The departure of Raheem Sterling has left our fan base in the state of mind that Jordon Ibe will fill his boots and perhaps he will, but let’s avoid mounting all the pressure on the 19-year-old.
Some players thrive on pressure while others don’t. I honestly believe Sterling struggled to deal with the pressure that was put on him last season and I don’t want to see the same happen to Ibe.
Ibe, for me, is mentally stronger than Sterling, but everyone feels pressure and particularly when you are young and playing for a massive club.
There’s no doubt Ibe has everything from talent to attitude to become a better footballer than Sterling, but he is still so young and raw.
I honestly believe he can become a regular in the side this season, but to pin your hopes on him is all wrong. The pressure should really be on Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino due to the experience they already have and the fact they were brought in for hefty respective sums.
I’m never one to want to put pressure on anyone, but when you come in with international experience and brought in for fees in the £30m range, that is just how it works.
Every time I go on social media there is someone always suggesting Ibe is already a better footballer than Sterling. Let’s be clear here, they both have their strengths and weaknesses. I don’t think as of this moment Ibe is a better player than Sterling, but I do believe he will overtake him in the coming years.
We are all frustrated with Sterling, but that does not mean that you should just claim that Ibe is already a better player.
I want to see this young man be given the time to develop and become the finished article without the fans putting unnecessary pressure on him. We shouldn’t be looking at 19-year-olds to deliver all the time. We should be sitting back and supporting them while letting them develop to become our next superstar.
Sterling’s rapid rise came from the fact that none of us expected all too much from him. We just let him play his football and towards the second half of the 2013-14 season, we saw performances that were simply outstanding. Yes it all ended sourly, but if we just let Ibe get on with playing football without putting all the pressure and expectation on him then you never know what type of performances he could produce for us this season.
Sterling was brilliant around players such as Luis Suarez, maybe Ibe will flourish having the classy Brazilian duo of Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino around him. There’s no denying the better standard of footballers you have around you, the better you play.
I can see why the fans are excited about Ibe though. Pace, strength, footballing intelligence, end product and a fantastic attitude. He certainly has all the attributes to succeed under Brendan Rodgers and become a regular this season.
If we want him to become our next superstar then let’s let him become that without expecting all too much from him. A perfect example of a young player that struggled with all the expectation is our very own Divock Origi, during his loan spell last season with Lille.
Playing in a team that was struggling, and with Origi being one of the more gifted players in the side, it was expected that he would score nearly all the goals and put the team on the winning path, but being inexperienced and young, that became too much for him.
The expectation should be on our more experienced players and leaders to take this team back into the Champions League and onwards. I wish Jordon Ibe a successful season and let’s all get behind him, but remember he’s still a young man at the start of his career. Let him develop.
