Player Focus: Sterling still not worthy of England call up

The success of Andros Townsend‘s England debut against Montenegro last week seems it might just have inspired the normally overly cautious Roy Hodgson into further risks in his team selection and call ups. After the withdrawal through injury of the decidedly unadventurous Tom Cleverley and right-back Kyle Walker‘s suspension-inducing yellow card, Liverpool’s once-capped winger Raheem Sterling was brought into the squad for Tuesday’s crunch qualifier with Poland.

Hodgson took a real risk with Townsend last week and the fact that it paid off could well mean he is more ambitious in future, and Sterling’s call up could be a sign of things to come. Townsend has yet to register a goal or assist for Spurs in the league this season, but he came good at Wembley, making the run and cross which led to Wayne Rooney‘s opener before scoring a stunning third goal to kill the game. Sterling too, has neither a goal nor assist for his club, but while that fact was overlooked given Townsend’s otherwise threatening performances, it should not be quite so readily dismissed when it comes to Sterling.

While Townsend had not be producing for his club, there were hints at least that he would come good, and this England game may just have given him a new lease of confidence after a stagnation in his club performances. The Spurs winger had also produced displays worthy of a call up previously, most notably for QPR last season, but Sterling on the other hand, has arguably never done so.

Still only 18 years of age, Sterling has already once before donned the England shirt, but was rather fortunate that Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s stunning 30 yard bicycle kick stole the show and Sterling’s carelessness in possession which led Sweden’s opening goal was quickly forgotten. He has not since had an opportunity on the international stage and it is odd that his latest call has come now.

Far from a regular fixture in a successful Liverpool team’s start to the season, Sterling has made only one start – in the recent 3-1 win over lowly Crystal Palace at Anfield. His side dominated the game and rarely looked like coming away with anything but a comfortable win against distinctly inferior opposition, yet Sterling was hardly Liverpool’s standout player. He committed more fouls (3) than he made dribbles (2) and failed to find a teammate with any of his 5 attempted crosses. His 4 key passes was more than any other player on the pitch, but once again, there was no assist to show for his good build up.

With only 2 assists in 33 Premier League appearances for the Merseyside club, Sterling has little, on paper, to show for his time since turning professional, particularly considering that he has been playing for one of the highest scoring clubs over the past 12 months. It certainly isn’t any coincidence that Sterling’s absence from the first team for the vast majority of Liverpool’s games since the turn of the year has seen the side score more goals (51) than any other team in the top flight. Injury may have been the reason for his absence from the final months of last season, but his performances have not been sufficient to win him a permanent place back in the side.

As his strengths and weaknesses suggest, there is a final product lacking from his play. ‘Dribbling’ remains Sterling’s only statistically calculated strength, having dribbled past an opponent 53 times in total in his Premier League career, at an impressive rate of one every 37.4 minutes. Once he beats that man, all too often he wastes the opportunity he has created for himself.

Across his league appearances in Liverpool colours, he takes on opponents with a success rate of 45.2% but has only found a teammate with a cross 14.1% of the time, backing up his weakness of ‘crossing’. That is, in 33 matches, Sterling has only been successful with 9 crosses, despite attempting 64, leaving a vast amount of wasted attacking opportunities that others might not have squandered so meekly. His 2 assists highlight a part of his game that is still lacking, while just the 2 goals in the same time only serve to accentuate a wholly underwhelming attacking threat.

Granted, Sterling will offer another direct player to Hodgson that could be of use given emerging news of a knock Townsend picked up against Montenegro, but Sterling is not yet at a level of game-changing ability. In only one of his 33 appearances has Sterling earned himself a man of the match award, which was also the only occasion he managed a rating of over 8, in a 1-0 win over eventually relegated Reading last season.

Still only 18, Raheem Sterling has years and years ahead of him to develop into the player that the many managers who have already shown such belief in him believe he can become. But for the time being there is an unjustified faith in the Liverpool winger which could heap too much pressure on his young shoulders and hinder his development. He has done little to show that he really is good enough to play at international level, and this call up in particular is one that he is far from deserving of.