You might finish reading this post and consider the writer bitter and twisted. Its your choice and your opinion. I have only attempted to present my personal experience and judgement.
Unfortunately I'm male. I know. I know. The world has changed and it is so advanced that I can do something my gender if i feel unhappy with the birth one. For now however, I will stick with what I have got. A bollock in hand is worth more than the other one in the doctor's surgery is my mantra for now.
I genuinely hope you don't finish reading this article and think of me as a deadbeat dad. If you do. Sorry again. Your choice. I don't consider myself one. Thankfully, my kids don't consider me one as well.
I look after them in a material way and based on what they tell me and what I see, I think they prefer daddy to their birth giver.
Before I continue, let me give you valuable advice - CHOOSE WHO YOU HAVE KIDS WITH. These are the famous wise words of Mr Noshit Sherlock's.
Now to the CSA. I have had on and off contact with them over the issue of maintenance payments for the past few years. Did I say they are absolutely useless? To be fair, they have their area of specialisation. They are quite good on a few things. One of them is 'Hounding fathers'.
As I prepared to write this article, I tried to google the story of the dad who recently killed himself because of the outrageous demands of the CSA. I typed in the following phrase 'dad committs suicide because of csa' I'm still trying to pick up my jaws from the floor.
Although they may be good at hounding people, watch out for their ham fisted way of communicating their demands. For example, If I owe you money, I will expect you to at least know how much I owe you and on what basis the money is owed. If there are any issues to clarify or dispute like interests etc I will expect the basis of those issues to be outlined in any demand for payments. Sensible you will think. Nope that doesn't apply to the CSA.
Early this year after 36 months or thereabouts of the last shambolic contact with them, I wrote asking them to review my monthly payments on the basis that the circumstances of my contact arrangements had changed. In my deluded belief that they were something of a competent organisation, I gave dates, time, circumstances etc. I met with a brick wall. According to them, the other party had told them that I was wrong. They then tried to turn the screw on me and threatened me with the Courts. I was hounded with phone calls and letters and felt harassed.
I got into 'fight back' mode, wrote them a 4 page letter of compliant, basically letting them know how incompetent they were. I backed my claims with evidence and got a sorry plus an ex - gratia payment for their mindlessness. Another avenue to fritter away tax payer money. I thought the government was looking for cost efficiencies.
On that one issue, I have received 4 different letters from the CSA, all different and with contradictory figures and amount to be paid. I am considering my next step on this matter.
I have a big bee in my bonnet about one aspect of the issue of maintenance payment. I believe this issue is a perfectly reasonable one. I will explain. The non resident parent / typically the father, pays maintenance money. From the definition of the payment, I assume it covers maintenance (clothes and possibly other accessories). You will think so won't you. If the resident parent / typically the mum refuses to hand over any of these items to the father during his contact period. He is sunk. He has to maintain a wardrobe of clothes and other accessories for his kids when they visit. The CSA are sorry, they cannot intervene when it is clear the dad is paying twice.
Also, when the resident parent denies the non resident parent contact just before a case is lodged at the CSA, the CSA don't care what the agreed or proposed contact arrangements are. They base the payments on the here and now. Even when that here and now is artificially influenced to favour the resident parent.
God save you if you had marital debts and it was only in your name. You are on your own. All the resident parent needs to say is that its nothing to do with them and you will have to repay thew debt alone. I wonder what the CSA expects the resident parent to say? Does the CSA care if you have any proof that the debt was jointly incurred? Do they hell? No. Finito. You decided to marry a lying birth giver. Go suffer the consequences alone.
You can't rely on anything the CSA tell you over the phone or write in a letter. I understand that in any serious place of work, if any authorised signatory mistakenly signs a letter to a customer on an issue, the organisation will honour the obligation in that letter to their detriment. Not the CSA. They not only wrote something to me, they contradicted that on the phone. During my last conversation with them, they mentioned something that I knew was untrue, when I challenged them, they quickly back tracked.
Clearly and in my opinion, the CSA is not fit for purpose. I do not have a lot of dealings with other government agencies apart from say the Local Council. My experiences of the Council is OK, they tell me how much I owe them and I pay and they pick up my bins every week. Simple. I do hope that most government organisations are like the local Council . If most government agencies are like the CSA, it will be a confirmation that the world as we know it has ended.
Thursday, 25 June 2015
Sunday, 21 June 2015
Rio Ferdinand - PLEASE ENGAGE BRAIN BEFORE OPENING MOUTH
Big mon Rio Ferdy was on twitter recently giving it large about Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane's proposed transfer fee. He said the fee is overpriced.
Helloooo. Pot meet Kettle. I genuinely hope Rio hasn't been spending too much time with Pot????
I think it helps when people who are supposedly knowledgeable about something put in a bit of effort before making a public ass of themselves. And by the way, in case you didn't already figure that out, I'm not a Manchester United fan. Not a Rio Ferdinand fan either. I have nothing against the man. I am just of the opinion that his mental age might not correspond with his actual age.
How can Rio of all people talk about over priced players? How for God's sake? Is this what they call hubris? £18m from West Ham to Leeds. Rio your £18m in 2001 is worth up to £30m today (Please see here for the calculations) This was a Rio Ferdinand / player who like Sterling and Kane that had won nothing. And had all of 3 appearances at the Intertoto Cup - a pretend Europa Cup competition.
Less than two years later, this same bruv went from Leeds to Manchester United for £30m. Good Lord. His transfer fee had almost doubled in 24 months. Unbelievable. I suspect at this stage of his life, he struggled with his ability to read the news. Or maybe it was because there is no Social Media and Rio couldn't read all the hoopla about his overpriced transfer from a desperate club in Leeds to a money miss road club like Manchester United. Guess what Rio's £30m is equal to today. £48m+ (from the same website as above. See here ) Sort of similar to the £50m been bandied around for Sterling and Kane eh.
Both players are internationals. In Sterling's case, an established international. A veteran of one World Cup, a senior player for Liverpool FC and experienced Champions League and Europa cup player. What part of the £50m valuation for Sterling & Kane is overpriced? Mate.
In his time, Rio was more expensive than comparable foreign talent. Just to place things in perspective, in the same year he transferred from West Ham to Leeds, Rio was worth 3X Robert Pires . Nuff said.
And when he left Leeds for United for £30m, Gilberto Silva was bought by Arsenal for £4.5m. So with Rio's transfer fee you could have bought 6 Gilberto Silvas and still had enough money to buy a £3m rated player with the balance. Rio @ £30m? What a waste of money. Give me 6 Gilberto Silvas anytime and anyday. I hope Rio understands overpriced now. Glad to help with the overpricing education.
Rio, please get with the times. Forwards / strikers sell for more. So that's a possible factor in Sterling & Kane's proposed transfer fee. Don't think Madrid & Barcelona have paid 100m euros for any defender just yet but Madrid paid same for Bale.
Also have you heard of something called 'THE MARKET'? Once a willing seller and a willing buyer strike a deal. That is the market price. That is the value of the product / player. Any other comment is froth. No questions. No overprice. Geddit.
In Rio's time, having English players was a something clubs / managers wanted to do. Bulldog spirit, physicality perhaps generally tend to be more loyal etc. Today, the regulations of the EPL makes it mandatory. If you understand that, you will expect to see that reflected in the price. FAM.
Also Rio referred to the price paid for Sanchez and Aguero. Sanchez was last year, Aguero was a few years ago. Does he understand inflation? or the inflationary effect of the new EPL money deal. Don't think so.
Has he factored in the fact that Liverpool FC are upset and are deliberately driving a hard bargain because of this and because they know the buyer has deep pockets? Don't think he has.
So ma men Rio, please DO NOT USE YESTERDAY'S formula to judge the realities of today. Stop behaving like a grandad as well. In grandad's days, "everything was better". Dude, Get with the program (music ). We live in different times : - )
Helloooo. Pot meet Kettle. I genuinely hope Rio hasn't been spending too much time with Pot????
I think it helps when people who are supposedly knowledgeable about something put in a bit of effort before making a public ass of themselves. And by the way, in case you didn't already figure that out, I'm not a Manchester United fan. Not a Rio Ferdinand fan either. I have nothing against the man. I am just of the opinion that his mental age might not correspond with his actual age.
How can Rio of all people talk about over priced players? How for God's sake? Is this what they call hubris? £18m from West Ham to Leeds. Rio your £18m in 2001 is worth up to £30m today (Please see here for the calculations) This was a Rio Ferdinand / player who like Sterling and Kane that had won nothing. And had all of 3 appearances at the Intertoto Cup - a pretend Europa Cup competition.
Less than two years later, this same bruv went from Leeds to Manchester United for £30m. Good Lord. His transfer fee had almost doubled in 24 months. Unbelievable. I suspect at this stage of his life, he struggled with his ability to read the news. Or maybe it was because there is no Social Media and Rio couldn't read all the hoopla about his overpriced transfer from a desperate club in Leeds to a money miss road club like Manchester United. Guess what Rio's £30m is equal to today. £48m+ (from the same website as above. See here ) Sort of similar to the £50m been bandied around for Sterling and Kane eh.
Both players are internationals. In Sterling's case, an established international. A veteran of one World Cup, a senior player for Liverpool FC and experienced Champions League and Europa cup player. What part of the £50m valuation for Sterling & Kane is overpriced? Mate.
In his time, Rio was more expensive than comparable foreign talent. Just to place things in perspective, in the same year he transferred from West Ham to Leeds, Rio was worth 3X Robert Pires . Nuff said.
And when he left Leeds for United for £30m, Gilberto Silva was bought by Arsenal for £4.5m. So with Rio's transfer fee you could have bought 6 Gilberto Silvas and still had enough money to buy a £3m rated player with the balance. Rio @ £30m? What a waste of money. Give me 6 Gilberto Silvas anytime and anyday. I hope Rio understands overpriced now. Glad to help with the overpricing education.
Rio, please get with the times. Forwards / strikers sell for more. So that's a possible factor in Sterling & Kane's proposed transfer fee. Don't think Madrid & Barcelona have paid 100m euros for any defender just yet but Madrid paid same for Bale.
Also have you heard of something called 'THE MARKET'? Once a willing seller and a willing buyer strike a deal. That is the market price. That is the value of the product / player. Any other comment is froth. No questions. No overprice. Geddit.
In Rio's time, having English players was a something clubs / managers wanted to do. Bulldog spirit, physicality perhaps generally tend to be more loyal etc. Today, the regulations of the EPL makes it mandatory. If you understand that, you will expect to see that reflected in the price. FAM.
Also Rio referred to the price paid for Sanchez and Aguero. Sanchez was last year, Aguero was a few years ago. Does he understand inflation? or the inflationary effect of the new EPL money deal. Don't think so.
Has he factored in the fact that Liverpool FC are upset and are deliberately driving a hard bargain because of this and because they know the buyer has deep pockets? Don't think he has.
So ma men Rio, please DO NOT USE YESTERDAY'S formula to judge the realities of today. Stop behaving like a grandad as well. In grandad's days, "everything was better". Dude, Get with the program (music ). We live in different times : - )
Petr Cech to Arsenal - Head Scratching Moment
Here I am trying to make sense of Arsenal & Arsene's desire / longing / plan / wish to sign Petr Cech.
Fantastic Goal Keeper in his time as Chelsea Number 1 don't get me wrong. He was worth the mythical 10 points that pundits throw at you without any data / stats to back up their usual release of hot air from their well manicured derriere. PUNDITS. Don't get me going.
To be fair, I remember Cech was on Arsene / Arsenal's radar in 2004 before he joined Chelsea. And for those who only started watching football yesterday and are enemies of Google, Claudio Ranieri signed Cech.
I don't know if Cech knew in advance that Jose was coming or believed it was easier to displace Claudio Cudicini than to do same to Jens Lehman. I wonder if these considerations prompted his choice of Chelsea. The rest is history and I doubt if there is a more successful (domestic & European titles / trophies / stats etc) goal keeper in the modern day history of the EPL.
Is Professor Wenger in love with that 21 year old he nearly signed? Or is he in love with the Cech that is number 2 at Chelsea? I don't have the answers but I am very dubious about this signing.
My pros of the signing are as follows:
1) He is not any better than our current GKs. So in effect we are not really going back if we sign him and sort of maintain status quo on the quality scale. Not a wholehearted pro but you get my point.
2) Wenger will be weakening the Chelsea squad. By Jose's own admission (lies and damned lies, that's anything he says by the way), they have the two best GKs in the EPL. So taking one away from them is definitely weakening them. Except they can persuade a top 5 GK who is number 1 in his club to join them and sit on the bench, I think they are weakened.
3) Jose didn't want to sell Cech to any team in the EPL especially not Arsenal. So a bloody nose to Jose and his coterie of Okada driving fans in Nigeria is always welcome.
4) Many on social media have commented about the potential similarities with the Edwin Van De Sar to Manchester United move. If this happens, there will be no opposition to renaming the Emirates Stadium as 'the house that Arsene built' and simultaneously renaming the club as 'Arsene FC'. Time will tell my friends.
5) I am somewhat in the Wenger knows best camp and will have to see how this one pans out. The man has had some turkeys and some absolute flyers in the past. For his sake, I hope Cech is one for the later category.
Now to the cons:
1) See point 1 above. Why not go for a GK with a better pedigree than we currently have? I have jokingly suggested that we approach Marc Andre Ter Stegen and make him a huge offer to be our number 1. I am aware that he will cost north of £30m but I think if we believe we need a new GK, that is the kind of player we should be aspiring towards.
2) A GK is as good as the back four in front of him. If we bring Cech in and play him at the back of a shaky back 4, he will look ridiculous and the signing will likely unravel. So I hope to God we are planning to improve our back 4 too.
3) Please Google 'petr cech howlers' and realise that he is not a miracle worker and he is not the cure all for all our ills as a club.
4) The rumours are that Ospina will leave. I think this is unfair except if this is down to Ospina himself wanting the move. I doubt he will want to go to Turkey though. I love Ospina. Admired him at the Brazil World Cup and wanted him to succeed at Arsenal. Same way I love Szczesny. I was delighted that Wojciech was joint winner of the Golden Gloves two seasons ago. I hope in turn this love will be transferred to Cech when he becomes Arsenal number 1. We shall see.
Back to Ospina, I don't think he has done much wrong. His stats prove it although as I said before, your performance as a GK depends on how good your back 4 are. Before Ospina had even played a game for the club, some notable Arsenal bloggers had written him off. My suspicions are that this was down to the fact that Scz is Arsenal through and through and they only expressing their bias. Although to be fair to Ospina's critics, you probably want to say there were some question marks with some of the goals he conceded especially the one against Swansea at the Emirates.
In my opinion, looking at the little I know of human nature and adding 2 and 2 together to arrive at 22, I believe the defenders were a lot less nervous with Ospina in goal than they were with Scz. The latter is somewhat more erratic and regularly prone to doing a FULL ALUMNIA.
So why should Ospina make way? Unfortunately it is football. It is the kind of career they signed up for. I am surprised though as Wenger has a reputation as one of the big great romantics of the game and I find it difficult to believe he will ship out Ospina sharp sharp just like that.
As with most things. Time will tell. As a fan, I just need to get on my bike and praise sing Petr Cech when he appears for Arsenal and kisses the badge and accidentally goes FULL Toni Schumacher' on John Terry.
Fantastic Goal Keeper in his time as Chelsea Number 1 don't get me wrong. He was worth the mythical 10 points that pundits throw at you without any data / stats to back up their usual release of hot air from their well manicured derriere. PUNDITS. Don't get me going.
To be fair, I remember Cech was on Arsene / Arsenal's radar in 2004 before he joined Chelsea. And for those who only started watching football yesterday and are enemies of Google, Claudio Ranieri signed Cech.
I don't know if Cech knew in advance that Jose was coming or believed it was easier to displace Claudio Cudicini than to do same to Jens Lehman. I wonder if these considerations prompted his choice of Chelsea. The rest is history and I doubt if there is a more successful (domestic & European titles / trophies / stats etc) goal keeper in the modern day history of the EPL.
Is Professor Wenger in love with that 21 year old he nearly signed? Or is he in love with the Cech that is number 2 at Chelsea? I don't have the answers but I am very dubious about this signing.
My pros of the signing are as follows:
1) He is not any better than our current GKs. So in effect we are not really going back if we sign him and sort of maintain status quo on the quality scale. Not a wholehearted pro but you get my point.
2) Wenger will be weakening the Chelsea squad. By Jose's own admission (lies and damned lies, that's anything he says by the way), they have the two best GKs in the EPL. So taking one away from them is definitely weakening them. Except they can persuade a top 5 GK who is number 1 in his club to join them and sit on the bench, I think they are weakened.
3) Jose didn't want to sell Cech to any team in the EPL especially not Arsenal. So a bloody nose to Jose and his coterie of Okada driving fans in Nigeria is always welcome.
4) Many on social media have commented about the potential similarities with the Edwin Van De Sar to Manchester United move. If this happens, there will be no opposition to renaming the Emirates Stadium as 'the house that Arsene built' and simultaneously renaming the club as 'Arsene FC'. Time will tell my friends.
5) I am somewhat in the Wenger knows best camp and will have to see how this one pans out. The man has had some turkeys and some absolute flyers in the past. For his sake, I hope Cech is one for the later category.
Now to the cons:
1) See point 1 above. Why not go for a GK with a better pedigree than we currently have? I have jokingly suggested that we approach Marc Andre Ter Stegen and make him a huge offer to be our number 1. I am aware that he will cost north of £30m but I think if we believe we need a new GK, that is the kind of player we should be aspiring towards.
2) A GK is as good as the back four in front of him. If we bring Cech in and play him at the back of a shaky back 4, he will look ridiculous and the signing will likely unravel. So I hope to God we are planning to improve our back 4 too.
3) Please Google 'petr cech howlers' and realise that he is not a miracle worker and he is not the cure all for all our ills as a club.
4) The rumours are that Ospina will leave. I think this is unfair except if this is down to Ospina himself wanting the move. I doubt he will want to go to Turkey though. I love Ospina. Admired him at the Brazil World Cup and wanted him to succeed at Arsenal. Same way I love Szczesny. I was delighted that Wojciech was joint winner of the Golden Gloves two seasons ago. I hope in turn this love will be transferred to Cech when he becomes Arsenal number 1. We shall see.
Back to Ospina, I don't think he has done much wrong. His stats prove it although as I said before, your performance as a GK depends on how good your back 4 are. Before Ospina had even played a game for the club, some notable Arsenal bloggers had written him off. My suspicions are that this was down to the fact that Scz is Arsenal through and through and they only expressing their bias. Although to be fair to Ospina's critics, you probably want to say there were some question marks with some of the goals he conceded especially the one against Swansea at the Emirates.
In my opinion, looking at the little I know of human nature and adding 2 and 2 together to arrive at 22, I believe the defenders were a lot less nervous with Ospina in goal than they were with Scz. The latter is somewhat more erratic and regularly prone to doing a FULL ALUMNIA.
So why should Ospina make way? Unfortunately it is football. It is the kind of career they signed up for. I am surprised though as Wenger has a reputation as one of the big great romantics of the game and I find it difficult to believe he will ship out Ospina sharp sharp just like that.
As with most things. Time will tell. As a fan, I just need to get on my bike and praise sing Petr Cech when he appears for Arsenal and kisses the badge and accidentally goes FULL Toni Schumacher' on John Terry.
Sunday, 14 June 2015
Manchester United are stuck in the past and in danger of becoming a provincial club - A response to Gary Neville
Gary Neville needs no introduction. He was a very good footballer. Some might say World Class.
His football punditry especially his analysis on British TV is peerless for now. However he cant hide his obvious bias when he is commentating live on Manchester United matches.
His writing though is another matter. I find some of it piss poor.
He wrote an article about Jose Mourinho in October 2014 that the Chelsea FC's PR department will balk at writing. Gary was so fawning that some of his body parts is still stuck up Jose Mourinho's bum. However that's for another day.
Last month, Gary wrote about Liverpool with a similar headline to the subject of this post. Forget the fact that it was the equivalent of rewriting history or kicking a man that is down and out in the teeth. I am of the opinion that Gary's logic didn't quite stack up and that the points he raised in the article are equally relevant to his cherished Manchester United. I will try to make my point below.
For Raheem Sterling at Liverpool substitute David De Gea. I have been hoping that the De Gea to Real Madrid rumours will be confirmed now but hey ho, we wait. If DDG does not move to Real Madrid, I might end up with egg on my face, notwithstanding though I plough on.
DDG was out and out Manchester United's best player this past season. He has been offered stratospheric amounts by Man U to stay but NO he is on his bike to another club who are potentially offering him less money. Same with Sterling, best Liverpool player by a country mile this season. Desperate to go elsewhere, even to the 'bottlers' at Arsenal presumably for less money than that offered by Liverpool because I don't see Arsenal paying him the wages of Alexis and Ozil.
Like Sterling, DDG is not letting Man U down by all the rumours swirling around that he wants to leave, "he is just a player who wants to play football and win trophies"
The only difference between the Sterling and DDG issue is that the former has turned into a circus because Liverpool think they can dick Aidy Ward (Sterling's agent) about whereas United in all their supposed glory and mightiness will never dream of trying the same with Jorge Mendes (DDG's agent).
According to Gary Neville if your best player wants to leave, you are in danger of becoming a provincial club. So tick point 1 for Manchester United too. In line with GNev's comments, "the harsh reality for the club (Man U) is that this situation has been 15 years in the making and the uncomfortable truth is that this is nothing new for Manchester United"
Just look back at all the big players that have left Manchester United to win bigger and 'shinnier' trophies. Cristiano Ronaldo, Gerald Pique, Paul Pogba & Patrice Evra have all gone to win bigger and better things.
This passage in Gary's article is an example of some of the inaccuracies and illogical statements he offered
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"if you compare Liverpool to Manchester United over the same period of time, I can think of only one player - Cristiano Ronaldo - who left when he wanted to go, rather than when Sir Alex Ferguson wanted it to happen"
Not sure he is familiar with the name Paul Pogba. Also Don't think Sir Alex was in charge in the last 2 seasons so he should compare like for like (Liverpool in the last 15 years versus Manchester United in the same period). Not talk about Suarez who departed & Gerrard who is departing after Sir Alex's retirement. In the period after Sir Alex' retirement, Manchester have lost a player like Patrice Evra against their wish. So Garry are those signs of Manchester United's descent into obscurity too? Gabriel Heinze forced his move out of United. Yes he didn't get his wish to go to Liverpool but he forced his way out. Wayne Rooney's two major rows with United's hierarchy (one during Sir Alex's reign and the other after) proved the power the player had over the club. On both occasions the club backed down. I don't remember any proper big non - provincial club been embarrassed in the same way. Do you?
The comment about Liverpool been one of English's football best supported club is perhaps another evidence of the inaccuracies served up by Gary Neville. This is obviously the view of someone stuck in the past. In modern times (and in my opinion), you determine the popularity of anything by its popularity on Social Media. So if you want to call any club best supported, please compare and contrast the Social Media standing of Liverpool versus the other clubs Gary casually discarded and come to your own conclusion.
I think someone needs to confront the faux belief that Man U is this big great commercial entity that can buy their way out of the current quagmire they find themselves in. Man U like most English clubs will have to feed off the scraps left by Barcelona & Real Madrid. And if England is the preferred destination of any big name player (Cheslea and Man City) are likely to get first dibs. There is only so much your 'big and mighty' global commercial operation can buy you, so if Liverpool had taken Gary's advice and gone down the same route as Man U, Arsenal etc, at the very best now, they will be another big fish in the small pond like Manchester United, rich enough to afford knock offs from the genuine global clubs who the real stars of the game want to play for.
I'm sorry, Gary's comments about Gerrard's inability to escape the attention of Liverpudlians when he goes out on a night out is just laughable and proves everybodies jibes that Manchester United are not truly a Manchester club. Perhaps it is true that all Man U fans are from London and Thailand. And that's probably why United players can't socialise or go for a meal in Liverpool because the people of Liverpool are true fans of their club and genuinely hate Manchester United players. Also the fact that several Liverpool or Everton players socialise in Manchester just proves the point that Man U fans are based outside of Manchester.
By the way Gary, when is Manchester United going to expand Old Trafford. Maybe the fact that the capacity is less than that of the Nou Camp and Santiago Bernabeu is what his holding Man U back from fulfilling their destiny beyond England. Yes Old Trafford "is a wonderful old stadium, with a fantastic history and atmosphere" but sticking your head in the sand and thinking of Old Glory is no recipe for progress. Chelsea have remained at Stamford Bridge and they have been successful. Arsenal have moved to The Emirates and they have not experienced success bar the last 2 seasons, City's move to the Etihad is nothing to do with their successes.
So Gary, spare us your apocryphal yarn about Liverpool's descent into a provincial club. Tell us about that of Manchester United.
Sunday, 7 June 2015
There is more to the venom directed at Raheem Sterling
It is a shame to see that Raheem Sterling is now the UK's poster boy for greed. I stridently disagree with those who believe this of Raheem. I think he is a young man looking to do the best for himself. How can't that be wrong?
The case against him as outlined by Liverpool legends and many of the great and the good within the game are as follows:
1) He is too young. Why does he need all of that money?
2) He has not won anything with Liverpool
3) He is not as good as he thinks he is
4) If he lives Liverpool his career will stagnate like that of Scott Sinclair and Jack Rodwell
5) He should show loyalty to Liverpool
6) The best person for his development at this stage of his career is Brendan Rodgers
7) His agent is leading him down the wrong route
8) He should never pick a fight with a club as big as Liverpool
I guess you can add some of your own views to the above. I will now attempt to debunk these issues in no particular order.
Personally, I think the issues behind the demonising of Raheem goes beyond football. In my opinion a lot of the Liverpool legends are men filled with nostalgia. Men who only remember when Liverpool was a proper big club. A juggernaut, a club that dominated European and British Football. At par or better than Real Madrid and Barcelona. Unfortunately that big football club is no more. Yes the history of the club is unassailable but it is the history. The 'present' of the club and its future however are a different matter.
Anybody with little interest in British football know that Liverpool have not won the Premier League since its inception 23 years ago and they haven't won the league in 25 years. Unfortunately it does not look like they will be winning it next season either. So please Liverpool legends, spare us your big club comments. Newcastle FC (otherwise referred to us a JOKE CLUB) are also a big club and so is Aston Villa but their legends don't bore us with all these 'we are a big club' nonsense. Kindly move with the times and welcome to the real world.
Take a look at all the things that matters to young people nowadays - Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc). Liverpool FC have 4.4m followers on Twitter, Chelsea FC have 1.2m more, Arsenal FC 1.4m more & Barcelona FC have almost 4 times the number of followers that Liverpool FC have.
On Instagram, Chelsea and Arsenal both have double the followers of Liverpool with Barcelona having more than 10 times the number of followers that Liverpool have. Barcelona have 84m followers on Facebook, Liverpool have 25m Arsenal almost 33m and Chelsea 42m. This is the generation that Raheem belongs to. Not the generation where European competitions was played on black and white TV and the British brute strength could dominate European flair.
Again, I am not sure majority of Raheem's generation buys into this too young thing. I was young once and so were the people in my generation and in the Liverpool legends' generation. We have all had elderly relatives and our parents wagging their fingers at us, preaching patience etc. I can't remember that advice stopping those who were truly determined. Can you imagine if Bill Gates' parents had told him not to drop out of Harvard? I mean which irresponsible youth drops out of any University talk less of Harvard. Bill Gates. That's who. See how horrible his life turned out to be. He's now busy trying to solve all the health problems of Africa. He should have stayed in Harvard. Maybe he will now be retiring to his well earned pension as the Executive VP in charge of the Post Box at IBM. Shame really.
Raheem is young and is a trait of the young to be hungry and to want everything now. That is how the young are wired. Some fly too close to the sun and get burnt, some soar and become heroes, legends, warriors etc. Those who are determined take the risks either reap the reward or have to deal with the consequences or both. So please lets leave that 'too young' thing in the dustbin.
Some argue that "because he is 20 they think he should move but will understand if he was agitating for a move when he is 24". What planet do these people live on? Raheem could have had a career ending injury today in the England v Ireland math seeing as he was playing against the Stoke FC wrestlers Wilson & Jonathan. That's it. If he gets career ending injury, promising career gone. Finished. Finito. Rest of his life watching old DVDs and staring at blurry pictures thinking "if only I had left Liverpool earlier and won something that can be more tangible than the memories of playing for a club that used to be big". No thank you.
Raheem is someone or some people's Dad. He is a professional and he owes it to himself to make a decision for his career whether he is 20 or 24. If he lacks understanding of financial and legal matters, he hires someone who helps him break those complicated things down into the language of a 20 year and he says YES, NO or MAYBE. It is not for others to determine. If any of his advisers lead him down the wrong path and he allows it, the consequences are solely his own.
To those who say Raheem has won nothing. I find this even stranger and leads me to think that this is more about prejudice. Please remind me what did Suarez and Torres win before forcing their departure from Liverpool? A League Cup and a FA Cup. That's all right then. Raheem almost won the league. Yes, not exactly a trophy but that 'almost won the league' contributed more to Liverpool's coffers than the League cup and FA cup win. You don't agree? Thank God you don't run a successful club.
What did Luke Shaw win before leaving Southampton for Manchester United? mid table mediocrity? To think Shaw is even younger than Raheem. What did Gareth Bale win for Tottenham FC before leaving for Real Madrid? Yes he helped Tottenham beat Inter Milan in that history defining night in Europe. Wow. Big deal. Gareth Bale was part of a Tottenham team that surrendered a 10 point lead to Arsenal and ended the season without that precious thing that his club has been looking for since 2010. He joined Tottenham in 2007 and in 6 years helped them into the Champions League spot only once. Fantastic return I guess if you support Tottenham. At least they don't claim to be a big club.
I can't remember anybody asking Bale to wait till he had won something with Tottenham before making his move. Now he is the proud winner of a Champions League medal and playing for a proper big club. So I guess what is sauce for Bale is not good for Sterling. 'Because WHY' I don't know. Only the Anti Sterling crowd can tell us. PREJUDICE?????
If Raheem lives Liverpool and his career stagnates like that of Scott Sinclair and Jack Rodwell, that's his problem. He is a professional footballer and is in charge of his career. Has anybody asked Scott and Jack if they regretted their unsuccessful moves. Going by what is in the public space about Scott I doubt if he does. People who think he does are assuming that these players main motive is playing week in week out. You are not their relatives or professional advisers. If they don't come out and specifically say what they want, who are you to assume that you know what they want. By the way Sterling has publicly said what he wants. In a world where Thomas Vermaleen has won a Chamions League, the La Liga and the Copa Del Rey, why stop in Sterling's way of winning trophies. After all, supposedly true football fans say winning is all that matters.
I will appreciate if Liverpool fans who think Raheem is not as good as he thinks he is can justify why they want him in their club. Surely your big club is only good for top talents like Luis Suarez and Fernando Torres. No? You also want him to show loyalty to Liverpool. Yeah. Like he showed to Queens Park Rangers? I can bet QPR fans are very much praying for Barcelona or Bayern Munich to make a big money move for Sterling seeing as their club desperately needs the money. QPR fans probably understand football fandom than most big club fans. Win, lose, draw, in Premier League, in Championship, they support QPR. No delusional 25 year old glory to hang onto.
Finally, I think the "Brendan Rodgers is good for Raheem Sterling" brigade are having a giraffe. 6 weeks ago, I wrote the following on this same blog
" Brendan Rodgers has failed at a few clubs. He has won nothing in his career and by passing on the opportunity to win the league last year on the alter of some silly yet to be established principle, he might never win anything again. Yet Brendan is the manager of Liverpool. The one time biggest club in the world. Let that sink in. "
The reason anybody can throw utter the accusation that Raheem Sterling has never won anything is because Rodgers couldn't sort out his coaching brain 2 seasons ago. If he left his ego at home and adopted a pragmatic approach to that famous Chelsea match, Rodgers will probably now be the new Manager of Real Madrid on the back of a Premier League win for Liverpool and lucrative move to Spain. Raheem will have a League winners' medal, Luis Suarez will probably not have left and Liverpool's 23 years of hurt would have ended. No. Rodgers was arrogantly pursuing a philosophy. A man who never fails to let everybody know how much of a tactician he is when everything goes right but keeps schtum when it goes pear shaped. Sorry guys, Rodgers is exactly why Raheem Sterling should leave Liverpool and why Raheem has won nothing.
And to all Liverpool fans who think that the owners will play hard ball with Sterling. I can't see that happening. They appear to me to be financially minded business people. The way they allow contracts run to the wire suggest they are people who are loath to load the balance sheet with the financial liabilities that long term contracts bring. I do not see them allowing Raheem go free for nothing in 2016. They will either cash in this summer or latest in January or agree a new deal with what Raheem wants plus a release clause like Luis Suarez' situation.
By allowing the dispute with Raheem into the open space, Liverpool FC have reduced Sterling's sale value and every single day he remains in Liverpool without signing a new contract or Liverpool agreeing to sell him, his value reduces. I don't see the accountants at FSG allowing that.
If you disagree, I would be delighted to hear your views
The case against him as outlined by Liverpool legends and many of the great and the good within the game are as follows:
1) He is too young. Why does he need all of that money?
2) He has not won anything with Liverpool
3) He is not as good as he thinks he is
4) If he lives Liverpool his career will stagnate like that of Scott Sinclair and Jack Rodwell
5) He should show loyalty to Liverpool
6) The best person for his development at this stage of his career is Brendan Rodgers
7) His agent is leading him down the wrong route
8) He should never pick a fight with a club as big as Liverpool
I guess you can add some of your own views to the above. I will now attempt to debunk these issues in no particular order.
Personally, I think the issues behind the demonising of Raheem goes beyond football. In my opinion a lot of the Liverpool legends are men filled with nostalgia. Men who only remember when Liverpool was a proper big club. A juggernaut, a club that dominated European and British Football. At par or better than Real Madrid and Barcelona. Unfortunately that big football club is no more. Yes the history of the club is unassailable but it is the history. The 'present' of the club and its future however are a different matter.
Anybody with little interest in British football know that Liverpool have not won the Premier League since its inception 23 years ago and they haven't won the league in 25 years. Unfortunately it does not look like they will be winning it next season either. So please Liverpool legends, spare us your big club comments. Newcastle FC (otherwise referred to us a JOKE CLUB) are also a big club and so is Aston Villa but their legends don't bore us with all these 'we are a big club' nonsense. Kindly move with the times and welcome to the real world.
Take a look at all the things that matters to young people nowadays - Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc). Liverpool FC have 4.4m followers on Twitter, Chelsea FC have 1.2m more, Arsenal FC 1.4m more & Barcelona FC have almost 4 times the number of followers that Liverpool FC have.
On Instagram, Chelsea and Arsenal both have double the followers of Liverpool with Barcelona having more than 10 times the number of followers that Liverpool have. Barcelona have 84m followers on Facebook, Liverpool have 25m Arsenal almost 33m and Chelsea 42m. This is the generation that Raheem belongs to. Not the generation where European competitions was played on black and white TV and the British brute strength could dominate European flair.
Again, I am not sure majority of Raheem's generation buys into this too young thing. I was young once and so were the people in my generation and in the Liverpool legends' generation. We have all had elderly relatives and our parents wagging their fingers at us, preaching patience etc. I can't remember that advice stopping those who were truly determined. Can you imagine if Bill Gates' parents had told him not to drop out of Harvard? I mean which irresponsible youth drops out of any University talk less of Harvard. Bill Gates. That's who. See how horrible his life turned out to be. He's now busy trying to solve all the health problems of Africa. He should have stayed in Harvard. Maybe he will now be retiring to his well earned pension as the Executive VP in charge of the Post Box at IBM. Shame really.
Raheem is young and is a trait of the young to be hungry and to want everything now. That is how the young are wired. Some fly too close to the sun and get burnt, some soar and become heroes, legends, warriors etc. Those who are determined take the risks either reap the reward or have to deal with the consequences or both. So please lets leave that 'too young' thing in the dustbin.
Some argue that "because he is 20 they think he should move but will understand if he was agitating for a move when he is 24". What planet do these people live on? Raheem could have had a career ending injury today in the England v Ireland math seeing as he was playing against the Stoke FC wrestlers Wilson & Jonathan. That's it. If he gets career ending injury, promising career gone. Finished. Finito. Rest of his life watching old DVDs and staring at blurry pictures thinking "if only I had left Liverpool earlier and won something that can be more tangible than the memories of playing for a club that used to be big". No thank you.
Raheem is someone or some people's Dad. He is a professional and he owes it to himself to make a decision for his career whether he is 20 or 24. If he lacks understanding of financial and legal matters, he hires someone who helps him break those complicated things down into the language of a 20 year and he says YES, NO or MAYBE. It is not for others to determine. If any of his advisers lead him down the wrong path and he allows it, the consequences are solely his own.
To those who say Raheem has won nothing. I find this even stranger and leads me to think that this is more about prejudice. Please remind me what did Suarez and Torres win before forcing their departure from Liverpool? A League Cup and a FA Cup. That's all right then. Raheem almost won the league. Yes, not exactly a trophy but that 'almost won the league' contributed more to Liverpool's coffers than the League cup and FA cup win. You don't agree? Thank God you don't run a successful club.
What did Luke Shaw win before leaving Southampton for Manchester United? mid table mediocrity? To think Shaw is even younger than Raheem. What did Gareth Bale win for Tottenham FC before leaving for Real Madrid? Yes he helped Tottenham beat Inter Milan in that history defining night in Europe. Wow. Big deal. Gareth Bale was part of a Tottenham team that surrendered a 10 point lead to Arsenal and ended the season without that precious thing that his club has been looking for since 2010. He joined Tottenham in 2007 and in 6 years helped them into the Champions League spot only once. Fantastic return I guess if you support Tottenham. At least they don't claim to be a big club.
I can't remember anybody asking Bale to wait till he had won something with Tottenham before making his move. Now he is the proud winner of a Champions League medal and playing for a proper big club. So I guess what is sauce for Bale is not good for Sterling. 'Because WHY' I don't know. Only the Anti Sterling crowd can tell us. PREJUDICE?????
If Raheem lives Liverpool and his career stagnates like that of Scott Sinclair and Jack Rodwell, that's his problem. He is a professional footballer and is in charge of his career. Has anybody asked Scott and Jack if they regretted their unsuccessful moves. Going by what is in the public space about Scott I doubt if he does. People who think he does are assuming that these players main motive is playing week in week out. You are not their relatives or professional advisers. If they don't come out and specifically say what they want, who are you to assume that you know what they want. By the way Sterling has publicly said what he wants. In a world where Thomas Vermaleen has won a Chamions League, the La Liga and the Copa Del Rey, why stop in Sterling's way of winning trophies. After all, supposedly true football fans say winning is all that matters.
Finally, I think the "Brendan Rodgers is good for Raheem Sterling" brigade are having a giraffe. 6 weeks ago, I wrote the following on this same blog
" Brendan Rodgers has failed at a few clubs. He has won nothing in his career and by passing on the opportunity to win the league last year on the alter of some silly yet to be established principle, he might never win anything again. Yet Brendan is the manager of Liverpool. The one time biggest club in the world. Let that sink in. "
The reason anybody can throw utter the accusation that Raheem Sterling has never won anything is because Rodgers couldn't sort out his coaching brain 2 seasons ago. If he left his ego at home and adopted a pragmatic approach to that famous Chelsea match, Rodgers will probably now be the new Manager of Real Madrid on the back of a Premier League win for Liverpool and lucrative move to Spain. Raheem will have a League winners' medal, Luis Suarez will probably not have left and Liverpool's 23 years of hurt would have ended. No. Rodgers was arrogantly pursuing a philosophy. A man who never fails to let everybody know how much of a tactician he is when everything goes right but keeps schtum when it goes pear shaped. Sorry guys, Rodgers is exactly why Raheem Sterling should leave Liverpool and why Raheem has won nothing.
And to all Liverpool fans who think that the owners will play hard ball with Sterling. I can't see that happening. They appear to me to be financially minded business people. The way they allow contracts run to the wire suggest they are people who are loath to load the balance sheet with the financial liabilities that long term contracts bring. I do not see them allowing Raheem go free for nothing in 2016. They will either cash in this summer or latest in January or agree a new deal with what Raheem wants plus a release clause like Luis Suarez' situation.
By allowing the dispute with Raheem into the open space, Liverpool FC have reduced Sterling's sale value and every single day he remains in Liverpool without signing a new contract or Liverpool agreeing to sell him, his value reduces. I don't see the accountants at FSG allowing that.
If you disagree, I would be delighted to hear your views
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