Sterling's first senior 90 minutes

[Frogfish]

Excited about him. Think he'll contribute more than we expect of him this season. I reckon something like 25 appearances with something like 5 goals + 5 assists could be on the cards.

If that's what happens I'll be ecstatic. He does need to bulk up but I thought he gave the big Hearts FB as good as he got last night ... and not all RBs are that powerful. Love to see him on the bench at least for every game.

 

[tombrown]

Impressed by the way he took out that fat, useless cameraman

 

[doctor_mac]

I'm not one to knock a player because of his stature, but I defo think he does. I've noticed several times already that he seems to with his feet flying when there's strong physical contact. That tells me he needs to work on his lower body strength which will help his balance and learn to use his arse and limited upper body strength to fend off players like the players you allude to. Also, Silva, Iniesta, Nasri are all a good deal more skilful on the ball than our Sterling. If he can develop his skill to that level, we'd have some player on our hands.

They're more skillful, but Sterling has an innately terrific balance; and actually he is extremely skillful for a youngling, as years of 'tekkers' plaudits will let you know. He's technically excellent, and I honestly don't think he needs to hit the weights too much. It wouldn't do him harm, but watching him regularly at reserve level, as with Suso, he's always coped well with big bruisers going at him.

 

[gkmacca]

Impressed by the way he took out that fat, useless cameraman

Ha! Yes, that was funny.

 

[peterhague]

They're more skillful, but Sterling has an innately terrific balance; and actually he is extremely skillful for a youngling, as years of 'tekkers' plaudits will let you know. He's technically excellent, and I honestly don't think he needs to hit the weights too much. It wouldn't do him harm, but watching him regularly at reserve level, as with Suso, he's always coped well with big bruisers going at him.

I don't think he needs to hit the weights either, but I do think he's bound to fill out a bit and gain strength naturally over the next 2-3 years. He's just not one of those lads who's got a man's body at 17, and as such we need to be particularly patient with him.

 

[doctor_mac]

The other side of that coin is that people were waiting for years for Spearing to grow....

(But I agree- he is going to develop naturally).

 

[Modo]

1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) tall.

That's OK for a winger imo, Spearing is 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m), might be too short for a defensive midfielder.

 

[doctor_mac]

1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) tall.

That's OK for a winger imo, Spearing is 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m), might be too short for a defensive midfielder.

I don't think that's true. Too short for a CB, yes, but not for a DM.

 

[Modo]

I don't think that's true. Too short for a CB, yes, but not for a DM.

It's funny cause he used to be a CB.
I've seen Spearing lose plenty of aerial battles and that's a bit unfortunate. His height is clearly a disadvantage imo, especially as a defensive midfielder in the "long ball" league.

 

[doctor_mac]

His stats showed he had won a greater percentage of his 'aerial duels' than that Wigan player we were linked with. Which proves he's a fucking magician.

 

[Jack D Rips]

17h raheem sterling ‏@sterling31
Sorry to the photographer I slide tackled ahah hope he's ok !!

 

[hamstrung_pigeon]

 

[doctor_mac]

He's very right footed though.

 

[doctor_mac]

He reckons the left is just for standing on.

 

[barrymac20]

It was good that Rodgers kept him on. A well-timed wake-up call for him, as he'll be absolutely shattered this morning but he'll also be keener than ever to experience something like it again soon. I thought he did really well, considering the service wasn't good.

He tweeted as such today.
Can't wait to watch him develop into a top player

 

[doctor_mac]

He tweeted as such today.
Can't wait to watch him develop into a top player

Post the tweet Barry, if you don't mind.

 

[Frogfish]

Very nice comp .. he was even better than I remembered ! Star in the making.

 

[barrymac20]

Post the tweet Barry, if you don't mind.

Do you not believe me?

 

[barrymac20]

"@sterling31: About to do yoga #SoStiff"

I suppose there's more than one way to read that but i took it that he meant he was in bits

 

[Sunny]

"@sterling31: About to do yoga #SoStiff"

I suppose there's more than one way to read that but i took it that he meant he was in bits

You're becoming a little bit stalky now barry you know..

 

[doctor_mac]

Do you not believe me?

Sheesh!! You're a paranoid man Barry. I just wanted to see what he said in his own words.

Pssssst. By the way, the CIA are monitoring your calls and internet activities. Do not ask me how I know this.

 

[barrymac20]

You're becoming a little bit stalky now barry you know..

He's the one that posted it up on my twitter home page!

 

[doctor_mac]

He's the one that posted it up on my twitter home page!

Lies.

 

[barrymac20]

Sheesh!! You're a paranoid man Barry. I just wanted to see what he said in his own words.

Pssssst. By the way, the CIA are monitoring your calls and internet activities. Do not ask me how I know this.

Who said that?

 

[juniormember]

Used his body much better in this game to shield players from the ball than in his last game.
The lad's learning!

 

[Jay]

The kid's a breath of fresh air, confident too.

He will terrify defenders.

I know he needs protecting but ya can't help wanting to see more and more of him.

 

[Rafiagra]

He's definitely ready for first team action. However, he's at a stage where he needs to be playing football so it's no good just being on the bench all the time.

Should be a starter for all cup competitions and then be used sparingly in the league for now.

 

[Buddha]

The kid's a breath of fresh air.

I've heard his breath smells of pussssay.

 

[FoxForceFive]

Hitting the weights may not be the answer for this lad.

As vlad said, I'd let him develop naturally, he needs to keep that unerring balance he has & the pace.

 

[Glen C]

I know im in the minority but I was more alarmed with Sterling than impressed. Yes he was threatening at times but he was directly responsible for 3 goal scoring opportunties for hearts and indirectly responsible for another at my count. What shocked me was his lack of awareness of his tactical duties and his defending is nonexistent at times. It’s really bad. David Beckham wasn’t the best tackler in the world but at least his positioning was first rate. Sterling has a long long long way to go – he aint even Nani when it comes to working for the team. I’m don’t mean to put the kid down but for me I’m cautious about the hype – he could go either way – remember a guy by the name of Ryan Babel? Well Sterling aint even at his level yet. For all his little glimpses going forward the negatives by far outweigh them. I definitely would not give him a Premier League start. Only playing time I would give him is 2 nil up with 10mins left to play. He needs to be groomed slowly cause he’s definitely a boy playing a man’s game at the moment.