Raheem Sterling was Manchester City’s first signing of the Summer and as always, there was a lot of excitement as a result. Judging by his previous performances for Liverpool, City had acquired a promising young player and judging by his pre season performances, Sterling looked ready to go.
Sadly, this has not been the case. There will always be nerves joining a team such as City and during his league debut against West Brom, it seemed Sterling was slowly settling in to City’s style of play. Going into Chelsea at the Etihad, Sterling did not do anything stupid or spectacular, but did the job he was supposed to do which was cause problems for defenders. However, the majority of City fans were hoping for Sterling to be scoring goals left, right and centre and creating amazing chances. This has not been the case.
Only scoring one Premier League goal against Watford, it was clear Sterling had not built up his confidence playing in the Manchester City team. This does not state that Sterling is a bad player, but the impact we were expecting has not been evident. Sterling has become the unsung hero of the team, providing an excellent relationship with Aleksandar Kolarov which has made the left hand side almost impenetrable. So Sterling’s contribution is not going unnoticed, but now he needs to focus on the attacking side of the game.
Along with his defensive duties, Sterling is also proving to be a good example to young footballers across the country. Instead of shouting at the referee whenever a decision does not go his way, Sterling simply shrugs it off and carries on with the game. This is something that a lot of fans are warming to as it is nice to see a player carry on with the match rather than spending the majority of their time shouting at officials.
Whilst on England duty, Sterling’s performances have been very similar, providing dangerous threats, but not scoring any goals. This drought ended last Friday night against Estonia where Sterling scored the second goal in a 2-0 win which should hopefully boost his confidence in terms of club performances. It has been evident with so many players over the years that following the end of a goal drought, players traditionally cannot stop scoring. So this should be the start of a shower of goals for the England star.
Sterling has nothing to fear in terms of the fans turning on him as City fans are a patient bunch and will give him time. His performances have been solid and there is only one way he can go and that is up to spectacular. His good attitude towards the game itself will make him stand out and should help him going forward in terms of player development. Bournemouth will be the perfect way for Sterling to get back on goal scoring form and will kickstart of what should be a great career at Manchester City.
