Football fans take any player to their hearts who “gets” their club, particularly if they have a bit of personality. Race isn’t even a consideration, except for a tiny minority who we can ignore here. Lots of black players are well loved all over the country. The dippers’ hero is an Egyptian Muslim.
Raheem upset the cult and a good chunk of the media by not getting Liverpool. That propelled him into the limelight, where he’s become the epitome of the modern mercenary footballer: a little vacuous and having a lot more wad than persona.
Having an engaging personality wins people over but Sterling will never top a popularity contest. Just visit the Sterling Contract thread for evidence. If he were to leave for more cash, he’d have opprobrium heaped on him by much of Bluemoon. Many will be the same people who remember the Goat and SWP fondly (the player not the poster!) who loved Micah, who laughed with/at Balo, but who feel much more distant towards Yaya.
Hard to explain precisely but you’ve ether got it or you haven’t. Nothing to do with racism in my opinion.
That's a fair appraisal for my perspective on this.
Remember Ashley Cole?- another who was tarred when he had the cheek to leave the mighty Arsenal for Loadsamoney Chelsea. His mother is white. He was forever tarred as Cashley Cole.
His wedding to Cheryl Cole in OK mag, every bit of his private life was looked in.
Torres seemed to get off lightly, considering.
He was shite at Chelsea which probably helped.Torres seemed to get off lightly, considering.
Not from scousers, they slaughtered him for a long time, but he certainly didn’t get the grief Sterling gets from the general media.
I don't think Ian Wright needs to go to Liverpool and ask anyone what they think of Raheem. Wright knows a lot about racism and his trip to Maine road in the late 80s with palace as 25 yr old will be part of the vast experience which perhaps qualifies him to openly comment on matters now,as does his position in the media.
For those who are too young,or can't quite remember ..it was at that palace game ,in the north stand that I heard the most vitriolic racist abuse I've ever heard in my entire life....from my own fans directed towards Wright and Mark Bright...after an incident involving Eric Nixon and Bright.Our keeper was sent off,wrongly I suspect and both players were verbally abused in the worst possible way for the remainder of the match.I was in the North stand that day and can only imagine what the abuse was like in my normal spot on the Kippax.
Wright is entitled to his view and.. perhaps ..his experiences over the last 30 yrs in English football demand respect.
I checked the media for match reports after this partc match and not one single journalist thought it appropriate to say anything on the racist abuse from the home support.not important enough...or it didn't happen....Ian Wrights recollection of that match will be somewhat different to the media's of the day.
He was shite at Chelsea which probably helped.
I don’t think it’s racism but I think there’s a helpful element to the accusation.
Wright is correct that there’s an agenda against Sterling - by saying it must be racism because it can’t be anything else I think is challenging the media to address the issue.
The options they have are:
1) ignore it and let the notion that they are racist fester and grow (they won’t want that - see Matt Lawton’s reaction to being accused of racism during the World Cup, he understandably didn’t like it one bit)
2) Lay off Raheem for fear of being accused of racism - possible but they won’t want to do that given their readership of scousers lap it up.
3) give the real reason for their attack’s on Sterling- that being he left the cult and went on to prosper at city. I very much doubt they’ll do that, they’re far too arrogant.
4) try and subdue Wright from speaking out - but say what you want about him I can’t see that working.
Be interesting to see how this plays out.
In the same way that the scar on my hand from when the coach I was on was bricked by dippers leaving Anfield in the 70s has no bearing on why i hate the bastards to this day?Sorry mate, I don't see what happened thirty years ago as having any bearing on this.
Cannot see how your best mate has any relevance to the debate. Your arguments are based on your interactions in a newsroom, are many of these people in the newsroom black ?.
My opinion comes from interaction with ex pros, coaches; assessors and people within the game, the consensus from them is that there is an institutional, political, racist element to his treatment.
If going to poundland and eating an ice cream is considered newsworthy by our press, what a sad state of affairs, no wonder they are struggling financially.