Is Sterling the best english player at the moment?

I love watching him play these days. I would never have thought that I would even remotely enjoy watching him.

Pep knows how to get these type of players to play well. Fair do's.
 
He's improved a lot this season I think. He got a lot of goals last year, but he looked like a player benefiting from being in a very good team and also liked spooning important chances.

This season he's been much more of a difference maker in games. A lot of times I've watched City and thought he's been one of their best players.

He's also one of the worst divers in the league. He's absolutely terrible at it and creeping back to the Liverpool days when he'd dramatically throw himself on the floor every time he was forced to turn his back to goal. Should stop it...or at least get better at it.
 
On form, he is 100% the best English player right now. Shouldn’t even be up for debate. Think he’s outperformed Kane, who’s probably next in line along with Sancho (once again, by form), this season.
 
Honestly i'm struggling to understand the level of hype around Sterling this year. He is a good player in a good team, and has had a good season. But for me he is nowhere near POTY level at the moment - I would have Bernardo Silva, Robertson, Van Dijk, Hazard and maybe Laporte or Salah ahead of him at the moment. I genuinely feel like it is a case of him getting the extra hype because he is English and because there has been a lot of coverage about how he has been treated poorly by the media over the last few years (which is true, to be fair).
 
Walrus said:
Honestly i'm struggling to understand the level of hype around Sterling this year. He is a good player in a good team, and has had a good season. But for me he is nowhere near POTY level at the moment - I would have Bernardo Silva, Robertson, Van Dijk, Hazard and maybe Laporte or Salah ahead of him at the moment. I genuinely feel like it is a case of him getting the extra hype because he is English and because there has been a lot of coverage about how he has been treated poorly by the media over the last few years (which is true, to be fair).
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You’re wrong. about everything. just wrong.
 
Walrus said:
Honestly i'm struggling to understand the level of hype around Sterling this year. He is a good player in a good team, and has had a good season. But for me he is nowhere near POTY level at the moment - I would have Bernardo Silva, Robertson, Van Dijk, Hazard and maybe Laporte or Salah ahead of him at the moment. I genuinely feel like it is a case of him getting the extra hype because he is English and because there has been a lot of coverage about how he has been treated poorly by the media over the last few years (which is true, to be fair).
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Really? Sterling is on 35 goals + assists in all club competitions this season.
 
Walrus said:
Honestly i'm struggling to understand the level of hype around Sterling this year. He is a good player in a good team, and has had a good season. But for me he is nowhere near POTY level at the moment - I would have Bernardo Silva, Robertson, Van Dijk, Hazard and maybe Laporte or Salah ahead of him at the moment. I genuinely feel like it is a case of him getting the extra hype because he is English and because there has been a lot of coverage about how he has been treated poorly by the media over the last few years (which is true, to be fair).
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He has had a fantastic season tbf, I don't think it's hype because he's English. Any player doing this for City would get lots of attention.

He's probably City's most prominent threat now, in the games against us that was pretty clear. He's improved a lot and the numbers (17 goals 10 assists) do back up that he's added an edge to his game.
 
Walrus said:
Honestly i'm struggling to understand the level of hype around Sterling this year. He is a good player in a good team, and has had a good season. But for me he is nowhere near POTY level at the moment - I would have Bernardo Silva, Robertson, Van Dijk, Hazard and maybe Laporte or Salah ahead of him at the moment. I genuinely feel like it is a case of him getting the extra hype because he is English and because there has been a lot of coverage about how he has been treated poorly by the media over the last few years (which is true, to be fair).
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He has been one of the best players in the league easily and as a result one of the best in Europe. He is becoming an elite player.
 
In a word yes.
But mainly because of playing for Pep because he is fantastic at recruiting very good players and then improving them.
 
Walrus said:
Honestly i'm struggling to understand the level of hype around Sterling this year. He is a good player in a good team, and has had a good season. But for me he is nowhere near POTY level at the moment - I would have Bernardo Silva, Robertson, Van Dijk, Hazard and maybe Laporte or Salah ahead of him at the moment. I genuinely feel like it is a case of him getting the extra hype because he is English and because there has been a lot of coverage about how he has been treated poorly by the media over the last few years (which is true, to be fair).
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This has to be one of the worst posts ive seen in here in a long time. Firstly, Man City are not just a good team, they are exceptional. If they win their last 3 games they will have accumulated 198 points over 2 seasons. No English domestic side has ever come close to those figures (Peps Barca didnt either). Didnt Uniteds famed treble team only get 78 points in the league in 99? This Man City are setting a level domestically that is unprecedented, not just in results, but also with dominance on the pitch.
Raheem Sterling has been a fundamental part of that. De Bruyne drove them to 100 points last year, but Sterling has helped pick up the slack to cover for his absence this season. He has been great. A good player doesn't contribute close to 40 goals and assists in a season, whilst not being a striker.
And lastly, the most dumbfounding part of your post, you put Robertson of Liverpool ahead of him?
Man, there are no words. It really does seem that regardless of what Sterling does, some people will never appreciate him. Sad indeed.
 
@Tostao_80 you are right, Man City are an exceptional team, one of the best in PL history. That isn’t down to any one player, and as said, I would argue that Bernardo Silva has been more influential in the City attack than Sterling this season (and for me, POTY is not about stats but influence etc).

Conversely, someone like Hazard has pretty much carried a lacklustre Chelsea side through his individual performances, rather than having the benefit and advantage of having a whole set of fantastic attacking players around him.

I have absolutely nothing against Sterling. He has recaptured the form he showed at Liverpool in their SSS season, and I have great respect for what he is doing off the pitch. I just think there are other players who have done more to deserve POTY this season than Sterling, and that the level of praise and hype for him right now is exaggerated.

Also, Robertson has just equalled (and will probably surpass) the record for PL assists from a FB. He is also in the team with an incredible defensive record this season, in a defence that was crap a couple of seasons ago but has been transformed by him and Van Dijk. He is the best FB in the league and one of the best in Europe. He absolutely deserves to be in the conversation, the only reason he wouldn’t be is because of the inherent bias against defenders in general, and especially FBs, when considering individual awards.
 
Walrus said:
@Tostao_80 you are right, Man City are an exceptional team, one of the best in PL history. That isn’t down to any one player, and as said, I would argue that Bernardo Silva has been more influential in the City attack than Sterling this season (and for me, POTY is not about stats but influence etc).

Conversely, someone like Hazard has pretty much carried a lacklustre Chelsea side through his individual performances, rather than having the benefit and advantage of having a whole set of fantastic attacking players around him.

I have absolutely nothing against Sterling. He has recaptured the form he showed at Liverpool in their SSS season, and I have great respect for what he is doing off the pitch. I just think there are other players who have done more to deserve POTY this season than Sterling, and that the level of praise and hype for him right now is exaggerated.

Also, Robertson has just equalled (and will probably surpass) the record for PL assists from a FB. He is also in the team with an incredible defensive record this season, in a defence that was crap a couple of seasons ago but has been transformed by him and Van Dijk. He is the best FB in the league and one of the best in Europe. He absolutely deserves to be in the conversation, the only reason he wouldn’t be is because of the inherent bias against defenders in general, and especially FBs, when considering individual awards.
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Not sure that Bernardo could credibly claim to have been better than Sterling in attack this season, but if youre talking in general (due to his performances in midfield also), he definitely has a case.
And back to Robertson, just no. Sterling is one of the best players in the division, Robertson is not. Cant believe im even arguing this.
 
I really love watching him play, his movement and the positions he takes up are fantastic.
 
Tostao_80 said:
Not sure that Bernardo could credibly claim to have been better than Sterling in attack this season, but if youre talking in general (due to his performances in midfield also), he definitely has a case.
And back to Robertson, just no. Sterling is one of the best players in the division, Robertson is not. Cant believe im even arguing this.
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I mean it's all relative, no?

Robertson is absolutely the best left back in the league, and easily among the best defenders outright.
 
Yes, he's the best English player right now, specially with Kane out of the equation.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
I mean it's all relative, no?

Robertson is absolutely the best left back in the league, and easily among the best defenders outright.
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Just an honest question. If you offered Robertson and Sterling to every manager in the league (or fan of any club), how many would pick Robertson if the two?
Its a lot easier to be the best left back in the league, than the best wideman (honestly, who is his competition? Raheem has to compete with Mane, Hazard, Salah etc).
Moral of the story, the best forwards are better than the best defenders. Do you see any defenders competing with Diego, Leo and Pele as thr GOAT (Beckenbauer usually creeps into the top 10 somewhere but nowhere near thd top of thd tree)?
 
Tostao_80 said:
Just an honest question. If you offered Robertson and Sterling to every manager in the league (or fan of any club), how many would pick Robertson if the two?
Its a lot easier to be the best left back in the league, than the best wideman (honestly, who is his competition? Raheem has to compete with Mane, Hazard, Salah etc).
Moral of the story, the best forwards are better than the best defenders. Do you see any defenders competing with Diego, Leo and Pele as thr GOAT (Beckenbauer usually creeps into the top 10 somewhere but nowhere near thd top of thd tree)?
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What you are essentially saying is that all individual awards should only ever go to attackers. That is wrong, as far as I am concerned.

To put it another way - what more would and could Robertson do this season to merit being in the running for POTY? Or is he simply ruled out by default because of the position he plays in?

This is straying somewhat off topic anyway, so can continue the discussion elsewhere if you want.
 
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He's now a consistent 20+goals/season player. One of the best in the world.
 
Actually has the drive and mentality to win and become better.
 
Phil Jones, Ashley Young, Jessie Lingard and Marcus Rashford are all better players still. He is 5th at best just ahead of Smalling.
 
I remember when he was first popping up for Liverpool and making tiny sub appearances. I didn't really think he'd made it to anything special but he has made it.
 
I'm never taking anything away from the lad - but possession football gets the best out of players like this. Find the ball either at his feet or always at another one of your team mates. Scores tap in from pullback, finds through balls being played only at the right time and right position etc.

Sterling is doing wonderful for Pep and vice versa. As good as sterling would be for Klopp pressing and playing sometimes on the break - I think his style suits Pep more. Sterlings game now feels deadly and simplistic & that's always been a wonder to watch.
 
He’s learned to kick the ball better under Pep used to be right dire at it
 
Aloysius's Back 3 said:
I'm never taking anything away from the lad - but possession football gets the best out of players like this. Find the ball either at his feet or always at another one of your team mates. Scores tap in from pullback, finds through balls being played only at the right time and right position etc.

Sterling is doing wonderful for Pep and vice versa. As good as sterling would be for Klopp pressing and playing sometimes on the break - I think his style suits Pep more. Sterlings game now feels deadly and simplistic & that's always been a wonder to watch.
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Well put. Although I do feel Sterling's directness, acceleration and ability to beat a man and cause havoc in opposition defences is somewhat overlooked now that he is scoring goals regularly. Even if you took away a lot of his goals from this City side I'd still bet on him keeping Sane out of the team.
 
BobbyManc said:
Well put. Although I do feel Sterling's directness, acceleration and ability to beat a man and cause havoc in opposition defences is somewhat overlooked now that he is scoring goals regularly. Even if you took away a lot of his goals from this City side I'd still bet on him keeping Sane out of the team.
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For sure. Sterling has always been a good technical player & that's what made the lad interesting at a young age.

I just can see Pep's influence on him and his game when I see the lad play for England & I think both have done very well to adapt to each other. Sterling when playing for England plays the way he always did for Liverpool in my opinion. I then watch him on the weekends for city and he plays this simplistic deadly poacher type forward mixed with his natural abilities like dribbling and short passing.

Always liked seeing English players doing well never matter the club because I have a love for national football when I watch it in tournaments every 2 years.
 
Buchan said:
He’s one of the few rival players I have great time for.

Deserves all the plaudits coming his way this season.
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The City got it spot on on getting their English players. Sterling and Stone.

Now what we have? It makes me think that maybe getting Sancho should be a priority, even if it’s a bit expensive. Not Mcguire though. Never really rate him as top player.
 
If that goal stood in the final minute against Spurs, we might be talking about the Ballon D'or winner. He's absolutely fantastic at the minute.
 
Works hard and seems to always get himself into good positions, then works hard with the ball too. Never stops.
 
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