How long can we carrry a player like Sterling?

[ElishaScottBC]

Is 100k a week too much? No.

 

Okay, but in reality is 100k too much? No.

 

Fuck you. Pay Raheem.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjVG6UD-pJc

[dennis tooth]

Cant see our anally retentive owners and the overpaid overweight middle addled broth spoiling committee members being able to agree on a suitable contract offer for an actual top player.

All the top players are hemmoragin and the bleeding is gushing now it began with Alonso and went downhill from there I could list names or I could point to quotes from other teams and agents about how shit our bids and wage offers are under fsg. Then bafflingly we bring in overpaid marquee shit as fsg pr to the fans in balotelli either that or bought by some faceless cunt dicking with our club my moneys on that shady commitee fella who is the owners bakers man. Wink wink.

Or it was pure moneyball rationale.

Im not sure whats more worryin oh yeah its that weve a toxic squad harmony title bid scuttler extroadinairre with no ability the last pro player we should have signed if he was the last player on earth. If we only had ten players you'd still make him sub. Ffs.

[JermainePennant]

It's not really an opinion based on his ability but his age. If we had better players he wouldn't be the fulcrum of our side when he's barely out of nappies, which would mean he wouldn't have us completely by the balls for his first big contract negotiation even though he's achieved absolutely nothing in the game.

 

Its not only in our team that he has been shining though is it, he was englands best performer in the WC and was outperforming players like Roooney who are on 300k a week.

 

Whatever it takes to keep Raheem here is worth it, the only way the owners can fuck up his contract is if they put a release fee in it which would be criminal.

[dennis tooth]

We will get milner city will shore up their english quotent percentile with sterling and we can get on with relegation battles and mid tablshipshire.

[Section_31]

Its not only in our team that he has been shining though is it, he was englands best performer in the WC and was outperforming players like Roooney who are on 300k a week.

 

Whatever it takes to keep Raheem here is worth it, the only way the owners can fuck up his contract is if they put a release fee in it which would be criminal.

 

He's a good talent, I don't deny it, but that England team is shite, and I mean proper shite. I'm not saying the lad doesn't have a lot of ability, but for me  the circumstances have placed us in the position of having a gun to our head rather than the fact he's some kind of once in a generation wonderkid. He's a good attacking player, he might be great one day, but he's got shitlaods to learn. Is that 'worth' 100K? By the bye really, the fact is we've relied too heavily on him and his agent knows it. Time to pay the piper.  

[Pidge]

Riera would have decked him by now.

[billypilgrimnz]

He's still not worth 100 grand a week. And I'm not sure "he is sure to get better" is necessarily true.

 

He needs to be in a team like last season where excellent players around him take most of the burden, and he gets a lot of space to run into. There are far too many flaws in his game to be the leading light in attack.

[Major Tom]

I'm not quite sure now you put a value on him there, Billy.

 

I think the same when someone says player x is worth this many million pounds. Like it's some sort of science.

[ngogswilly]

He's still not worth 100 grand a week. And I'm not sure "he is sure to get better" is necessarily true.

 

He needs to be in a team like last season where excellent players around him take most of the burden, and he gets a lot of space to run into. There are far too many flaws in his game to be the leading light in attack.

 

I think hes a great player and potentially world class, but like others in the team his decision making is dreadful at times. Mainly just holding onto the ball too long at times and either not playing a pass or waiting too long. 

 

That will change in time though. 

[ZonkoVille77]

Put the ball in the net.

Pass the ball.

Put the ball in the net.

Pass the ball.

 

On and on and on. This should be the mantra drilled into him. Still young etc but fuck me pass that ball when it matters. Hit the ball with some power. So frustrating.

 

Same applies to Phil Coutinho

[moof]

He isn't a striker. He'll be far happier playing just off Sturridge.

[Adebisi]

I don't care what Sterling earns, or any other player for that matter, as long as they play well and give their all. Sterling is only just 20 and already played 30 games this season, he's had poor games and been played in a position unfamiliar to him but he's never moaned or given less than 100% 

If he scored tonight I think you'd be signing a different tune, but regardless, could you be arsed caring about how much a player earns? One that clearly has talent in abundance and if we're daft enough to let him get away, will obviously go onto be a star for somebody else. 

There's still people out there who seem to think he's another Aaron Lennon or whatever, to those people I advise actually paying a bit more attention when watching him play and if you still think no different, you're daft as a brush. 

[Jose Jones]

If we don't pay Sterling £100k a week, there will be Chelsea, Man U, Arsenal, Spurs, plus a few foreign teams willing to take him off our hands and pay that wage. 

Ergo, he's worth it. 

We don't pay him, he'll go somewhere else.  If we're happy with that, then we can hope Jordan Ibe will be just as good for the next couple of years before we refuse to pay him as well.

[Iceman]

I think Sterling is a good player with a lot of promise but having said that, I would sell him for 60m tomorrow if Real came in for him. That is assuming we actually used the money for a DM and add a bit on and get a striker too. Trouble is I have zero confidence in whoever the fuck is responsible for signing new players to get it right. We'll just spunk the money on shite. 

 

I think Ibe could be just as good and I reckon he has a way better shot on him too. I like Raheem a lot but there's just no way we are going to hold onto him if we don't get CL or start winning something very soon. 

[billypilgrimnz]

I think Sterling is a good player with a lot of promise but having said that, I would sell him for 60m tomorrow if Real came in for him. That is assuming we actually used the money for a DM and add a bit on and get a striker too. Trouble is I have zero confidence in whoever the fuck is responsible for signing new players to get it right. We'll just spunk the money on shite. 

 

I think Ibe could be just as good and I reckon he has a way better shot on him too. I like Raheem a lot but there's just no way we are going to hold onto him if we don't get CL or start winning something very soon. 

 

Interesting question:if Sterling played for someone else, how many people would be happy if we paid 60M for him?

[Major Tom]

No-one.

 

Doesn't mean Real wouldn't pay it, though.

[El Dangerous]

I wouldn't be happy if we paid £70m for Sustez or £90m for Bale or £200m for Messi. Doesn't mean they can't sell for that much.

 

If Real do come in in a year or two then we absolutely need to get Isco or Ridriguez out of the deal.

[VladimirIlyich]

If we keep playing him as a lone striker and playing passes in the air or behind him then there's no point keeping him!

[Bernard Diomede]

I had a dream he scored the winner last night. And he had a song belting out at the end. To the tune of the self preservation society.

 

We are the raheem sterling society

He comes from Jamaica, he's quality

He scores lots of goals for you and me,

We are the raheem sterling society!

 

[Curly]

He's still not worth 100 grand a week. And I'm not sure "he is sure to get better" is necessarily true.

 

He needs to be in a team like last season where excellent players around him take most of the burden, and he gets a lot of space to run into. There are far too many flaws in his game to be the leading light in attack.

I think if you compare the whole of last season to the duration of this so far, that Raheem has defintely matured and developed. It isn't ideal that we have an out of position 21 year old as the main threat in our team, but it is what it is, and whatever your opinion of him, he has stood up to the challenge.

 

Last season he could count on others to take the emphasis away from him and use that added space and freedom to shine, but this season a lot of the defensive attention has been on him. He has improved his goal ratio, has learned to deal with playing with his back to goal with big sweaty centre backs kicking shit out of him all game and also still seems to have the attitude and desire to learn and develop.

 

Football has gone mad these days. Money has sullied our once beautiful game, but the components are still there to be able to enjoy it, and one of those components is seeing a youth player emerge through the ranks and develop into one of the league's leading talents, which Raheem is on his way to doing currently.

 

As fans, we are always going to look at how much the club spends on a player, or what we pay them as a wage and compare against our rivals, but at the end of the day, who gives a fuck really? I want our best players to stay and I want us to buy the best players. As it stands, Sterling is one of our best players and there will be a handful of teams who would be wiling to pay him £100k a week for his services. Just because it might be too much doesn't mean anything to me. I want him here for as long as he keeps performing/developing at his current rate.

 

As fans we hand over our money to the club through ticket sales, official merchandise, TV subscriptions and whatever, to trust them with to put into the club in the best way they see fit. After that point, it's a case of sitting back and crossing our fingers. There is no point in getting overly stressed about the club paying too much/offering too little as there is fuck all we can do about it.

 

Fuck it, pay the man. If we don't, someone else will.

[scudger99]

Usually as a rule, I would say if a player wants too much then fuck him off.  But every once in a while we unearth an absolute gem.  Sterling is one of those gems, and I would hate to think that he would go to RM, Barca or (shudder) a big Prem rival because of financial issues.

£100k a week is excessive for sure, and that should be made clear to him, even while agreeing to pay him that.

But make no mistake, both Manchester clubs and Chelski wouldn't bat an eyelid at paying him more than that if his development continues this season.  And anyone rubbing their hands at the huge pile of cash that his transfer would generate should look back at our ability to use such sums of money in the last 5 seasons or so.

I would stick with Sterling, but make it clear to him (and his advisors) that it's not a bottomless pit, and he can eventually push his luck too far.

[Dr Nowt]

Might as well pay him it.  Once we've got his signature on a 5 year contract, we'd be better off in a few years if he is plucked than we will if he leaves at the end of this season or next with his contract as it is is now, while if he stays and keeps developing with us, all the better.

 

I ain't no suit-wearing bidnissman like John Henry.  You know, I'm just a fan I suppose, but it still makes sense to me, whether I like it or not. 

[The Guest]

The money we blow on transfer fees and wages this shouldn't be an issue. We should theoretically be paying him more than he's worth anyway just to keep hold of him and on a long term deal. His value isn't going to go anywhere south of 40m now because he's sustained a good level for over a season. It doesn't make financial sense to not pay him what he wants.

 

Taking all sentiment out of things if the lad has any sense or desire to become one of the best players in the world he won't and shouldn't be planning on staying here past his early 20's. The club should be wise to that and make sure we get the full value that we can from players like Sterling. Paying him slightly over the odds (which I don't even think we would be) is peanuts to what we could lose.

[Ne Moe Imya]

Seeing as our last experiment in "sell the world-class player and use the money to improve the squad" went so well, I think it's the last thing we should be looking to do.

 

For the first time since ... probably about when Rafa left, I guess, I'm actually optimistic about our future.  Get Sterling, Coutinho, and Can locked down to long-term contracts and that's the foundation for a really good side.  Lots and lots of years left in those players, and if we can keep them happy here we shouldn't be tempted to go with whatever's behind door #2 where we spend the 50m one of them might bring in (in a few years).  All three of them look in my opinion like they're going to be genuinely world class when they reach their peak.

 

Add in Origi, Markovic, and Ibe and we really actually look decent as far as young talent is concerned.  Makes planning for the future a LOT easier, but the key is keeping these players and keeping them on long contracts so we don't risk losing them.  If that means paying Sterling 100k/week I'm fine with it.

[dennis tooth]

City will offer him 200k a week no bother and people are asking if we should go as high as 100k?