Lively, busy Raheem made things happen and should not be the scapegoat for others’ failures.. AGAIN

WHENEVER things do not go quite right, it is always one player’s fault.

Step forward Raheem Sterling. If people watched England’s game with Tunisia and thought the failings of the team were all down to him then they must have been watching a different game to the one I saw in the Volgograd Arena. Yes, Sterling missed a chance that he would have put away with his eyes closed for Manchester City last season. But England’s lack of goals is not just Sterling’s fault. Far from it. The wider issue is that Sterling, Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard do not score enough goals for England. You can’t get away with blaming just one of them. Sterling has not scored for England for three years, Alli has not scored for nearly two and Lingard has managed one goal in 13 caps.

But, of course, we are not debating whether Lingard or Alli should be taken out against Panama, but Sterling.

Which is strange because his all-round game was good – lively, busy and quick on the turn. He was making things happen when England were at their best in the first half-an-hour.

But this endless stream of doubt and questions over Sterling’s career seems to weigh heavily on his shoulders and he is not producing his club form for his country.

Mind you, people seem to have forgotten how well he played against Nigeria at Wembley.

The worst thing that Gareth Southgate could do now would be to drop him and further damage his confidence.

Not because he is a delicate flower who needs mollycoddling. But because he is England’s most naturally gifted player, potentially the most creative and sometimes good man-management is to persevere with someone through difficult times.

Maybe Southgate needs to explore the dynamic of a starting XI which, incredibly, has FIVE outfield players who have never scored for England.

Harry Kane has got 15 and the rest have got 12 between them. And that includes seven from Ashley Young (left) from when he was a winger – by the way that is evidence as to why you must stick with him over Danny Rose.

Statistically, a lack of goals will undo England. That’s a team issue rather than one player’s fault.

Do not make Sterling the scapegoat. England needs him to work and produce his City form if they are to go far in this tournament.