I think the big difference between the perspective of Sterling against, say, Suarez and Alonso is that it appeared to a large extent that Sterling was leaving for money whereas Suarez and Alonso wanted to go elsewhere to win things. The Alonso situation is especially complicated because only a year before we’d very publicly tried to buy Gareth Barry which seemed a huge snub to Alonso. He then had his best season for us and went off to Madrid. It was gutting that he left but it wasn’t a huge surprise.
The same with Suarez, I don’t seem to recall any issues over money, he just wanted to compete. Arsenal were in a better position than us to do so when he had his little strike - we’d not been in the CL for a few years - and there wasn’t much of a suggestion we were moving in the right direction. A year later he’s had a phenomenal season, goes for the price of his release clause and heads off abroad to Barce where he wins a load of trophies thus (at least in part) seeming to justify his decision.
Other players have complex histories. Masch went on strike but there were clearly issues with Hodgson/H&G that some will sympathise with. Again at least when he goes, it’s to Spain and a big club where he wins silverware. Coutinho’s was the most frustrating in a while because the timing was plainly so poor, going in the middle of a season when he’d been playing well. We seemed to be on the up with Klopp as well though again the context is at least somewhat relevant. He’d been with us for 5 years and despite being a top class player had nothing to show for it trophy wise. And again at least he went to Spain.
Even Steve McManaman went to Real Madrid while Fowler was pushed when he went off to Leeds.
So the above will still get a mix of appreciation and frustration. But fans’ ire tends to be vented on those who move domestically and especially when perceived to be for money rather than career development or trophies. Owen went to Madrid but ended up playing at United and so is seen as a mercenary. Torres left us for a Chelsea side who’d become a rival of ours with awful timing having become a fan favourite. And Sterling went off to Man City in what was perceived at least in part to be chasing money despite having developed significantly as a player at Liverpool and being given an opportunity to do so.
It may seem unreasonable but when footballers are paid tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds a week, it seems perverse to the average fan that they need to move to secure even more money. Put yourself in the player’s shoes and, with no particular loyalty to Liverpool, the thought of going somewhere where you can double your salary (and in Sterling’s case there was the prospect of trophies with City) and the decision has far more cold logic to it than we’d like to acknowledge. Footballers are, for a large part, mercenaries these days and I think the Torres deal brought this realisation into the stark light of day for a lot of supporters. I still don’t like the way Sterling engineered his departure - via his agent it seemed rather calculated and unsavoury. There’s also an argument that at just 21 he had years ahead of him to chase money and trophies. But as fans we will invariably see things in a different way to players. The game has changed.
So you can see why Sterling gets more stick than Alonso or Suarez. It’s pretty obvious really and I don’t think it has anything to do with race (see the immediate reaction to Torres’ departure for the best comparative). Each player has their own set of circumstances, their own motivations and their own manner of sale which will contribute to how they’re perceived by us on their departure.
But I’m “over” Sterling now I the same way I’m “over” Torres, Suarez it Coutinho. We’ve moved on, he’s moved on. If you want to boo him because you think it might put him off his game, then do it. If you want to have a debate about how good a footballer he is then that’s your prerogative.
But this insidious paper talk about him being a disruptive influence is just that - paper talk. There’s nothing to back it up. He seems calm and settled at City, performing to a high level. It’s comparable to all the other rubbish that’s been written about him and which he has called out, correctly. The tabloids in particular treat him and other young black players differently from young white players. That’s not to say they don’t criticise white players, it’s just that they’ll lambast a black player for doing something innocuous like buying a house or jewellery whereas young white players wouldn’t get stick to nearly the same extent.
