Liverpool Football Club have had a torrid season this time around and it’s been one that Reds fans all over the world have had to endure rather than enjoy. While the last season saw us reach the dizzy heights of second place and some scintillating team performances saw us smash 101 goals over a span of 38 games, this season sees us limping towards the finish line with absolutely nothing to brag about. If we were to really dissect our team’s performances this season and look for a positive, then the only thing that we can brag about has to be the form of Raheem Sterling and Jordon Ibe.
These two youngsters have given us some reason to watch Liverpool play even though we have not had much to play for since god only knows when. Sterling and Ibe have been like a breath of fresh air in an otherwise damp room. Sterling is of course, not a new name for anyone even mildly interested in the world of football. The young Englishman has been around at the top level for almost three years now, which itself is a marvelous achievement when you go on to consider the fact that he is just 20 years old.
The diminutive winger has enjoyed a fantastic season once again with Liverpool after notching up 11 goals and 10 assists in all competitions this season. To put that into contrast, the winger notched up 11 goals and 12 assists in all competitions last season, where he had the likes of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge alongside him. To pull off the same numbers without having similar support is a fantastic feat and one that has led to him being billed as the best player in Liverpool right now.
Jordon Ibe on the other hand is a relatively new name to fans of football whose primary love interest is not Liverpool. The number 33 has been a familiar name for Liverpool fans for a long while now thanks to his peerless presence in the reserve team, but this season has seen him breakthrough on the biggest stage of them all.
The winger first broke out onto the club football scene with Derby County this season after being loaned out to the Championship side by the Reds at the start of the season. He made a terrific impact for the Rams and he was easily one of the brightest sparks of their team. Ibe scored a total of five goals and created two over 24 games for Derby County which propelled them towards a strong promotion fight.
In fact, his performances were so good, that Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers sat up and took notice of the youngster midway through the season and decided to call him back to Merseyside. This sudden recall of Jordon Ibe by the Reds is seen as the primary reason behind Derby County’s ultimately failed promotion push and their fans still feel hard done by. This single fact goes onto show exactly how big a figure Ibe had become in his short time at Pride Park.
Liverpool are definitely lucky to have these two gifted individuals amongst their ranks, but the question that needs to be asked is this. Can Ibe and Sterling take Liverpool to the next level? The answer, in my opinion, is a simple no. The reasons behind this are pretty simple.
First and foremost, I do not see Raheem Sterling at our club next season.
The writing is already on the wall as far as this matter is concerned and the fact that he has not yet signed the new contract which is being offered to him is proof enough that he has not the least bit interest of staying at Anfield. And honestly, who would be interested to stay at a club that is mired in the middle of the table? His brilliant performances have made some of Europe’s big guns sit up and mobilize their diplomats for his signature, and I feel that he will end up at a Real Madrid or a Bayern Munich at the beginning of the next campaign.
Jordon Ibe may not be heading out of Anfield any time soon but his performances alone are not enough to elevate us into the Premier League’s top four. No matter how much potential he may have, what we fans need to keep in mind is that he is only 19 years old. And before you begin to argue that this does not matter as Raheem Sterling managed to have an impact on our side when he was this age, I would urge you to take a closer look and notice that Ibe and Sterling at the ages of 19, were nowhere close to each other. While one was setting Premier League pitches on fire, the other just got recalled from a loan spell in the second division.
Overall, I think that we should definitely be happy that we have two such talented, young gems at our club, but it would be absurd to think that these lads are enough to take us one step further.