Sterling's Having The Last Laugh

Robert J Wilson Looks at How the Man City Winger Is Proving His Critics Wrong …
 

FOLLOWING their club’s record-breaking start to the season, the ecstatic Manchester City supporters proudly proclaim ‘Raheem Sterling – he’s top of the league’. He most certainly is.

The 23-year-old has played a pivotal role in City’s stunning campaign and, in his current form, Sterling will be the one of the first names on England manager Gareth Southgate’s team-sheet for this summer’s World Cup.

Sterling has been a revelation and must be a genuine contender for the PFA and Football Writers’ Player of the Season awards. How refreshing it is to see a young England international performing at such a consistent level for one of Europe’s top sides.

Sterling has enjoyed his best goalscoring start to a season and his match-winning goals against the likes of Bournemouth, Huddersfield and Southampton have propelled Pep Guardiola’s side to what many already feel is an unassailable position.

He more recently outshone his England team-mates Harry Kane and Dele Alli with two goals in a 4-1 demolition of Tottenham.

Manchester City’s procession will certainly take some halting, as they aim to secure their third Premier League title in seven seasons.

They may also be genuine contenders for the Champions League. Sterling has taken his league form into that competition as well, scoring important goals against Napoil, Shakhtar and Feyenoord.

One thing is for sure - those who so openly criticised him for signing for City from Liverpool back in 2015 have gone awfully quiet.

Many pundits and journalists, far too many it must be said, claimed that the youngster was making a disastrous career move based solely on greed rather than ambition. They have been well wide of the far post.