raheem sterling
Today, let’s dive into the world of Raheem Sterling, a football sensation known for his electrifying speed and sharp instincts on the pitch. From his early days to his rise as a Premier League star, Sterling’s journey is a tale of determination, skill, and sheer passion for the game.
This is the statement that he understandably hasn’t seen because it came out just before the game kicked off, about an hour or so before the game. His representatives have said he came back to conduct individual training. It’s been a positive pre-season. The expectation was that Raheem would be involved in this weekend’s fixture in some capacity. We look forward to gaining clarity on the new season, and until then, we’ll continue to support Raheem’s desire to start the new season positively. Daniel, you know him. You don’t necessarily know his representatives, but he will clearly be frustrated at not being part of the squad. Do you think this helps his cause, having this statement put out there?
I want to say that I have a lot of love and respect for Raheem Sterling as a football player and as a guy. He is a young brother of mine. The timing is not great—it’s not. But you know, it’s bad timing, to be fair, especially on a game day. But he will feel he’s good enough to help Chelsea Football Club, and I think, like they’ve said in the statement, he’s come back two weeks early. They’re setting a third. He’s had a good pre-season, so in his mind, he’s probably thinking, “All right, going up against City today, my old club, get out there and do me.” Obviously, he felt as if he would have been involved, or I think they were probably surprised by not being involved. So, I don’t know if he wasn’t. I don’t agree with the message going out on game day. Obviously, it’s not good timing, but Sterling, in my opinion, is a good enough player to be in the Chelsea squad. Yeah, we’ve all been left out, though, haven’t we? We’ve all been left out, and we’d all want to put statements out, but Raheem and his team know exactly what they’re doing. Like you said, they’re trying to make noise. The thing is, with Chelsea already, there was a lot of noise around the club anyway. Everyone’s talking about the players; everyone’s talking about the ownership; everyone’s talking about, “Can we even guess Chelsea’s starting 11?” Putting that statement out before the game—not good enough. And I love Raheem as a player. I spent loads of time at Man City, interviewed him—really nice guy. But that doesn’t matter. We’re talking about the facts of today. That is not going to help your teammates, and it’s not going to probably help his case of getting back into the team. He can’t publicly come out—you’re saying this to me as if I agree with what he’s—what it sounded like. No, no, you didn’t. He was honest, and in your assessment, there’s two parts to this, aren’t there? One is: Is he justified in feeling frustrated? Clearly, the communication man. And then the second thing is the statement that’s been put out by his representatives and the timing. He must have initiated that. He must have initiated it. He said he’s come back two weeks early. Do you know what? That’s really nice of him. That’s nice of him to come back two weeks early. He didn’t have the Euros. If he wants to come back two weeks early, don’t need to talk about it. Just get on with it, play better. He hasn’t been great since he’s been at Chelsea. When he’s come into games, when he’s played, he started matches; he hasn’t been good enough. So, if the manager doesn’t want to play you, you just get on with it. You don’t come out and get your representatives to do that, especially on the day of a game. I think that’s absolute rubbish. He should do better than that. His representatives should do better than that. I think that is a really poor statement because I tell you what, there are 30 other players that could be putting statements out as well that aren’t in the squad. He hasn’t done well enough, and it’s your opinion if you think you’ve been doing well in pre-season. Just keep doing better. The manager’s opinion is the only one that counts, and if he’s not going to pick you, that’s unlucky. You have to turn around, and you have to get back into training tomorrow morning, be the best trainer, and show you want to play. That’s the only way you’re going to get back in the team. Putting statements out like that—I’m just not having that one bit.
To play Devil’s Advocate, if Raheem Sterling has come back two weeks early, he’s doing individual training, and he feels that he’s doing all those things that you’ve said, and he’s had communication, as the statement says, with the manager, who indicates that he will play a part in this weekend’s fixture, then he’s doing all those things according to the statement. Keep everybody happy—you’ve just talked about, what, 43 players? You can’t keep everybody happy. The best way to get the manager to pick you is to play well in training, work hard, wait for your chance, and take your chance. We’ve all been there; we understand the frustration. Would I have raheem sterling in a squad? 100%. But the manager’s not picked him today. He needs to deal with that as a professional and try to do the best he possibly can. And we always talk about when managers come out and say things publicly about players, we say, “Oh, he shouldn’t do that, it’s not good enough.” And now he’s come out and basically called his manager out, and he’s let his teammates down. So, that’s my problem with it. I think he’s better than that; he knows it, and it could cause unnecessary issues. That is actually it in a nutshell. We’ve said it before: This has actually given us a subplot as well because that’s the biggest problem for Mauricio—that’s his big issue. Because once he picks his 11, or his subs, he’s probably got a bit of relief that that bit’s done because trying to keep everybody happy in this group of players is virtually impossible. Well, look at the players who missed out. Now, these are players for whom we can’t find any information to suggest that they are injured or any reason why they would not be part of the squad other than manager selection. Now, that is going to be the case every time Chelsea play, isn’t it? But that’s the thing. raheem sterling is got to go back into training tomorrow, and if they get a day off, next time, he is going to see so many unhappy faces. Normally, we have 11 v. 1 when you’re a player, and on a first-team trying to get the squad, trying to get the team playing together, you’ve got 20 players that can’t even get into 11 v. 1. How can that be right? The best team in the world, or the best team in the Premier League over the last 5 years, works on the basis of 24–25 players in their squad. How and why do they think that they’re going to reinvent football and try to do this? Because you’re making the manager’s job virtually impossible, I think, with the group of players they’ve got. And if there’s anyone with a statement—sorry, look at Conor Gallagher, who was supposed to go to Atletico Madrid. It was supposed to be done for £45 million. Apparently, he was in Madrid for four or five days. He could have talked about how disappointed he felt in that moment, but he remained professional. Same with Chalobah as well. He came through the youth system, and Chelsea fans are apparently not happy with the way he’s been treated. He could have come out with a statement as well. It’s the same for all of them. And we, you know, we love Raheem, and we’re not going to say anything to make him unhappy, but we have to be honest about the situation. I am being honest, and I’m saying that I believe—I’m not saying he’s justified in putting a statement out. Don’t put statements out. But to feel that you’re good enough to help your team is another thing. Keep it in. Keep it in-house. That’s what I’m saying. The feeling of, “I can help this team be better, and I should be in this squad.” Yeah, every player feels that. Raheem is within his rights to feel that way at home. But to put statements out—I don’t agree with that. I’m not saying I agree at all. I don’t agree with that. That’s poor from him.
