reserve games and he really was never Owen-like spectacular in his promise. He was fast, had good technique, but he never had one match when you watched him with a sense of awe. And yet now we're getting people like Martin Allen popping up saying they knew he was going to be a world-beater when he was 14. But what matters is now, and he's now really exciting. Ridiculously tough, precociously self-confident, and very smart, he's surely going to be elevated to a completely different level, either in the WC or next season's Champions' League.
 
He went from looking great to nowhere to looking great again. I'd be wary of getting too excited yet but he looked so good towards the end of last season it's difficult not to.
 
Frogfish said:
No no no ! That is an awful avatar that makes you seem a miserable sod. Bring back Fred which gives you the aura of being urbane.
Click to expand...
Well it was only a temporary change in honour of the discovery of Samuel Beckett's notebooks. All back to being Fred Again.

Speaking of Avatars maybe you should think about a change? I mean manic Hilary Clinton? Come on man - You can do better surely 😗
 
Red Astaire said:
I'm still weirdly unconvinced. This should probably bode well for him to be fair as I haven't a scooby about any footballers really. I normally wax lyrical about any new talent that rocks up and Sterling is certainly getting a lot of press. He just doesn't thrill me like Owen or Fowler or Gerrard did. He's good but I sometimes feel that Suarez is a big factor in that. I'm almost certainly wrong though. We'll see I guess.

For the record - I hope I am wrong.
Click to expand...


Suarez is undoubtedly helping those around him but towards the end of last season it did feel like Sterling was propping up the attack on his own at times. Very impressive for a 19 year old.

Hopefully he doesn't let it all go to his head and comes back to Liverpool ready to work because sustaining that kind of level is where it gets hard.
 
The good thing is that Rodgers isn't shoehorning him into a set role, he's coaching him in different positions to improve his game. You look at players like Lennon, who've been stuck on the right wing forever and never really progressed. If Sterling can stay clear of injury and keep his head down, then whatever shortcomings he might have had, in comparison to the top tier youngsters we've had, he might be able to bridge that gap with hardwork. Tactically he has all the things at his age that perhaps Owen and a few others lacked, that versatility and awareness will do him absolutely no harm.

It's still, in essence, very early days. There's a long way to go and I kind of know where Red Astaire is coming from, there's never the awe factor there in comparison to other players, but he has the potential, strangely, to become a much more rounded and effective attacker. As Keni said though, he has to stay focused and keep working to sustain that, as soon as that starts to drop off, or he stops showing the same kind of enthusiasm and willingness to learn, he'll fall short, which would be criminal given the advancement he made last season.
 
Sterling has shown great improvement and potential. He has not yet had a full season of top drawer performances. He is learning and improving all the time by being played in various positions. Too much pressure on the lad at this point. Let him enjoy his football.

Its too early to judge but give him a chance. He has time on his side. He can be whatever he wants to be, provided he puts in the work and maintains a level head.
 
I'd like keep this little fucker back for pre season if we can, and have a look at him. Before we start throwing 25-30mill on the Llama etc.
He 'might' be able to do the Llama's role, if he can't, part ex him somewhere.
Maybe the gaffer has seen enough of him to think he's not up to it.
 
He's having a bigger impact than Coutinho, which ought to be food for thought to the latter as he sits and watches the World Cup. With his own talent, he should have forced himself into that tournament, too.
 
gkmacca said:
They've already started re-writing his past. I remember watching him avidly in the youth and reserve games and he really was never Owen-like spectacular in his promise. He was fast, had good technique, but he never had one match when you watched him with a sense of awe. And yet now we're getting people like Martin Allen popping up saying they knew he was going to be a world-beater when he was 14. But what matters is now, and he's now really exciting. Ridiculously tough, precociously self-confident, and very smart, he's surely going to be elevated to a completely different level, either in the WC or next season's Champions' League.
Click to expand...


There was that game against Southend in the youth cup where he scored 5 (from 9!) and played on the left and then the right and just absolutely slaughtered whoever was in front of him. That performance was jaw-droppingly good.

 
Yes, that was very good, but it was the exception to his usual fitfulness. I'm not knocking him, I'm just saying he wasn't stunning people from week to week like some profiles these days are claiming.
 
gkmacca said:
Yes, that was very good, but it was the exception to his usual fitfulness. I'm not knocking him, I'm just saying he wasn't stunning people from week to week like some profiles these days are claiming.
Click to expand...

But that's pretty normal for a young kid anyway - for all of our Youth I'd imagine.
 
I'm not saying it isn't. Owen was that rarity that looked an obvious star from very early on. I don't think you understood my point, which was simply that there is a lot of myth-making going on now in the media about what a sensation Raheem was right from about the age of ten. No criticism of him at all.
 
gkmacca said:
I'm not saying it isn't. Owen was that rarity that looked an obvious star from very early on. I don't think you understood my point, which was simply that there is a lot of myth-making going on now in the media about what a sensation Raheem was right from about the age of ten. No criticism of him at all.
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I get what you're saying.

It's a bit like Daniel Sturridge at City. They had a few good youngsters coming through at the time but it was always Sturridge that everyone was waiting to see.

Stering was regarded highly but always seemed to be part of a crop of good youngsters we had. He didn't carry the same sort of hype.
 
gkmacca said:
I'm not saying it isn't. Owen was that rarity that looked an obvious star from very early on. I don't think you understood my point, which was simply that there is a lot of myth-making going on now in the media about what a sensation Raheem was right from about the age of ten. No criticism of him at all.
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone expected him to mature so quickly as he did last year. He didn't start off the year well, and suddenly, it clicked. Who knows what it is - Rodgers, player or a mix of things. Whatever it is, the journey is still long for the lad and the same dedication, work ethic and willingness to learn and improve is needed.
 
gkmacca said:
I'm not saying it isn't. Owen was that rarity that looked an obvious star from very early on. I don't think you understood my point, which was simply that there is a lot of myth-making going on now in the media about what a sensation Raheem was right from about the age of ten. No criticism of him at all.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean, the quality with Owen was obvious. Like I said though, he can hopefully bridge that gap between him and others by being a more rounded player - just look at how he performed spearheading the midfield, or at right back. That could make him as valuable a player to us, but you're right, he wasn't tearing up records at youth level, he was a reported prodigious talent who was talked up and talked up, but I don't think, despite his obvious ability, he was necessarily reflecting that with performances that were consistently a cut above everyone around him.
 
Yes, and it's so reassuring that he appears to be made of titanium. With that strength allied to his skill, I think he's going to bomb on from now.
 
gkmacca said:
I'm not saying it isn't. Owen was that rarity that looked an obvious star from very early on. I don't think you understood my point, which was simply that there is a lot of myth-making going on now in the media about what a sensation Raheem was right from about the age of ten. No criticism of him at all.
Click to expand...

Yes I know that. I did get your point and agree, I was just making a general statement that we can expect highs and lows from all of our youth, no matter what their name is.
 
I think Raheem's development shows the limitations of the youth and reserve games for many promising players these days. The standard of the mini leagues is way too poor.It didn't matter to Owen because so much of his game was based on speed and coolness of finish, so if opponents didn't catch him he looked alarmingly precocious. Sterling, at the same stage, had much more to his game, but I think the problem was he was rarely pushed to develop his game. There was often a point - or several points - in a game when all the defenders would back off, leaving him the time and space just outside the area to take a couple of touches, turn his body a little to one side, pick his spot and then curl a shot towards the top corner. And it looked good. But it was all so slow and lazy around him that he wasn't really tested to do more. And when we'd play, say, the mancs or Chelski at that level, he suddenly didn't have enough room to do much and he looked subdued and frustrated. So with a player like him, he needed first team football to start growing. If he'd been left in the ressies any longer, even though he wasn't exactly demanding promotion with his regular performances, he could well have gone stale.
 
gkmacca said:
I think Raheem's development shows the limitations of the youth and reserve games for many promising players these days. The standard of the mini leagues is way too poor.It didn't matter to Owen because so much of his game was based on speed and coolness of finish, so if opponents didn't catch him he looked alarmingly precocious. Sterling, at the same stage, had much more to his game, but I think the problem was he was rarely pushed to develop his game. There was often a point - or several points - in a game when all the defenders would back off, leaving him the time and space just outside the area to take a couple of touches, turn his body a little to one side, pick his spot and then curl a shot towards the top corner. And it looked good. But it was all so slow and lazy around him that he wasn't really tested to do more. And when we'd play, say, the mancs or Chelski at the level, he suddenly didn't have enough room to do much and he looked subdued and frustrated. So with a player like him, he needed first team football to start growing. If he'd been left in the ressies any longer, even though he wasn't exactly demanding promotion with his regular performances, he could well have gone stale.
Click to expand...


If that's the case, maybe it's a stroke of luck that we missed out on the likes of Willian and Salah.
 
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