#7 | Raheem Sterling - 2020/21 Performances

[Phil1]

Mentality monster would suggest he thrives in big moments, any game against United, liverpool minus this season with no crowd and many other moments would suggest he is not a mentality monster. Lyon was worse than Burnley by the way.

It was in respect of him coming back from being the England boo boy, having to have every part of his life questioned by the media and often unfairly treated by the same media who are splashing him across the front and back pages tomorrow as a hero.
It takes balls to come through the shit Raheem has over the years.
Even before a ball was kicked in this tournament the calls to drop him from the team were loud in every quarter so to answer his critics the way he has done the last fortnight takes a lot of mental fortitude.
That’s way I said it, it doesn’t change because of some poor performance and a few bad misses.
You don’t agree I can live with it.

 

[FantasyIreland]

A performance that had a bit of everything.

True.The best of him and the worst of him.

He looked great at times,his movement and speed again being his strengths.....but,unfortunately Pep doesn't set up like England,and his poor passing,lack of control and technique will still be a problem next season.

 

[Tugay One Cup]

It was in respect of him coming back from being the England boo boy, having to have every part of his life questioned by the media and often unfairly treated by the same media who are splashing him across the front and back pages tomorrow as a hero.
It takes balls to come through the shit Raheem has over the years.
Even before a ball was kicked in this tournament the calls to drop him from the team were loud in every quarter so to answer his critics the way he has done the last fortnight takes a lot of mental fortitude.
That’s way I said it, it doesn’t change because of some poor performance and a few bad misses.
You don’t agree I can live with it.

He's got relentless determination and has been under insane scrutiny ever since leaving Liverpool but always backs himself.

People go on about slowly bringing in players like Phil to avoid the spotlight and having too much pressure and responsibility thrust on their shoulders but Sterling has been through all that time and again and has always come out the other side on top. Lesser men would have crumbled or simply been burnt out mentally but he just keeps going.

That's why I laugh whenever someone questions his mentality. Some don't get it and they seemingly never will.

 

[asahartford1]

I hope he can become the first player with poor technique, a bad mentality, and who cannot score to become player of the competition at a major football international tournament -)

 

[David Silva]

Thought he was the only England player trying to make things happen last night, at least until Grealish came on anyway. Can’t knock him even if everything didn’t come off!

Seriously hope last nights switch dispels the notion he is a left winger though, both for England and city

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Opened up FAcebook last night to see loads of posts saying "Sterling is shite/get him off" etc from people who have literally never mentioned football before.

Why does this lad go down so badly with non-football fans? I've never known a player more unfairly criticised. He must have balls of fucking steel to keep going out there and trying things.

 

[domalino]

Scored a goal on a plate for him

If you actually think this, the sport isn't for you.

 

[mike1923]

Sir Raheem Sterling

 

[Rascal]

Out of interest i have looked at John Barnes, Leroy Sane and Denis Tueart's stats compared to Raheem's. John Barnes played in possibly the best Liverpool team ever and was as good a wide player as I have ever seen. Tueart was loved at City and was one of the greats of the 70s and Leroy is mourned by many Blues for leaving

John Barnes
586 Career Apps 155 goals (314 for Liverpool, 84 goals)
79 England caps 11 goals

Denis Tueart
467 career apps 163 goals (224 for City 86 goals)
6 England caps , 2 goals

Raheem Sterling
290 career apps 96 goals (195 for City 78 goals)
66 England caps 18 goals

Leroy Sane
169 career apps 42 goals ( 90 for City 25 goals)
34 German caps 7 goals.

Stats of course do not tell the whole story, so make of that what you will.

 

[The blue phantom]

Opened up FAcebook last night to see loads of posts saying "Sterling is shite/get him off" etc from people who have literally never mentioned football before.

Why does this lad go down so badly with non-football fans? I've never known a player more unfairly criticised. He must have balls of fucking steel to keep going out there and trying things.

There's just as much bile and hatred on a matchday thread along with this one that will equal what you read elsewhere. It's just nice that he's shone at this tournament and proved these sad bitter bastards wrong.

 

[BLUEMATT23]

Pleased he has found his form and I hope this carries on when he starts the new season with us.
It's unfair to label people on here "Sterling haters" who criticise him - people can only call what they see & for most of the latter part of last season his form was bobbins for us, why i've no idea.

 

[bluenova]

His positioning has always been excellent. It’s why at times he’s thrived for us, do you know a player that’s missed so many sitters? I don’t, he gets there well, sometimes takes the chance, many times fluffs it. Massively frustrating. Converting is one frustrating side, there’s a million others and why many with half a brain was devastated when he started in the CL final. I’d absolutely love him to have an all round good game, regardless of goals

Maybe that's a case of seeing what you expect to see, reinforced by the commentary. Some players are lauded for their ability to miss and then come back and score the next chance - but with Sterling you expect the commentator to talk about whether a miss will affect his confidence. The problem is that the stats don't back it up at all.

In the Premier League, Raheem has scored more than his xG for three of the last four seasons. Even last season he only just missed it.

And even if we take Sterling's poor 20/21 season, he was still closer to his xG than Mane, Vardy, Firminho, Richarlison, De Bruyne, Werner, Havertz and many, many more. In the previous three seasons he exceeded his xG, which meant that he's actually less likely to miss chances than most other players.

 

[DATOIA]

That loss though - was 100% of Sterling..

 

[bigstanhibbert]

Out of interest i have looked at John Barnes, Leroy Sane and Denis Tueart's stats compared to Raheem's. John Barnes played in possibly the best Liverpool team ever and was as good a wide player as I have ever seen. Tueart was loved at City and was one of the greats of the 70s and Leroy is mourned by many Blues for leaving

John Barnes
586 Career Apps 155 goals (314 for Liverpool, 84 goals)
79 England caps 11 goals

Denis Tueart
467 career apps 163 goals (224 for City 86 goals)
6 England caps , 2 goals

Raheem Sterling
290 career apps 96 goals (195 for City 78 goals)
66 England caps 18 goals

Leroy Sane
169 career apps 42 goals ( 90 for City 25 goals)
34 German caps 7 goals.

Stats of course do not tell the whole story, so make of that what you will.

Stats don't lie, seems he can't get a game for Germany

 

[MarsLlama]

Scored a goal on a plate for him

He was in the position to score it. Do you know who wasn't? Harry Kane, "best striker in the world" according to people who have no idea who Robert Lewandowski is. Kane was wondering around somewhere behind the defender like a snowman.

Look at the last game. Sterling scores a close range header. Bukayo Saka, "England's best player" according to Arsenal fans and gullible idiots, got his positioning all wrong and completely mistimed his jump but Sterling was in exactly the right space because he understood where Grealish's ball would fall. And Kane was nowhere to be seen.

Croatia game. Again. It's Sterling. Not Kane or Foden. Sterling in the position to score, and he did.

If a goal looks like it's "on a plate" it's actually because Raheem is the only guy in this bloody team with the intelligence, mobility and fitness to actually be in these positions. And the fact that he's the only one suggests it's really bloody hard to do what he does.

Honestly, if Raheem catches up with Sergio's goal tally there are some people on here who'll have an aneurysm rather than be happy for him.

 

[MarsLlama]

Pleased he has found his form and I hope this carries on when he starts the new season with us.
It's unfair to label people on here "Sterling haters" who criticise him - people can only call what they see & for most of the latter part of last season his form was bobbins for us, why i've no idea.

Why does any player have bad runs of form? It's a mystery. Can be personal issues, fitness issues, tactical problems.

At the very least he's earned the same amount of forgiveness that we showed Stones, David Silva, Walker, Bernardo, Cancelo etc after they had similar or even longer bad patches.

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

Opened up FAcebook last night to see loads of posts saying "Sterling is shite/get him off" etc from people who have literally never mentioned football before.

Why does this lad go down so badly with non-football fans? I've never known a player more unfairly criticised. He must have balls of fucking steel to keep going out there and trying things.

The power of the media mate. They set the narrative of a greedy little chiseller and cultural vulgarian from the start, and fuelled the flames of hatred for 3 years just to get clicks out of embittered Liverpool fans. And had it not been for the television cameras capturing those 3 spittle-flecked Chelsea fans hurling abuse at him, and the national revulsion felt as a consequence, they would still be doing it now. The tabloids would have positioned themselves in Fred West’s corner had the majority opinion been that the rape, torture and murder of young girls was considered perfectly acceptable. They have no moral code or sense of personal responsibility whatsoever. If they can find a hobby horse capable of generating clicks from their thick bigoted readerships, then they’ll flog it to death without a care in the world (the abuse the Mail has heaped on Meghan Markle for years now for example, has been astonishing).
Whatever, I remember going to Turf Moor about 3 or 4 years ago and Raz got subbed off on the far side of the pitch and had to walk around half of the pitch to get back to the dugout, all the while with 6 fingered fucktards (and even little kids) hurling abuse at him from the stands. It’s ingrained.

 

[Cobra]

It felt like a typical Sterling performance to me, no better or worse than anything he’s done for City recently. World class movement and some great pressing, mixed with some dodgy decision making, awful dribbling and poor weight of passing. Fascinating to see what happens with him next season at City

 

[mdj0520]

If you actually think this, the sport isn't for you.

Agreed, without even getting into the fact he received a drilled pass, controlled it and turned, ran through 3 Germans to pass to Kane, who laid it off to grealish, to Shaw, and sterling held his run to be in precisely the right position.

I get he's a frustrating player. He is, my heart sinks for him every time he misses an open goal or misplaces a pass like last night.

But he's a game winner on his day. He's wildly erratic in nature, which is why he has the baffling moments as well as the sublime.

The moment he's in for England reminds me so much of his 17-18 run where he scored last minute winners and game winning goals to keep our winning run going. He still had his moments of questionable decisions and misses, but you have to just accept that it's part of his game. Without the erratic, unpredictablity you don't get his match winning moments.

 

[BLUEMATT23]

Why does any player have bad runs of form? It's a mystery. Can be personal issues, fitness issues, tactical problems.

At the very least he's earned the same amount of forgiveness that we showed Stones, David Silva, Walker, Bernardo, Cancelo etc after they had similar or even longer bad patches.

I personally think he didn't like Phil taking his position and Pep dropping him.