Must have watched a different match. Sterling was very good today, all bar the finishing. Never let Sweden settle. Harried and harrassed their defenders, stopped them building from the back which robbed them of confidence, neutralized their usual gameplan and helped to keep them on the backfoot. Integral to the result and absolutely not worth the slating he is getting from some despite the usual frustration at his finishing.
I agree ...worked and kept running at their back line, never letting them settle, bed in and get into their shape...he did mess up (as he has all tournament) with his final ball/shot/pass etc Henderson and Young were good as well today ..Pickford growing into it and looking very good Trippier is my man of the England team so far
Sterling was very good for us today but still making bad decisions under pressure. Won us so many corners and created plenty. Absolutely no doubt he starts the next game. I've changed my mind on him after today; Rashford wouldn't add as much to the side.
He doesn’t create chances. Can’t think of one chance he created. He runs into good positions where others pass to him but then does absolutely nothing with it. He should have had at least 2 goals today but ended up with none. It’s not a case of his luck will change as he has been missing these chances for England for over 30 months. If people think Mitro or Cisse needed 5 or 6 chances to take one Sterling is even worse. Yes, he runs around a lot but never produces anything. I don’t want my striker/number10 winning corners I want him scoring goals. Sterling doesn’t do that and hasn’t for a long time. Watch for his “end” product but whatever you do don’t hold your breath whilst watching as it could end up fatal as he invariably hasn’t got one. My Dad who is 85yo would have achieved more than Sterling and even my Dad would accept he’s past his best. Sterling will no doubt play but shouldn’t as Rashford would bring more to the team. No doubt one game soon Sterling will score and everyone will say what a good decision to keep him in the team. He reminds me on one level of John Barnes. Barnes was a very good First Division player but was useless at International level and dined out on his wonder goal against Brazil. In fact that’s unfair to Barnes as at least he did score a wonder goal. What exactly has Sterling done?
What about the ball he half lost, half laid off to Kane who had the goalie beat, but missed wide left.
Cannot for the life of me understand why Lingard isn’t off Kane with RLC in the middle. Also I’ve no idea how Fabian Delph can now die having reached (at least) a WC semi final. Extraordinary. He must be Gareth’s boyfriend. Not joking.
Can’t remember the incident from your description but even so I think you confirm my point if the best that can be argued is that “...he half lost, half laid off to...” suggesting he was lucky at best and didn’t even mean it at worst. He runs around a lot and is fast and that causes issues for defenders but this is England we’re talking about not Sunderland.
I loved Ameobi. Not as a footballer mind but he was a wonderful character. And yes that means I wouldn’t have picked him to play for NUFC as he underperformed for most of his career. Sterling, for me, isn’t clinical enough or consistent enough to play for England but if others are happy with second best then good for them.
I've been critical of Sterling but the team seem to be happy with him. I was critical of one Emile Heskey too as he wasn't clinical but the players he played with enjoyed playing with him as he was a handful and made their job easier. Its not always about being the one who scores, if it benefits the team then that's fine. I'm now going to not so subtly bring in Mitrovic, may not have been clinical with us but he is a handful and provided he brings others into the game and they score then he is all good in my book!
I'll weigh in with this. Alli shouldn't have started at all. He's been **** since he took that knock against Tunisia. His goal yesterday doesn't excuse it. I'd be way happier to see RLC starting instead of him.
Mitro’s not prolific but he does score and he can be a handful. Sterling for me at England level doesn’t score and whilst defenders may not like playing against him but he rarely does anything constructive. His team mates may like playing with him but so what. Give Rashford a chance and we may find he scores goals , defenders don’t like playing against him and his team mates like him as well. Or play Lingard further up front and bring L-C in and they both score goals, defenders don’t like playing against either of them and their team mates like both of them. I’m still looking for what Sterling brings to the party in the position he plays. Anyway I have had my rants and will probably again in the next game but if we go on to win the World Cup I won’t care if Sterling is in the team or not. If we don’t ...
Lingard where Sterling plays would be infinitely more productive. RLC into midfield. It’s glaringly obvious.
