HE has won ten major trophies and been crowned Footballer of the Year.He has starred for all of English football’s three most successful clubs of the past decade — Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Rejuvenated Raheem Sterling celebrates his goal for Chelsea against Man CityCredit: Getty
Goalscorer Sterling has got his mojo back this seasonCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
He has played in a World Cup semi-final and the last European Championship final, where he was included in Uefa’s team of the tournament.
He is the only current player, other than Harry Kane, to have scored 20 goals for England.
In Sunday’s epic 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge, he tormented his former England and City team-mate Kyle Walker — perhaps the finest right-back in the world — to show that he remains very much a world-class talent.
At 28, he is at a peak age, so why has Raheem Sterling not made a single England squad this year?
After years spent being accused of showing excessive loyalty, Gareth Southgate is adamant that he isn’t holding a grudge against Sterling — who left the World Cup to tackle a domestic emergency and then turned down a call-up for England’s internationals in June.
England are rightly among the favourites to win next summer’s Euros in Germany and, as Southgate states, they have depth in wide areas, but they would surely be a stronger proposition with Sterling in the squad.
It was significant that Sterling should produce perhaps his finest performance in a Chelsea shirt against former club City on Sunday.
A poacher’s finish for Chelsea’s second, a brilliant run and pass in the build-up to their equalising penalty, a gorgeous dribble which included a nutmeg of Jeremy Doku, a crunching tackle to dispossess Jack Grealish.
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Doku and Grealish, by chance, are the two men who have replaced him on City’s left flank. So it would be easy to suggest Sterling played like a man with a point to prove to City boss Pep Guardiola and Southgate.
More accurately, here was a player rediscovering his mojo, adapting to a new status as a rare senior pro in Mauricio Pochettino’s young Blues side.
Sterling developed significantly under Guardiola, particularly in his technique and temperament in front of goal, and he was one of the first names on City’s team-sheet until 2021.
But during City’s run to that year’s Champions League final — where they lost 1-0 to Chelsea — Sterling was benched for five successive knock-out matches, only to be restored for the final and dominated by his current Blues captain Reece James.
That summer, while tearing it up at the Euros, scoring three goals, as well as registering an assist and winning the decisive penalty in the semi-final against Denmark, Sterling expressed dissatisfaction with his lack of big-match game time at City.
Sterling was superb for England at the last European ChampionshipCredit: Getty
Grealish was then purchased for £100million and, a year later, Sterling was allowed to join Chelsea — who floundered in chaos, while his former club won the Treble.
It was easy to imagine Sterling’s career had entered terminal decline but recent performances, particularly in last month’s hammering of Burnley and against City, suggest otherwise.
Pochettino enjoyed an extraordinary record of nurturing England internationals at Southampton and Spurs.
Between 2013 and 2017, the majority of England debutants had played for Pochettino.
That roll call consisted of Kane, Walker, Kieran Trippier, Dele Alli, Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Harry Winks, Andros Townsend, Ryan Mason, James Ward-Prowse, Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne, Jay Rodriguez, Calum Chambers and Rickie Lambert.
At Chelsea, Levi Colwill has already progressed to full England honours and Cole Palmer — also excellent against his former club City — will do the same after a maiden call-up to Southgate’s senior squad yesterday.
Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke may be next on that list while existing England internationals James, Conor Gallagher and Ben Chilwell will all benefit from Pochettino’s tutelage.
But Sterling’s return to form might be as important as the emergence of any of them.
Southgate has many options on the left wing — including Marcus Rashford, who is struggling at Manchester United, and Grealish, who has never enjoyed Sterling’s level of consistency in an England shirt.
If David Cameron can return to the cabinet seven years after running away from Brexit and austerity, surely a comeback for Sterling isn’t too much to ask?Dave Kidd
Sterling was injured for England’s first post-World Cup squad in March, then mutually agreed with his manager not to join up for two internationals in June, as he sought to recover from a tough season.
This autumn, he has been omitted from all three squads, sparking belief that Southgate is willing to go to Germany without him.
But if David Cameron can return to the cabinet seven years after running away from Brexit and austerity, surely a comeback for Sterling isn’t too much to ask?
TAYL AS OLD AS TIME
THE home support throughout Chelsea’s breathless 4-4 draw with Manchester City, frequently bombarded ref Anthony Taylor with chants of ‘Taylor, you’re a c, Taylor, Taylor, you’re a c’.
At the final whistle, a giant flag was flown from Stamford Bridge’s West Stand, bearing the words ‘NO TO HATE’.
The Premier League, where levels of entertainment are rivalled only by levels of hypocrisy.
SO FOURTUNATE
I’VE been reporting on football matches for three decades but never experienced a madder week than this last one, covering Tottenham 1 Chelsea 4; FC Copenhagen 4 Manchester United 3 and then Chelsea 4 Manchester City 4.
Twenty goals, five more disallowed at Spurs, three red cards, five penalties, late drama and endless controversy.
They often say it’s the greatest job in the world, trying to capture all this lunacy with on-the-whistle deadlines.
Only if you’re an adrenaline junkie with a strong ticker.
Spurs’ Eric Dier scores one of the goals ruled out by VAR during their defeat by ChelseaCredit: Getty
NO VAR FOR GAR
FEW people articulate opposition to VAR more persuasively than Gareth Southgate.
After the Tottenham v Chelsea debacle, the England boss said: “I was bored watching it.
“I was at the game and it just kept stopping. So never mind the players. What about the fans?
“It’s sucking the enjoyment out of goals and the ball-in-play time was incredibly low, even though we had 21 minutes of added time.”
And last month Southgate said: “I’m sitting in the stadium next to people.
“I’m lucky as I normally get a free ticket but other people pay a lot of money and haven’t got a clue (what’s happening during VAR checks) or are on the phone to someone at home asking what’s going on.”
Keep speaking up, Gareth. One day somebody in charge might actually listen.
HE’S NO O’NEILY MAN
IT’S time to stop feeling sympathy, and start feeling pure admiration, for Gary O’Neil.
O’Neil was pitied when Bournemouth sacked him after he steered the Cherries well clear of relegation.
He was pitied for taking over a Wolves squad which had lost many of its best players.
And he has been pitied as the victim of several VAR blunders.
But wins over Man City, and Spurs, confirm the belief that the understated O’Neil is an outstanding manager with a big future.
Kieran Trippier argues with a Newcastle fan at BournemouthCredit: Rex
LONG TRIPP NO EXCUSE
GOOD on Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier for confronting moaning fans after their 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth during a major injury crisis.
Supporters who feel entitled to results and seem to want medals just because they choose to make 700-mile round trips, are tiresome in the extreme.
ERIK ONE HAG
‘ONE-NIL to the Arsenal’ was the soundtrack to several trophy successes for George Graham’s Gunners.
One-nil to Man United is the new theme tune under Erik ten Hag with five wins by that scoreline already this season.
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Whether it earns them any more silverware is a different matter.
ENDO STORY, REDS
PRESUMABLY after Liverpool’s Wataru Endo escaped a red card for a horror challenge on Brentford’s Christian Norgaard, the Anfield club are no longer threatening an ‘escalation’ of their dissatisfaction with refereeing standards? More
