Lay Off Raheem
Sterling deserves a break
Raheem Sterling, arguably England’s most exciting and consistent player over the last few months of international football, didn’t start the October qualifier against Estonia because he was, apparently, ‘too tired’. Cue national protest and tabloid vilification, the like of which hasn’t been seen since the last round of international fixtures when some English player probably did something slightly controversial that nobody can really remember anymore.
As soon as the story broke, it seemed like everyone had their knives out for young Raheem. No more so than the red-top newspapers, who took the time out from reporting on the X Factor or whatever to fly into an incandescent fury.
What good reason could there possibly be for an inexperienced 19- year-old who had played over 1,600 minutes of competitive football between the end of May and the day of the match, to possibly feel tired?
Had our national pride been corrupted by club manager Brenden Rodgers, the dour old Irish git? How else could Sterling ignore the call of duty, leaving his teammates weakened and fearful in the face of the proud and mighty footballing nation of Estonia?
The whole situation was a bit silly, reeking of a contrived controversy to fill column inches. Alan Shearer saw fit to vent his reaction in The
Sun. “I genuinely have never heard something like that in my career,” moaned Shearer, which raises the question if Shearer actually spoke to any of his fellow professionals when playing the game, or whether they all scarpered when they heard his monotonous drone start up. He then rolled out that old favourite: “The working man who is up at 6am and home at 8pm does not want to hear about how tired a 19-year-old professional footballer is.”
As clichés go, the ‘working man versus professional footballer’ shtick is one of the most tiresome and predictable out there. But what more can you expect from Shearer, a man with about as much charisma as a halfempty pot of beige Dulux paint? A man so painfully dull that he manages to make even Mark Lawrenson, that mardy shite-shirt wearing old timer, look somewhat personable on the Match of the Day sofa? The comparison was lazy on Shearer’s part, and the logic behind it was as thin as the Geordie’s rapidly receding hairline.
For, here’s a funny thought. Perhaps Raheem Sterling might just know his body a little bit better than all those criticising his reluctance to play? Perhaps he felt incapable of playing to his full ability, and thus gently hinted to Hodgson to relegate him to the bench in order not to waste a spot in the starting line-up? And perhaps Sterling might not have been thinking of the reactions of the working man when he made his decision. Perhaps he was just thinking about the football.
The resulting media furore illuminated a worrying trend in English football, however. The propensity of burnout in our game is disturbingly familiar, and Sterling has emerged as just another figure in a long line of talented teenagers who have found themselves in the dangerous position of being stretched thin and spat out by both club and country.
Whereas our national rivals seem to possess the capacity to nurture and develop their young stars, in England far too many promising youngsters have failed to progress to enjoy long and fruitful careers. This seems to be a particular problem at
Liver-
pool, where Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler are two prime examples of exciting attacking talents bursting onto the scene in a rapture of speed and goal scoring before struggling with injuries throughout their twenties.
In both cases Liverpool seemed to sell up at the right time, but who knows how many more games England could have won if both of these two players were managed properly when they were still in their formative years?
As well as the danger of burnout, the burden of expectation placed on England’s young stars has frequently curtailed player progression. A quick glance at the current England squad reveals the danger of demanding too much, too soon from a young player; questions will always surround the development of Wayne Rooney, for example, and it’s hard not to feel that he could have enjoyed a much more fruitful career had he not been modelled into the talisman of the international team quite so readily.
The England national team, and their fans, need to learn from these previous examples. Raheem Sterling is an exceptionally exciting talent, and his impish, fleet-footed ability to unlock defences is thrilling to watch, and surely represents England’s strongest claim to possessing a world-class talent of the future.
If Hodgson is to remould his slightly dour, dogsbody squad, it will be through the successful integration of attacking players like Sterling into the international set-up, in an environment that resembles the free-flowing Liverpool setup in which he has flourished.
However, that integration must be a gradual process, and Sterling’s development at international level cannot be rushed.
English football has an uncanny ability at shooting itself in the foot, and attitudes surrounding the international set-up
need to be changed if the team are to enjoy success anytime soon. The next time that Sterling – or any of England’s young talent for that matter – feel unsuitable, ‘too tired’, to start a game against an international behemoth such as Estonia, they shouldn’t have their spirits broken by fans and pundits alike, but should simply be given a break.