When it became clear that Raheem Sterling was going to leave Liverpool--right around the time he mentioned in a BBC interview how flattered he was by interest from Arsenal when Liverpool were going to play Arsenal four days later--it was fairly easy to disconnect from any sort of actual disappointment in how things turned out. He wanted money or trophies or a manager that wasn't Brendan Rodgers and probably other stuff too, and Liverpool were going to get paid pretty well in exchange.
Selling club and player power were common refrains amongst hand-wringing enthusiasts, and that's fair enough if the goal is prolonging misery for the sake of misery, but in the end saying goodbye to Raheem Sterling proved more enjoyable than it was disappointing.
Not because losing good players is enjoyable, of course, because player power and selling club. But his exit provided Aidy Ward calling Jamie Carragher a "knob," people quoting Aidy Ward calling Jamie Carragher a "knob" and putting an asterisk in place of the "o" in "knob," people talking a lot about hippy crack, Sterling ultimately calling in sick to training a couple of days before his move went through, and then Rodgers telling everyone that he and Raheem had been texting even though everyone knows international text rates are through the roof.
All moments for the scrapbook to be certain, but it's proven a regrettable process for the 20-year-old, who commented on the five-part drama after joining up with Manchester City in Australia:
"I was a bit disappointed how I left. That was the main problem I've had with the situation - how I've left it with Liverpool. I'm good with everyone at the football club, the manager, the players and I wish them well for the new season. But it was really disappointing how it did finish off."
Hopefully it finishes off with nobody ever talking about it again, but in lieu of that, maybe all involved can settle for moving along in their respective directions, only to intersect a few times per season when everyone starts waxing lyrical about the halcyon days of hippy crack and Jamie Carragher being a kn*b.