There seem to be two very distinct groups on these threads - fans and supporters.
Fans will critique and try to work out where weaknesses are and how the team could improve. Supporters will often blindly clap and cheer, come rain or shine. In the stadium that has its merits, in a discussion it just seems inflammatory.
By your own admission, you haven't watched all games, so to say he's getting really good is somewhat strange.Didn’t bother to read much of the recent posts or thread, was actually just skimming through some of my past posts. He’s been One of the few players I like to criticize.
Unfortunately haven’t watched all of the games this year. Have seen some good and bad of raz. Still wanted to chime in and say I’ve seen massive improvement in some key moments. Don’t think he’ll ever be our pk taker but I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him this season. He’s getting really good, man. Best couple years are right around the corner.
Smashing, so we just need to find the position that unlocks Raz’s potential then.
No-one ever questioned Gundogan’s technical ability (as far as I’m aware) - just his efficacy in a defensive/holding role. Granted, I personally never thought moving him further forward would produce quite the returns it has, but anyone with eyes could see that Gundogan’s technical ability, with the ball at his feet, was brilliant.
Very different situation with Sterling.
There seem to be two very distinct groups on these threads - fans and supporters.
Fans will critique and try to work out where weaknesses are and how the team could improve. Supporters will often blindly clap and cheer, come rain or shine. In the stadium that has its merits, in a discussion it just seems inflammatory.
You say Sterling cannot dribble past a guy? I know he has had a poor season but Sterling usually does multiple successful take ons that lead that chances and goals every game. Lately he has been running into blind alleys but when you look at the players in our team that have successful dribbles in the opposition box, Sterling is number one of the lot. Bernardo dribbles very efficiently but whenever he is in and around the opposition box, his first thought is usually to keep the ball, look for a runner in a good position and lob the ball and so he finds a passing alternative. Mahrez is similar but doesn’t do it as well as Bernardo. Sterling is the guy that would like to take more risk and try to use pace and trickery to beat 2 or 3 players. I disagree with your submission in that respect.The difference with Sterling and basically every other player in this team is he just can’t do the basics. He under or over hits passes more frequently than anyone, he can’t dribble past a guy and when he does he runs out of play or gets tackled when the hard work is done. He lacks a basic first touch at times. His finishing is so erratic at times. I think I would choose the majority of other attackers in the league when it came to a 1v1 through to the GK before him.
If people watch closely on a counter attack he can really slow the game down instead of driving forward and use his pace. He just walks with the ball.
He lacks ideas and imagination with the ball, he is clearly a level below everyone else in the team.
The truth is the system and clear instructions from pep has made him look amazing at times and when it hasn’t worked he is not the guy to rely on to dig you out of a hole.
In saying all that he does have world class movement and gets on the end of loads of chances. In his good seasons he has finished his tap ins because of that and scored the odd 1v1 which I am sure people are genuinely surprised when he does. You will never fully trust him in any scenario though, going through on goals or having to make a simple pass in a clutch moment, he may pull it off but just as likely he will mess it up. Is that good enough for a team who is looking to win it all? I guess we will find out in the next few months.
I actually want him to do well and prove me wrong but at the moment he does not deserve a new contract and sometimes you need to move on your big players and freshen things up. I feel like his time has come.
I am sure people will point to his stats but look at his overall play in the last 2 seasons and if you watch without bias it’s clear for all to see. A positional change is not going to fix that either.
Gen Q. You say very recent dip in form. When do you think this dip started. Not looking for any barney's, but I think most would agree that most recent is a tad generousYou say Sterling cannot dribble past a guy? I know he has had a poor season but Sterling usually does multiple successful take ons that lead that chances and goals every game. Lately he has been running into blind alleys but when you look at the players in our team that have successful dribbles in the opposition box, Sterling is number one of the lot. Bernardo dribbles very efficiently but whenever he is in and around the opposition box, his first thought is usually to keep the ball and so he finds a passing alternative. Mahrez is similar but doesn’t do it as well as Bernardo. Sterling is the guy that would like to take more risk and try to use pace and trickery to beat 2 or 3 players. I disagree with your submission in that respect.
His passing and general play technique, shooting technique, erratic finishing sometimes, etc are well documented issues about Sterling which I don’t see him improving so much on as he gets older but what he brings to the team (if you are not completely focused on his temporary dip in form) far outweigh these issues and that is what makes your conclusion so wrong. In fact we should be grateful to Pep and Sterling for delivering these mind blowing numbers inspire of these deficiencies. You conclude by saying we should see the back of him and freshen up but have you highlighted the issues with Bernardo’s play how we can look non-threatening for so many months especially if KDB is in the team or when he is playing in attack, how that we do not seem to have the cutting edge and decisiveness in attack many times when he is there despite having a superior technique? Do we ditch Bernardo because of this and “freshen things up.” Do we also ditch him because many of us are pouncing on a very recent dip in form when Bernardo had been relatively poor for like 18 months, are we being fair?
See I don’t have a problem with pointing out his faults but can you just be fair? Apart from the above I would sooner see the back of Torres, Mahrez and Gabriel before ever suggesting his exit. He may be the least aesthetically appealing attacker but he is one of the most decisive and result-oriented.
Do not let decency bias skew your judgement inappropriately.
We could have slightly diverging views about when the dip started but it’s not near the 18 months dip in form that Bernardo has suffered.Gen Q. You say very recent dip in form. When do you think this dip started. Not looking for any barney's, but I think most would agree that most recent is a tad generous
We're poles apart sadly if you think it is very recent.We could have slightly diverging views about when the dip started but it’s not near the 18 months dip in form that Bernardo has suffered.
How many would those you name score with our supporting act?Is there a single player in England who has out scored Sterling from open play since the start of last season? Kane, Salah, Son, Mane, Penandes...? Might be wrong but think there isn't a single one. Kane and Salah have scored 3-4 goals more than Sterling but fewer from non-pens.
Just out of interest, do you think it’s impossible for any of our players to ever be out of form and not worthy of a place in the team? Or do you just live in a utopian world where every player is super awesome and the manager is never wrong as he’s great too, and I will lambast anyone on here who dares criticise a player or the manager?
You see, you then mention about Gundo and Bernie and think oh I will have a pop at people questioning them too, whereas all 3 of these players have deserved
criticism at some point, and as I pulled you on it the other day, this is a forum for discussion of said players. Thats why we are here.
How many would those you name score with our supporting act?
I’d say it was from about October 2019 so that would be around the 18 month mark. That’s when I think his general play started to really slide towards how it was pre Pep. The difference is his movement is miles better than a few years ago and he still continued to get into goal scoring positions.We could have slightly diverging views about when the dip started but it’s not near the 18 months dip in form that Bernardo has suffered.
It's all hyperthetical, but my money would be on all those players, having been coached by Pep for a year, would not only deliver better individual results, but also make the team stronger.Why has Aguero failed to score as many as Sterling from open play with our supporting act? If Aguero was playing for Spurs and was scoring 30 goals a season people would think he would score 50 at City. Life and football are more complicated and don't work like that though. Goals at City are more evenly spread out than at other teams and this is one of the things which make City such a robust winning machine.
For instance, Salah has scored this season nearly as many PL goals (17) as Sterling, Jesus, De Bruyne and Bernardo combined (18), yet City have scored more goals than Liverpool. Those who think Kane would score 50 at City are naive, imo. Pep's teams don't play like that, unless they have a Messi. And then Messi's most productive season under Pep was a season in which Barca failed to win anything big.
It's all hyperthetical, but my money would be on all those players, having been coached by Pep for a year, would not only deliver better individual results, but also make the team stronger.
I'm not suggesting Sterling is shite, but Pep has spent a lot of energy on Sterling to get the tune he has out of him. Imagine what tune he could get with a more technically gifted player.
Fair enough. Personally, I think he has reached his ceiling and will never eradicate some of the errors regularly seen.Mate, I generally agree with almost everything you post. I'm not a big Sterling fan. He has been frustrating at times. Think that some posters are a bit harsh on him though. Imo, one of the reasons why he has lost a bit of form this season is that Pep played him too much last season, since Sane was injured and Sergio had injury problems too. That plus the altercation with Joe Gomez, which derailed Sterling a bit. I'm not denying that he has had problems. What I find a bit wrong is the view this is a long-term tendency and that he will be like that over the next seasons. He'll come good again, maybe already in March/April.
Fair enough. Personally, I think he has reached his ceiling and will never eradicate some of the errors regularly seen.
People seem happy with that because we are winning games where he has played.
I simply think with a more technically gifted player, we could be stronger.
For sure he can contribute a lot as already shown this season, but his weaknesses are being absorbed by the team on a winning run.Well, that may be right. We all want to seen City as strong as possible.
Personally, I preferred Sane and tried to understand why Pep played Sterling on the left over Sane back in 18/19. I thought it had more to do with Sane's contractual situation than with Sterling's quality. But then I found stats which made it obvious to me why Pep played Sterling. Turned out that Sane was losing the ball much more often than Sterling and was inviting counters, whereas Sterling was one of the most solid players in possession in the whole league, without being unproductive. During *that* winning run of 14 PL games which sealed the league, we conceded just 4 goals, and not simply because Kompany and Laporte were outstanding at CB, and not only because Gundogan was excellent at DM while Dinho was injured out, but also because our attacking players were capable of creating chances without taking too much risks while in possession. Both Sterling and Aguero were outstanding in that respect. Time will tell but I think that Sterling can still contribute a lot.