Raheem Sterling - Done - See main forum

[FanchesterCity]

Not even City knew 14th would be THE day.

 

[Dribble]

Hi Dribble, enjoyed reading your post mate!;)

Thanks. I just hope that some of our fans who are doubting the wisdom of spending a record sum on Sterling realise that this represents a hell of a lot more than £49m. Its the final bit of proof that we are in the top 4 rated clubs in the UK and are looking to stay here for the long forseeable future.

To me that is more comforting and says more about our status than saving £10m on what Sterling's probably worth. This is the reason why Liverpool are shocked to their core. :-)

 

[aguero93:20]

It seems unlikely the club will actually announce his wages will they? It'll be the usual "Sky sources" etc. bullshit and it will end up double the real figure.

No, but they'll more than likely announce the contract length.

 

[SilverFox2]

There's definitely some truth in this, but it's a small price to pay.

I don't even live in Manchester any more. I live in Yorkshire, and my boys play football for a couple of teams. In the younger age groups there are tons of City shirts now, possibly second only to Barcelona. As soon as you get to the over 10s, it's all united and Liverpool.

I'm eternally gratefully that my boy's introduction to City was through a great team and glory. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be for Dads to have taken their sons to City, to find them bored and not interested, and maybe even support other clubs.

I also live in Yorkshire and I notice the same trend.

However, the use of the words bored or disinterested I dispute. Perhaps crowd atmosphere was different then but I always found it an exciting day out to see my idols in the flesh (very little media in those days). Even when we lost it never dampened my club allegiance merely toughened me up for the usual taunts at school or later work. I've heard it all from United supporters and have taken it on the chin with a defiance they do not understand. The usual reply was reminding them that City supporters can accept defeat whereas if United lost the canals were full on Sunday morning.
I agree that frustration has always been the emotion that supporting City brings to the surface so is part of the character building I previously referred to but indifference never. We were usually our teams worst critics but when limited success happened we were jubilant and had our day in style.

Joe Mercer said it perfectly for me with his advice to players, coaches and supporters and that is:

''If you want to achieve the objective have a long memory not a short temper.''

Still relevant today and exemplifies the way our owners want all at City to behave today, he would have been proud of this culture.

 

[bondsman]

Seems suggestions that the pig molester is set to be highest paid midfielder in the league are being conveniently glossed over will the rumours of sterlings basic wage keep spiralling upwards. Atleast the agenda remains consistent.

 

[BucksBlue]

The new SAS - Sterling Aguero Silva

Sterling Silva and the Golden boot.

 

[bobmcfc]

Are the blue cones out?

Just gone past the training ground and ground and saw zero blue cones

 

[citymacc]

Undergoing medical now according to Sly Sports.

 

[JWT_98]

Sterling having medical now according to sly

 

[Gareth Barry Manilow]

 

[IanBishopsHaircut]

I also live in Yorkshire and I notice the same trend.

However, the use of the words bored or disinterested I dispute. Perhaps crowd atmosphere was different then but I always found it an exciting day out to see my idols in the flesh (very little media in those days). Even when we lost it never dampened my club allegiance merely toughened me up for the usual taunts at school or later work. I've heard it all from United supporters and have taken it on the chin with a defiance they do not understand. The usual reply was reminding them that City supporters can accept defeat whereas if United lost the canals were full on Sunday morning.
I agree that frustration has always been the emotion that supporting City brings to the surface so is part of the character building I previously referred to but indifference never. We were usually our teams worst critics but when limited success happened we were jubilant and had our day in style.

Joe Mercer said it perfectly for me with his advice to players, coaches and supporters and that is:

''If you want to achieve the objective have a long memory not a short temper.''

Still relevant today and exemplifies the way our owners want all at City to behave today, he would have been proud of this culture.

I agree...nothing compares to the excitement as a young boy walking out into the Kippax...the electricity of it all...even when we were dire...I'd kill to be a young lad again going to their first game...I should imagine it's still the same

I often wonder about this

Whether the fact that we go week in week out has somehow diluted the experience of attending a football match

The Etihad is such a great stadium...I can imagine as a wide eyed young kid going for the first time would be just as awe inspiring as my first visit to Maine Road

 

[flb]

TBH mate, I started out as a young football fan living in a non footballing household so I just supported the best team at the time who were Liverpool. In the mid-late 70's my older cousin who I really looked up to asked me why I supported Liverpool and I replied because we're the best team and Kevin Keegan played for us.

My cousin asked if I'd ever been to Liverpool, I said no. He then asked if I even knew where about in the UK Liverpool was, I said no. So he asked 'so why support a team you know nothing about apart from what you see on the telly?' So I asked him 'so who should I support' and he said City, its your local club and you know where they are.

So that was it for me, even though I always had a soft spot for Liverpool, I switched my allegiance at a very young and impressionable age which wasn't difficult as this was probably during City's heyday. But from the early 80's until 2008 I've had a mostly miserable time of it, so thanks for that cous!!! Lol :-)

Tbh, supporting City has been character building and probably explains why I hate bullys and always side witb and seek to protect those unable to look after themselves. Lord knows I've been through the mill with City, but my faith and dedication has been admirable rewarded amd nothing illustrates this more than the transfer of Raheem Sterling to City which has truly shown we are now a bigger club than Liverpool in all respects and that is something I never thought I'd be able to say in my lifetime.

Any body of a certain age carries the mental scars of being a City fan, me, i was born into a family of blues as my parents and there parents were from Gorton & Ardwick, still feels a bit surreal at times and the typical City psyche is gradually drifting away.

Funny how things go full circle isn't it, we were always a bigger club in our early history than the dippers then the overtook us, now we are leaving them in our slipstream.

 

[IH8MUFC]

How does Raheem Sterling score against Ronaldo and Messi at 20?

Sean Ingle

• 
  
  
  Going into Sunday’s game at Stoke City, Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling has scored 18 goals in 95 games and 14 assists in his Premier League career.
  
  
  
  Indeed, only Eden Hazard and Mesut Özil posted better chance creation numbers at the same age. And remember, Sterling did this in a Liverpool side that struggled to get past 50 Premier League goals. Last season they scored 101.

Admittedly, Sterling isn’t quite at the very top table when you rank players based on their goals and assists by the age of 20. Lionel Messi stands alone (he was scoring nearly three goals every four games even then) with Hazard and Arjen Robben the next best, albeit in the weaker Ligue 1 and Eredivisie. But Sterling’s numbers either match up, or are better than, everyone else in his position.
The comparisons with Sterling and Ronaldo at 20 are also worth exploring. At that age Ronaldo was not the goalscoring terminator he is now. According to Opta, he had played 64 Premier League games, scoring nine goals (0.2 per 90 minutes) and creating eight assists (0.18 per 90 minutes). Of course these numbers don’t tell you everything. Ronaldo was already an immense talent. He had starred in an FA Cup final and had a decent Euro 2004. But at 20 his raw numbers weren’t any better than Sterling’s. He certainly wasn’t a world beater.
There are other caveats, too. Young players mature at different rates, and past performance is not always a guarantee of future success. But as Omar Chaudhuri, the head of football intelligence at 21st Club points out, Sterling’s numbers have not been inflated by unsustainable hot streaks, which therefore makes what we have seen so far a decent indicator of what will happen from now on.
Chaudhuri, who works with several top European clubs, also makes another point. When it comes to highly rated young players, the transfer market has often got it right. He points to the list of the 25 most expensive under-23 signings in history. The top five? Neymar, James Rodríguez, Gianluigi Buffon, Rio Ferdinand and Sergio Agüero. Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres (from Atlético Madrid to Liverpool), Hazard, Robben and Ronaldinho are also on the list.

There are duds in there too – Andy Carroll for one. But there are far fewer mistakes than in the list of big-money transfers from 23-30, which includes Kaká’s transfer to Real Madrid. Torres’s move to Chelsea, Gaizka Mendieta’s move to Lazio and many other flops.
As Chaudhuri puts it: “It’s also interesting that a lot of prodigies in Sterling’s position – Ronaldo, Hazard, Mata, Bale, Özil – were at least 21 before they made their first big-money move, which tells us a couple of things. First, that clubs are already willing to spend big on Sterling – and probably have been for a year, so since he’s been 19 – reflects his ability and potential. And second that his value is likely to be nowhere near its peak.”
Does this mean Sterling will develop into one of the best players in the world? We can’t be certain. But we can say this. There is an enormous amount to like about his football already and the odds are that he will get much better.

© 2015 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

 

[bobmcfc]

Now we join our reporter at Liverpools pre season training camp...

 

[philjoneswho?]

I agree...nothing compares to the excitement as a young boy walking out into the Kippax...the electricity of it all...even when we were dire...I'd kill to be a young lad again going to their first game...I should imagine it's still the same

I often wonder about this

Whether the fact that we go week in week out has somehow diluted the experience of attending a football match

The Etihad is such a great stadium...I can imagine as a wide eyed young kid going for the first time would be just as awe inspiring as my first visit to Maine Road

Poetically put watching Stuart Pearce score on the opening day of the season with a rocket free kick had me going! Nice 3-0 win on my first trip to MR. Didn't experience a lot of them in all honesty!

 

[flb]

I agree...nothing compares to the excitement as a young boy walking out into the Kippax...the electricity of it all...even when we were dire...I'd kill to be a young lad again going to their first game...I should imagine it's still the same

I often wonder about this

Whether the fact that we go week in week out has somehow diluted the experience of attending a football match

The Etihad is such a great stadium...I can imagine as a wide eyed young kid going for the first time would be just as awe inspiring as my first visit to Maine Road

Took my niece to her first game at the Etihad about 7 years ago, the look on her face when you walk up the small flight of steps to see the pitch in the 3rd tier was a great sight.

Agree about the old kippax, the buzz never left wether it be your first game or the last walking up the steps.

used to get pissed in the Denmark or the Sherwood before the game, thats what the new stadium misses now. the pubs round the ground are few and far between.

 

[theres only one carlito]

Just gone past the training ground and ground and saw zero blue cones

I can confirm no blue cones as yet. I'm working at the CFA today been here since 7.30. Deffo nowt happened yet here. Could be all happening at the stadium though. I'll keep my eye out.

 

[Daz_Blue]

I can confirm no blue cones as yet. I'm working at the CFA today been here since 7.30. Deffo nowt happened yet here. Could be all happening at the stadium though. I'll keep my eye out.

Thanks Horatio

 

[Blue Smarties]

I can confirm no blue cones as yet. I'm working at the CFA today been here since 7.30. Deffo nowt happened yet here. Could be all happening at the stadium though. I'll keep my eye out.

Just make sure the milk is put back in the fridge once you've made the brews.

 

[Nixon_The_Bike_Thief]

Cannot recall any real problems with Lescott purchase and at one time our interest was with Berkley without the bitterness we are now seeing.

There were plenty of problems with the Lescott transfer and enquiries that we have made previously about Berkley have not been well recieved. Berkley has a lot of connections to our EDS and we have been accused of using that to sway him previously, fortunately we have never firmed anything up previously so a lot of it has gone under the radar. I do get your point though about Liverpools behaviour, just dont underestimate how awkward there cross city counterparts are capable of being.