I've been putting 2+2 together and getting 5 a lot recently

Sterling fatigued less than 10 games into the new season and asked to sit out the England game.

19 years old and already tired? Not buying that especially after Rodgers proclaiming that Sturridge wouldn't be fit for England even if he played before the international break started.

If Liverpool had started the season well I doubt we would be hearing these excuses.

It always gets me when players are "tired".  Poor darlings.  It must be such a hard life.

Has he said mentally tired or physically tired? If it's mentally i'll let him off but physically tired? You've had 3 days between games, Instead of spending time sorting out your hair and going to night clubs looking for naïve women to plough, Get some sleep.

I'd find mentally tired more unbelievable than physical.

 

Call me naive but I don't think being a rich footballer is the most mentally challenging thing in the world.

It always gets me when players are "tired". Poor darlings. It must be such a hard life.

Training at close to physiological capacity for 30 years of one's life isn't exactly a walk in a park. Especially compared to your average desk jockey where the closest thing to physiological stress is a walk to a photocopier

The mental and physiological stress athletes go through in the space of their career is grossly underestimated by most people.

Edited October 13, 201411 yr by SydneyChelsea

Sterling fatigued less than 10 games into the new season and asked to sit out the England game.

19 years old and already tired? Not buying that especially after Rodgers proclaiming that Sturridge wouldn't be fit for England even if he played before the international break started.

If Liverpool had started the season well I doubt we would be hearing these excuses.

England aren't responsible for their career or their life. If Sturridge or any other player for that matter are unfit to play then they should have the right to refuse.

England aren't responsible for their career or their life. If Sturridge or any other player for that matter are unfit to play then they should have the right to refuse.

 

That's all well and good in theory but unfortunately International football is a very strange world indeed, I refer you to comments made by Platini when Franck Ribery was rumoured to refuse to report for international duty with France:

 

"If Deschamps calls him up, then he has to come to the national team,'' Platini told Bild am Sonntag. "That's written in the FIFA statutes. If he doesn't report for duty, then he would be banned for three matches for Bayern Munich.

"It is not the player's decision whether he represents his country, it's the decision of the coach. Ribery cannot simply decide for himself whether he wants to play for France or not.''

 

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/341465.html#SvR3mluQp5QCk47m.99

 

The coaches decision is final, if Hodgson says they play, then they play and it's not up to the players not the parent clubs to interfere with that decision making. 

Rio Ferdinand has commented on Sterling's tiredness.

 

Not going to comment on whether or not Sterling should be allowed to rest but couldn't help noticing Ferdinand's twitter comment on our foreign friends. Sounds a bit racist to me, Rio.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29596723

 

Former England captain Rio Ferdinand has defended Raheem Sterling's request to "sit out" England's 1-0 win over Estonia on Sunday because of fatigue.

Sterling was used as a substitute in the Euro 2016 Group E qualifier after telling boss Roy Hodgson he was tired.

Ferdinand said more English players should follow the 19-year-old's lead as it would benefit the national team.

He said on Twitter: "Fair play to him. English players are normally too proud to do that unlike our foreign friends."

Sterling came on as a 64th-minute substitute in Tallinn and was fouled for the free-kick that captain Wayne Rooney scored from.

The teenager, who has played 1,079 minutes of football this season, responded to criticisms from fans by tweeting: "Excuse me for being human. On my way home."

Former England full-back Danny Mills

"If I was Raheem Sterling, I'd want to play every international game I could at this stage. I don't really believe a player his age will have gone to the manager and told him he's tired. Has there been influence from elsewhere? The club manager, for example? Who knows."

Last month Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers had promised to protect the teenager in a bid to avoid the experiences of Michael Owen, whose career stuttered from his mid-twenties onwards because of injury.

Like Owen, who made the England 1998 World Cup squad aged 18, Sterling has become a key player for both his club and country at a young age.

Ferdinand said he and other England players, like Rooney and Steven Gerrard, would have benefited from more rest and pointed to his former Manchester United team-mate Carolos Tevez, who would not take part in training when tired.

Chief football writer Phil McNulty  

"Raheem Sterling's absence after England manager Roy Hodgson revealed Liverpool's teenager had told him he was feeling tired generated a lot of heat in freezing Tallinn on Sunday.

"How can a 19-year-old be tired in the early weeks of October? How can he be jaded after only playing 45 minutes of the 5-0 win against San Marino? Is this the spectre of club v country rearing its head again?"

The former defender added on Twitter: "Tevez would come in some days and sit on the massage bed while the team trained. "I'm tired"... match day - firing and energised.

"With more rest at the right times throughout seasons, Rooney would have gone into tournaments for England fresher 100%. Too proud again.

"Same could be said of Gerrard, (Frank) Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole myself etc - all too proud to sit out of training or a match with the bigger picture in mind.

England coach Roy Hodgson believes he should not be solely responsible for resting Raheem Sterling

"Going by many of the responses on here - because players earn a fortune they cannot get tired. Leave off!"

Former England rugby union captain Will Carling also sympathised with Sterling.

"Always amazed how simplistic some people are," Carling tweeted. "Professional sportspeople can never get tired/ lose form. They get paid! They're still human!!

"I am not just talking footy. Sometimes the adrenaline is just not there. The extra edge. Down to opposition, or fatigue."

Surprised Rio didn't call him a choc ice.

You've played 45 minutes over a two week period and you're tired?

How's the lad going to cope when he's expected to play three times in a week when the league and European matches are coming thick and fast.

When you think someone like Lampard would barely miss a game, domestic or international, over the course of a season playing close to 70 games and never complaining of tiredness or letting his performance level drop you've got to question Sterling's mental toughness over all this.

Certainly wouldn't be wanting to pay £40m+ for a lightweight like that as recently rumoured.

Do you guys actually believe he was tired? For me it was clear that he was told to say that by his club manager.

Imo Roy should drop him from England now and when he is asked why he should reply "we dont want the boy to get tired".

 

That's all well and good in theory but unfortunately International football is a very strange world indeed, I refer you to comments made by Platini when Franck Ribery was rumoured to refuse to report for international duty with France:

 

"If Deschamps calls him up, then he has to come to the national team,'' Platini told Bild am Sonntag. "That's written in the FIFA statutes. If he doesn't report for duty, then he would be banned for three matches for Bayern Munich.

"It is not the player's decision whether he represents his country, it's the decision of the coach. Ribery cannot simply decide for himself whether he wants to play for France or not.''

 

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/341465.html#SvR3mluQp5QCk47m.99

 

The coaches decision is final, if Hodgson says they play, then they play and it's not up to the players not the parent clubs to interfere with that decision making. 

 

 

As far as I know you're correct that the decision is with Hodgson, which is why I'm glad to know that we have a coach who listens to his players if they can't or don't want to play, for whatever reason. I find it ridiculous that national teams apparently have the power to call players up and demand they play against their wishes, so I agree with Sydney that players should have the right to refuse.

 

I suspect though that in Sterling's case it might be the footballing equivalent of him throwing a sickie.

He should retire from international football. The media have already got their hooks in and England are never going to achieve anything. It will benefit his career in the long run if he has nothing whatsoever to do with the England national team.

As far as I know you're correct that the decision is with Hodgson, which is why I'm glad to know that we have a coach who listens to his players if they can't or don't want to play, for whatever reason. I find it ridiculous that national teams apparently have the power to call players up and demand they play against their wishes, so I agree with Sydney that players should have the right to refuse.

 

I suspect though that in Sterling's case it might be the footballing equivalent of him throwing a sickie.

 

I'm in agreement that national teams hold too much power in regards to players being called up but the rules, apparently, are pretty clear and the power is with national team coach.

 

I agree that Sterling has effectively called in sick but I just find the whole situation strange especially when you take into consideration Brendan Rodgers comments about Daniel Strurridge in the build up to this international break.

 

I do wonder if there is some pressure coming from Liverpool for extra care to be taken with their players and maybe a quiet word has been said to those called up too.... The pressure is really on Rodgers/Liverpool following an indifferent start to their season and I think the international break is being treated as a very unwelcome distraction.  

So according to reports Ozil wants to leave Arsenal, kind of funny thinking about it when they passed on Fabregas on the Summer lol

Training at close to physiological capacity for 30 years of one's life isn't exactly a walk in a park. Especially compared to your average desk jockey where the closest thing to physiological stress is a walk to a photocopier

The mental and physiological stress athletes go through in the space of their career is grossly underestimated by most people.

don't be silly sydders, footballers are fit but no way athletes, an athlete is someone like rebecca adlington or your own thorpedo, who will do up to 70,000 metres a week in the pool plus, weights, and  cardio, or mo farah who will run 170 miles a week that's an athlete, the footballers who run the most are midfielders even a good one like pogba with a big engine will run 12k a match, in spurts,most of them not all, do you think someone like mo farah will sneak off for a crafty snout? anyone with half a brain knows smoking canes your aerobic capacity. so that excludes spoony and welsh*t!

Be proper funny if Ozil was sold in January and then we go to the Emirates and Cesc scores.

Saw some silly gossip today that they would sell Ozil and look to bring in Mata.

Pffft

Just selling Ozil would be proper funny. A marque signing coming to naught and throwing a light on Wenger's strategy. Whatever it is.

Would be funny if he left and came to us and under mourinho found his old Real Madrid form. That would surely be the last straw to drive wenger insane! 

I don't see how Mata could help them anyway, if he's going to get his career back on track, I'm not saying it's a train wreck but if he wants to be one of the top players in the world like he was here he shouldn't be going to Arsenal.

 

You think you get creative freedom at Arsenal but not as much as some think, at the end of the day it's just pass pass pass, Mata liked to influence the game in any way he could for us, certainly wouldn't help him their. Not to mention he isn't the fittest player either, I think he would really lack in his work rate just like Ozil and get tired really easily just like Ozil.

Mata to Arsenal wouldn't surprise me if it did happen. I called it a few months ago.

I'd find mentally tired more unbelievable than physical.

 

Call me naive but I don't think being a rich footballer is the most mentally challenging thing in the world.

Sorry but you are naive. 

 

Most academies these days spend a lot of money on providing psychologist, teaching youngsters basic things like paying bills/running a household and just all round general support. City ruined an entire academy of players, which included Ireland, Johnson and Richards, to an extent, because they failed to allow them to develop mentally. There is an immense amount of stress and pressure these players go through and many people simply can't handle it.

 

I also think people need to reassess how they speak/react to those that struggle and are considered "mentally weak", they get the piss taken out of them and as a result do things to prevent that from having that happening. Johnson resorted to drinking and partying, trying to act like a "lad" and Balotetti keeps acting out and, for some reason, it's considering having a laugh when really it's a cry for help. It's all a bit too macho for my liking. These are issues that will linger on long after their football career without proper attention. 

 

As for whether or not Sterling is mentally tired, well a 19 year old who was relative unknown a season ago is now expected to be Liverpool's and England's best player on a regular basis...I would believe it. More importantly, I wouldn't risk not believing him. 

Edited October 13, 201411 yr by Remodez

Mata to Arsenal wouldn't surprise me if it did happen. I called it a few months ago.

Would depend on how much United wouod want for him really

Tbh if I were Wenger I'd use any money for Ozil to try and get some decent CBs in and a goalkeeper

Edited October 13, 201411 yr by Bobbywoodhogan