Over the past fortnight or so, there is one extremely talented young footballer that has been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Whether this is entirely his fault is another question.
First things first: the contract issues in which Raheem and Liverpool have found themselves caught up in. Do you blame the player? The agent? Or is this quite simply the failings of the upper hierarchical members of Liverpool Football Club.
Liverpool FC is a club that likes to win things.
After overachieving last year, a lot of people thought Brendan Rodgers side had turned a corner. Despite a fantastic run since Christmas the team looks like it's stumbling again when it really matters. Does the nature to their lack of success start with the clubs executives?
Unquestionably we are well into the 'business end' of the season. Only a couple of weeks ago Liverpool were sitting 4 points behind Utd, unbeaten since Christmas, with Raheem Sterling still nursing over 2 years on his contract.
At what point does this then seem like a good time to start discussing a new deal. Were they over compensating for their lack of urgency regarding the Steven Gerrard saga earlier in the year?
It truly is baffling, to create this sort of disruption when every member of the club from top to bottom should be focused on the task in hand - qualifying for next years champions league is truly absurd. Ever since that fateful news article came out referencing Sterling supposedly declining a £180,000 p/w offer (soon after corrected to be £100,000 p/w) the situation at Liverpool has only deteriorated.
If it wasn't for Man City's lack of heart and ability to drop down to 4th in a 'two horse race', Liverpool would be preparing for Thursday nights somewhere rogue in Eastern Europe.
Undoubtedly Sterling has made some mistakes down the line, firstly 'that interview' flattering Arsenal days before losing 4-1 to Arsenal was unquestionably a bad decision but 20 year olds make mistakes. Then there was the video that leaked with the 'laughing gas'.
The jury is very much nowhere to be seen on whether it's a life threatening drug, however Raheem, you're a professional footballer, if you are going to be doing that sort of stuff when you're already very much in the limelight, don't get caught.
At the end of the day it also boils down to whoever is representing this young lad. Agents are the poison of the footballing world and lets not kid ourselves they only care about how much money they can personally make.
At his age and with the ability he possess he should be taking advice from legends that have been there and done that. You can't help but think Raheem Sterling needs to look at the bigger picture; after all he's 20 years old.
The way in which he's developing at Liverpool, backed up by the brilliant crop of young players who are emerging through the England ranks could mean he finds himself with the biggest prize of all, the World Cup, how's that for a trophy Raheem?
In the grand scheme of things a lot of these incidents could have been easily avoided and quite frankly they're minor issues.
People need to get off his back, let him focus on his football, because as a country he is one of our most prized assets.
