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Liverpool boss Brendan Rodger’s might have been playing down his side’s chances of winning the Premier League this season but he has been talking up youngster Raheem Sterling telling the press that he is the best winger in the country.
Rodgers said of Sterling,
“He had a difficult period during the second half of last season, but has come back to the fore this year and I’m not sure there’s a better winger in England.
“He’s so fast, direct and dynamic, but also works hard for the rest of the team. Tactically he presses the game well and obviously got a couple [of goals today] and is disappointed that he hasn’t got a hat trick.
“He’s a good kid. He’s a young boy. Young players they make mistakes and at times you have to be the grumpy old father figure.”
The praise may have been premature and, in fact, just downright wrong. Sterling is not the best winger in England, nor is he even the best English winger. With a Squawka Performance Score of 355, based on positive on-the-ball actions, over 21 games his rivals for a spot in Roy Hodgson’s squad for Brazil 2014 all have a higher score.
For example, Theo Walcott has a score of 302 after 13 games before his season ending injury. Chances are, he would have overtaken Sterling by now. Adam Johnson, Andros Townsend and Adam Lallana all have a better Performance Score than the Liverpool winger as well.
Passing Stats (Per 90 Minutes)
Of the five of them, only Johnson has a lower pass completion percentage. Sterling’s 81% is equalled by Walcott, Lallana has 83% and Townsend 85%. On the other hand, with 800 passes completed Lallana is the only one to have moved the ball on more times. Sterling has managed 419, Johnson 358 and Townsend 330.
Sterling is a creative player, there is no doubt about that, but again there are more creative players. He has two assists from 30 key passes, yet only Townsend has fewer, having failed to set up any goals at all so far this season in the Premier League. Overall, only Walcott and Townsend have made less key passes.
You cannot say that Sterling is underperforming, just that he is not, as Rodgers claims, the best winger in the country. The above data just takes into account his fellow English players.
Though when you add the best foreign wide men into the equation, Sterling appears to be even further away from the claim made by his manager. While he has a better Squawka Performance Score than Adnan Januzaj he loses out to, David Silva and Eden Hazard and by a long way.
And taking Januzaj out of the mix, he has a worse pass completion and has attempted fewer passes than Hazard and Silva, while he has made around half as many key passes this season as his foreign rivals.
Key passes (above) and Assists
It is not unusual for a manager to be somewhat hyperbolic about one of his players and that is probably all Rodgers was attempting to do, perhaps just to give a young player who has suffered from issues related to form a bit of much needed confidence and support.
Sterling could well become the best winger in the Premier League at some point in the future, perhaps even in the near future, but while he is playing well, he has a lot to do to become both a first choice winger for his country and the best in England.
