Is Sterling the best english player at the moment?
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I think that's a very fair assessment. Surely it's a given that a club needs to ensure the player is the right fit for them, not just a generally regarded good player.
Of course they are .. they're brilliant.
I don't think anybody is arguing Sterling is not a good player, or that you could stick any mug in his position and they'd do the same job. But, playing in Pep's system and having the players he does around them undoubtedly boosts his statistical return. I don't think he'd score/assist as many at any other side in the league, any arguments with that?
Pep is a great manager who also has world class players, which suit the way he wants to play perfectly, which leaves you with basically a machine in the league. You scored 30+ more goals than we (Spurs) did for example, so it's to be expected that attackers in your team would get a really good return. When you're playing under Pep Guardiola with the likes of Silva and De Bruyne feeding you, then you're going to be getting chances .. lots of them, which Sterling does get.
And people will say 'that's because of his movement' but no amount of great movement will get you chances if your teammates aren't on the same wavelength. Kane has fantastic movement but doesn't get picked out as much because aside from Eriksen, none of our other supporting attackers are as good as City's. Our attacking play as a unit is nowhere near as good, in fact there's problem only a couple of teams in world football who can compete in that respect.
Statistically Leroy Sane is supposed to be the best German attacker but I don't think you'l find anyone who says he should be starting ahead of Marco Reus. It is evident from how the two play that Reus is a level above him because of how much more he can do.
Sterling is also statistically fantastic, but I don't see the a complete attacking game in him. I don't think he is a great player, just a very good player in a great team.
In a way he is similar to Thomas Muller, who was also a conundrum of a player who divided opinion, some thought he was overrated while others loved him (including me
). Muller though was able to repeat his Bayern performances for Germany as well, which was why I rated him very highly 3 years ago.Kane's scored his goals as usual but I wouldn't say his general performances have been great so far this year, think he's still fatigued from WC.
I've always liked Sterling tbh. Feel he gets a raw deal from fans and press. He's had good seasons before and I think he'll have one amazing 40 goal season before too long to propel him into elite status.
I've always liked Sterling tbh. Feel he gets a raw deal from fans and press. He's had good seasons before and I think he'll have one amazing 40 goal season before too long to propel him into elite status.
I soppose the answer is a little difficult. He's awesome for Man City but not so good for England. I'm sure he is an amazing talent but there are a few things to consider.
If he's great for Man City and not for his country could be because there's a lot of talent around him in his club that can provide the ball to him.
Mayb he doesn't get the same support when playing for country. Also I think he has great skill but too greedy which again doesn't fit in too well when playing for England.
I'd like to see our team snap him up as he is still a great contribution to any team.
If he's great for Man City and not for his country could be because there's a lot of talent around him in his club that can provide the ball to him.
Mayb he doesn't get the same support when playing for country. Also I think he has great skill but too greedy which again doesn't fit in too well when playing for England.
I'd like to see our team snap him up as he is still a great contribution to any team.
Wish we had someone who could do that
Absolutely no argument - I think there are few, if any, teams in the PL in which he would be as effective.
But I also think that you could 100% say that about Sane, for slightly different reasons you could also say that about a number of our defenders and to some extent, you could even say that about both Silvas and KDB.
All we are really saying is that for a player to be most effective, everything has to be aligned together.
If a United player did what Sterling did on Wednesday the press would have ripped him to shreds and started a campaign to get him banned.
Someone Bite.
He's class, it's between him and Kane for the best English player at the minute. Remember when Liverpool fans tried to convince everyone that they got a brilliant deal by getting 50m for him? 
If is the latter. Sterling is class and Pep cannot do it without top players.
‘Poor performances’ for England;Oh ok sorry
Yeah I think Sterling is class. I can’t understand why he’s so underrated and chastised. Hard to believe he’s only 23 and probably hasn’t yet reached his full potential.
Bemusing vitriol from the media for literally anything does;
Left media darlings Liverpool for moneybags City, and is now trying to swindle out even more money on his new contract
It’s like the holy trifecta for your average armchair fan to have a go at him and call him a system baby. Whatever the feck that is.
What's funnier is you just know how agenda driven these people are when they refuse to change their stance even though his numbers and performances have been incredible over the past year or so. Yes, he has some poor games but who doesn't? His performances for England haven't been overly fantastic but I think it's exaggerated how poor he is for them. It's not as if England play particularly inspiring football.
I don't watch enough of him at City to know but it seems that way from his hauls, although he was genuinely turd for England in summer, even if his movement did help.
He's obviously an excellent player though and I think he'll come good on international duty too.
He's obviously an excellent player though and I think he'll come good on international duty too.
He's arguably been the most effective attacker in the league this season. So yes clearly he's the best English player on form.
I would love to see Rashford and Sterling change positions. I think Rashford with that team would do better. Rashford is two years younger and should achieve a lot in his career.
Yes. But presumably, he was, unlike Sterling, actually diving.
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...er-manchester-uniteds-champions-a6722041.html
Agreed on both counts. That doesn't take away from the fact Pep seems to do well at getting the best out of players, but they need to be very good to start with because as you say, he can't do it if they are not
After Phil Jones of course? Pray for Ventura County. Tough couple of days here.
4 goals in 46 games for England, but his stats aren't inflated.
Average armchair City fan who doesnt care about facts.
Yeah I do. Ronaldo had the same witch hunt when he was playing for us. Rumour has it that SAF had diving kicked out of Ronaldo in training.
Sterling dived no doubt about it. I know that the press has tried to spin it otherwise but it was a dive.
It's not, he's been terrible for England. He has 4 goals in 46 games and has missed countless sitters in an England shirt. There's no point pretending otherwise, sure other players have been crap but he's stood out as being notably useless for his national side.
It doesn't make him a bad player .. international game isn't for everyone and England are hard to be successful for, but he has legitimately been woeful for the national side.
The point is I think Sterling is being boosted by the quality/system around him more than Kane is at Spurs. Playing in that City side, who score goals for fun, makes it very simple to rack up a lot of goals and assists. Kane simply doesn't get as many clear cut chances per game as Sterling, especially not this season. That isn't because he's not getting in to the right positions, it's because our attacking play isn't as good as yours and we don't create as much for our attackers.
Kane could score goals anywhere. He was 2nd top scorer in his breakout season playing for a pretty poor Spurs side which were barely Europa quality. Even this season, where our attacking play has been often so blunt, he's still up there with the top scorers in both the league and in Europe.
Sterling is a fantastic player with some very dangerous assets, but I view him as similar to Pedro at Barcelona .. clearly a very good player, but with the suspicion that outside of a Guardiola side he won't be quite as deadly. I think calling him better than Kane is actually pretty ridiculous tbh, the guy was back to back top scorer in the league and has smashed in the goals at CL level too. Sterling has had one top level season and started this one well for a rampant City side, sure form wise he's better this season but what does that mean? There's plenty of players in better form than Kane at the moment, doesn't mean they're better players.
I don’t support Manchester City.4 goals in 46 games for England, but his stats aren't inflated.
Average armchair City fan who doesnt care about facts.
Top 2 for sure but Kane edges it for me. Give it a few years though and Raheem will be the best English player
Yes and no. I've never said Sterling is better than Kane and certainly, Kane has been very consistent the last few years. I find it very difficult to compare a winger to a striker in general. I've often wondered when watching Kane, what exactly it is that he does particularly well apart from scoring goals but the fact is, a striker's main job is to score goals and Kane consistently gets lots of them.
I've got no particular view on who is the better player between the two other than Sterling is in exceptional form but Kane has scored over enough seasons to know that he is the real deal
It's also worth noting that no player gets a spot in this pep side unless they work incredibly hard and in general in life, I'm a believer that the harder you work, the luckier you get. Some of Sterling's form is simply down to that
But yes absolutely, most good players, perhaps those with huge egos or selfish traits aside, will look & perform that much better in our current side. Sterling is no exception
I'm always a little confused when people say this. Kane's hold up play/passing game is excellent, he's far from a mere poacher. That England game vs Spain is the perfect example of that, best player on the pitch despite Sterling getting 2 goals.
Of course, I'm not saying Sterling is a passenger, he's blatantly a great player who has improved significantly. I'd have him at Spurs in a heartbeat and he'd walk in to the side. He's become one of the leagues better attacking players and deserves praise for it.
I've not watched that many club games in full with Kane/Spurs other than when we've played you so I don't see the full picture, but when I have seen him play, whilst he's not seemed bad at hold up & passing play, he's never seemed that great and in general, he's never stood out to me other than when he's scoring. Maybe it's those particular games or maybe he's just one of those players you need to see more often to appreciate fully what he offers. But I don't often hear from non-Spurs fans about what a great game he had, goals aside. He doesn't play like a typical poacher for sure - he gets involved. And you can't argue with a striker that scores lots of goals !
He's more versatile than Pedro as he can play well any role in attack and already had a more productive season in the league than Pedro ever managed at Barcelona: 18 goals and 11 assists last season vs 15 goals and 8 assists for Pedro season 13/14. He's got more strings to his bow. And can get even better. While I agree that it's premature to compare him to Kane, he can reach that level. He's been the best attacker in the league this season along with Hazard.
I should have added that I do think he's a better player than Pedro was, and definitely agree he has more to his game. Will be interesting to see if he keeps up this level for the rest of this season, and then hopefully he can bring that form to the national side (game vs Spain was a good start).
United need to start developing these type of young English talent. Rashford should be at the level of Sterling few seasons from now. He has the abilities to get there, he just needs a management team that can make him fulfill that potential.
With regards to Sterling being the best English player at the moment, there is no doubt about that. However, Foden, Sansho and callum hudson odoi might develop into more incredible talent.
With regards to Sterling being the best English player at the moment, there is no doubt about that. However, Foden, Sansho and callum hudson odoi might develop into more incredible talent.
Kane is the best English player at the moment I would say
Kane is having a poor season so far. If he regain his form, then I would agree. But right now, Kane seem to have lost what has made him so good the last few season.
I'm not talking about form. Kane is the best English player and Sterling is second. Sterling doesn't even replicate his form for England
After rethinking things, I believe that if Kane had nearly £1 billion worth of talent around him along with a quality manager like Pep or Pochettino, then his form would improve. Kane has only 1 of those two things at the moment. So, one can believe Sterling form is connected to these two key factors and Kane would benefit from being in a stronger team like Sterling has.
Of course he is benifitting from playing for City but the same can be said for all forwards in Europe bad 4 or 5. Football has moved to a direction whereby the offensive and positional organisation influences individual output much more than it did in the past when there were a lot more individual duals. So if the standard to be elite is to be capable of standing out regardless of setup, he indeed is not elite but it also means there are less than half a dozen WC forwards in the world.
C'Mon mate, it's Derby weekend. You can't say anything balanced about an opposing player or you're an infiltrator.
When Pep first took over at City he was asked by a journo about Sterling. He replied that he was "fascinated by him".
A strange thing to say, but one that hinted that he saw Sterling as a bit of a project with a huge upside if everything falls into place.
Year on year since then the performance and output of the player has been improving and now at the ripe old age of 23 he's now being talked of as an elite player.
He may be far from the Messi/Ronaldo level but is probably in the group just behind them.
The thing that I particularly like about him is that he's well capable of creating his own chances when nothing looks to be "on" and he's also superb in his tracking back duties.
I don't really care if he's better or worse than Kane, he's just a cracking player and scarily is not even close to his peak yet.
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