#7 | Raheem Sterling - 2020/21 Performances

[sir baconface]

He'll get both back next season, why would he leave, and we are highly unlikely to want to sell anyway,we'd rather extend his contract so it's all a bit pointless, discussing it.

Could you explain why a singularly speculative post renders further discussion pointless?

Thank you.

 

[mosssideblue]

Why wouldn't he be back, it's form it happens. Besides I don't think he's suited to the false 9 system we've used the majority of this season. Next season we'll replace Aguero with a centre forwatd and like with Aguero the system will suit him better. The club wait as long as they see fit and as they are talking to him about a new contract they obviously still see fit.

Im not saying he won't be. What I am saying it has been an awful long spell of being out of sorts, especially when given more opportunity than most would get to return to form.

Re his contract, and we are all speculating with wages etc, but if he is looking to be paid as one of the two top earners, do you feel it is right that we need someone else to come in before Sterling can perform?

 

[blueparrot]

Could you explain why a singularly speculative post this piece renders further discussion pointless?

Thank you.

Because we don't seem to want or intend to sell whatever we post here.

 

[doobyedoobye]

Loss if favour/ game time?

It takes a serious amount of time to become comfortable with Pep's approach and I can't see Pep wanting to lose anyone who has been such a successful student

 

[blueparrot]

Im not saying he won't be. What I am saying it has been an awful long spell of being out of sorts, especially when given more opportunity than most would get to return to form.

Re his contract, and we are all speculating with wages etc, but if he is looking to be paid as one of the two top earners, do you feel it is right that we need someone else to come in before Sterling can perform?

Different systems suit different players. Only Pep knows whether that's been a problem and whether he intends to change next season, and whether that will better suit Sterlings game.

 

[mosssideblue]

It takes a serious amount of time to become comfortable with Pep's approach and I can't see Pep wanting to lose anyone who has been such a successful student

Then it comes down to how much patience Pep is willing to afford him. Pep is a winner and will put any sentiment aside for the better of the team. If that means Sterling drops down the pecking order, I don't think Pep would worry.

 

[doobyedoobye]

Then it comes down to how much patience Pep is willing to afford him. Pep is a winner and will put any sentiment aside for the better of the team. If that means Sterling drops down the pecking order, I don't think Pep would worry.

I agree that there needs to be an improvement in form and focus before the season closes without a doubt

 

[sir baconface]

Because we don't seem to want or intend to sell whatever we post here.

“Seem”. I see. You may even be right - we don’t know - but it hardly draws a line under the debate.

 

[mcfcbill91]

Sterling's total lack of form is now a huge concern for me, especially if these contract talk rumours are genuine. The situation has been getting worse over the season too.

Large aspects of his play are reminiscent of his first seasons. Constantly pushed off the ball, hesitant in possession or the final third and his ball striking is well off. The attempt from Fernandinho's cut back on Saturday summed it up - was just a weak shot with zero conviction.

Could be argued Pep has tried numerous methods of coaxing some form out of him - he was captain in a couple of games and it's clear since Gladbach/United he's lost his first choice status, but there's been no change.

We are now in a key month of the season - maybe one of the biggest in the club's history and it feels like you wouldn't trust him to provide a performance that justifies his senior status in the squad.

Without a huge change in form, I'm not sure how City can look to improve on his current terms. The message it would send to the rest of the squad and potential transfer targets ahead too?

Increasingly feels like he's hit a ceiling in his development.

 

[City_Sean]

Keep hearing these statements of he'll be back to his best soon etc, but not when they think this might be.

I think all would agree that what he has previously done and what he is offering now are poles apart, but it hasn't been just for a few weeks, has it, this is an unusually long spell of mediocrity from him.

Pep has afforded him, probably more game time than any other player as a platform to regain his form, and has rightly now, started to bench him.

So, gen question. How much time is long enough to determine whether it is something more than simply a loss of form?

It was mooted yesterday I think, that he perhaps needed the likes of Merlin and others to get the best out of him. If true, that is fine, but lower your expectations to your value to the club if you need others to make you tick, not ask to be paid similarly to those.

He's going through a bad patch. I know that, so does the coach and Sterling himself. It's simple, he keeps working hard in training and good form will follow.

I find it totally bizarre the difference between the allowances other players are allowed when they go through a bad patch compared to Sterling. It's been this way ever since he's joined the club and it's weird.