STERLING SHOWED CLASS IN HANDLING THE RACISTS
IT IS three weeks since I wrote about Raheem Sterling potentially winning Player of the Year and he has only enhanced his credentials since then. Watching him play is a joy right now and he is terrifying teams with his pace. I thought he was brilliant last season but he has gone up another level in this campaign with his goals and assists and the way he has conducted himself has been so impressive. To see how he has gone from someone people were quick to criticise to a poster boy has been amazing and the responsibility he is carrying on his shoulders is bringing the best out of him. We have seen it for Manchester City and now we are seeing it for England. The interviews he gave after the racism that scarred the game in Montenegro were a case in point. He handled a horrible situation with absolute class but it was terrible that he was in such a position in the first place. These incidents keep on happening in eastern Europe and it is shameful. I remember Shola Ameobi getting horrific abuse on one Under 21 trip and it has reached the point where a player who gets abused in the future will walk off and his team-mates will follow. Players are in a position to make their voices heard — and Sterling has played his part in that.