Sterling serves up some Humble pie

HUMBLE pie isn’t generally something that tastes too good. Being served a slice usually involves some embarrassment and an apology you’d rather not give. It’s time for me to swallow some during the course of this article.

I’ve been pretty hard on Raheem Sterling over the past year or so. His form dropped off a cliff around the time he was awarded a bumper contract by Liverpool. He’s had some publicity that has been none too favourable and he seemed to be heading down that path trodden by so many promising starlets before him into career oblivion before he’d even got into his stride.

From being a sprightly, energetic bright spot in Brendan Rodgers’ troubled early days on Merseyside, he faded quicker than a New Year’s resolution and spent the first few months of this season as little more than an afterthought. The most optimistic assessment of his career prospects that I could muster a couple of months back was that he was in desperate need of a loan move to reignite a flame that had petered out long ago.

Jordan Ibe had replaced him as Liverpool’s most promising young winger in my eyes and I’d have much rather seen Victor Moses in a red shirt than Sterling. Shows what I know, eh?

Sterling’s Liverpool career wasn’t on an upward trajectory during 2013 and it’s nadir came away to Hull City on the first day of December. Liverpool were woeful in defeat and their wingers (Moses and Sterling), bore the brunt of many supporters’ ire, including mine.

Taken in isolation, that game seemed to cement the malaise that Sterling had fallen into. He was ineffective throughout and looked every inch a little boy lost rather than a great hope for the future. I fully expected him to be relegated back to the bench or the under 21 squad before being sent off on loan in January in the hope that he could get himself back on track. Brendan Rodgers thankfully had other ideas.

Sterling started the next match at home to Norwich and bagged his first league goal of the season. A confidence boost. He followed that up with a solid supporting act in the Luis Suarez show against West Ham three days later. Then came Spurs. A tough game away from home against Champions League chasing rivals. I wasn’t expecting much. It was the kind of game that I could see Raheem struggling in.

Sterling produced his best 45 minutes in a Liverpool shirt to date with a wonderful first half display. He twisted Kyle Naughton’s blood so badly that the full back was mercifully removed at the break. He got to the byline several times, repeatedly beat his marker on the outside and delivered into the box time and again. He fittingly finished the game with a goal to complete the 5-0 rout. He found the net once more against Cardiff at Anfield and made Philippe Coutinho’s goal away to Manchester City while also having a goal wrongly chalked off for offside by an absurd decision.

Even during Liverpool’s toughest 45 minutes of the season away to Chelsea, Sterling was Liverpool’s biggest attacking threat in a difficult first half for the team. He was quieter against Hull City last week but that was to be expected after such a demanding run of fixtures over Christmas. Starting again in the FA Cup against Oldham, he once again provided a goal for the Reds when he shot was deflected into the Kop goal by the unfortunate James Tarkowski.

In a crucial 8 game period, Sterling has been directly responsible for 5 Liverpool goals. For a boy who has just turned 19 and is only in the side because of injury to Daniel Sturridge, that is some going, especially when you factor in that his confidence must have been shot after his display away to Hull just 6 weeks ago.

Goals and direct assists haven’t been the only impressive thing that Sterling has added to his game of late. His pace had been somewhat of a bugbear for me in the past. The general perception from the moment Sterling made it into the first team was that he was a speed demon. I didn’t see it.

At youth level, sure he looked incredibly quick, but against Premier League fullbacks he looked nippy at best to my eyes. Since his reintegration though, he seems to have found an extra yard, maybe even two. He threatens in behind defences far more than he did before, evidenced by his goals against Spurs and Cardiff as well as his assist and wrongly disallowed strike at City.

Not only does his speed of foot seem to have helped him offer a greater threat behind opponent’s defences, his runs now seem more intelligent and refined. His partnership with Luis Suarez in that respect is something to behold. Even in the embryonic stages of last season, Suarez assisted the youngster with two through balls for goals against Reading and Sunderland.

This season that understanding seems to have gone up another level. The two seem to be on the same wavelength and while Suarez dishes out many a rollocking when Sterling makes a mistake, the Uruguayan seems to take extra delight when a goal is scored by his little accomplice in crime, Raheem. He is a great foil for Suarez when the striker drops deep and adds depth to Liverpool’s attacking play.

Talking of partnerships, Sterling seems quite at ease with Glen Johnson behind him as well. The two have dovetailed pretty effectively despite their partnership coming at a time when Johnson’s form has hit rock bottom. Even when out of nick, Johnson’s desire to attack and his distribution to Sterling have helped the young winger to flourish. If Liverpool’s right back can recapture his best form then that should only bode well for Sterling in the future.

So there you have it: I was wrong about Raheem Sterling. He has knuckled down, improved his end product, his work rate and is proving himself a valuable member of this Liverpool team aged just 19. He clearly doesn’t need a loan move right now and it’s not likely that Jordan Ibe would be doing a better job for Liverpool than the Jamaican born winger if he were playing in his place.

His career isn’t set for oblivion, it’s just starting and is again on a tangible upward curve. My humble pie has been eaten and to be honest, it tastes pretty sweet at the moment. In fact, I’d love seconds.