Is Sterling the best english player at the moment?

TsuWave

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I believe he is. dude is a ridiculous talent, and seems to cause havoc against any defence. only 23 years old too.

 
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Tommy

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He's really hit the ground running ;) Kane is (re)building up some consistency it seems, but yeah, I'd personally give Sterling the edge... Well, it's more than an edge right now, but you get my point :D

Maybe, although not for England, which is irritating.
That's fair.
 
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OldSchoolManc

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No. He shops at Primark, trips over his own feet and can’t hit a barn door for England.
 

TsuWave

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Sterling has been better than Kane by far and for a while. He's world class imo.

 

hasanejaz88

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He's benefitting from playing within the best team in the country, by a good distance. I don't think he has the ability to play at this level for a lesser team, and that's reflected in his England performances. When it comes to the best England player, Kane comes first but you also have to give credit to their defenders (Tripper, Maguire) who perform both at club and national level.
 

P-Nut

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He's breaking new ground currently with City, hopefully that comes through whilst playing for England and we can see some of it at the euros and have a real good go.
 

el3mel

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He's benefitting from playing within the best team in the country, by a good distance. I don't think he has the ability to play at this level for a lesser team, and that's reflected in his England performances. When it comes to the best England player, Kane comes first but you also have to give credit to their defenders (Tripper, Maguire) who perform both at club and national level.
He was great for Liverpool too and was part of Suarez - Sturridge - Sterling trio that were about to win the league. City wouldn't have paid 50m for him if he wasn't that good.

His finishing was his only problem but Pep improved that.
 

hasanejaz88

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He was great for Liverpool too and was part of Suarez - Sturridge - Sterling trio that were about to win the league. City wouldn't have paid 50m for him if he wasn't that good.

His finishing was his only problem but Pep improved that.
He was great that season but didn't look that good the next season when Suarez left. I also remember him having a disappointing first season at City before Pep came in. He has looked fantastic in these last two seasons but I think it's more to do with him playing in a great team.

He has to start performing better for the national team though before he should be put ahead of Kane, who has consistently performed for England.
 

Classical Mechanic

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From an England POV Sterling has had one good game in the past three years or so, which was his last one. He’s nowhere near being England’s best player.

If the question is if he is the English player who has had the best start to the club football season, then the answer is yes.
 

Andrew~

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Thought he was the best player for England even in the World Cup. Take him out of that team and they basically had no penetration or creative runs.

Kane was getting by the bad performances cos of scoring from dead ball situations.
 

Scroto Baggins

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On current form alone id have him ahead of Kane, not by a great margin.

Overrall for me its not close between Kane and Stirling at this point in their careers.
 

Treble

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He's breaking new ground currently with City, hopefully that comes through whilst playing for England and we can see some of it at the euros and have a real good go.
Seems like it. I was always sceptical of his mentality and his future but he is better than last season which is something. If he contunues like that, he'll be world class not before long.
 

cheeky_backheel

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Would sterling be as productive if he was not playing for City?

Kane is the best CF in the PL, and an argument can be made on the word stage. If Kane was playing for City, he would have likely shattered all goal scoring records in the PL by now.
 

Robbie Boy

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Would sterling be as productive if he was not playing for City?

Kane is the best CF in the PL, and an argument can be made on the word stage. If Kane was playing for City, he would have likely shattered all goal scoring records in the PL by now.
Who cares? He fits in well and is extremely productive. Salah wouldn't get anywhere near the numbers he does (or did last season at least) if he wasn't playing in an attacking Klopp system. I believe both get bigger numbers due to the system they play in rather than being absolutely elite footballers but so what?
 

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I'd take Sterling over any other English player at United. I think he's an exceptional talent who is only getting better. Even if his finishing is still in need of work, the ability, intelligence and craft he shows to work those chances are beyond everyone else.

If he turns into a proper finisher, he'll be a straight Ballon d'Or candidate.
 

cheeky_backheel

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Who cares? He fits in well and is extremely productive. Salah wouldn't get anywhere near the numbers he does (or did last season at least) if he wasn't playing in an attacking Klopp system. I believe both get bigger numbers due to the system they play in rather than being absolutely elite footballers but so what?
So when you compare them to others you factor in the circumstance under which they are operating
 

Treble

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Is he doing better than last season?
He is. Seems more willing to take on players and his dribbling has improved. His fast acceleration over short distances makes it hard for defenders.
 

Adisa

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Easily. People saying it's cause he plays for City aren't really watching.
 

Robbie Boy

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So when you compare them to others you factor in the circumstance under which they are operating
Yeah I don't think either would fare nearly as-well if they were taken out of a Klopp / Pep system, but hey, that's where they are right now and both are thriving. If Sterling or Salah played for us in a far more restrictive system, obviously their numbers wouldn't be anywhere near what they are.
 

SqualorVictoria

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He's benefitting from playing within the best team in the country, by a good distance. I don't think he has the ability to play at this level for a lesser team, and that's reflected in his England performances. When it comes to the best England player, Kane comes first but you also have to give credit to their defenders (Tripper, Maguire) who perform both at club and national level.
I was gonna say fair enough, but then again other than scoring some penalties and flukes, Kane's general play was miles worse for England at the WC than Sterling's, so it's a bit harsh to only highlight Sterling.
 

Robbie Boy

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Easily. People saying it's cause he plays for City aren't really watching.
He's very underrated on here and always has been. His improvement since Pep arrived is unbelievable, to be completely honest.
 

TsuWave

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Would sterling be as productive if he was not playing for City?

Kane is the best CF in the PL, and an argument can be made on the word stage. If Kane was playing for City, he would have likely shattered all goal scoring records in the PL by now.
Wtf kind of argument is this? despite being nonsensical (would x player be yz if they were playing for c team?) as an attempt to discredit someone is laughable. It’s also revisionist as Sterling was a core part of the Liverpool attack alongside Suarez

He’s been putting higher levels performances than Kane for a while now
 

cheeky_backheel

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Wtf kind of argument is this? despite being nonsensical (would x player be yz if they were playing for c team?) as an attempt to discredit someone is laughable. It’s also revisionist as Sterling was a core part of the Liverpool attack alongside Suarez

He’s been putting higher levels performances than Kane for a while now
So in your opinion, the context in which a player performs is irrelevant? To claim this is what is truly nonsensical.

its a well known fact that player are almost always more productive when playing alongside better players. Thus it is disingenuous to try and ignore this fact.

Kane is top 3 in his position worldwide and arguably the best if all is considered. unfortunately the same cannot be said for sterling.

BTW your reference to his Liverpool days is the real revisionist argument. Sterling was more like a headless chicken in those days. That attack was powered by suarez and coutinho.
 

SquishyMcSquish

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He's great, but no.

Kane is having a slow season yet still is up there in terms of the top scorers in both the PL & CL. He was back to back top scorer then only 2nd to an incredible Salah last season.

Sterling had a brilliant season, and has started this one in similar form .. but he does play for a rampant City side who score like 4 or 5 every single game. We're nowhere near as good. I think he's a fantastic player but I really, really doubt he would get anywhere near his current statistics playing for us, whereas Kane for City would be having a field day.

For me, Kane is the world's best out and out striker. He scores goals and offers some of the best hold up play around. He's one of the best players in the league because he's done it for 3 seasons now.
 

totaalvoetbal

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His transformation or evolution has been frightening. Manchester City's most indespensible player along with Ederson and Fernandinho. The relationship between him and Mahrez looks fantastic. I would say he is one of the best players in the world now at the moment. If he keeps upp this level of performance and Manchester City have a massive trophy haulge, he should be in the conversation for the Ballon D'or.
 

SquishyMcSquish

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Wtf kind of argument is this? despite being nonsensical (would x player be yz if they were playing for c team?) as an attempt to discredit someone is laughable. It’s also revisionist as Sterling was a core part of the Liverpool attack alongside Suarez

He’s been putting higher levels performances than Kane for a while now
For a while now being this season? Because Kane was 2nd top scorer in the league last season and one of the top scorers in the CL.

And of course you have to consider context. Sterling gets a ton of chances every single game for City, they're incredibly dominant and as a result it's easier to score goals there.

Nobody is discrediting him, just saying that he's playing for a team who are beating teams 5-0 all the time. It has to be taken in to account.

Also, you're saying he's been better than Kane 'by far' for a while. So Sterling is better by far than a guy who is considered by many to be the worlds best out and out striker, a player who scored 30 league goals last season?

That's more than a little hyperbolic. They're both elite level players right now .. Sterling is currently in better form this season, this is true.
 

SquishyMcSquish

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Easily. People saying it's cause he plays for City aren't really watching.
It's not because he plays for City (he's a very, very good player regardless) but like .. it clearly does help in terms of the amount of goals and assists he bags.
 

Buster15

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Thought he was the best player for England even in the World Cup. Take him out of that team and they basically had no penetration or creative runs.

Kane was getting by the bad performances cos of scoring from dead ball situations.
Did you really.
Surprised at that as in the early stages his performances were such that he was in danger of being dropped.

Anyway. He is very good when playing for his club amongst some brilliant players.
For England he is improving but his game is very much based on confidence and Gareth Southgate is beginning to get the best out of him.

He is a potential match winner but for me slightly behind Kane.