#7 | Raheem Sterling - 2020/21 Performances

[asahartford1]

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.

I shall answer your questions in turn.
Players go from "in" form, to "out of" form for a variety of reasons, health, injùry, team formation, psychology, mental well being, are just a few. I do not believe that if a player is not at their best the answer is "Sell". I believe footballers are like water and find their level, as Sterling , Gundogan, Jesus, Stones , Zinchenko, et al have done.

Yes, is the answer to the Guardiola question. He is "undroppable". I think he is a genius. When he goes I doubt we will ever be as good. I thought Pearce , Keegan, Reid, and many more were idiots, I believed I had more football knowledge, I certainly had the same qualifications. Guardiola to me is a football god, and i feel privileged to be able to support the team that he coaches.
Re Gundo and Bernie. If a poster has the right to say, "Sell them", do I not have the right to question that view. It is after all as you say a forum for discussion. So if posters believe, Sterling is shit, or Gundogan is Gash, or Bernardo should be sold, I will continue to highlight that view and agree with Guardiola that they are trying their best.

 

[alexmcity]

How many would those you name score with our supporting act?

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. Football doesn'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.

 

[Craig]

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.

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.

Obviously I’m not saying he’s not had any good games or spells during that time but he’s not been consistently good for that long. What has continued to mask that poor form in the eyes of some is his goal return. He’s very capable of bagging 3/4 games running now but that won’t mean people are wrong about his glaring weaknesses if he’s still struggling with basic things.

I think we’ve seen lately Pep getting frustrated with him too. I’m one of Sterling’s biggest critics because he could be amazing for us and has been but for all that I still think he’s well worth his place as he provides the only genuine pace we have. Down the right I hope we start to see him regain his confidence when dribbling because if he does no fullback will get near him.

 

[mosssideblue]

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.

 

[alexmcity]

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.

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.

 

[mosssideblue]

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.

 

[Blue Maverick]

Two problems with Sterling when he has to think he is rubbish, get his head down and he's lost, the other night he just ran into two players it was comical, me and my dad just roll our eyes when he gets it. Secondly he is fast but very rarely uses it, he allows players to close him down, knock it past them and blow them away, Walker does that a lot, you can see Pep is getting pissed off with him, in the CL those missed chances cost you, they constantly bang on about how few chances you get and you have to take them, we should have been 3 up in 20 mins on Wednesday and someone like Haaland or Kane wouldve buried them. He is by no means the only one stepped forward Jesus!

 

[alexmcity]

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.

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.

 

[mosssideblue]

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.

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.
Is that acceptable? some appear to be ok with that as they clearly think this is a drop in form

 

[yerwot?]

oppo teams seem to have a higher opinion of Raz than some of our supporters, why else would they delegate two sometimes three to man-mark him? If he stays out wide that's two dragged out of the mosh pit. From deep he has the pace to be a threat against anyone. And there lies the source of our frustration with him, he makes the simple look difficult if not impossible, appearing to lose all "cool" , unless the 'keeper makes a move he runs into him. I thought by now Pep would have coached this out of him...given him some strategy, maybe he has but he panics, certainly gives Pep severe aggravation. Not as much as BM'ers though.
Whilst he remains a first choice of the manager then who am i to question it?