Raheem Sterling turns 23: Why are his efforts still so underrated?

Raheem Sterling is celebrating his 23rd birthday on Friday, but why aren’t more people celebrating him? Adam Bate examines the Manchester City winger’s record and the curious focus on his flaws when he is outperforming so many of his peers.

Raheem Sterling is accustomed to criticism. There was plenty of it even before the ordeal of playing in two major tournaments for England and controversially trading life at Liverpool in search of medals at Manchester City. But one accusation persists. Ask your friends. Search Twitter. Sterling, so the story goes, cannot kick a football properly.

The list of doubters includes some of the game’s esteemed names. „There is an observation I find myself coming back to every time I watch Sterling,“ noted Paul Scholes in his column for The Independent back in 2015. „I don’t rate him that highly as a striker of the ball and by that I mean, literally, how he kicks it… Too often his shots are a scuff or a bobble.“
Scholes freely acknowledged at the time that it was a „weird“ thing to say about any player let alone one who was about to be transferred for £50m. He used the analogy of the golfer and his swing. Some players are just pure ball strikers. Technical excellence personified. Sterling, in contrast, was a man with a kink in his swing. And the criticism rang true.

Instinctively, it is still easy to understand what Scholes meant. Crisp finishes have not been Sterling’s forte. But it is becoming harder to see why it is a deal breaker. After all, it has not stopped him scoring nine Premier League goals this season. Only Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah have more. Sterling is the joint-top scorer in the country’s top team.
They have been important goals too. One late winner might be considered fortunate, particularly if it is the one he chested home at Huddersfield. Three is decisive. Sterling also fired one into the net in the seventh minute of stoppage time at Bournemouth and then repeated the trick by curling the ball beautifully into the far corner against Southampton.

Evidence of his end product could hardly be clearer, and this is only the headline statistic. Perhaps the more illuminating one is that Sterling has had 112 touches in the opposition box so far this Premier League season. That is more than anyone else except Watford’s young Brazilian forward Richarlison. He is getting the goals because he is getting in the positions.
His dribbling is improving too. This has always been one of Sterling standout qualities but the statistics show that he is becoming more effective. It is not that he is dribbling more than before but that he is dribbling better. His dribble success rate has improved year-on-year during his time at Manchester City. No wonder Pep Guardiola senses something.

„Raheem is still young enough,“ said Guardiola after the match-winning strike against Southampton. „He is making steps. I know he is feeling he can do it. Before, he was feeling shy. His team-mates are giving him confidence. You have to have the personality to create the pass with Kevin De Bruyne in injury time and put it in. It was a fantastic goal.“
Guardiola’s point about Sterling’s age is a pertinent one. The player turns 23 on Friday. That is something worth remembering given the career obituaries, character assassinations and criticisms that he has had to endure. His age offers context. No player currently under the age of 24 has scored as many goals this season in any of Europe’s major five leagues.

In the Premier League nobody is close. In fact, Sterling ranks among the top 10 players in the competition’s history when it comes to combined goal involvement at 23. He has provided more Premier League assists than Cristiano Ronaldo at the same age and scored as many as Ryan Giggs, even when the great winger’s five pre-Premier League goals are included.
It is a record to cherish. But then, this is a player to cherish. And while talk of his perceived limitations is likely to continue, one can be certain that Jose Mourinho and Manchester United would be wise not to dwell on it in their derby preparation. They, like the rest of us, would be better off thinking about what Sterling can do rather than what he cannot.

To return to the analogy of the golf swing, consider the example of Jim Furyk. The US golfer has been mocked for much of his career because of his supposedly ugly ball striking. But he is also a major champion with career prize money in excess of $67m and the only man ever to shoot 58 on the PGA tour. As with Sterling, it is your game that matters not your swing.
Euro Soccer Bonus

Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.

This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.

The maximum bonus that you can receive is €100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.

If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:

Bet Type Bonus

14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus €100,000 or currency equivalent. Euro Soccer Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.

If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.

If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.

Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.

In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.

All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.

bet365 reserves the right to amend, cancel, reclaim or refuse any promotion at its own discretion.