Is Sterling the best english player at the moment?

Yes, he is.
Certainly more effective than Harry Kane at the moment.

Also, his overall attitude seems to have improved over previous years.
 
Мinutes per goal/assist in the league:

Sane 68*
Sterling 73
Hazard 79
Aguero 80
Aubameyang 105
Salah 111
C. Wilson 112
Martial 120
Kane 145

*Sane hasn't started against top 6 teams, so his numbers are a bit inflated.
 
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Keeps It tidy said:
I have heard way too many people describe Sterling as a simple pace merchant when he has great touch, close control and awareness. You can not tell me his race has nothing to do with that.
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You should probably check Salah's thread then and look for the same comments. Maybe people don't like him either because he is an Egyptian?
 
VeevaVee said:
No it's not. Last season was a massive step up for him. It's only just become clear how good he is and not everyone is gonna be won over immediately, specially with that World Cup in the middle of it.
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Even last season people were still comparing him to Lennon, Walcott and Wright-Phillips, far inferior players with a lot less to their games than Sterling.

There was definitely a subconscious stereotyping going on there.
 
Amar__ said:
Such a stupid thing to say, incredible. That is actually insulting to people who don't like him for footballing reasons, me included.
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Insulting? :lol: Probably not as insulting as it is for him. If he was white the general perception of him would be completely different.

Disclaimer: note I said general - so this may not apply to you but it indeed does to many.
 
GhastlyHun said:
But then who is for their country? Remember Sané who didn't make it to the world cup, and hasn't convinced in the NT shirt until 2-3 games ago, when Löw finally paired him with other pacey attackers, similar to what City do.
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Hazard, De Bruyne, van Dijk, Kane, Eriksen, just some examples of world class players who are great both in the PL and for their national teams. He needs to score more for England before he can be considered the best English player.
 
RochaRoja said:
Even last season people were still comparing him to Lennon, Walcott and Wright-Phillips, far inferior players with a lot less to their games than Sterling.

There was definitely a subconscious stereotyping going on there.
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The season before he was hitting numbers similar to those and they are all small quick English wingers at the end of the day.
 
He's going to turn into a Rio type of investment. 10 years later that 50m that was scoffed at the time is going to be peanuts.
 
I think the argument should be "Is he the best player in PL", not just English player.
 
Robbie Boy said:
Easily, thing is, he will never get the recognition that he deserves, for some strange reason.
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Yeah, one of the reason is pundits and few journalists are bitter cnuts that he left their beloved Liverpool.
 
roonster09 said:
Yeah, one of the reason is pundits and few journalists are bitter cnuts that he left their beloved Liverpool.
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I think the main reason is simply that he’s only one great season. All this conspiracy stuff about him being underrated for being black (yeah the media hates Kante!) or ex-Liverpool is just nonsense, imo.

He was bandied about by a number of journalists as England’s key man at the WC and had tons of pressure on him after having a great season. He’s had loads of praise and this season is starting to be talked about as an elite level player.

I dunno what else people expect really? Naturally, it takes a while for a players previous rep (as a very wasteful, inconsistent player) to wear off, more than just one season. Kane was seen as a one season wonder! Only after 2-3 top level seasons did a majority accept him as an elite level player.

That’s all I see with Sterling. Maybe some dislike him because of silly reasons, but mostly I think those reasons combined with poor international performances are why he’s maybe not rated as highly as his stats would suggest he should be.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
I think the main reason is simply that he’s only one great season. All this conspiracy stuff about him being underrated for being black (yeah the media hates Kante!) or ex-Liverpool is just nonsense, imo.
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Interestingly the last 3 winners of PL player of the year have been from the African continent.

Sterling is mostly hated/minimised on here for

a) playing for two of our most hated rivals
b) prolific diving
c) being English
 
Classical Mechanic said:
Interestingly the last 3 winners of PL player of the year have been from the African continent.

Sterling is mostly hated/minimised on here for

a) playing for two of our most hated rivals
b) prolific diving
c) being English
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I always thought Caf rated Sterling very highly and he wasn't getting enough attention from the media.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
I think the main reason is simply that he’s only one great season. All this conspiracy stuff about him being underrated for being black (yeah the media hates Kante!) or ex-Liverpool is just nonsense, imo.
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He was great in his debut season too and also one good season didn't stop few Liverpool players to be hailed as best in the league and among the best in the world.
 
roonster09 said:
I always thought Caf rated Sterling very highly and he wasn't getting enough attention from the media.
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Plenty on the CAF rate him as a 'Pedro' type i.e. an average player only shining in a system tailored to his attributes.

If he continues this form he'll win PL player of the year I'm sure. Long way to go yet though.
 
roonster09 said:
He was great in his debut season too and also one good season didn't stop few Liverpool players to be hailed as best in the league and among the best in the world.
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He got tons of praise after his debut season though. I remember him being bugged up as one of the worlds biggest young talents.

Then he had a few quiet/OK seasons whilst being rubbish anytime he turned out for England. People viewed him as good, but pretty raw .. which is what he was.

It’s only last season and this one where he’s seriously stepped up his productivity and consistency, so it’s only now he’s being mentioned alongside other top class players.

I’m not saying there aren’t a few figures in the media (or rags like the daily mail) who seem to dislike him, but to balance that I’ve also seen loads of praise and plenty of recognition.
 
I'd say that despite him being consistently awful for England I don't recall much clamor for him to be dropped from the media (could be wrong?)

He was criticised for withdrawing from a squad for being 'too tired' though.
 
Classical Mechanic said:
Plenty on the CAF rate him as a 'Pedro' type i.e. an average player only shining in a system tailored to his attributes.

If he continues this form he'll win PL player of the year I'm sure. Long way to go yet though.
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I do wonder how he would function outside of that incredible City side. I think he’s clearly superior to Pedro, but also I do think the system is getting the absolute best out of him. His international performances don’t do much to dissuade me from that view.

That said, regardless of systems his performances are electric. He’s a key player for by far the best side in the league, you don’t get there by chance.
 
He is amazing.

You could argue that City arguably have the second and third best young wingers (or wide forwards) in Europe, after Mbappe. Frustrating when you consider our dire winger situation.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
He got tons of praise after his debut season though. I remember him being bugged up as one of the worlds biggest young talents.

Then he had a few quiet/OK seasons whilst being rubbish anytime he turned out for England. People viewed him as good, but pretty raw .. which is what he was.

It’s only last season and this one where he’s seriously stepped up his productivity and consistency, so it’s only now he’s being mentioned alongside other top class players.

I’m not saying there aren’t a few figures in the media (or rags like the daily mail) who seem to dislike him, but to balance that I’ve also seen loads of praise and plenty of recognition.
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Well you just proved my point.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
I do wonder how he would function outside of that incredible City side. I think he’s clearly superior to Pedro, but also I do think the system is getting the absolute best out of him. His international performances don’t do much to dissuade me from that view.

That said, regardless of systems his performances are electric. He’s a key player for by far the best side in the league, you don’t get there by chance.
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Bernardo Silva and De Gea are underwhelming at international level though. Fabio Capello says the international shirt has a different weight and affects some excellent players.
 
roonster09 said:
Well you just proved my point.
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But he’s getting tons of praise now as well. Like I said, before the WC there were loads of articles marking him out as England’s key man, ahead of a world class striker in Kane.

Golden boys for a big club like Liverpool/United do get marked out for praise but that’s nothing new, Rashford has had plenty of hype.
 
Classical Mechanic said:
Bernardo Silva and De Gea are underwhelming at international level though. Fabio Capello says the international shirt has a different weight and affects some excellent players.
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Very true, it definitely doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Kane isn’t exactly a monster for England either.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
But he’s getting tons of praise now as well. Like I said, before the WC there were loads of articles marking him out as England’s key man, ahead of a world class striker in Kane.

Golden boys for a big club like Liverpool/United do get marked out for praise but that’s nothing new, Rashford has had plenty of hype.
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He is getting now after years of nonsense articles written about him. No one said he is not getting any praise from media, it's just how so much shit was thrown at him once he left Liverpool. It was very obvious.
 
roonster09 said:
He is getting now after years of nonsense articles written about him. No one said he is not getting any praise from media, it's just how so much shit was thrown at him once he left Liverpool. It was very obvious.
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True, but I feel like that would have been the same for most players.

Young talent leading historically huge club for a bit of a plastic, oil rich club? Easy mercenary narrative.

Combine that with some slightly dodgy quotes etc I remember coming from his camp at the time and it was easy prey for the media.
 
Classical Mechanic said:
I'd say that despite him being consistently awful for England I don't recall much clamor for him to be dropped from the media (could be wrong?)

He was criticised for withdrawing from a squad for being 'too tired' though.
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There was a decent clamour during the WC but tbh it was entirely understandable. He was really bad and wasteful. I don’t think it was anything unreasonable.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
True, but I feel like that would have been the same for most players.

Young talent leading historically huge club for a bit of a plastic, oil rich club? Easy mercenary narrative.

Combine that with some slightly dodgy quotes etc I remember coming from his camp at the time and it was easy prey for the media.
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Well at that point City were on rise and were levels above Liverpool. Any ambitious player would have moved to City from Liverpool. Did Stones, Walker also get same shit for moving to City from Everton? Well one moved just a year later and other moved from a team that finished above City.

Liverpool planted some nonsense about him wanting huge wages, so his agent said he won't sign for Liverpool even for million a week, something like that.
 
roonster09 said:
Well at that point City were on rise and were levels above Liverpool. Any ambitious player would have moved to City from Liverpool. Did Stones, Walker also get same shit for moving to City from Everton? Well one moved just a year later and other moved from a team that finished above City.

Liverpool planted some nonsense about him wanting huge wages, so his agent said he won't sign for Liverpool even for million a week, something like that.
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That’s a good point .. but again I do think it’s just that Liverpool are still seen as a big club by the media. I think you would see similar if Rashford tried to move to PSG or something, he’d be automatically branded a mercenary despite them being a better team than you right now.

But yeah, I do remember the stories about him wanting big wages, and obviously the media latched on to that.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
That’s a good point .. but again I do think it’s just that Liverpool are still seen as a big club by the media. I think you would see similar if Rashford tried to move to PSG or something, he’d be automatically branded a mercenary despite them being a better team than you right now.

But yeah, I do remember the stories about him wanting big wages, and obviously the media latched on to that.
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Lets agree to disagree then. It's enough defending City player for this week.
 
The holy trinity 68 said:
Kante was born in Paris and the last time I checked, that is in France.

Such a lazy comment.
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Your's is a lazy comment then because Mahrez was also born in France.

I admit that I thought Kante was born in Africa and included Mahrez even though I knew he was born in France because he chose to represent an African country at international level.

I do humbly apologise for my egregious transgression though.
 
Classical Mechanic said:
Your's is a lazy comment then because Mahrez was also born in France.

I admit that I thought Kante was born in Africa and included Mahrez even though I knew he was born in France because he chose to represent an African country at international level.

I do humbly apologise for my egregious transgression though.
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I for one do not forgive you.

Off to the gallows, I say.
 
roonster09 said:
Lets agree to disagree then. It's enough defending City player for this week.
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I don’t necessarily fully disagree .. Liverpool certainly have a huge presence in the media, with tons of their ex players, managers etc doing punditry.

Fecking Souness and his eternal hatred of Pogba is a good example of that.
 
Classical Mechanic said:
Your's is a lazy comment then because Mahrez was also born in France.

I admit that I thought Kante was born in Africa and included Mahrez even though I knew he was born in France because he chose to represent an African country at international level.

I do humbly apologise for my egregious transgression though.
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I didn’t realise Mahrez won it only 3 years ago, I thought it was 4, my bad.

Also, just because he represents Algerian doesn’t mean he is from the African continent. His nationality maybe Algerian, but he is from France.

From somewhere means born there.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
I don’t necessarily fully disagree .. Liverpool certainly have a huge presence in the media, with tons of their ex players, managers etc doing punditry.

Fecking Souness and his eternal hatred of Pogba is a good example of that.
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Not much different to most of the Caf so.
 
Easily the most in form.

Wish he could replicate his City form for England. The Spain game was a good start.

I still think Dele Alli is our most naturally gifted footballer, but he seems to have attitude & discipline problems.
 
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