Keeping stars key to Liverpool's future

Brendan Rodgers: His Anfield future could be in doubt

Liverpool FanZoner Rich Garnett reflects on all things Red as the end to a hugely disappointing campaign draws nearer.

As Steven Gerrard waved goodbye to Anfield on Saturday evening, Liverpool's pitch side announcer asked him an awkward question: "Are you optimistic the club is in the right place and we can move on without you?"

It prompted collective groans from the stands and a hum of disapproval. Whether that was disapproval of the question or the trajectory the club is heading in is open for wide debate.

This was a good day to bury bad news. The emotional send off for Anfield's favourite son provided a convenient cover for a dismal 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace - a club that once left the same ground on the end of a 9-0 hiding.

It also brought to a close (at home at least) a campaign that Liverpool's players effectively gave up on the moment they were beaten by Manchester United on 22nd March.

With 11 league defeats and a goal difference of nine, Brendan Rodgers' side must win their final game of the season just to be sure of Europa League qualification. The much-hailed Champions League return came and went in a blink of abjection.

Rodgers and supporters of an optimistic disposition may argue that the club has had to stomach the exit of world superstar Luis Suarez and the loss of Daniel Sturridge for the majority of the season, but the former only points to a greater problem at Anfield - one that is currently being acted out by villain of the hour Raheem Sterling.

Whatever the reasons for the drastic shortcomings of this campaign, one thing seems to remain the same - Liverpool are failing to hold onto their best players and are replacing them with inferior alternatives.

Xabi Alsono, Javier Mascherano, Fernando Torres, Pepe Reina and Luis Suarez were all key performers for the club in their time and have moved on to more successful periods with clubs competing at the very top of European football.

Now a 20-year-old player with promising talent is orchestrating a move away from the club having thus far achieved nothing of note. Welcome to modern football.

It calls into question the commitment of certain players to the club and what their real ambitions are - this is Liverpool Football Club after all - but it asks a more serious question of the owners and where their ambition really lies.

At the start of Fenway Sports Group's stewardship, principle owner John Henry made it reasonably clear that the club would be investing in promising young talent 'with a future resale value'.

Having saved the club from the jaws of administration, this warning shot from Henry was largely brushed under the carpet. Players have come and gone over the years, but Liverpool has never been regarded as a selling club.

The football landscape has shifted. The modern footballer, with little to no regard for Liverpool's unparalleled prestige, no longer sees running out at Anfield as career fulfilment.

How was this ever allowed to happen?

With money in top-flight English football now at a disgusting level, Liverpool will have to revise their transfer and wages policy if they are serious about competing with Chelsea and Manchester City. The suspicion is that they are not.

The club's supporters are not interested in making £40 million on academy graduates. They want trophies and Champions League football.

This shackled ambition is preventing Liverpool from obtaining their first choice targets year on year. A situation that is worsened by failure to qualify for Europe's biggest competition, which you can achieve by finishing as low as fourth in the Premier League.

If you are not in the Champions League than the club needs to be offering an alternative pull.

Is it the manager? Despite being a respected coach his draw seems minimal. Will the owners replace him? It seems unlikely.

Can they offer players more money? The owners won't pay it. Especially without the extra windfall from UEFA's premium sponsors.

What about playing in front of the famous Spion Kop every week? Sadly Anfield has become more of a tourist attraction than a cauldron of intimidation over a period of seasons - a direct result of pricing traditional supporters out of the game.

Yet despite all this doom and gloom, Liverpool still have a squad of very talented young players who have the chance to achieve great things if they truly want to. The challenge is to make sure that is at Anfield and not elsewhere.

That surely means a modification of direction from the very top. Whether that is a higher profile manager or a renewed acquisition and retention policy something must give if Liverpool are to rub shoulders with football's elite again.

Failure to change really will see the last of Gerrard's kind and that is bad for football.

You can follow Richard on Twitter here, and don't forget you can follow @FanZone too.

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Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers' position not up for discussion

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers' position is not up for discussion at his end-of-season review with owners FSG despite targets being missed.

After narrowly missing out on the Premier League title 12 months ago, the minimum requirement from the American owners this time around was retaining Champions League status.

Rodgers himself publicly acknowledged this and admitted a trophy was also on his 'to-do' list this campaign.

With fourth place out of reach and semi-final places in the Capital One and FA Cups the closest they came to silverware, the Reds boss will meet director Mike Gordon, FSG's key man at Anfield, to discuss where things went wrong and how to improve them.

At the club's annual awards night on Tuesday Rodgers said: "The club will continue to work hard to improve the squad and next year provides another great opportunity for us like last season."

That may be setting his sights optimistically high but Press Association Sport understands despite coming up short this season, Rodgers' job will not even be a talking point when his routine meeting with the ownership takes place after the conclusion of their Premier League season at Stoke on Sunday.

One of the key issues to address is how to handle Raheem Sterling, whose agent Aidy Ward is due to meet chief executive Ian Ayre on Friday to discuss the 20-year-old's future.

Negotiations on a £100,000-a-week contract were put on hold in January with the plan being to re-visit the issue at the end of the campaign.

Ward has had to deny reports he will tell Ayre the youngster will not sign a new deal, saying: "The story has been blown somewhat out of proportion.....[we] have a meeting scheduled with Liverpool later this week and we will take proceedings from there."

Some fans booed Sterling when he picked up his young player of the year award last night but former Liverpool captain Graeme Souness believes they are entitled to do so.

"It looks like he wants to go and play somewhere else, which is really sad for Liverpool supporters," he told Sky Sports.

"If he's privately making it known he wants to leave Liverpool then that word soon gets out and supporters are entitled to turn on him.

"They support him through thick and thin. It looks like he's turning his back on them which, if he is, is very sad for the football club.

"Just maybe someone should whisper in his ear and tell him he is not going anywhere.

"He is a young man with lots of potential. He is far from being the finished article; he should stay at Liverpool, learn his trade and just get on with it.

"But he has been advised by people who have maybe got the wrong priority.

"Right now it is all about him learning to play the game, understanding the game and improving and he is at the best club he could possibly be at."

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Sterling trains with Liverpool squad with future unclear

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Liverpool legend John Barnes says Raheem Sterling should stay

Liverpool legend John Barnes says Raheem Sterling will be making a mistake if he leaves the club this summer.

Sterling was jeered by some fans as he accepted the supporters' young player of the year award at a ceremony on Merseyside on Tuesday evening.

The 20-year-old has indicated he is unlikely to accept an improved offer from Liverpool when he and his agent sit down for talks over his future later this month.

Sterling arrived at the ceremony with his partner and made a short acceptance speech, during which a few fans booed while others shouted 'stay Raheem'.

Barnes, who won two league titles, two FA Cups and a League Cup at Anfield between 1987-97, says it is too early for Liverpool's prized asset to think of moving on.

Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ he said: "I think he has every right, if he chooses, to leave Liverpool. I'm not talking from a point of view of anger, but from the point of view, who does he think he is wanting to leave Liverpool? He decides what he wants to decide.

"I think it would be the wrong move for him from a playing perspective because I don't think he's ready to move to Manchester City or Real Madrid or any of these other clubs, because I don't think he's going to play regularly.

"I don't think it'll be the right footballing move but if he decides, if he wants to, you can't keep unhappy players.
Champions League football or not playing regularly, is that what's it about? Not for me, particularly for a young player.

"We've seen Jack Rodwell leave Everton, in my opinion, too soon and Sinclair go to Manchester City and where are they now? So I think for young players you have to show a level of consistency over four of five years before you can then be judged as a £50m-£60m player."

At the awards ceremony, playmaker Philippe Coutinho swept the board when named player of the season, players' player of the season, individual performance of the season before picking up the goal of the season award for his stuning 40-yard shot against Southampton in February.

Steven Gerrard, who departs Anfield this summer for LA Galaxy in the MLS, was presented by an outstanding achievement award for his services to the club.

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Raheem Sterling jeered at Liverpool awards ceremony as speculation continues

Raheem Sterling was booed at Liverpool's end-of-season awards ceremony on Tuesday as speculation over his future continued.

The England forward is due to hold talks with the club later this week, and Sky sources say he will make it clear he does not intend to sign a new contract.

And some of the estimated 3,000 Liverpool fans at the function made their feelings plain when Sterling took to the stage to accept his Young Player of the Year award.

Amid applause from some, cries of "stay, Raheem!" were followed by boos, and more jeers were audible when his name was mentioned in a video montage moments later.

Brendan Rodgers later addressed the audience and spoke of a season of "distractions", although he did not mention Sterling by name.

He said: "Expectancy from last season was going to be high. Things that have happened, the distractions, you can't plan for them. It has been a difficult, trying season but the players will all be better for it next year.

"The players need a rest, but the club will continue to work hard to improve the squad and next year provides another great opportunity for us like last season."

Several of the club's former players were also in attendance at the ceremony and one, Dietmar Hamann, told Sky Sports News HQ Sterling's contract talks should have been conducted away from the spotlight.

He said: "I don't think these things should be made public because it doesn't look good. There's anger in the city now concerning Raheem Sterling for no need.

"If he decides to leave in the summer and the club gets paid what they want, then wish him all the best, but the way it's been handled has been poor on his behalf and as a club there's not much you can do - put a price on him, and if someone pays it you sell him and get other players in."

And selling Sterling this summer could even benefit Liverpool, according to Jan Molby, who won seven major honours with Liverpool.

He said: "It's not like Luis Suarez - you knew the impact that losing him would have. I'm not convinced if you sell Sterling it would have the same impact on the team, so it might not be a bad time to sell.

"Liverpool are still in transition and maybe the manager could do wth the money."

It is understood Liverpool's position is unchanged and they are not prepared to sell Sterling this summer.

Elsewhere on awards night Philippe Coutinho cleaned up, winning player of the season, players' player, individual performance of the year and goal of the season for a long-range strike at Southampton.

And it was the Brazilian, rather than Sterling, singled out by Steven Gerrard as Liverpool's "next big thing."

The departing captain said: "I want to pay tribute to Philippe, it's his night tonight. He cleaned up on all the awards and deservedly so. He is the next big thing for me, I hope he stays here for a long time and helps us win some more trophies."

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Raheem Sterling booed at Liverpool awards ceremony as speculation continues

Raheem Sterling showed up for Liverpool's end-of-season awards ceremony on Tuesday as speculation over his future continued.

The England forward is due to hold talks with the club later this week, and Sky sources say he will make it clear he does not intend to sign a new contract.

It is understood Liverpool's position is unchanged and they are not prepared to sell Sterling this summer, and it was business as usual as he joined his team-mates at the club's Melwood training ground before boarding a bus to the ceremony.

The 20-year-old, who has two seasons to run on his current deal, is likely to face Liverpool supporters at Tuesday night's function.

Several of the club's former players are also in attendance and one, Dietmar Hamann, told Sky Sports News HQ Sterling's contract talks should have been conducted away from the spotlight.

He said: "I don't think these things should be made public because it doesn't look good. There's anger in the city now concerning Raheem Sterling for no need.

"If he decides to leave in the summer and the club gets paid what they want, then wish him all the best, but the way it's been handled has been poor on his behalf and as a club there's not much you can do - put a price on him, and if someone pays it you sell him and get other players in."

And selling Sterling this summer could even benefit Liverpool, according to Jan Molby, who won seven major honours with Liverpool.

He said: "It's not like Luis Suarez - you knew the impact that losing him would have. I'm not convinced if you sell Sterling it would have the same impact on the team, so it might not be a bad time to sell.

"Liverpool are still in transition and maybe the manager could do wth the money."

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Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge recovering well from surgery on injured hip

Daniel Sturridge: Injuries restricted Liverpool striker to 18 starts this season

Daniel Sturridge says he is recovering well a fortnight after having surgery on his injured hip.

The Liverpool striker's stop-start season was cut short earlier this month when doctors in the United States decided to operate on the damage.

But the frustration of making just 18 appearances in all competitions is lifting, according to a message posted on the 25-year-old England international's social media.

Sturridge tweeted: "Two weeks post op and I'm feeling a lot better. I'm a happy man today."

Brendan Rodgers said recently he hoped a long-term solution to Sturridge's injury problems had been found.

"I think we have found some underlying issues that maybe relate to Daniel's issues and problems this season and the ongoing problems he's had," the Liverpool manager said.

"The medical team here, liaising with some of the medics in America, are doing everything we possibly can to give Daniel every opportunity to stay consistently fit and available."

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Raheem Sterling attends Liverpool awards ceremony as speculation continues

Raheem Sterling showed up for Liverpool's end-of-season awards ceremony on Tuesday as speculation over his future continued.

The England forward is due to hold talks with the club later this week, and Sky sources say he will make it clear he does not intend to sign a new contract.

It is understood Liverpool's position is unchanged and they are not prepared to sell Sterling this summer, and it was business as usual as he joined his team-mates at the club's Melwood training ground before boarding a bus to the ceremony.

The 20-year-old, who has two seasons to run on his current deal, is likely to face Liverpool supporters at Tuesday night's function.

Several of the club's former players are also in attendance and one, Dietmar Hamann, told Sky Sports News HQ Sterling's contract talks should have been conducted away from the spotlight.

He said: "I don't think these things should be made public because it doesn't look good. There's anger in the city now concerning Raheem Sterling for no need.

"If he decides to leave in the summer and the club gets paid what they want, then wish him all the best, but the way it's been handled has been poor on his behalf and as a club there's not much you can do - put a price on him, and if someone pays it you sell him and get other players in."

And selling Sterling this summer could even benefit Liverpool, according to Jan Molby, who won seven major honours with Liverpool.

He said: "It's not like Luis Suarez - you knew the impact that losing him would have. I'm not convinced if you sell Sterling it would have the same impact on the team, so it might not be a bad time to sell.

"Liverpool are still in transition and maybe the manager could do wth the money."

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