England football manager Roy Hodgson has taken a veiled swipe at a regional daily’s “criticism” of one of his star players, suggesting it has affected his form.
Hodgson leapt to the defence of Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling, who has been maligned in recent weeks for allegedly attempting to engineer a move away from the club.
Sterling was substituted after 66 minutes of England’s 0-0 draw with the Republic of Ireland on Sunday, and Hodgson spoke of criticism of the player from “the local press in Liverpool” during his post-match press conference.
The Liverpool Echo has since covered Hodgson’s comments, suggesting an opinion piece by its Liverpool FC writer James Pearce last month may have prompted the attack.
Hodgson, a previous manager of Liverpool, told the conference: “He (Sterling) is going through a bad time publicly.
“You can’t expect people to just shrug off criticism that he has been receiving – including the local press in Liverpool – but that fans out and becomes national quickly.
“He has done well to try and shrug it off and let his football do the talking. He probably needed this game to realise that he is actually to get it out of his system, he is going to need to work even harder and he is going to need an even thicker skin than maybe he has at the moment.”
The Echo quoted Hodgson on its website, and linked to James’s initial piece using the words “Maybe this is the criticism Roy means?”
James had questioned Sterling’s worth to Liverpool, and whether it would benefit the club to sell him.
He concluded: “Liverpool are entering another transfer saga they could do without. Keep an unhappy player against his will or give in and flog to the highest bidder?
“An offer in excess of £45million could test that refusal to do business. But what’s clear is that if Sterling does leave Anfield this summer it will be on Liverpool’s terms.”
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Hodgson ignores the elephant in the room.
Like the Liverpool Echo and its readers, he knows Sterling’s money-chasing advisers are the root cause of fans’ anger.
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Hodgson is still bitter because he was called out as the worst Liverpool manager in living memory.
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An England manager courting publicity to defend a sulking, overpaid starlet who can’t get his own way. You’d have thought he would have had more important things to do, such as getting England to play attractive, winning soccer.
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Probably England’s most miserable looking manager ever despite, being, no doubt a millionaire or close to it, should mind his own business. His England team against ROI was a disgrace, treating the match like a training session despite the fact people (mugs I think they are called) paid to watch it.
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Onthefence, overpaid starlet who can’t get his own way? This is Premier League football! They’re all overpaid!
Stirling isn’t from Liverpool. He’s not another Gerrard. Why on earth would he want to stay at a club which would offer him less money and fewer opportunities to win trophies than some of the ‘interested’ Champions League-playing clubs?
If he was playing badly, Liverpool wouldn’t hesitate to off-load him and neither would the fans. Why should any footballer have the same loyalty to any club these days?
If he goes to one of the big boys, yes, he might not play as much and, yes, he might not develop in the same way, but he is an adult! He can take advice, good or bad, from whomever he likes and make his own decisions.
It’s not like Liverpool are going to lose out on a £50m pay day to replace him, is it? But there’s the bigger problem. Liverpool’s transfer policy is rubbish and they’re not in the Champions League so they won’t be able to get the right players to replace him.
I’m with Hodgson. All these personal attacks on any footballer, regardless of age, are completely ridiculous. It’s not about the clubs anymore, it’s about the business. Sad, but true, and most fans probably need to reassess their own loyalties in order for them to make any difference again.
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Sterling (note spelling!) signed a contract. That may not seem important to overpaid starlets and those who pay their wages, but to Americans it is VERY important, especially in their NFL. Perhaps this is a reality check which English soccer and its dirge of a manager needs.
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Onthefence, sorry, autocorrect! If contracts are so important, clubs should only sign ones which suit them. Sterling can’t sign for a new club for another 18 months without Liverpool’s say so but just seeing that out does neither party any good.
If UEFA introduced a similar ‘draft’ system and salary cap as the NFL has in the U.S., it would prevent the most wealthy teams in every major European country from snapping up the best talent and playing them in ‘lesser’ matches or loaning them to lower league teams.
You can’t blame the players for trying to squeeze the most out of the system. It is a just job after all… for most of them!
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If I was in Sterling’s shoes I would try to get to a Champion’s League team and a team that is in the running to win trophies every season (including the league). Easy decision, follow your dreams and head for another team!
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