Football: Bernaburned

[Consigliere]

1 hour ago, Dolorous Gabe said:

This season he has genuinely been exceptional. He's making the right choices on the ball a good 95% of the time and is making Mahrez look average at best. He has more dimensions to his game than ever before, which is why watching Mahrez - who often seems very one-dimensional and predictable - play down the right in Raz's place creates such a stark contrast.

I think this the most important bit - Sterling was good last season but this season his all round game has gotten even better particularly on the decision making front. That's why the reluctance to include him in the bracket of players previously mentioned is a bit strange. Simply boiling it down to him having top class players around him does him a disservice. Players like Suarez, Kane, Hazard, Salah etc have quality players around them as well. It's as @polishgenius said, for some reason, many people seem reluctant to give Sterling the credit he deserves. 

[Mark Antony]

Idk I feel like everyone is giving him credit this year 

Aguero is the guy constantly overlooked for City. 

[MercenaryChef]

raheem is the best player england has and easily one of top 10 in the world right now.

I said. I mean it.

[ljkeane]

I just saw the chip Messi scored against Betis last week. You know what? He's not a bad player.

[Rorshach]

Strong statement there. I feel we do not have conclusive evidence as of yet.

[BigFatCoward]

Couldn't do it on a cold Tuesday at Stoke etc etc

[Spockydog]

4 hours ago, ljkeane said:

I just saw the chip Messi scored against Betis last week. You know what? He's not a bad player.

Bergkamp was better. I mean that. And he wasn't a tax evading dressing room-bully either.

And before the pelters, Thierry Henry, a man who played with both, agrees with me.

[Corvinus85]

The VAR system needs to be employed for the qualifiers, too, not just the final tournament. That Bulgaria penalty was ridiculous.

[Joey Crows]

16 hours ago, Mark Antony said:

Just looking at stats Salah has 2 more chances created and 2 less assists in the league than Sterling. Like I said they both have very similar numbers yet one is held to a different standard. 

I mean, you're right about one of them being held to a different standard. Sterling has been a dynamic attacker for a top team in the Prem for multiple seasons. Salah, while certainly being a great footballer, has had one excellent season for a top team thus far. 

I'm not saying Sterling IS DEFINITELY the better player right now, but I am saying unless you're judging them on a longer body of work than one and a half seasons (plus national team production) you might be misjudging the standard. 

Just friendly banter here by the way, cause I realize it's easy to read internet comments as attacks. Cheers.

[Joey Crows]

11 hours ago, Mark Antony said:

Aguero is the guy constantly overlooked for City. 

^this for sure

Aguero is the most underrated striker over the last decade. 

[Joey Crows]

5 hours ago, Spockydog said:

Bergkamp was better. I mean that. And he wasn't a tax evading dressing room-bully either.

And before the pelters, Thierry Henry, a man who played with both, agrees with me.

As an American who could only see an hour of professional football highlights every couple of weeks in the 90's, I became an Arsenal supporter because of Bergkamp. I was and still am enthralled with his brilliance. That being said, Messi is different. He's special. Bergkamp was a genius footballer for about 6 years, and a really good footballer for another few. Messi has been amazing for over a decade and he's still the top scorer in Europe currently.

[Joey Crows]

8 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

Couldn't do it on a cold Tuesday at Stoke etc etc

Hahaha. I love those comments. And honestly, it's often true. Although, nobody ever says things like, "couldn't do it immediately after the team bus was set on fire in Istanbul." or, "couldn't do it after not getting paid for 6 months in Brazil."

 

 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

11 hours ago, Consigliere said:

I think this the most important bit - Sterling was good last season but this season his all round game has gotten even better particularly on the decision making front. That's why the reluctance to include him in the bracket of players previously mentioned is a bit strange. Simply boiling it down to him having top class players around him does him a disservice. Players like Suarez, Kane, Hazard, Salah etc have quality players around them as well. It's as @polishgenius said, for some reason, many people seem reluctant to give Sterling the credit he deserves. 

The other bit of the comment is equally important though (at least IMHO).

Sterling was getting his goals served on a plate by KdB, Silva and Sane last season. My guess is, that perception is still carried over a bit into this season, so his more rounded game is a bit underappreciated. Add to that, that his career at City before Guardiola was a bit underwhelming (at least for the money City paid back then). But overall it looks like Sterling is now really breaking into the World Class bracket. I think he would need to repeat this season next year to be firmly in it, but that's just my personal opinion. Ofc, he is not in the same bracket as Messi, but who actually is?

[Consigliere]

4 hours ago, Joey Crows said:

That being said, Messi is different. He's special. Bergkamp was a genius footballer for about 6 years, and a really good footballer for another few. Messi has been amazing for over a decade and he's still the top scorer in Europe currently.

Yeah. Bergkamp was a wonderful footballer but Messi is simply on another level and it's not even close. What makes Messi really special is that for a decade he has been both the greatest goal scorer and the greatest creative player in the game. Can't think of another player who has been the best in the world at doing both.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

That rebuilt German team is looking quite good thus far.

[Iskaral Pust]

I have to chime in to agree with the Sterling praise.  When he left Liverpool I said he was still a player who looked great alongside excellent teammates but who didn’t (yet) offer a ton without better players around him.  And City would suit him, but he’d be part of the supporting cast.  But he has continued to develop as a player, and now he is one of the top tier talents himself.  He has added a lot to his game in the past year.

But let’s not overlook that Aguero has been absolutely ridiculous in his consistency as a top striker.  The persistence of Aguero and Fernandinho combined with the development of Sterling and the emergence of Bernardo Silva is the real driver for City winning the title this year.  David Silva, KDB, Sane, Ederson, Stones, Jesus, Walker, etc are all excellent players who would only get second place this year but for the four I singled out.

[Dolorous Gabe]

12 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

But let’s not overlook that Aguero has been absolutely ridiculous in his consistency as a top striker.  The persistence of Aguero and Fernandinho combined with the development of Sterling and the emergence of Bernardo Silva is the real driver for City winning the title this year.  David Silva, KDB, Sane, Ederson, Stones, Jesus, Walker, etc are all excellent players who would only get second place this year but for the four I singled out.

You haven't really given up have you? I assume you just don't want to get your hopes up in case they are dashed.

I genuinely think it's a 50-50 call currently.

[Heartofice]

12 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

But let’s not overlook that Aguero has been absolutely ridiculous in his consistency as a top striker.  The persistence of Aguero and Fernandinho combined with the development of Sterling and the emergence of Bernardo Silva is the real driver for City winning the title this year.  David Silva, KDB, Sane, Ederson, Stones, Jesus, Walker, etc are all excellent players who would only get second place this year but for the four I singled out.

I think this is harsh on the rest of the players in the city squad, and lets not forget that City do have a really good squad! Just being able to rotate between Sterling, Sane, and Mahrez behind Aguero is drool worthy. Plus add in the possibility of Dave and Bernie Silva, and you have a ton of options. 

KDB was unlucky with his injury of course and that has meant that players have moved around, and they've done brilliantly at that. 

Really I think its Fernandinho thats the vital cog, as there doesn't seem to be an obvious replacement for him that plays the same game as his. They struggle far more without him than they do if they miss someone like Sterling.
 

[Dolorous Gabe]

40 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

Really I think its Fernandinho thats the vital cog, as there doesn't seem to be an obvious replacement for him that plays the same game as his. They struggle far more without him than they do if they miss someone like Sterling.

You're not wrong about Fernandinho but it is true to say that Sterling has been significantly better than Leroy and Mahrez this season. It speaks volumes that Pep has preferred to use Sterling and Bernardo in the wide forward roles in the biggest games.

As outrageously talented as Leroy is, Pep doesn't always trust him.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

He had a somewhat rocky start into the season. Which is not unusual for such a young player, add to that the arrival of his first child. So there was really a lot going on in Sane's life. But it looks like he has found his footing again. He even managed to play two pretty strong international games for Germany, which he had not done before.