Everyone seemed to be a bit against Roy Hodgson calling up 17-year-old Raheem Sterling, but I actually think it’s one of the first good decisions that Roy Hodgson has made. Sterling is a fantastic player. When I saw him play for the first time a few weeks ago, I was really shocked he was as young as he is. The Liverpool winger is able to do practically everything, score, pass, tackle, defend and he’s bloody fast too. I’m a little bit gutted Liverpool have him to be honest.
I am not Hodgson’s biggest fan but I actually back him up on this decision. I think Sterling would fit into the England team really well, even if he was only a sub to start with. He can provide the necessary back up towards the end of the game, and I do think he is good enough to start in the team. He has shown great promise for Liverpool, in fact I think he has been their best player so far this season. He has been compared to Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney, but I think he has the potential to be better than both in the future.
Sterling is young but he has proven so far that he can handle the pressure. He does not play as though he has been chucked in the deep end – he seems to be handling things well. He is confident and assured on the pitch and that is a good thing to find. I understand that people are thinking it’s a risk because he doesn’t have that much experience, but he has a wealth of talent that will make up for it. Raheem Sterling has not gone unnoticed – Liverpool were amongst a myriad of clubs that wanted to buy him including Chelsea, Fulham, Manchester City and Manchester United.
But it’s Liverpool who won out. One thing’s for sure – he’s going to be key to any success the Reds have over the next two-three seasons.
I think it’s about time that youngsters with talent and ability get called up more often. They are, of course, the players that will be the future of football. It gives them the advantage of getting to know how to play with the team and what better time to do it, whilst we are still at the qualifying stages and prepares them for World Cup and Euro competitions?
When you’ve got talent like Sterling clamouring for a place, it’s hard to go wrong!
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