Summer 2024 Transfer Window - hopes, speculation, rumours etc.

[pauliewalnuts]

Oh, hang on, I just saw that he reads the bible.

Get him in.

[Gareth]

It's more the lazy phraseology. An Emery type player is someone who Emery and his gang think will improve the squad and can follow instructions, and it's perfectly plausible that Sterling meets both of those requirements.

Without wanting to launch into a back and forth ruck, it strikes me as a bit sneery of you to call it 'lazy phraseology'.

I said it because I also think Emery is very big on what players add to the dressing room, and to the team spirit, and in my opinion, I think Sterling would not fit the bill on that front. Improving the squad isn't just about being a better player than whoever you are replacing, it is about adding more to the team than that.  I think that's why he has clearly had reservations about Duran, FWIW.

He also said one of the reasons he likes Olsen is because he's a positive contributor to the team, in the dressing room. This stuff clearly matters to him, and that's why I don't think Sterling is his type.

I could equally say if any argument is lazy here, it's your riposte of "yeah but what are you going to say about him not being an Emery type if we actually sign him".

But hey, that's not my style *wink*

I think people need to read this from Pep book https://www.the42.ie/pep-guardiola-making-of-a-super-team-extract-4905861-Dec2019/

And watch this from 4 years ago

Because some of the battles Sterling has to deal with is ludicrous, and there's no reason for H and V posters to make claims of his character.  To be very clear I'm not suggesting that anyone here has been racist, but Sterling has shown great character in speaking out and standing up to racism, so people could acknowledge this aspect of his character. Sterling also has an unshakeable faith in God, and the fact that his own talent is God-given means he's actually one of the good guys.
But, of course, the media and press have influenced people's views, so I hope this helps and gain more understanding of Raheem Sterling
Insight.

This weekend he was left out of a football squad & at the exact moment the team was announced his ‘team’ released a statement moaning about it….anyone questioning his or his ‘teams’ character has an open goal to aim at.  Nothing to do with racism or god or any other such nonsense…he has made a prat of himself and it’s not unreasonable to not want that type of character around our club.

Personally I’m not fussed either way

[AV84]

To be fair to Sterling, it seems like the statement was a reaction to him being told on Friday after training that he had no place in the manager's plans and that he could find himself a new club. Unsurprisingly he was annoyed/upset by this.

The statement was still a bit ridiculous and the timing of it did him no favours, but it wasn't him just sulking at being left out of one match day line up.

[cdbearsfan]

Your idea that he would damage the team spirit doesn't seem based on anything except... he's a big name?

No, I am basing it on the fact that all of three days ago his social media team issued a statement addressing the fact he'd been left out of the first game of the season (by Chelsea, the home of everything that is bad about football).

He is a player who just attracts attention largely for the wrong reasons, and for that I worry he'd be a negative influence on team spirit.

He'd also come in on immense wages, too, which probably wouldn't be great, and he'd do so with an attendant press circus which would be a distraction.

Christ. I wish I'd just said I thought he was shit now.

Genuinely unaware of him attracting attention largely for the wrong reasons. Other than this statement when he was pissed off at being bomb-squadded, when was this?

[DrGonzo]

I'll return to this thread once he's moved to Saudi Arabia.

[Risso]

Because some of the battles Sterling has to deal with is ludicrous, and there's no reason for H and V posters to make claims of his character.  To be very clear I'm not suggesting that anyone here has been racist, but Sterling has shown great character in speaking out and standing up to racism, so people could acknowledge this aspect of his character. Sterling also has an unshakeable faith in God, and the fact that his own talent is God-given means he's actually one of the good guys.

Hmmm.

Very similar wording to this website https://www.the42.ie/pep-guardiola-making-of-a-super-team-extract-4905861-Dec2019/

"Sterling has an unshakable faith in God and in the fact that his own talent is God-given." It's *almost* like the Footy-Vill account is a team of bots or an AI project scraping content from other sites.

[Footy-Vill]

Your idea that he would damage the team spirit doesn't seem based on anything except... he's a big name?

No, I am basing it on the fact that all of three days ago his social media team issued a statement addressing the fact he'd been left out of the first game of the season (by Chelsea, the home of everything that is bad about football).

He is a player who just attracts attention largely for the wrong reasons, and for that I worry he'd be a negative influence on team spirit.

He'd also come in on immense wages, too, which probably wouldn't be great, and he'd do so with an attendant press circus which would be a distraction.

Christ. I wish I'd just said I thought he was shit now.

Genuinely unaware of him attracting attention largely for the wrong reasons. Other than this statement when he was pissed off at being bomb-squadded, when was this?

Sterling has his  trusted entourage, which is common among football players, but included in this is a  support network that looks out for his best interests. At the end of the day, the way Chelsea treated him and now instead of being admired or understand why he spoke out it's seen as such outspokenness is not good. This was a professional statement.
I can understand it is difficult for some people to see the perspective of a famous footballer but consider it  the same as a publicist for anyone in the spotlight making a statement for their client

Given how he has been handled by mainstream media, Raheem has wisely taken it upon himself to get his message across and have a team he can trust.
Many people make announcements on social media. That is actually showing mature character how he handled the situation

[Footy-Vill]

Because some of the battles Sterling has to deal with is ludicrous, and there's no reason for H and V posters to make claims of his character.  To be very clear I'm not suggesting that anyone here has been racist, but Sterling has shown great character in speaking out and standing up to racism, so people could acknowledge this aspect of his character. Sterling also has an unshakeable faith in God, and the fact that his own talent is God-given means he's actually one of the good guys.

Hmmm.

Very similar wording to this website https://www.the42.ie/pep-guardiola-making-of-a-super-team-extract-4905861-Dec2019/

"Sterling has an unshakable faith in God and in the fact that his own talent is God-given." It's *almost* like the Footy-Vill account is a team of bots or an AI project scraping content from other sites.

That where I took it from to highlight character!!
Dear lord !

[Footy-Vill]

Sterling also has an unshakeable faith in God, and the fact that his own talent is God-given means he's actually one of the good guys.

What fact is this again? Are you saying his talent is made-up bollocks?

I do think this is needlessly offensive . I'm of the understanding you're not of the same or any faith. Ok so I don't mean to come across in any way other than associating God with good character. However I can also see this may offend you or others in some way just by mentioning anything religious and this is not my intention.

[robleflaneur]

Sterling ,ridiculous wages,on a downhill spiral and at 30 damages the FFP or whatever it is now.
Also,he was an effective player but never a good team player.This  was not through a selfish attitude but his style of player,good at beating players but an awful crosser.He scored lots of goals at Citeh,usually from very close range but is actually a poor finisher.
For England it was noticeable how many moves broke down because he lost possession or wasted a cross.Compare with Grealish.
So good that Pep got rid of him at what should have his peak at 28.
In summary,offers less than Bailey,JJ or Rogers.

[pauliewalnuts]

Your idea that he would damage the team spirit doesn't seem based on anything except... he's a big name?

No, I am basing it on the fact that all of three days ago his social media team issued a statement addressing the fact he'd been left out of the first game of the season (by Chelsea, the home of everything that is bad about football).

He is a player who just attracts attention largely for the wrong reasons, and for that I worry he'd be a negative influence on team spirit.

He'd also come in on immense wages, too, which probably wouldn't be great, and he'd do so with an attendant press circus which would be a distraction.

Christ. I wish I'd just said I thought he was shit now.

Genuinely unaware of him attracting attention largely for the wrong reasons. Other than this statement when he was pissed off at being bomb-squadded, when was this?

Sterling has his  trusted entourage, which is common among football players, but included in this is a  support network that looks out for his best interests. At the end of the day, the way Chelsea treated him and now instead of being admired or understand why he spoke out it's seen as such outspokenness is not good. This was a professional statement.
I can understand it is difficult for some people to see the perspective of a famous footballer but consider it  the same as a publicist for anyone in the spotlight making a statement for their client

Given how he has been handled by mainstream media, Raheem has wisely taken it upon himself to get his message across and have a team he can trust.
Many people make announcements on social media. That is actually showing mature character how he handled the situation

You would be OK if we dropped, say, Jhon Duran and he had his 'team' release  something similar to this to the press?

“Raheem Sterling is contracted to Chelsea Football Club for the next three years. He returned to England two weeks early to conduct individual training, and has had a positive pre-season under the new coach, who he has developed a good working relationship with.

“He is committed, as ever, to delivering at the highest level for Chelsea FC and the fans, who he holds in high regard, and given his inclusion in official club pre-match material this week, our expectation was that Raheem would be involved in this weekend’s fixture in some capacity.

“As a camp, we have always had positive dialogue with, and assurance from, Chelsea FC in relation to Raheem’s future at the club, so we look forward to gaining clarity on the situation.

“Until then, we will continue to support Raheem’s desire to start the new season positively.”

You really think that having your team release something saying you've tried really hard in pre-seaso and thought you'd be in the side as you were in the program for the match, and you'll be looking for 'clarity' is a sign of maturity?

[cdbearsfan]

It's a big sack of nothing, IMO. And you seem to have extrapolated one statement to smear an entire career. What other examples are there of him "attracting attention for largely the wrong reasons"?

[Footy-Vill]

Your idea that he would damage the team spirit doesn't seem based on anything except... he's a big name?

No, I am basing it on the fact that all of three days ago his social media team issued a statement addressing the fact he'd been left out of the first game of the season (by Chelsea, the home of everything that is bad about football).

He is a player who just attracts attention largely for the wrong reasons, and for that I worry he'd be a negative influence on team spirit.

He'd also come in on immense wages, too, which probably wouldn't be great, and he'd do so with an attendant press circus which would be a distraction.

Christ. I wish I'd just said I thought he was shit now.

Genuinely unaware of him attracting attention largely for the wrong reasons. Other than this statement when he was pissed off at being bomb-squadded, when was this?

Sterling has his  trusted entourage, which is common among football players, but included in this is a  support network that looks out for his best interests. At the end of the day, the way Chelsea treated him and now instead of being admired or understand why he spoke out it's seen as such outspokenness is not good. This was a professional statement.
I can understand it is difficult for some people to see the perspective of a famous footballer but consider it  the same as a publicist for anyone in the spotlight making a statement for their client

Given how he has been handled by mainstream media, Raheem has wisely taken it upon himself to get his message across and have a team he can trust.
Many people make announcements on social media. That is actually showing mature character how he handled the situation

You would be OK if we dropped, say, Jhon Duran and he had his 'team' release  something similar to this to the press?

“Raheem Sterling is contracted to Chelsea Football Club for the next three years. He returned to England two weeks early to conduct individual training, and has had a positive pre-season under the new coach, who he has developed a good working relationship with.

“He is committed, as ever, to delivering at the highest level for Chelsea FC and the fans, who he holds in high regard, and given his inclusion in official club pre-match material this week, our expectation was that Raheem would be involved in this weekend’s fixture in some capacity.

“As a camp, we have always had positive dialogue with, and assurance from, Chelsea FC in relation to Raheem’s future at the club, so we look forward to gaining clarity on the situation.

“Until then, we will continue to support Raheem’s desire to start the new season positively.”

You really think that having your team release something saying you've tried really hard in pre-seaso and thought you'd be in the side as you were in the program for the match, and you'll be looking for 'clarity' is a sign of maturity?

Yes it's a professional statement . No emoji or passive aggressive communication. Or silence. Gave his side of the story.

[pauliewalnuts]

It's a big sack of nothing, IMO. And you seem to have extrapolated one statement to smear an entire career. What other examples are there of him "attracting attention for largely the wrong reasons"?

Well, I disagree with you, i don't think it's a big sack of nothing. It happened literally a few days ago, so it looks pretty relevant.

I said I think he would be a big distraction for us and that he'd disrupt dressing room equilibrium, and doesn't seem to me to be an Emery type player.

I haven't said he's shit. I haven't 'smeared an entire career', you gigantic drama queen.

I said he tends to attract a lot of attention - and he does - he's a high profile player, but that sort of attention seems to be something of a media circus.

If you are trying to in some way to extrapolate something else from what I'm saying, like, oh I dunno, he's some kind of uppity black man who should know his place, or he's got a big tattoo of a gun on his leg, just come out and say it.

[pauliewalnuts]

Your idea that he would damage the team spirit doesn't seem based on anything except... he's a big name?

No, I am basing it on the fact that all of three days ago his social media team issued a statement addressing the fact he'd been left out of the first game of the season (by Chelsea, the home of everything that is bad about football).

He is a player who just attracts attention largely for the wrong reasons, and for that I worry he'd be a negative influence on team spirit.

He'd also come in on immense wages, too, which probably wouldn't be great, and he'd do so with an attendant press circus which would be a distraction.

Christ. I wish I'd just said I thought he was shit now.

Genuinely unaware of him attracting attention largely for the wrong reasons. Other than this statement when he was pissed off at being bomb-squadded, when was this?

Sterling has his  trusted entourage, which is common among football players, but included in this is a  support network that looks out for his best interests. At the end of the day, the way Chelsea treated him and now instead of being admired or understand why he spoke out it's seen as such outspokenness is not good. This was a professional statement.
I can understand it is difficult for some people to see the perspective of a famous footballer but consider it  the same as a publicist for anyone in the spotlight making a statement for their client

Given how he has been handled by mainstream media, Raheem has wisely taken it upon himself to get his message across and have a team he can trust.
Many people make announcements on social media. That is actually showing mature character how he handled the situation

You would be OK if we dropped, say, Jhon Duran and he had his 'team' release  something similar to this to the press?

“Raheem Sterling is contracted to Chelsea Football Club for the next three years. He returned to England two weeks early to conduct individual training, and has had a positive pre-season under the new coach, who he has developed a good working relationship with.

“He is committed, as ever, to delivering at the highest level for Chelsea FC and the fans, who he holds in high regard, and given his inclusion in official club pre-match material this week, our expectation was that Raheem would be involved in this weekend’s fixture in some capacity.

“As a camp, we have always had positive dialogue with, and assurance from, Chelsea FC in relation to Raheem’s future at the club, so we look forward to gaining clarity on the situation.

“Until then, we will continue to support Raheem’s desire to start the new season positively.”

You really think that having your team release something saying you've tried really hard in pre-seaso and thought you'd be in the side as you were in the program for the match, and you'll be looking for 'clarity' is a sign of maturity?

Yes it's a professional statement . No emoji or passive aggressive communication. Or silence. Gave his side of the story.

Gave his side of the story to the media in a press release because the manager didn't pick him?

Call me old fashioed, but I don't really want Villa players doing that, no matter how good they are at football.

I bet you loved that time Gareth Barry was on the front page of the Birmingham Mail with his sad face saying "please let me go to Liverpool, it's my dream"?