Reports that Raheem Sterling's new contract offer from Liverpool is "nowhere near acceptable" will have supporters worried. Adam Bate looks at how the club has become over-reliant on a player still learning the game...
Thursday 11 December 2014 16:04, UK
Just when Liverpool thought their week couldn’t get any worse.
The headlines suggesting Raheem Sterling is stalling on a new contract are hardly welcome as the club prepares for Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford.
Sterling has more than two years to run on a reported £30,000 per week deal. But Telegraph sources suggest the player’s camp regard as “nowhere near acceptable” an extension that would reportedly increase his salary to around £70,000 per week.
Huge numbers that make for a delicate public relations exercise at a difficult time. Especially given that Rodgers had insisted Sterling was “absolutely adamant” that he wanted to stay in October, adding that “he understands this is the perfect place for him” to stay for the long term.
But it’s surely understandable that Sterling should be reluctant to plunge into a fresh new contract. In May he was eyeing a Premier League title, the chance to take centre stage for his country in Brazil and a first taste of Champions League football in the autumn.
A little over six months later, Liverpool are closer to bottom club Leicester than Premier League leaders Chelsea and Sterling must face the distinct possibility that he might not get another glimpse of Champions League action at Anfield until September 2016 at the earliest.
Of course, Sterling would still be just 21 by then. As such, he would most likely be sanguine about the situation if the prospect of progress was good. Every player enjoys the feeling of being central to his manager’s plans and Sterling had that balance right last season.
He was playing regular football and occupied an important role in the team. And yet, his responsibility was to decorate games with his talent rather than take ownership of them.
With Steven Gerrard controlling things behind him, Daniel Sturridge providing the goals and Luis Suarez bringing just about everything else, Sterling had experienced and confident character sweeping him along for the ride.
It was the perfect environment in which to develop and flourish. A tally of five assists was modest but a mere statistical footnote given his exciting dribbling and vast potential. Importantly, Suarez and Gerrard were the top two goal creators in the Premier League last season.
In a sense, Sterling has stepped in to fill the void. He already has four assists this season and only Southampton’s Dusan Tadic has created more chances from open play. Sterling is joint-second alongside Eden Hazard, who also happens to be the only player in the league with more dribbles.
But while Hazard has the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa for company, Sterling has too often been the lone hope for Liverpool and one Rodgers has been unwilling to do without as the manager scrambles for the results that would alleviate the immediate pressure.
As a consequence, Sterling has been pushed to the limit. Roy Hodgson incurred the wrath of Liverpool supporters for his handling of a tired player but it is Rodgers who has used Sterling more than any other outfield player – including a two-hour outing in the Capital One Cup.
As Gabriele Marcotti pointed out in the week Sterling will make his 100th appearance for Liverpool, the youngster has already played the full 90 minutes on 49 occasions in his fledgling career – far more than both Cristiano Ronaldo (30) and Lionel Messi (25) were expected to at the same stage.
While those pair had the likes of Ryan Giggs and Ronaldinho alongside them in their teenage years, Sterling must carry the fight for Liverpool and that places high demands on him to deliver week-in, week-out. That’s a tricky situation for a player reliant on explosive pace.
Indeed, it feels at times as though Sterling is expected to take sole responsibility for injecting life into Liverpool’s forays into the final third. Not only must he carry the ball into the danger zone but also make the runs beyond the relatively static figures of Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert.
With Suarez gone and Sturridge injured, Rodgers has discovered that while opponents cannot handle the whirl of movement that can be provided by three players in the final third, it’s rather easier to track a solitary runner.
The Premier League tracking data highlights the problem. High-intensity runs can be impossible to stop when a team breaks in unison. Sterling has produced over 70 of these sprints in six separate matches this season. That’s the same number as the rest of the Liverpool squad put together.
Against Manchester United this Sunday, Liverpool will once again put their trust in Sterling and hope he can conjure up a victory. His age and the nature of his role as a dribbler should mean that expectations are tempered. But where else can Rodgers turn?
The unfortunate truth is that Liverpool need Raheem Sterling right now rather more than Raheem Sterling needs Liverpool. And that’s not a good situation for the club to find itself when attempting to negotiate a new contract.
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