Brendan Rodgers says teenage winger Raheem Sterling needs a rest, has he been over played and poorly treated by the club?
Liverpool had no choice earlier in the season than to bring Raheem Sterling into the first team. In an ideal world Brendan Rodgers would have probably delayed this for the development of the player but fortunately for Liverpool, Sterling has come in and had a brilliant impact on the first team.
The problem they are now experiencing as a result is burnout. Rodgers has admitted that Sterling needs a rest heading into the busy winter period which sees a lot of games played over Christmas and New Year. They may subsequently be forced to play him in short bursts but fatigue at a young age can cause severe injury if not handled in the right way.
“There is no doubt Raheem is one who does need that breather, I’ve thought about it over the past couple of weeks. In order to do that you need to have that depth to take him out and put somebody else in,” Rodgers told the Liverpool website.
It raises the issue that Sterling has maybe been unfairly treated by the club because of the current problems they are experiencing. The manager had another attacking option in Andy Carroll who he allowed to leave the club on loan because he didn’t fit in with the style of how he wanted to play his football.
The Liverpool owners also shot themselves in the foot at the end of the last transfer window when they stumped up just £5 million for Rodgers to spend on attacking cover. Certainly not a massive fee in the scheme of modern day football but it could have been utilised to perhaps bring in a world class winger on loan to support Sterling as Rodgers was thinking of using him.
He’s now under a subconscious form of pressure because he will know he needs a rest and a couple of games to sit on the bench and recharge his batteries. However, mentally this can have an impact on the young player because he will be aware that Liverpool almost can’t afford to leave him on the bench which will frustrate him or make him a touch resentful towards the club.
He could well use that youthful energy and naivety to effectively overrule the manager and state that he wants to play and unless they force him to have a spell out of the side, this could result in injury or a dip in terms of his performance levels which will frustrate the player.
Rodgers is not a foolish manager and he is judging this situation correctly. Liverpool just have to be very careful over how they handle Sterling from now on because reports have suggested that some of the biggest sides in England and Europe are ready to snap up the winger should he want away from Anfield.
Sterling has started all Premier League games for Liverpool this season and has started one game and been on the bench for seven Europa League matches.
Should Rodgers give Sterling the break he needs?
image: © kong niffe
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