As many of these posts have already explained, Sterling played well in bursts but lacked that final ball when he was in good positions. I too felt that it was a bit unfair to heavily criticise Sterling when Kane and Alli had far less energy and positive influence on the game. However, I was not surprised; ever since Sterling was transferred to Man City with the huge £50 million price tag, pundits, commenters and fans compare this numerical value to his performances and unfortunately, unless he scores 20 goals a season and performs exceptionally for England, he will continue to be labelled a 'fraud', 'overrated' etc.

This tendency to only take into account the transfer price as a means of assessing a player's performance is a frustrating and growing trend that has emerged in the past few years. Yes, Sterling has a lot of aspects to his game that are far from the level we expect a £50 million player to have but we forget that he is still only 21 - twenty bloody one years of age! Very few 21 year olds at that age will meet the expectations of a £50 million player. The price tag was inflated due to the transaction occurring within England, from one contender to another, he's British (highly valued) and he is undoutdely a exciting talent. People treat his performances as if he were a 27 year old Walcott. Let Raheem develop; remember that he is probably a few years away from his prime and I am very hopeful and confident that under Pep, he will have the right guidance to become an elite attacking player. Also, this perception about him not performing at City this season is bollocks too - he had an average season but not awful. As a Liverpool fan myself I know that a lot of other Pool fans drive this 'overrated' agenda but I hope that other fans recognise that he is a talent worth being patient with, particularly with Pep coming into coach him soon.