--- title: "Sterling – Time to step up" canonical: "https://readliverpoolfc.com/articles/sterling-time-to-step-up/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "Jordan Henderson" section: "Articles" published: "2014-08-04T12:34:22Z" modified: "2014-08-04T12:38:03Z" --- # Sterling – Time to step up The recent departure of the mad-genius Luis Suarez has been all over the news since speculation of his move to Barcelona began at the beginning of the summer. Although Liverpool pocketed £75m, the third-highest transfer fee of all time, it has left reds all over the world worrying about how he can be replaced. The majority of people have accepted that there is no like-for-like replacement for Luis, and that instead the squad must be strengthened. However, in addition to new arrivals having an impact, current squad members must also now step up, and I believe this is the perfect opportunity for Raheem Sterling to stamp his mark on the Premier League, despite his tender years. Last season Sterling and the rest of the Liverpool team were all supporting acts to the big duo – SAS. Let’s be honest – Suarez and Sturridge were a dream. But all good things must come to an end, so the saying goes. Rodgers and his reds must move on, and Raheem Sterling will surely now have a great deal of responsibility resting upon him. Yes, he is still only 19, but he has demonstrated maturity and ability far beyond his age. With two years of first-team football under his belt now, the team’s star player departed and importantly two years of Brendan’s tutelage, this is the perfect stage for him to kick on. Sterling himself agrees with the importance of the boss’ input – *“**The manager has been a massive influence day in, day out. He has made my football intelligence much better, helping me read the game and making me grow up real fast in footballing terms. He has taught me a massive amount on the tactical side and made me develop on this aspect.**”* His game will naturally progress, but he must now begin to add to his end-product, to help replace the goals and assists of the departed Uruguayan. According to WhoScored, last season Sterling registered 9 goals and 5 assists in 24 Premier League starts to amass an average match rating of 7.39 – a hugely impressive return from a then 18 year old. This coming after a return of 2 goals and 2 assists from 19 league starts in the 12/13 season and an average match rating of 6.96 shows vast improvement, but this upward curve must now continue. Rodgers faces a huge test of his managerial abilities to alter his new-look team for this season and get them matching last season’s performance levels. He has lost the magic spark from his team, but I believe Sterling can help replace that. However, it is not just the goals and assists that Sterling must step up in, it is his overall play and involvement within games. With the loss of Suarez, Daniel Sturridge will now become the focal point of the attack– and I believe Sterling can greatly assist him with this (mind the pun), as he certainly has the potential, drive and mentality to do so. The belief that he must now continue his growth is echoed by Raheem himself- *“The last two years have gone past so quickly but has been really enjoyable and a big learning curve. Now I have to keep learning and growing“* before going on to add *“But I still have to keep focused on working hard and doing everything to keep progressing. I have to prove myself again and try to achieve more than last season. I have personal and team goals I have set myself again and the main aim is to help this team go one step further this year.”* He must now show this by starting to regularly taking games by the scruff of the neck and putting in match-winning displays. I realise this is a lot to ask of a 19 year old and that obviously he will not be able to do this to the level of Suarez, but this is no ordinary 19 year old we have on our hands here and I believe Brendan will now really push him, and he will respond. Sterling has recently stated that he believes his best position is centrally – just off the front, as shown in the following quote – *“I’m happy in a number of positions but personally I see myself playing just off the striker in a central role in future.”* It is here where he can have the greatest impact on games and regularly be involved with the play, rather than be shunted out on the wing. This was first instigated by Rodgers last season, and what a masterstroke it could turn out to be. We witnessed this on numerous occasions during our almost surreal season, none more so than the huge 3-2 victory over Man City at Anfield. The composure and awareness he showed for his opening goal almost defied belief, making England’s number 1 Goalkeeper as well as arguably the league’s finest Centre-Back quite frankly look silly. His surging runs, electric pace and relentless pressing combine to make him such a threat in this role. His finishing, however, still has room for improvement but this is normal for such a young player and will surely come in time. Whether we do see Raheem Sterling in this position again this season remains to be seen. With rumours of Rodgers considering reverting to his reportedly favoured 4-3-3 formation we may be seeing young Raheem back on the wings once again. However, such versatility means that we nothing to worry about, as shown in his two-goal display in the 5-1 hammering of Arsenal at Anfield. Be it behind Sturridge or supporting him from the flanks, his frightening abilities mean that he will surely be one of our key players this coming season. Regardless of what position he is played in this season, Raheem Sterling has already shown enough in the last 2 years, both at club level and internationally to suggest that he can be a force for both Liverpool and England for the next 10 years. He is a phenomenon, and I believe we have the perfect manager in Brendan Rodgers to help take his game to the next level. If he manages to do that this season then I suspect people will be talking less about the old Suarez, and more about the next Suarez…