The 3 Liverpool players with World Class potential

What constitutes a World Class player?

With Luis Suarez soon to leave, and Liverpool losing out to rivals Arsenal for the World Class Alexis Sanchez, fans are getting worried that we haven’t bought any World Class players… yet.

Liverpool have already been busy in the transfer market with the signings of Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Emre Can. Further still, Divock Origi and Lazar Markovic are also strongly linked to join the club. However, while there is undoubtedly a lot of talent within these 5 players, and in some cases the signing price could be as high as £25m, no one, even those who are excited about these signings like myself, is suggesting any of them are yet World Class.

What constitutes a World Class player is a matter that fans will possibly never agree upon. The player clearly needs to be playing at a very high level, performing exceptionally well and with a very high degree of consistency, but is this enough? Even these aspects are debatable. Does playing in the French League count? What goal to games ratio qualifies a striker? Do you have to excel in international football or is the Champions League enough? To what extent do you even use statistics, particularly when it comes to defenders and midfielders?

Even a mediocre player is capable of a World Class moment (e.g. dribbling past a few players and curling the ball into the top corner) but isn’t able to repeat it consistently. The waters are muddied further by the media’s liberal use of the phrase ‘World Class’, which is almost as overused as the word ‘Genius’ in football parlance.

Virtually everyone agrees that Messi and Ronaldo are World Class, but there are still some who still don’t think Luis Suarez is World Class (erm… Hodgson?). And if you attain the level of a World Class player, should you always have that moniker even when your level falls as you age? Is Steven Gerrard still World Class? I believe he is, but I’ve met plenty of Liverpool fans who believe he is no longer.

This debate can go on forever, but I am more interested in our present and future, and filling the World Class hole left by Luis Suarez.

Brendan Rodgers has become well known and commended for developing young players, but fans are only interested in young players to the extent that they perform at the level we require. Part of the reason why so many, especially the media, get overexcited by youth, is because of their ‘potential’ to become better than what we already

have, even if they are presently below that level.

Hence 18 year old Luke Shaw – who has done next to nothing in the game except play well for a mid-table team for a couple of seasons and get a few caps – can push a perfectly fit Ashley Cole out from the England squad and move to Manchester United for £31.5m on a £100,000+ a week contract!

However most of these players fall by the way side, or only become solid pros, rather than the great talents the media assume they must become. More still of these lauded youth never have the potential to become World Class. For example, I like Jon Flanagan – his commitment, his tackling, his composure – but I don’t think he has the potential to ever be World Class. Nevertheless, a team needs players like these.

The truth is few young players have the ‘ceiling’ to reach this level. Perhaps because they lack the technical, physical or mental aspects. Often a good young player can improve in all these areas, but it is a matter of judgement as to how far they are capable of improving.

I mention all this because I believe we already have 3 young players who definitely have the ‘potential’ to be World Class. And with Suarez gone, Liverpool will need all three to improve further on their excellent seasons last year.

Daniel Sturridge now has 35 goals in 49 games for Liverpool. This in a team where he doesn’t take penalties or free-kicks, and is in fact focused around his ‘former’ strike partner Suarez. In addition to pace, strength, technique and skill, he has great determination to make up for what he sees as limited opportunities at his former clubs. Brendan Rodgers has already gone on record a number of times saying that Daniel has the potential to be World Class, I agree.

Raheem Sterling is still just 19 but has fantastic experience already with 73 appearances for Liverpool and a couple of Man of the Match performances in just 5 England caps. Last year he scored 10 goals in 30 games, despite many of those being either as a substitute or getting substituted. Furthermore he isn’t a striker and has played on the wing, in midfield and has even played wing-back & full-back.

In addition to pace and skill, Raheem shows great awareness, good decision-making and tactical intelligence – elements that have limited the growth of similar players like Lennon, Walcott, Townsend and Scott Sinclair. Brendan Rodgers has already said he feels he’s the best young forward player in the world (I assume he meant Under-21, James Rodriguez is 22), and it’s hard to disagree.

Philippe Coutinho is the player I most enjoy watching in a Liverpool shirt. Luis Suarez has said that after Gerrard, Coutinho is the best player he’s played with at Liverpool.

“When Coutinho’s right, he is the difference that makes Liverpool. I believe that he is a very great player”

Unlike Sturridge & Sterling, Philippe isn’t very fast or strong. However he has an illusive genius (yes, that word) on the ball. And a very rare talent to control games. When Brazil got thrashed 7-1 against Germany they had no player in their squad, with Neymar injured, who could control the tempo of the game. Coutinho does that for

Liverpool. His goals ratio needs to improve (he’s scored 8 goals in 46 premier league games), but he plays deeper than Raheem & Daniel so it’s hardly surprising.

I firmly believe Coutinho’s short to medium passing game is as good as anyone in the Premier League, and unlike players like David Silva, Fabregas or Ozil, he has the ability to dribble past more than one player. His defensive positioning and interceptions have also improved remarkably since Rodgers bravely decided to play him in a midfield 3 with Gerrard & Henderson.

For me these three players have the ability to ease the burden left by the departing Suarez, and while few want to see the Uruguayan leave, perhaps his absence will spur them all on to become World Class.

You can catch more from me on my own blog: http://taintlessred.blogspot.co.uk/ or follow me on twitter: @taintlessred