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Gary Neville believes Raheem Sterling saga shows Liverpool risk becoming a 'provincial club' because Anfield has held them back

Neville says his old rivals have slipped from the greatness they once had and the flood of their star players leaving shows they are on the decline

Jack de Menezes
Saturday 23 May 2015 11:41 BST
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Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling
Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling

Gary Neville has claimed that Liverpool risk becoming a "provincial club" having slipped from the top of the English game due to the way they are run and their inability to compete with the biggest clubs due to the restrictions that Anfield poses.

Writing in his Telegraph column, Neville used the example of Steven Gerrard leaving the club and Raheem Sterling’s attempts to force a summer transfer to explain why he feels Liverpool are on the verge of falling into obscurity, despite finishing second in last season’s Premier League table when Luis Suarez was able to fire them to a surprise title challenge.

But with Suarez now at Barcelona, Gerrard on his way to LA Galaxy at the end of the season and Sterling refusing to sign a new contract in the hope of forcing a transfer to another club, Liverpool find themselves on the verge of a crisis, according to Neville.

He wrote: “There is a wider context to this story and it centres on how Liverpool have gone from being from one Europe’s great superpowers to one which is in danger of becoming a provincial club.

“If you compare Liverpool to Manchester United over the same period of time, I can think of only one player - Cristiano Ronaldo - who left when he wanted to go, rather than when Sir Alex Ferguson wanted it to happen.”

Turning his attentions to the club’s stadium, Neville believes that Anfield, while the spiritual home of Liverpool Football Club, has held back the Merseyside outfit from competing with the likes of United, Arsenal and Manchester City, while Chelsea remain an exception given their owner Roman Abramovich’s investment.

“Anfield has held them back because every other big club - with the exception of Chelsea, who are owned by a Russian billionaire - has moved forward already, either by vastly increasing their current stadium or building a new one,” Neville added.

Neville has made a name for himself as a Sky Sports analyst

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers stressed on Friday that fans should not turn against Sterling and should remember what he has done for the club so far in his short career, clearly in the hope that he will change his mind and sign a new contract.

With his current deal set to expire in the summer of 2017, the fear is that the England international will run down his contract and leave the club, who will receive a small compensation fee rather than the full transfer value given he will be under 24 years of age.

However, Rodger remains defiant not to sell him in the summer, and it remains to be seen if and when Liverpool will choose to cash in on the 20-year-old or risk losing him in two years’ time.

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