Midweek Notes

Some stuff to clean up today, so let's do that.

-Not that this will come as a shock, but the loan spell for Raheem Sterling that Brendan Rodgers hinted at in preseason is now officially off the table. The manager came out today and said that Sterling won't be going anywhere, as he's very impressed at the leaps he's made just from July this season. What has impressed Rodgers the most is the tactical awareness that Sterling has learned just this year. This isn't Theo Walcott with his head cut off. Sterling hasn't been shy about his defensive duties and his overall positioning.

Is Sterling now a first-choice 11 member? Probably not. He's still only 17, but will be in the rotation. Ideally, I think Rodgers wants to rotate Sterling, Suarez, Borini, Downing, and probably Dempsey in his front three, along with Carroll if he can't ship him off and replace him with another striker. The Daniel Sturridge rumors don't make a lot of sense from a Chelsea point of view, as they don't have much backup for Torres. But Sterling can look forward to many first team opportunities this season, and we can as well.

-Nuri Sahin was introduced to the press and it was the normal fare of Liverpool being a big club and needing to be in the Champions League and he's happy he's here and it could be permanent because you never know and all that. Obviously he was pushed to Merseyside by teammate Xabi Alonso, and Rodgers being a former employee of Mourinho probably didn't hurt either. Sahin gives the manager even more options in midfield, but you wonder how many games he will actually get. Or if he does, is Jordan Henderson looking at a season on the bench? If I recall from his Dortmund days, you can play Sahin as part of the front three but it would be awkward. What it does mean is that we should be done with Charlie Adam, and that makes my heart smile.

-Speaking of which, Adam is rumored to be headed to Everton, which would be fine. Joe Cole is obviously going to have to go, and there's still the buzz about Carroll returning to Newcastle on deadline day. I'll believe it when I see it at this point, if it's simply a matter of numbers at this point.

-Interesting story on 365 about Stewart Downing, and how he could still be useful. I almost agree, and have already hinted at the suggestion he could provide support on left back in the right situations. Against teams that bunker in you could try it, and would give him time to hit a cross with his left foot. Downing struggles when a fullback gets all up in his shit, and from a full back position you tend to get a half second longer to pick your play. You wouldn't want him having to do too much defensively, obviously. But it's worth a look.