#7 | Raheem Sterling - 2021/22 Performances

[mccity]

Not if they double his wages.

They're not going to give Sterling £400k+ wages. They're likely not going to give any player 200k for a couple of years at the very least.

 

[Pablo ZZZ Peroni]

The fact Blackburn has said that surely suggests things are not great atm.

Why does it surely suggest things are not great atm?

He is staying for this season before his future is resolved. He has had clear the air talks with pep and both parties know where they stand. Pep is happy with him so long as he works hard, trains well, supports his teammates and has a smile on his face. He'll get minutes because Pep always uses his squad and the number of minutes will increase with an upturn in form or injuries to those he is in contention for a place for...

If he moves on in the summer, great. If he signs a new contract, great as well because presumably there then will be a different narrative about him. Personally I hope for the latter and presumably you'll want the former.

 

[mosssideblue]

Why does it surely suggest things are not great atm?

He is staying for this season before his future is resolved. He has had clear the air talks with pep and both parties know where they stand. Pep is happy with him so long as he works hard, trains well, supports his teammates and has a smile on his face. He'll get minutes because Pep always uses his squad and the number of minutes will increase with an upturn in form or injuries to those he is in contention for a place for...

If he moves on in the summer, great. If he signs a new contract, great as well because presumably there then will be a different narrative about him. Personally I hope for the latter and presumably you'll want the former.

Why would Blackburn feel the need to say anything then?

Yes, there has been talks between Pep and Sterling and from what we saw posted on here, they don't seem to have reconciled their differences.

I have never rated Sterling from the get go ( and have said so), so him moving on wouldn't bother me at all.

 

[kaz7]

The fact Blackburn has said that surely suggests things are not great atm.

How the fuck do you work that out lol

 

[mosssideblue]

How the fuck do you work that out lol

As explained above.

 

[kaz7]

As explained above.

Seen you didnt rate raz from the start , things are now clear, you painted yourself into a corner you would not come out of even when he had some brilliant seasons , knew you had some other reason to dislike him

Ignore from now on

 

[mosssideblue]

Seen you didnt rate raz from the start , things are now clear, you painted yourself into a corner you would not come out of even when he had some brilliant seasons , knew you had some other reason to dislike him

Ignore from now on

No corner painted at all. I have been open about what I have thought about him from the outset.

I have criticised and praised performances as I saw them, so not sure what you are crowing about.

 

[Pablo ZZZ Peroni]

Why would Blackburn feel the need to say anything then?

Yes, there has been talks between Pep and Sterling and from what we saw posted on here, they don't seem to have reconciled their differences.

I have never rated Sterling from the get go ( and have said so), so him moving on wouldn't bother me at all.

Sterling is on England duty, speculation is rife, January transfer window is just around the corner...so Blackburn briefed about the current situation.

I'd not picked up previously you'd never rated him.

 

[robbieh]

Always thought Raheem was a tryer who could run fast but when he had too much time to think he bottled it.
At City he has improved and had a couple of stellar seasons. At one point he just knew where to be.
He does seem to have gone backwards and the arrival of Foden has highlighted Raheem's weaknesses. Phil beats players, passes better and is far more clinical.
On current form he doesn't get a start which is a shame given all he has done for us. But he may well be best served by moving on.

 

[Lavinda Past]

Always thought Raheem was a tryer who could run fast but when he had too much time to think he bottled it.
At City he has improved and had a couple of stellar seasons. At one point he just knew where to be.
He does seem to have gone backwards and the arrival of Foden has highlighted Raheem's weaknesses. Phil beats players, passes better and is far more clinical.
On current form he doesn't get a start which is a shame given all he has done for us. But he may well be best served by moving on.

Nothing to do with Phil Foden, Jack Grealish or Uncle Tom Cobley. The only thing that's changed is that we don't have a striker to provide a focal point / distract defenders away from Raheem. It's about movement - We've changed our attacking style to accommodate for not having a striker.

Raheem clearly has a problem fitting his natural game into the 'false nine' system, not least the fact that it seems to make it easier for teams to 'double up' on our wide players. Unlike our right side, Raheem doesn't have the benefit of a Kyle Walker type to use behind/alongside/ahead of him. Mendy was supposed to be that player, but instead he has a right back (Cancelo) and a midfielder (Zinchenko) - neither of whom fully 'fit the bill'.

Raheem isn't the one to blame - He's trying to adapt, but it's not been working. Pep clearly hasn't given up on him, so he must think it will 'click' one day. I think we'll see him back to his best when we sign a traditional striker.

You play your best players to their strengths - As long as we don't have a striker, Raheem will continue to struggle to make the same impact. If we don't sign a striker in January, a six-month loan to Barcelona would probably do him a world of good. Whether he'd want to come back after a spell in a better climate is another matter!