THE FOCUS IS always money. It’s a convenient headline and an easy sell. A young man refuses a handsome salary. Cue the moral outrage. But could Raheem Sterling be telling the truth? Is the money genuinely meaningless to him? Is there another reason for his reluctance to sign a new deal with Liverpool?
The opening few minutes of Sterling’s recent interview with the BBC’s Natalie Pirks concentrate on his first goal for England and the freedom allowed to him in attack by Roy Hodgson when playing in a front-three for his country. But the conversation quickly turns to him being forced to play as a wing-back at his club. Sterling stays on message initially, talking about how the most important thing is the team and if a manager asks you to play anywhere, you’ll do it for the greater good.
But there are subtle digs. Sterling goes into detail about playing a defensive role and how unfamiliar he is with it. Damningly, he later states that with Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho doing well up front, he’s been sacrificed. But again, he attempts to downplay things, reiterating how the team comes first. His potential issues with Rodgers are clear though. Sterling mentions how he trains every day in an attacking role, taking players on and scoring and assisting goals.
The contrast is clear: at international level, he’s allowed play to his strengths and thriving while with Liverpool, his natural attacking instincts have been curbed in favour of a strange role he’s not used to. So, has Sterling grown tired of Brendan Rodgers?
It certainly plays into it. Instead of being handed increased responsibility after a magnificent campaign last season, Sterling has suffered from constant chopping and changing. According to whoscored.com, he’s been used in eight different positions so far this term. Yet, he’s managed six goals and seven assists when used in attacking zones. Still, it appears Rodgers prefers the balance provided by a front-trio of Lallana, Sturridge and Coutinho. Sterling has had to make do with picking up the scraps.
For a young, energetic and dynamic player who relishes taking on defenders and providing a spark, Sterling is a victim of Liverpool’s enforced changes this term. A key element in the free-flowing approach of last season, Sterling, like his team-mates, has had to fine-tune and the attack isn’t based around individual flair anymore (though Coutinho has conjured some isolated moments of magic). Instead, there’s a careful, tentative strategy. It’s less-exciting but it’s got Liverpool back on an even keel after an awful first four months of the campaign.
But there is a deeper subplot to all of this and that’s Rodgers’ man-management. Sterling is the latest player to come forward and, however quietly, express his frustrations with Liverpool’s manager.
Inevitably in the BBC interview, the topic of Steven Gerrard crops up. The manner of his pending-departure from the club has never properly been explained but certainly points to a breakdown in his relationship with Rodgers. Earlier this season, both Daniel Agger and Andy Carroll revealed they both clashed with the coach during their respective spells under his tutelage.
Agger, who spent eight years at Anfield and was idolised by the fans, offered up this explanation of his departure:
There was some distance between us and for me that was enough. I didn’t feel that he (Rodgers) appreciated the things I contributed. And when I feel that, then it is time to move on.”
“Maybe where it went wrong between me and him is that I am very direct. I say things as they are, and also expect that people are [that way towards] to me. Maybe it’s wrong to expect that.”
Carroll seemed to back up Agger’s insinuations of receiving mixed-messages from Rodgers during his turbulent time on Merseyside.
“He’d say, “you’re going to play every week, you’re going to play every game with Suarez up front.””, Carroll revealed back in January.
“I’d leave and get home and he’d ring me and say, “Fulham and West Ham want you, I think it’s best you should go” when I’d just had a different conversation with him 10 minutes ago.”
“He was telling me one thing to my face and then ring me and tell me a different thing. He was messing with my head. I thought, “I just want to play football. I don’t need this.” I lost respect for him to be honest and knew it was time to go.”
Sterling may want something similar. What is clear from the BBC interview is that he has a plan and Liverpool seems to be merely a temporary stop on his proposed journey. More than once, he tells Pirkes, ‘I know what I want for my career’. It’s a defiant statement and sounds ominous for his current employers.
Liverpool won’t mind too much. Naturally, they don’t want to lose a young British star. But Fenway Sports Group (FSG) won’t be held to ransom either. They operate an impeccable business model and the club reported a profit for the first time in seven years earlier this month thanks to FSG’s economic acumen.
But, what FSG will do is ask why a young British star isn’t happy at their club. Liverpool are consistent and challenging for a Champions League place. It seems like the perfect environment for a 20 year-old. Yet, there’s a reluctance on his behalf to stay put.
Money helps, certainly. But, Sterling has said he would’ve signed a new contract last season for a lot less than what’s currently being offered, had he been approached. It’s a principled stance, if true. Times were good last term. He was scoring lots of goals, creating lots of goals and Liverpool were in the hunt for a Premier League title.
But things have changed and it’s clear Sterling isn’t enjoying himself. The big question is whether Rodgers and Liverpool care enough to want to talk him down from the ledge.
