Two and a half years ago (or there abouts) Brendan Rodgers became Liverpool manager. And almost instantly he threw a boy named Raheem Sterling into his starting XI. The 17 year old kid started four of Brendan's first five Premiership games in charge of Liverpool - including games against both Manchester clubs and Arsenal.
This is the same kid who up to that point had terrorised sides in his own age group for the Liverpool youth teams but only had about half an hour of first team football under his belt. It didn't phase him though, in fact it looked like he relished in the pressure. So much so that at 17 years of age, we became so heavily reliant on him. There was not only the pressure of performing at the top level at such an early age, there was also the pressure of carrying the weight of the club on his shoulders - along with Luis Suarez.
And like all youngsters do when they break into the team, his form dwindle slightly. People wanted him taken out of the team, out of the spotlight and let him rediscover some confidence and form with the reserves or the U-18s. Unfortunately though we, as a club, couldn't afford to do that. At 17 years of age, Sterling had become so important to us we couldn't afford to give him the break he needed. Now a lot of it was to do with how good he was, a lot of it was also to do with the complete lack of alternatives we had to replace him with. Downing, Assaidi, Borini and Suso are hardly what you'd call suitable replacements.
Then, Raheem's personal life started to get more attention. I suppose it's part of the deal you sign up for when you become famous, your personal life becomes the public's knowledge. And usually where the media are concerned, as long as it sounds good or reads well then they don't care if it's a load of nonsense they're spouting. From having eight kids to three different birds to accusations of domestic violence to adultery to whatever. Raheem was accused of the lot.
Maybe those accusations helped Brendan make the decision to finally get Sterling out of the team. Maybe the January transfer window of 2013 helped just as much though. Finally we had a couple of suitable replacements. Danny Sturridge and Phil Coutinho joined us and both hit the ground running. From the first Premier League game Sturridge started for us (5-0 against Norwich on the 19th January), Sterling didn't start another Premier League game. He was allowed to get away from the media spotlight, somewhat. And from the end of March onwards, he was taken out of it completely.
Last season saw us gradually reintroduce Sterling into the team. From starting four of the first five Premier League games the previous campaign, he started just one (against newly promoted Crystal Palace) of our first twelve games for the 2013-14 season. What a contrast. His off the field antics had all but been squashed by this stage.
But we didn't really miss Sterling during the opening quarter to half of the season. Mainly because we had other people able to carry the burden of the club for him now. We weren't resting our entire hopes upon a teenage kid. We weren't expecting John Barnes level performances from him week in week out. We weren't forced to practically burn the lad out. Instead we could bring him on in games if and when we wanted. We could allow him to progress the way a youngster should as opposed to being expected to be the star of the team from day one. And as the season went on, as the partnership of Suarez and Sturridge continued to blossom and receive the praise it deserved, Sterling was able to enjoy his football without that pressure.
His form showed it as well. He became just as important to the team as Suarez, Sturridge, Henderson or Gerrard but wasn't feeling the burden of pressure because he knew he had at least four other players alongside him who could get Liverpool out of any difficult position. He wasn't the one all eyes turned to for inspiration any more, he was one of many. For any player that helps but especially for a boy who had only just recently, officially, become a man.
And then the 2014-15 season happened and we're back at square one of putting all our hopes on the shoulders of Raheem Sterling. Suarez left, Sturridge has hardly kicked a ball in vein and the players we brought in during the summer have hardly set pulses racing for the right reasons. But during the early weeks where we looked a little disjointed, Sterling was the bright spark. He was the one carrying us.
But still, he's a teenager and teenagers will have dips in form. They will need to be taken out of the firing line occasionally. You can't expect a teenage kid to carry an entire side. Only a truly world class player can do that and no nineteen year old is world class. But just like 12/13, there isn't a suitable replacement for Sterling. We have to play him. Markovic, Lallana, Borini, Suso do not give me a great deal of confidence. Coutinho, until recently, has been out sorts completely.
Sturridge's injury and the lack of goals from our forwards adds extra pressure onto Sterling's shoulders. He's almost become our biggest creative threat and our biggest goalscoring threat. I think he's even believing that he has to do it himself at present. Too often he's trying to take on more than he can, simply because the lack of quality around him is apparent.
I state again, that sort of pressure should not be on the shoulders of a nineteen year old kid.
Unfortunately though this is the problem we currently face. We can't afford to give him any time away because without him we're a lot worse off and it's blindingly noticeable that he's not there. His importance for the national team has grown so much as well that even then he can't get a couple of weeks off just to recharge the batteries.
Without him, we've no hope at present. With him, we risk relying too heavily on one too young. That is the Raheem Sterling problem.
The solution is we have better players around him to lighten the burden. But we can't do that for another eight weeks at least.
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