Is Sterling the best english player at the moment?
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
Neymar, Mane, Salah, Fekir, Mahrez, Son, Ziyech, Hazard
Come on. I'm a big fan of Son but not a chance are any of them better than him.
The rest I think are semi-arguable (although I'd swap Son for Sterling in a heartbeat) and Neymar is clearly better than him but the bold ones are mental.
I mean ... Fekir? He's not even a winger, is he? And he's at Real Betis ffs.
Fair enough.
Fekir and Mahrez are pretty funny.
No. Just no
Haha, what else can I say? It's his/her opinion. I don't agree, but I asked a question and got an answer.No. Just no
Have we been watching the same player? For all the plaudits Bernardo and Sane have had in the past, there's a reason Pep and the majority of City fans believe Sterling to be the hardest to bench of the three. His finishing is clearly not 'really poor', his recent record speaks for itself. He can still improve and he is still culpable of missing some easy chances but as far as players in his position go he is one of the best finishers. I expect that the stats would support the view that he is now a pretty clinical finisher. He's a very good dribbler, strong, phenomenal acceleration, excellent movement and link up play, good crosser, great vision, decent through ball. If he's not world class then there must only be a few players worthy of such a description.
Fair enough.
^^
No chance Son and Mahrez are better than him? sure i understand why some would say so about Ziyech and Fekir given they dont play for the glamour clubs but saying theres no chance Mahrez is better than him is strange given all he's done in the prem. As for Son, He's simply a threat in situations Sterling really isn't't.
Yeah Sterling is better. Salah is wank a-lot of the time.
It’s not strange. They play in the same team and Sterling outperforms him in it.
Pace is the only thing Son beats Sterling in and even that’s close.
It's not that I don't think he has improved - but every time I see him for England he looks the exact same player he was for Liverpool. The unnecessary dribbling, the ball bouncing off his knee or shin as he dribbles to the point he loses control, inability to pass in a creative manner and spending too much time on the ball.
Though this is rightfully due to Southgate below mediocre management - it does highlight what I always think - that sterling's consistent tap in hatrick's are influenced much more by Pep Guardiola's fantastic team management and tactics that anything particularly great or improved by Sterling.
His individual ability isn't anything special until the moment he has the space and passes given to him by the city squad, manager and tactics.
Though this is rightfully due to Southgate below mediocre management - it does highlight what I always think - that sterling's consistent tap in hatrick's are influenced much more by Pep Guardiola's fantastic team management and tactics that anything particularly great or improved by Sterling.
His individual ability isn't anything special until the moment he has the space and passes given to him by the city squad, manager and tactics.
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That's a good post and I agree. I would double down on what you said by adding that even though I believe Sterling is England's best player, he has never been able to see the picture in front of him. That is a severe limitation. It makes Kane indispensable to England.
Kane can at least see what's going on around him and can make a decision whether to play somebody through or be greedy & go for glory from a distance. If he just did a reverse pass near the end of the match in the Nation's League, we'd probably have beaten Netherlands but it was his choice to ignore the runner. But with Sterling it's different, he simply cannot spot the runners.
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"b-b-but the system!! it has to be the system!!"
if its the system why can't any random bum do what Sterling is doing them?
world class player. no debating.
if its the system why can't any random bum do what Sterling is doing them?
world class player. no debating.
Outstanding player (unfortunately, given who he plays club football for!).
Turned into a fantastic role model.
Turned into a fantastic role model.
He really is bloody brilliant.
He is almost two players, he can be really explosive with great dribbling and runs in behind but he is also excellent at finding space and playing neat little passes.
I hate that he plays for City.
He is almost two players, he can be really explosive with great dribbling and runs in behind but he is also excellent at finding space and playing neat little passes.
I hate that he plays for City.
Yep, but it could be worse... He could still be at Liverpool!
Good question.
Played for Liverpool, currently at City, remains a United fan.
Excellento.
So Kane can see the big picture, it's just his decision-making that's the problem? I suppose that would explain why he didn't square for Sterling to tap home an open goal to take England 2-0 vs Croatia in the World Cup semi-final.
He saw the even bigger picture: Sterling probably would have missed that because he was missing sitters all tournament. Smart man Kane knew it was better off left in his own hands.
Why it was better off?
Spot on. Kane definitely knew Sterling was there, he has great awareness but he refused to square it so that Sterling has an empty net and instead decided to go for goal himself (possibly thinking about the golden boot?). I wouldn't have a problem with that if he scored, but he missed from close range and that's the problem. Wrong decisions like that make all the difference in World Cup Semi Finals.
Sterling is a very fast runner who can turn quickly. His final pass and finishing are poor. Still a player you would want but not outstanding.
In fear of acting like a "fanboy" over a City player I think he seems incredibly mature for his age and has probably dealt with more unjust abuse from fans than anyone since Ronaldo post 2006 World Cup.
I obviously hope he never scores another club goal again but fair play to the lad.
I obviously hope he never scores another club goal again but fair play to the lad.
It’s fecking annoying to have respect, and an admiration for a City player who they bought from Liverpool!!
Also shows you need patience with young players - and if you have faith in them they can flourish.
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It seems like he is the only black player that is getting regular attention from racist cnuts. Does anyone know the reason for that?
Because he’s really good ? I presume opposition supporters don’t like that he runs rings around there team so they resort to racism because they are morons. Only my opinion but seems close enough
Have nothing but deep respect for his campaign against racism. He's been many times on the end of vile abuse from racist idiots.
Shooting was probably at least an equal percentage play. Of course, with hindsight it wasn't "better" because a goal wasn't scored (though the save Kane drew was very good). But if you have hindsight, you can just go back, aim somewhere else and score every time[1] so it's a moot point.
At the time, Kane choosing to shoot over making an unreliable pass to a player who had been missing for fun all tournament was an acceptable decision and the fact that he's still being beaten over the head with it is just fecking stupid -- and may even say something about the lack of good original material to use against him. Other players cumulatively made dozens of individual mistakes that could have turned or did turn the match but because Kane made the high-visibility mistake, which could only be assessed as a mistake with hindsight, at the wrong time, he became the meme target for our loss.
[1] And if you miss, just go back again. It's hindsight. You can do whatever you want!
Anyway, on the broader topic, I think the most recent England games - the only time Kane and Sterling are anything close to directly comparable - support my continuing belief that Sterling has not clearly surpassed Kane. He may still do so but hasn't yet for me. The Czech game was a return to old Sterling whereas Kane looked good in a very bad team.
Regardless of which way you lean, however, I think it's clear that Kane and Sterling would be a world-beating forward duo at club level.
Gorgeous assist from someone who has 'no vision' and can't 'find a pass'.
Also sprinting back to defend in his own box. Great player.
Sterling is easily England's best player atm, Kane is not even close. So many times Kane totally disappears only to show up when a teammate has won a penalty.