Topic: Liverpool's Midfield

[Red Genius]

Not as absurd as giving him a Suarez type salary right now at 20 years of age.

But you don't know that is a fact, you're simply referring to 3rd party reports.

If he signs on the dotted line for whatever amount, ill bet youll be delighted, i certainly will be.

[ThePoolMan]

But you don't know that is a fact, you're simply referring to 3rd party reports.

If he signs on the dotted line for whatever amount, ill bet youll be delighted, i certainly will be.

Well that is all that we can know right now anyway.

I wont be as delighted if it ends up plunging the club into the red in the end.

[Cpt_Reina]

If the financial rewards weren't much of a consideration then he wouldn't be stalling on a £100k a week contract. He wants a shit tonne of money, that's why we're having this discussion in the first place. I think it's disgusting and abhorrent but like you say, he is in that position, he has leverage, and he's entitled to ask for whatever he likes. Likewise the club is entitled to stand their ground.

Of course he wants as much as he can get, thats why he has an agent to get him the best deal he possibly can.

But make no mistake about it, the club would fuck him over and pay him peanuts if they could.

There appears to be a distinct lack of ability to seperate Sterling's employee, his agent, getting the best financial deal for him from Sterling's own motivations and attitude towards a new contract.

Sterling isnt sitting in on these negotiations, he's probably not even being updated all that regularly. He's outsourced the entire process to his agent.

Image rights/bonuses/wage after tax I very much doubt Sterling has much of an idea or 'demands' over any of them. Just wants as much as he can get. As he's within his rights to try get exactly that.

[SlowRap]

Really, goals and assists have nothing whatsover to do with how much an attacking player like Sterling should be rewarded?

Who was the player that stepped up and carried us when Sturridge was injured? Sterling is as important if not more important than Sturridge is to us therefore he should be paid the same. The fact that he's 20, can play in various positions and will only get better are bonuses.

Another thing being missed here is that with Gerrard going we'll lose our only known worldwide player and Sterling is very marketable having all the attributes in order to carry the "brand."

[Red Genius]

Well that is all that we can know right now anyway.

I wont be as delighted if it ends up plunging the club into the red in the end.

one player is never going to achieve that, so its hysterical nonsense.

[ThePoolMan]

Of course he wants as much as he can get, thats why he has an agent to get him the best deal he possibly can.

But make no mistake about it, the club would fuck him over and pay him peanuts if they could.

There appears to be a distinct lack of ability to seperate Sterling's employee, his agent, getting the best financial deal for him from Sterling's own motivations and attitude towards a new contract.

Sterling isnt sitting in on these negotiations, he's probably not even being updated all that regularly. He's outsourced the entire process to his agent.

Image rights/bonuses/wage after tax I very much doubt Sterling has much of an idea or 'demands' over any of them. Just wants as much as he can get. As he's within his rights to try get exactly that.

I dont think he can disavow the agent's conduct so easily. The agent is trying to get as muvch as he can for his c lient and Sterling clearly wants that. So he is responsinble for his agent.

On the other hand Coutinho wanted to stay and so negotiations were very quick because he must have instructed his agent acoridngly.

[ThePoolMan]

one player is never going to achieve that, so its hysterical nonsense.

You see too narrowly. The problem is that Sterling is only the tip of the wedge. All the other players will line up demanding for wage increases soon after.

[Halcyon Lissome]

Suarez might not have been as hyped as Sterling is (probably due to a combination of age, nationality and league factors) but he was, from the moment he came here, a better player than Sterling is currently. I would argue considerably. It's worth noting that Suarez never actually earned £200k here before he left, despite being arguably the third best player in world football.

Also worth noting that many of the reports talking about £150k are also talking about SEVEN year deals. We'd be committed to paying out well over £50m in wages regardless of injury or form, with the almost certain liklihood that Sterling would want more money in ~2 years time safe in the knowledge that if he didn't get it or wanted off, he'd almost certainly get his way one way or another. The balance of power would be very much in Sterling's camp and I can see why the club would be uncomfortable with that.

Suarez was about 4 years older than Sterling. Yes, he was a better but in 4 years time, Sterling may already have a PFA Player of the Year under his belt. Suarez earned 200k in the middle of his last season - his POTY season.

The 2nd para is even better for us. I hope the 150k is 7 years, it means we have even more leverage. You have to keep in mind that wages are increasing year on year, especially with the TV revenue. Just in the last year and a half it's had a significant bump and this will translate into higher wages. 7 years ago 100k would have been a huge wage; it's pretty standard for the top players now. And if Sterling merely kept this level for the next 7 years he'd still be worth it; we could also then sell him during his peak (age-wise).

The balance of power will always be where the demand is, and it is with Sterling. As long as he is a player who is far ahead of the curve for his age, he'll get wages that commensurate with that. When people argue what a player is 'worth' they have to keep in mind that worth is a relative consideration. If someone wants to pay him x, then he is worth that. And there are probably 8 clubs willing and able to pay him that much.

Outside of also his footballing contributions; Sterling will go on to have a huge commercial impact.

[ThePoolMan]

Suarez was about 4 years older than Sterling. Yes, he was a better but in 4 years time, Sterling may already have a PFA Player of the Year under his belt. Suarez earned 200k in the middle of his last season - his POTY season.

The 2nd para is even better for us. I hope the 150k is 7 years, it means we have even more leverage. You have to keep in mind that wages are increasing year on year, especially with the TV revenue. Just in the last year and a half it's had a significant bump and this will translate into wages. 7 years ago 100k would have been a huge wage; it's pretty standard for the top players now. And if Sterling merely kept this level for the next 7 years he'd still be worth it.

The balance of power will always be where the demand is, and it is with Sterling. As long as he is a player who is far ahead of the curve for his age, he'll get wages that commensurate with that. When people argue what a player is 'worth' they have to keep in mind that worth is a relative consideration. If someone wants to pay him x, then he is worth that. And there are probably 8 clubs willing and able to pay him that much.

Outside of also his footballing contributions; Sterling will go on to have a huge commercial impact.

The difference with Suarez was that he was doing the business and then some.

I do not understand what is the issue with tying the salary to specific targets. If Sterling is so confident he WILL be worth it, then let him prove it. If he delivers, then the club should pay him the higher wage.

Likewise if his marketing potential exceeds the target then pro rate his payments accordingly.

[Red Genius]

You see too narrowly. The problem is that Sterling is only the tip of the wedge. All the other players will line up demanding for wage increases soon after.

Again, hysterical bollocks....how many potential 20 y/o of Sterlings quality have we got? Hes unique in that respect.

Every contract will be negotiated on its own merit.

[Clint Eastwood]

I'm just gonna go ahead and talk about Markovic.

Is anyone else a bit concerned with his dribbling style? When he drives forward he never looks in control, like he's hitting the ball forward a bit and seeing what happens. With a player of his pace, and apparent dribbling ability, it would be nice if he just developed that bit of confidence when trying to beat his man. Of course he's only 20, but I don't feel we are getting the most out of that position.

[ThePoolMan]

Again, hysterical bollocks....how many potential 20 y/o of Sterlings quality have we got? Hes unique in that respect.

Every contract will be negotiated on its own merit.

On your points, right now we have Henderson and Coutinho who are just as important as Sterling. And we have Sturridge who is even more important. Whateve you give Sterling will have an effect on what they demand. It's even more hysterical that you think Sterling exists in isolation.

[ElstonGunn]

Because Sturridge has scored 40 goals and made 16 assists in 63 appearances for us which are basically world class stats.

As opposed to Sterling's at 22 goals and 23 assists in 118 appearances which are nowhere near Sturridge's performance levels.

What I take from this is, in only 4 more months with Liverpool's first team, Sterling has played twice as many games as Sturridge.

Other than that, trying to do an apples-to-apples comparison between a number 9 and an attacking midfielder--who sometimes plays striker, but has probably played more games at wingback/fullback--is silly.

I'll of course grant Sturridge has performed better when healthy, but he's available literally half as often.

[Halcyon Lissome]

If that is so then what is th issue with tying the salary to specific targets? If he is so confident he WILL be worth it, themn prove it. If he delivers, then the club should pay him the higher wage.

Well one has to really be privy to the contract to see what the specific targets or demands are. In any event, a player wants a guaranteed base salary; it's only natural. I mean, imagine if your boss came in and said "you only get your 50k a year if the company makes x much".

And again, you have to consider what he is likely to be offered elsewhere. Do you think Chelsea or City are really hung up on saving money by putting in salary targets? It's more for avoiding FFP sanction.

[killer-heels]

Id prefer we stick to what we think is right. I am not that bothered if we lose Sterling because of it, we have lost much better players before. 150k contracts being handed out quite frankly to a squad that has achieved fuck all is a messed up situation. We are not cheap, we reward our players well. I hope we stick to our guns on this.

[Haggis36]

Of course he wants as much as he can get, thats why he has an agent to get him the best deal he possibly can.

But make no mistake about it, the club would fuck him over and pay him peanuts if they could.

There appears to be a distinct lack of ability to seperate Sterling's employee, his agent, getting the best financial deal for him from Sterling's own motivations and attitude towards a new contract.

Sterling isnt sitting in on these negotiations, he's probably not even being updated all that regularly. He's outsourced the entire process to his agent.

Image rights/bonuses/wage after tax I very much doubt Sterling has much of an idea or 'demands' over any of them. Just wants as much as he can get. As he's within his rights to try get exactly that.

And Sterling would bugger off for peanuts if he wanted to despite the amount of money, time and effort invested in him as a player. There are never any Saints in club vs. player debates and these people operate in a world completely divorced of reality.

With respect to wages, football agents are just individualised and bespoke unions that stand to make a personal cut of proceedings. They act on behalf of players but they don't make the final decisions.

Sterling's agent isn't some faceless suit who knows nothing about him - they have a working relationship (so much so that Sterling discusses his own form with him) and they will have discussed ballpark figures. There is no way that Aidy Ward is running amok demanding whatever he likes with no say or input from Sterling. If Sterling asks his agent "oh hey, what's taking so long? What is the latest offer?" and Ward says "£100k but you're worth far more than that so we're not taking that" then Sterling is well within his rights to let his agent do that, but equally he's a grown fucking adult and if the club refuses to budge then it's up to him to make the decision one way or another.

I think it's naive to suggest that it's just Sterling's nasty agent ramping the price up and that Sterling has no idea (even roughly) of what's going on. At the very least in any profession if someone is acting on your behalf, and you're paying them to do so, you want to know what they're doing.

[ThePoolMan]

Well one has to really be privy to the contract to see what the specific targets or demands are. In any event, a player wants a guaranteed base salary; it's only natural. I mean, imagine if your boss came in and said "you only get your 50k a year if the company makes x much".

And again, you have to consider what he is likely to be offered elsewhere. Do you think Chelsea or City are really hung up on saving money by putting in salary targets? It's more for avoiding FFP sanction.

Well Chelsea and City can pay a lot more than we can.

[JackWard33]

On your points, right now we have Henderson and Coutinho who are just as important as Sterling. And we have Sturridge who is even more important. Whateve you give Sterling will have an effect on what they demand. It's even more hysterical that you think Sterling exists in isolation.

It's even more hysterical that you don't think players should be paid according to their market leverage

Sterling is worth double the price Henderson would fetch if they both on the open market

[ThePoolMan]

What I take from this is, in only 4 more months with Liverpool's first team, Sterling has played twice as many games as Sturridge.

Other than that, trying to do an apples-to-apples comparison between a number 9 and an attacking midfielder--who sometimes plays striker, but has probably played more games at wingback/fullback--is silly.

I'll of course grant Sturridge has performed better when healthy, but he's available literally half as often.

There are no such things as true apple to apple comparisons in a playing squad. But since his agent is reportedly wanting closer parity with Sturridge, then it is a comparson that he has himself laid upon himself.

Sturridge may play half as much but he scores twice as much...

[Caston]

Id prefer we stick to what we think is right. I am not that bothered if we lose Sterling because of it, we have lost much better players before. 150k contracts being handed out quite frankly to a squad that has achieved fuck all is a messed up situation. We are not cheap, we reward our players well. I hope we stick to our guns on this.

Agreed

[ThePoolMan]

It's even more hysterical that you don't think players should be paid according to their market leverage

Sterling is worth double the price Henderson would fetch if they both on the open market

We are not selling either on the open market so who's being hysterical now?

[killer-heels]

Well one has to really be privy to the contract to see what the specific targets or demands are. In any event, a player wants a guaranteed base salary; it's only natural. I mean, imagine if your boss came in and said "you only get your 50k a year if the company makes x much".

And again, you have to consider what he is likely to be offered elsewhere. Do you think Chelsea or City are really hung up on saving money by putting in salary targets? It's more for avoiding FFP sanction.

We are not going to pay what City and Chelsea are. People need to accept that or follow someone else.

[Red Genius]

Right now we have Henderson and Coutinho who are just as important as Sterling. And we have Sturridge who is even more important. Whateve you give Sterling will have an effect on what they demand.

Coutinho and Sturridge are in comfortable contracts, one only recently signed - so hugely irrelevant as examples. And Hendo is possibly at a similar level in consistency all be it at a latter age as Sterling.

Market forces will ultimately dictate Jordan will earn less.

[ElstonGunn]

I'm just gonna go ahead and talk about Markovic.

Is anyone else a bit concerned with his dribbling style? When he drives forward he never looks in control, like he's hitting the ball forward a bit and seeing what happens. With a player of his pace, and apparent dribbling ability, it would be nice if he just developed that bit of confidence when trying to beat his man. Of course he's only 20, but I don't feel we are getting the most out of that position.

Yeah, I've been surprised a bit by Markovic's strengths and weaknesses. He seems to actually have a very nice eye for a pass and to be good at driving into goal scoring positions, but he struggles to beat a man and isn't a physical freak. He definitely seems like he belong more infield, either as a #10 or a narrow wide player, rather than a wingback. The dribbling does seem like something he could improve a lot, however. I see it as a combination of low confidence and a lack of upper body strength that sees him manhandled in a lot of duels. Both those things are fixable.

[Nessy76]

Yeah, I've been surprised a bit by Markovic's strengths and weaknesses. He seems to actually have a very nice eye for a pass and to be good at driving into goal scoring positions, but he struggles to beat a man and isn't a physical freak. He definitely seems like he belong more infield, either as a #10 or a narrow wide player, rather than a wingback. The dribbling does seem like something he could improve a lot, however. I see it as a combination of low confidence and a lack of upper body strength that sees him manhandled in a lot of duels. Both those things are fixable.

The great thing about football, is you can come out with a phrase like "a narrow wide player" and people actually understand what you're talking about. 

[ThePoolMan]

Coutinho and Sturridge are in comfortable contracts, one only recently signed - so hugely irrelevant as examples. And Hendo is possibly at a similar level in consistency all be it at a latter age as Sterling.

Market forces will ultimately dictate Jordan will earn less.

Henderson will have a shorter contract so our leverage is significantly less with him. And he will be harder to replace than Sterling, who has a potentially even better replacement in Ibe looming.

Sturridge will renegotiate his contract next season and he will use Sterling's contract as leverage. So will Coutinho whose generosity towards his club will likely be exhausyrd when he sees what Sterling gets away with.

[CraigDS]

Do you think Chelsea or City are really hung up on saving money by putting in salary targets? It's more for avoiding FFP sanction.

It's nothing to do with FFP sanctions or saving money really, it's about creating a motivation for players who can (if they want) simply sit back and earn a lifetimes wages over 4 years, now that wages have reached a massive level across all levels of player at top clubs.

[Halcyon Lissome]

The difference with Suarez was that he was doing the business and then some.

I do not understand what is the issue with tying the salary to specific targets. If Sterling is so confident he WILL be worth it, then let him prove it. If he delivers, then the club should pay him the higher wage.

Likewise if his marketing potential exceeds the target then pro rate his payments accordingly.

But what is 'the business'? You can't judge every player by goals and assists. Especially Sterling who plays in almost every position and has a pretty good game consistently regardless of whether he scores or assists. His impact is not limited to one subset of the game.

To put it another way: when Suarez was bought Gerrard was our best player and was earning 150k or near it. When Suarez became our best player he was earning 200k. Now Sterling is arguably our best player and he is asking for 150k.

I say "best player" because if Sterling was a CB we wouldn't care about goals or assists, but simply the level of play he is exhibiting. And Sterling is a high-level player that is almost a certainty to become world class.

Well Chelsea and City can pay a lot more than we can.

Exactly; and if they wanted to they could probably pay far more than 150k if they wanted Sterling.

So Sterling isn't really pushing the envelope to such a ridiculous level where you say "no" off principle and keeping the club's wage structure.

It's like having the hottest woman in the world on your shoulder. There are richer guys that can buy her a Bugatti Veyron, but at the moment she says she'd just like an R8. It's something you have bought in the past and can afford now and in the future. But you're thinking about saying no, knowing the richer suitors are just waiting for you to fuck it all up.

And this is more or less the same. It's a marriage of convenience. Only one player gave up the chance for more because of 'love' and that was Gerrard; you're unlikely to see another player give up as much ever again.

[Red Genius]

Henderson will have a shorter contract so our leverage is significantly less with him. And he will be harder to replace than Sterling, who has a potentially even better replacement in Ibe looming.

Sturridge will renegotiate his contract next season and he will use Sterling's contract as leverage. So will Coutinho whose generosity towards his club will likely be exhausyrd when he sees what Sterling gets away with.

Whats the lottery numbers mate?

[Cpt_Reina]

And Sterling would bugger off for peanuts if he wanted to despite the amount of money, time and effort invested in him as a player. There are never any Saints in club vs. player debates and these people operate in a world completely divorced of reality.

With respect to wages, football agents are just individualised and bespoke unions that stand to make a personal cut of proceedings. They act on behalf of players but they don't make the final decisions.

Sterling's agent isn't some faceless suit who knows nothing about him - they have a working relationship (so much so that Sterling discusses his own form with him) and they will have discussed ballpark figures. There is no way that Aidy Ward is running amok demanding whatever he likes with no say or input from Sterling. If Sterling asks his agent "oh hey, what's taking so long? What is the latest offer?" and Ward says "£100k but you're worth far more than that so we're not taking that" then Sterling is well within his rights to let his agent do that, but equally he's a grown fucking adult and if the club refuses to budge then it's up to him to make the decision one way or another.

I think it's naive to suggest that it's just Sterling's nasty agent ramping the price up and that Sterling has no idea (even roughly) of what's going on. At the very least in any profession if someone is acting on your behalf, and you're paying them to do so, you want to know what they're doing.

If you think 20 year old Raheem Sterling, who was put in a 'special school' because of his behavioral difficulties is concerning himself with the sort of percentage earnings, and cash breaks downs over image rights or performance bonuses then thats fine. I dont see it, but fine.

Personally I think he's more than happy to let someone qualified, who he trusts, handle all that stuff and just come to him with a package and say this is the best Ive managed to get you. Do you want it? Or do you want to try and get more elsewhere?

[ElstonGunn]

There are no such things as true apple to apple comparisons in a playing squad. But since his agent is reportedly wanting closer parity with Sturridge, then it is a comparson that he has himself laid upon himself.

Sturridge may play half as much but he scores twice as much...

You are being intentionally dense, I think. Who is better?

Xabi Alonso, 241 appearances since 2009/10, 10 goals, 31 assists.
Edin Dzeko, 211 appearances since 2009/10, 91 goals, 23 assists.

Obviously Dzeko amirite??? HE SCORES TEN TIMES AS OFTEN.

Now please don't make some retort about how Sterling is an attacker and Alonso is not. He's far less of an attacker than Sturridge. I could've picked any number of attacking midfielders, and it wouldn't have been quite so extreme, but the point would still hold just fine.

[Halcyon Lissome]

It's nothing to do with FFP sanctions or saving money really, it's about creating a motivation for players who can (if they want) simply sit back and earn a lifetimes wages over 4 years, now that wages have reached a massive level across all levels of player at top clubs.

It's bit disingenuous for a club to basically say:

"Hey, we're not paying you as much as you want, and can probably get elsewhere, because we don't want you getting ahead of yourself and possibly dropping your standards...we're thinking of you, not us, so don't ask for more, please, for your own sake"

 

We are not going to pay what City and Chelsea are. People need to accept that or follow someone else.

Luckily, what he's asking for is something we can comfortably pay.

[ThePoolMan]

But what is 'the business'? You can't judge every player by goals and assists. Especially Sterling who plays in almost every position and has a pretty good game consistently regardless of whether he scores or assists. His impact is not limited to one subset of the game.

To put it another way: when Suarez was bought Gerrard was our best player and was earning 150k or near it. When Suarez became our best player he was earning 200k. Now Sterling is arguably our best player and he is asking for 150k.

I say "best player" because if Sterling was a CB we wouldn't care about goals or assists, but simply the level of play he is exhibiting. And Sterling is a high-level player that is almost a certainty to become world class.

Exactly; and if they wanted to they could probably pay far more than 150k if they wanted Sterling.

So Sterling isn't really pushing the envelope to such a ridiculous level where you say "no" off principle and keeping the club's wage structure.

It's like having the hottest woman in the world on your shoulder. There are richer guys that can buy her a Bugatti Veyron, but at the moment she says she'd just like an R8. It's something you have bought in the past and can afford now and in the future. But you're thinking about saying no, knowing the richer suitors are just waiting for you to fuck it all up.

And this is more or less the same. It's a marriage of convenience. Only one player gave up the chance for more because of 'love' and that was Gerrard; you're unlikely to see another player give up as much ever again.

I prefer to talk in terms of goals and assits because there is some objectivity about that at least. It is not perfect but management lives and breathes on tangibles.

I underline again that I have no issue with him being paid world class salaries if he delivers world class performance that everyone can agree on. Nobody could dispute Suarez was one of the world's best despite everyone and his dog hating him because his stats were unbelievable. Produce his levels of performance and even 200K a week is not an issue.

[spider-neil]

Technically the Sterling situation doesn't become an issue till next year, when he will have 2 years on his contract. The Henderson deal is more pressing than the Sterling deal.

[cdav]

Its difficult to argue with such limited information that is clearly being leaked by both sides as a PR exercise. We don't know what the actual offer is, what has been rejected and what the demands are.

Also, we don't know about the make up of the contract on offer- performance elements have been discussed but what about image rights and the like? Gerrard, our most marketable player, is leaving this summer and it won't be a push to imagine the club sees Sterling as the next 'face' of LFC- how much are things like that worth?

I think we should do everything we can to keep him, he is already a fantastic player who is going to become even better. At the age of 20, he has everything you want to kick on and become one of if not the best in the league- we want to keep and build around such talents.

I would like to see him played in a fixed position within the team from now as everyone is fit, I think that the swapping of positions week in week out has harmed his performances and stopped him building any form or consistency. I think he would offer most as one of the two behind Sturridge- his ability to beat players centrally is huge and last season his running from deep created lots of chances when he got beyond the strikers- I think that is something we have missed this season.

[Clint Eastwood]

Yeah, I've been surprised a bit by Markovic's strengths and weaknesses. He seems to actually have a very nice eye for a pass and to be good at driving into goal scoring positions, but he struggles to beat a man and isn't a physical freak. He definitely seems like he belong more infield, either as a #10 or a narrow wide player, rather than a wingback. The dribbling does seem like something he could improve a lot, however. I see it as a combination of low confidence and a lack of upper body strength that sees him manhandled in a lot of duels. Both those things are fixable.

Yeah exactly that. He's a bit of a featherweight. I just want to see a bit more brilliance from him. He's clearly a very talented player, but I don't think he's ever took the initiative or tried something testing. He's actually not too bad of a defender either.

[ThePoolMan]

You are being intentionally dense, I think. Who is better?

Xabi Alonso, 241 appearances since 2009/10, 10 goals, 31 assists.
Edin Dzeko, 211 appearances since 2009/10, 91 goals, 23 assists.

Obviously Dzeko amirite??? HE SCORES TEN TIMES AS OFTEN.

Now please don't make some retort about how Sterling is an attacker and Alonso is not. He's far less of an attacker than Sturridge. I could've picked any number of attacking midfielders, and it wouldn't have been quite so extreme, but the point would still hold just fine.

"Intentionally dense"?! Why do people tend to get so personal on this forum? Are you unable to separate the discussion from making ad hominem attacks?

Newsflash - it is possible for someone to disagree with you while being actually not stupid or obtuse. How about you lay off and I will do the same?

In our free flowing system, Sterling and Sturridge play almost interchangeable roles at times. Yes Sterling has and can play even at fullback. He is more versatile. But he is primarily valued for his attacking ability - to score goals and make direct assists. His agent is comparing him to Sturridge to ask for parity or near parity. So he recognises that similarity and parallelism. It is not perfect a comparison but it is possible.

On the other hand comparing Alonso and Dzeko is so far on differing ends of the spectrum that the comparison becomes almost impossible.

[Halcyon Lissome]

I prefer to talk in terms of goals and assits because there is some objectivity about that at least. It is not perfect but management lives and breathes on tangibles.

I underline again that I have no issue with him being paid world class salaries if he delivers world class performance that everyone can agree on. Nobody could dispute Suarez was one of the world's best despite everyone and his dog hating him because his stats were unbelievable. Produce his levels of performance and even 200K a week is not an issue.

But you've avoided the point I've brought and Elston has brought.

Sterling is not an out and out scorer so the comparison or insinuation that he must have the same numbers as Suarez is not relevant.

As was being argued pages ago: Sterling's per 90 output is comparable to Eden Hazard's who is earning 200k. Keep in mind that Hazard is not only playing in a superior squad, he's not asked to play all over the place (like full-back) he's also 4 years older.

So it's very easy to make an argument for him. Simply put, however, he is our arguably our best and most important player. 150k for such a player is not an arm and a leg.

[CraigDS]

It's bit disingenuous for a club to basically say:

"Hey, we're not paying you as much as you want, and can probably get elsewhere, because we don't want you getting ahead of yourself and possibly dropping your standards...we're thinking of you, not us, so don't ask for more, please, for your own sake"

 

If that's how you want to twist it then yeah.

Or they could say:

"Hey, we want to pay you what you're worth so here is a £100k a week contract which is worth £26m to you over the next 5 years and is guaranteed. As with all top clubs, we want our players to push themselves to become the best they can, which of course also benefits us, so you can earn an additional £30k a week which is £8m over the 5 year contract, if you meet these achievable targets."

 

[Cpt_Reina]

On the other hand comparing Alonso and Dzeko is so far on differing ends of the spectrum that the comparison becomes almost impossible.

You're *so* close!