Raheem Sterling (Liverpool > Man City)

He was brilliant. Very proud of the lad! Really coming of age.

He has grown up quickly and learned how to keep out of trouble.Brendan has handled him well for a time I thought he was going backwards but since gaining his place he has been fabulous its such a thrill to see young attacking talent in the side it reminds me a bit of the early 90's

Watched the Ingerland game for about 20 minutes.

Sterling was immense in what I saw oozing with confidence at the moment.

Best young player of the year for me.

Easily

But the wa*kfest that is Janusai and Luke Shaw will probably see one of them crowned young player of the year. I spelt Janusai wrong Id say but who gives a toss

Watched the Ingerland game for about 20 minutes.

Sterling was immense in what I saw oozing with confidence at the moment.

I sat though the 90 minutes of the snore feet and Sterling (along with Lallana) were the only bright spots. I think he will start for the national side come the World Cup and he deserves it.

Has made massive strides this season. Physically he looks so much stronger and I have also been very impressed with the defensive part of his game, he doesn't just go through the motions, it's clear likes a tackle and presses the ball well and plays with tenacity and great work rate. His finishing has also come on this year.

International football does tend to highlight any weaknesses a player may have, and I must admit young Raheem is still a bit too one footed and therefore a little predictable. No doubt he will develop this part of his game and once he gains the confidence to cut on to the left foot he will be an absolute nightmare for defenders.

I also like the fact Brendan had the confidence to play him through the middle at the weekend (at the tip of the diamond) and afterwards he talked about the club trying to develop players in the proper way by exposing them to different roles. We talk about needing another striker (for next season) but i actually wonder if Raheem has it in him to play the central role as his strength continues to improve? It would be interesting to see

http://www.singitkitty.co.uk/#play/jbf9U

 

Best young player of the year for me.

If Hazard still qualifies he will win it.

If Hazard still qualifies he will win it.

Hazard will win it but the young player award should be for U21 players.

Mad to think Coutinho and Hazard are who Sterling will be measured against for this.

Let's send Raheem out on loan, they said.

Let's send Raheem out on loan, they said.

Hindsight is F***ing wonderful, "they" said.

Let's send Raheem out on loan, they said.

silly idea

Let's send Raheem out on loan, they said.

It was a good option at the time.  Not many turn things around as fast as Raheem has.  If a similar situation happened with another youngster it would also be a good option at any given time. 

I've got a feeling...

I've got a feeling...

A feeling deep inside, oh yeah. Oh yeah, that's right.

I've a hunch with Raheem that we are one huge performance in a big away from seeing him go up another level. By another level I mean that I think he's capable of being one of the best players in the league. If in one of these showpiece games he scores twice and has a stormer, that would be enough for him to have the belief in himself required.

I've said before and I make no apologies for saying it again, I think in time Raheem will be a World class player.

At times looked really good and really poor so far.  Baffling watching him aerially challenge Felony though, somebody give the boy a set of stepladders.

At times looked really good and really poor so far.  Baffling watching him aerially challenge Felony though, somebody give the boy a set of stepladders.

I know what you mean - looked like he was having to think more and be less instinctive and that's a difficult adjustment.

A quieter game, by his recent high standards, but was still important. Tactically good - he carried the ball well & stretched the play without staying too wide - the second penalty as example.

I like the way we(Rodgers) are trying to develop him as a player. Comfortable in a few areas - he played up front for a few mins yesterday too.

Great talent. Hope he can continue to improve be as consistent.

A quieter game, by his recent high standards, but was still important. Tactically good - he carried the ball well & stretched the play without staying too wide - the second penalty as example.

I like the way we(Rodgers) are trying to develop him as a player. Comfortable in a few areas - he played up front for a few mins yesterday too.

Great talent. Hope he can continue to improve be as consistent.

It's funny how opinions differ so much isn't it, as many picked out Raheem as one of our "least best" players, I thought he was one of the better. United put so much energy into trying to stop this lad and he was constantly marked by either 2 or 3 of them, when he got it he dragged them out of position and left huge spaces for the rest of our midfield to exploit.

His choice of passing was generally spot on and I don't think this will be the last time we see Raheem playing this role (seems a trend as Arsene is doing the same with Oxlaide-Chamberlain). For his first try at the role I thought he did very well indeed and not for a moment, when he first broke through, did I consider him for this type of position.

It does show the bravery of our manager though to try this against the Mancs and it paid off beautifully, not to continue banging the drum against Hendo and Allen (who did do very well tactically), if we had that bit more creativity from the other lads in there we could have put up a cricket score.

The movement from Raheem, Suarez and Sturridge is mesmeric and I love it.

For his first try at the role I thought he did very well indeed and not for a moment, when he first broke through, did I consider him for this type of position.

It does show the bravery of our manager though to try this against the Mancs and it paid off beautifully,

Two points I definitely agree with. TBH I only saw him as a LWF when he broke through - a speed merchant that would get in behind. We've seen him play LW, LM, RW, RW, RWB, RB, CAM & CF now for Liverpool in 20 odd months under Rodgers. 8 positions. (or 5 depending on what way you look at it) and to be fair to him, has impressed in the majority of them and excelling in the rest. It's exciting watching him develop too. The confidence Rodgers has in this kid to put him in these 'foreign' positions shows he has great confidence in Sterling & it is paying off for all parties.

As you said, he picked the right passes, but also the right timing. I remember once or twice him just turning on the ball & waiting to release it rather than just panicking & passing it early.

I think it's very brave to play him in the 8 shirt as Brendan has down the last two games. I didn't think that Sterling had the nous to play in that role but it does make sense in some ways. Both Sterling and Suarez like to go walk about so having an absolute grease whippet like Sterling to fill the spaces they vacate is a winner for me. He also has a fantastic work rate and has improved dramatically from a defensive point of view.

I actually think he will eventually be able to do a credible job as a striker as well and no doubt playing him in a more central role will help this process.

Thought he had another very good game, just before he went off he was still fighting for every ball and tackled Fellaini and another Manc about 3  or 4 times in the matter of seconds and then just tore away from them with the ball.

I couldn't help but laugh a bit when I heard someone on here compare young Raheem with Iniesta (being a massive Iniesta fan, I thought it was quite a bold claim). But seeing this lad play in the AM role I started to have an understanding of the comparison. Although he wasn't the most influential player, he had some moments of absolute class. One particular moment was when he picked up the ball from deep with his back to goal and being pressed by Fellaini or some sh*t. Instead of panicking or just passing back he just remained composed, done a few body feints and made a forward pass to start an attack. Fairly simple and went unnoticed by most but only few players would have done that, Iniesta being one of them.