You always get players who will completely split opinions like marmite does, and Raheem Sterling is one of them.
The Chelsea winger still has some pretty big fans and believers in his ability, largely from the media and pundits. Many Chelsea fans also still think he’s top class. But on the other side, I personally know many Chelsea fans who just do not rate him at all and never will.
I always prefer to look at both sides of the argument and in last night’s game against Blackburn, I saw both sides, and that sums up Sterling.
I’ve seen some outlets rating him an 8 and some even above, and that does annoy me.
I watch football from start to finish through the whole 90 minutes, and I judge a players performance overall. Sterling was very poor in the first half last night, but much better in the second half. His goal was class and inevitable after the first half because that just sums him up! But don’t base an overall performance rating on one goal – that isn’t how it should work.
I rated Sterling a 7 on my website, but if he didn’t score that goal and have a slightly better second half, I’d have given him a 4. He wasn’t good overall, despite stepping up and scoring a good goal.
But for me, that’s just Raheem Sterling, no?
Some arguments are that a player cannot play to a high standard every single game, and that is true. But Sterling for me is slightly abnormally inconsistent, and that is where my concerns have always been with him.
I will praise him when he plays well, and I have given him his flowers on a few occasions this season. He’s been much better this season than he was last season and he has often stepped up as our talisman. His inconsistencies HAVE improved, and I will always acknowledge that.
But he still frustrates me and is the source of me shouting at the TV screen far too often. In the first half yesterday he was giving the ball away so much and breaking down our own attacks – and that is something I have grown far too used to seeing from Sterling.
He can hit a superb finish, no doubt about that. He can dribble past three players and make something happen, no doubt about that. But he is still just too inconsistent, there is also no doubt about that, in my view.
Do we just have to accept that is Raheem Sterling and we have to get through the poor periods to enjoy the good periods and the wonder goals?? Because after all, he IS scoring goals for us this season and providing a real threat in attack.
Personally, if you asked me what I’d do if someone made an offer for Sterling in January and we could replace him with a consistent and quality winger, I actually wouldn’t hesitate in saying yes. That might sound harsh, but that’s just how I feel – we need more. Why can’t we have a winger who is good most of the time rather than some of the time?
Those are my views. But don’t get me wrong, when Sterling is ticking he is on fire and can be devastating. I’ll never hate on him, and I’ll always praise him when he earns that praise. But I call things as I see them and I just think that we need someone who is very good more often than not, rather than just some of the time.
