If Liverpool’s 3-2 victory over Queens Park Rangers last weekend was a little fortuitous, their 3-0 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid was more or less exactly what they deserved. The Reds started strong, but faded quick. In the end, they were outclassed in every area of the pitch and the match served to highlight some of the major issues prevalent within Brendan Rodger’s squad.
Without Luis Suarez, Liverpool are now a completely different proposition. I’m not sure that they’re capable of taking the big boys on any more, because they don’t have a player who can turn the game on its head at a moments notice. Raheem Sterling is blossoming into one of those players – someone in Luis Suarez’s league – but he needs time.
As a result, Liverpool fans need to remain patient. They need to be prepared to wait for their young players to hit their stride and start producing the goods on a regular basis. More than this, however, Brendan Rodgers needs to keep signing and backing young footballers. If he does that, he’ll get The Reds make in fighting form before too long.
This neatly leads me onto The Metro‘s recent claim that Liverpool have their eyes set on the ‘new Raheem Sterling’, Demarai Gray. The source suggests that Gray’s club, Birmingham City, would accept a £2m bid.
First things first, how silly is that ‘new Raheem Sterling’ moniker? It’s frustrating enough to hear papers label players ‘the new Messi’, or ‘the new Ronaldo’, but this takes things to the next level. We get it: he’s young, he’s pacy, he’s tricky and he’s British. There’s no need for any lazy short-hand.
Whether or not he ends up being as good as Raheem Sterling is besides the point. The signs are there that he’s got a big future ahead of him. In about two-or-three years time, I’d expect him to have a price-tag that’s significantly higher than £2m. In that sense, he looks like a smart investment on the part of Liverpool football club.
If The Reds can secure this deal and a few more like it, their future will start to look very bright indeed.
What’s your take? What should Liverpool’s priority be at this moment in time: youth or experience? Is Demarai Gray a good option?
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