Odd that he would want to leave the PL for the Championship? Guessing that 1) Stoke can pay him at or more than he was making at Huddersfield and 2) he understands that he will shine in the Championship again in terms of end product - which he couldn't do in the PL. This could set him up for one more payday since he's only 26. And heck he might come back up with Stoke as well.
Watford have loaned Jerome Sinclair to Sunderland. In League One. Klopp called his bluff a couple years ago and is being proven correct...
Poor lad listened to his agent, the same chap who represents Sterling and, strangely enough, Oxlade-Chamberlain. He's going to have restart his career again which may not be a bad thing [for him].
Agents need to make their cut so Ox moved from Arsenal (benefited Liverpool) There are plenty of young players wanting to create a career at Anfield, they just need less selfish representation and agents looking after the players (now that's a rarity )
Which is why I was surprised that Oxlade-Chamberlain ended up at Liverpool rather than at the chavs who were offering more money , both to Arsenal and the player himself.
Brad Smith- hopefully this will lead to more game time...... https://www.socceroos.com.au/news/done-deal-premier-league-aussie-seals-loan-move
By the way, if you're looking for a coach who knows how to beat Real Madrid in a final: Dirk Kuyt coached the U19 Feyenoord team https://www.total-croatia-news.com/...zagreb-for-mladen-ramljak-memorial-tournament
I watched Stoke at home versus Wigan and saw a previous Red on Joe Allen. It was a shockingly poor performance from the home team which is in danger of going through the trap door.
surprised a lower-level Prem team didn't pick Allen up. maybe not a starter these days but a good solid sub I'd think.
Liverpool oldie beats ManUnited oldie. Kuyt beats van Nistelrooij in U19 Feyenoord vs U19 PSV Supercup match
Owen talking about his injuries. I wonder how much of this applies to Sturridge now? Former England striker Michael Owen says he "hated" playing football late in his career because injuries had left him "petrified". Owen won the Ballon d'Or in 2001 when at Liverpool, and scored 222 goals in a 17-year club career that ended in 2013. But he says injuries forced him to change his game, a process which began when he tore his hamstring aged 19, leading to five months out. "Once I did it once I was gone really," Owen, 38, told BT Sport. "I was quick, running in channels, beating people. That's who I was - compared to the last six or so years when I turned into the only thing I could. "I was petrified of running into a channel. I just knew I was going to tear a muscle. The worst thing about it is your instinct is to do what you have done all your life but you start thinking: 'Oh no, don't.'" He left Liverpool for Real Madrid in 2004, had agreed to return to Anfield a year later but Newcastle trumped the Reds' bid. Moves to Manchester United - where he won his only Premier League title in 2011 - and Stoke followed. Owen - who scored 40 goals in 89 appearances for England and captained his country - says his fear of sprinting led to him taking up positions where team-mates would not play passes which required him to give chase. "For six or seven years I hated it," he added. "I couldn't wait to retire. "It wasn't me. All I was doing is coming short, linking play and getting in the box. It ended up with people thinking I was a great goalscorer who didn't do much else. Mentally I could do it, but physically I couldn't." 'For me, it was turmoil' Owen also suffered injuries such as a broken metatarsal when playing for Newcastle in 2005, an anterior cruciate ligament tear on England duty a year later, and persistent thigh and groin issues in 2007. He made his Liverpool debut at 17 and starred at the 1998 World Cup aged 18 - but points to genetics rather than a volume of football as the reason for his problems. He says he was "made to get muscle injuries" because his father and brothers have endured similar problems. Injuries prompted Owen to consider retirement "loads of times" and he says he offered to end his contract at Stoke in December of 2012, before eventually retiring in May of 2013. "I admire people who can play for the love of the game," he added. "They may lose a yard of pace and they can go down a division or play against lesser teams - but, for me, it was turmoil."
That's a sad story but one that probably rings true for many other footballers .Guys like Owen with that explosive speed really have to worry about those hammy injuries . Owen was lightening quick back in the day.
the kind of doubt he talks about can kill a striker's advantage over defenders -- not able to act / react on instinct, and second-guessing all the time, trying not to over-exert in case of yet another breakdown.
Yep and I wonder whether Studge has also had similar worries about getting reinjured over these past few seasons.
Why is it surprising? You do know that the player makes the decision not the agent? It's funny watching people be critical over sterling's age e when he was just doing what his client wanted him to do!!!
There seems to be a perception that all agents have discretionary power over their players. This probably stems from the actions of big name mercenary players who don't really care where they go as long as they land the most dosh (Neymar, Tevez, Pogba, etc). If everything that gets reported is along those lines then it follows that the armies of near-percipients who treat The Dail Mail and The Sun as if they were Le Monde or The Sunday Times will tend toward the belief that the structure of the agent-player relationship is one where the agent tells the player what he is going to do because he (the agent) knows the way to get the most cash.