Raheem Sterling

[RedM]

1 hour ago, Cowshed said:

Unless you are party to the incident how would you know Mr Southgate has done the right thing!. 

What Mr Southgate has done is unusual. The norm to dealing with players emotions, the pressures is to keep it confidential. It is normally a non-negotiable to deal with players who disrupt team harmony in private. To not do so creates isolates .. Something to avoid.

I have absolutely no idea, but maybe he has tried the low key confidential approach before and now feels he has to take a difference stance. Dunno.

[RedM]

21 minutes ago, BRISTOL86 said:

He clearly felt the need to send a stronger message than internalising it, for whatever reason. 

Personally I trust his judgement, I think he’s shown himself to be a good man manager. Sterling has the choice as to what he learns from the incident. 

I just read this after my post above. You beat me to it but yes this is what I meant too.

[Cowshed]

30 minutes ago, CheddarReds said:

It sets a precedent for players coming into the national team - you put the national team first and leave club baggage at the door. 

If Southgate didn't make it public and left a fit Raheem Sterling out the squad on Thursday, there would be questions and likely the same people moaning about him now, would then. 

Do you think Raheem Sterling performances in an England shirt demonstrate that he is not putting the team first? He has been brilliant v constant criticism and vilification of his character.   

I merely pointed out what are usual precedents. Going outside these normal steps is questionable. There are many reasons why you never go public -  losing credibility and trust to players.

In regards to your last line. That's the job. The strong trustworthy expert in charge will take it. That is not to say Mr Southgate does not have those qualities but some of the games great leaders, its models do not act this way in dealing with player conflicts. Its an odd one.  

 

[Super]

Might be best for him to be "injured" next time he is due at Anfield.

[CheddarReds]

3 minutes ago, Cowshed said:

Do you think Raheem Sterling performances in an England shirt demonstrate that he is not putting the team first? He has been brilliant v constant criticism and vilification of his character.   

I merely pointed out what are usual precedents. Going outside these normal steps is questionable. There are many reasons why you never go public -  losing credibility and trust to players.

In regards to your last line. That's the job. The strong trustworthy expert in charge will take it. That is not to say Mr Southgate does not have those qualities but some of the games great leaders, its models do not act this way in dealing with player conflicts. Its an odd one.  

 

I'm not questioning his performances or his commitment to playing for England but his emotions about his club got the better of him when he should have controlled those emotions putting England first. 

Agree that quite often it wouldn't go public, but it's understandable why Southgate has provided an explanation for it. A scratch on Gomez's eye is another reason why he may have had to publicise it. If he didn't, there would undoubtedly be further speculation and it could be heavily exaggerated by the press. The statement details what happens, that players need to leave their club baggage at the door and that the squabble has been sorted. You can see the players trust and like Southgate and this won't change that.

Anyway, fair enough if you disagree but personally I think it's an understandable decision and more importantly the issue is ironed out. 

[Cowshed]

20 minutes ago, CheddarReds said:

I'm not questioning his performances or his commitment to playing for England but his emotions about his club got the better of him when he should have controlled those emotions putting England first. 
 

Yes the player has shown a very high commitment to the national side despite immense pressure e,g.media. He is not a robot. We all process adversity differently. Some of us not very well. Some players under huge pressure need assistance. 

 

20 minutes ago, CheddarReds said:

Agree that quite often it wouldn't go public, but it's understandable why Southgate has provided an explanation for it. A scratch on Gomez's eye is another reason why he may have had to publicise it. If he didn't, there would undoubtedly be further speculation and it could be heavily exaggerated by the press. The statement details what happens, that players need to leave their club baggage at the door and that the squabble has been sorted. You can see the players trust and like Southgate and this won't change that.

Anyway, fair enough if you disagree but personally I think it's an understandable decision and more importantly the issue is ironed out. 

This is a player who has been vilified by the press. Mr Southgate has chosen to put the players behaviour under scrutiny of the media when he could have opted to keep it private.

I would question how beneficial the choice Mr Southgate made is to this player. 

[downendcity]

1 hour ago, Cowshed said:

The player is dropped in private, it is kept private, he has got a knock and the strong leader fields questions in public deflecting anything away from the player. This is the age old stable form of maintaining team cohesion and management of young men and their egos. 

The Manager is there to protect and fight for his players.They then trust in him. Yes what Mr Southgate has done is highly unusual. Its odd because using a might it could backfire as players will trust him less, because he did not fight for one of them by displaying he did not have a players back and went public - He broke a non-negotiable (we keep it is house).

 

So, Sterling is diplomatically left out of the team , the reason given being that "he has a knock".

Other players who feel that Sterling has been let off lightly then  leak the real reason to the press ( the press would be looking for the "real" story anyway) and the press then have a field day pulling Southgate apart, questioning his integrity, and ramp up Sterling's feud with Gomez, making it a far bigger story than it ever was.

As it was, Sterling has received a rightful reprimand and been dropped for his misdemeanour - a punishment Sterling will feel more than any other. Other players now know that Southgate will deal with issues promptly and fairly, notwithstanding the status of the player involved. I would have thought the players would trust Southgate more, not less, by the action he has taken. It will draw a line under the incident far quicker and better than a fudged solution to keep it under wraps could ever do.

[RedRock]

4 hours ago, Cowshed said:

One was Bill Beswick. He would almost certainly suggest something like that and point out players conflicts are normal. they can be turned around into positives, anger as an energy can be focussed and used to improve performance .. He may have also suggested it had gone too far and some time on the reflective naughty step could improve relations.

Its questionable that making this public has any benefit. It should be kept internal. The Manager should have the players backs. A player grabs another by the neck .. If that is what happened. So what! Southgate will have seen far worse and may have done worse himself.

If you can see an accident going to happen you stop it in my book.

This will continue to simmer now. Grudges planted. Dislikes reaffirmed. Club cliques established. Instead of concentrating on the football, Southgate (man-Manager extraordinaire apparently) spends his time fannying around looking after spoilt brats. Negative, wasteful energy. 

The FA maestros were probably all to busy counting their money to worry about it though. Madness. You didn’t need a degree in human relationships to have anticipated this would happen. 

[Guest]

56 minutes ago, Super said:

Might be best for him to be "injured" next time he is due at Anfield.

Hopefully he plays as he's one of Man City's best players.

[downendcity]

29 minutes ago, Cowshed said:

Yes the player has shown a very high commitment to the national side despite immense pressure e,g.media. He is not a robot. We all process adversity differently. Some of us not very well. Some players under huge pressure need assistance. 

 

This is a player who has been vilified by the press. Mr Southgate has chosen to put the players behaviour under scrutiny of the media when he could have opted to keep it private.

I would question how beneficial the choice Mr Southgate made is to this player. 

It sounds to me like Sterling chose to put his own behaviour under scrutiny.

As I mentioned in my previous post, does anyone honestly believe that had Southgate attempted to keep the incident private  the press would not have eventually got hold of the real story, and that would have made things far worse, not better, as Southgate would undoubtedly be accused of attempting to "sweep it under the carpet"?

 

[Cowshed]

9 minutes ago, RedRock said:

If you can see an accident going to happen you stop it in my book.

This will continue to simmer now. Grudges planted. Dislikes reaffirmed. Club cliques established. Instead of concentrating on the football, Southgate (man-Manager extraordinaire apparently) spends his time fannying around looking after spoilt brats. Negative, wasteful energy. 

The FA maestros were probably all to busy counting their money to worry about it though. Madness. You didn’t need a degree in human relationships to have anticipated this would happen. 

Yes very much so. 

These are young men with thick skins, and some brains. Spoilt brats , ego's, pride, banter, wind up's .. Event (Liverpool - Man City), feelings (glee-joy-distaste-resentment) , respond (well or badly) its all predictable = These things have to happen because its human nature, so our responses are pre planned.

Conflict is always Managed. 

11 minutes ago, downendcity said:

It sounds to me like Sterling chose to put his own behaviour under scrutiny.

As I mentioned in my previous post, does anyone honestly believe that had Southgate attempted to keep the incident private  the press would not have eventually got hold of the real story, and that would have made things far worse, not better, as Southgate would undoubtedly be accused of attempting to "sweep it under the carpet"?

 

It does not a matter.The response is you close ranks. The Leader protects the player. The non - negotiable is you keep it private. It is standard team dynamics.

[RedRock]

I ask the question why allow conflict to occur, physical injury to happen, damage to team spirit and relationships to develop when, with a simple process, the conflict could have been entirely avoided?

While we are dealing with petulant children, the adults - who are paid eye-watering salaries to manage - seem to have sat of their hands and watch it all kick off. Poor, poor management in my view. 

[Up The City!]

2 hours ago, Cowshed said:

Do you think Raheem Sterling performances in an England shirt demonstrate that he is not putting the team first? He has been brilliant v constant criticism and vilification of his character.   

I merely pointed out what are usual precedents. Going outside these normal steps is questionable. There are many reasons why you never go public -  losing credibility and trust to players.

In regards to your last line. That's the job. The strong trustworthy expert in charge will take it. That is not to say Mr Southgate does not have those qualities but some of the games great leaders, its models do not act this way in dealing with player conflicts. Its an odd one.  

 

I like Sterling. He is one of few players who will give his all and run his heart out for the entire game despite the difficulties he faces.

It is very common place in football for players to 'develop knocks' LJ plays that trick all the time when he falls out with players.

How many times have we seen a player suddenly disappear off of the planet with little explanation and then reappear sometime later? I can tell you why Korey Smith has been out, the club always keeps us updated on him, but Marley Watkins absense  was a complete mystery to me. I personally think Nagy was fit a little bit sooner than we were led to believe. 

Southgate messed up here in a number of ways. One by calling the players in on the morning after such a huge game. With the game being on Thursday its perfectly normal to give players a day off. Secondly if he wasnt going to give them the day off then considering he saw them coming together in the game he should have called both into his office on arrival and made sure there was no hard feelings.

Thirdly he should never have gone public. I feel sorry for Sterling, not only has he been suspended he has been hung out to dry in the media by his international manager. Keep it in house and deal with it internally ffs.

Does anyone find it somewhat bizarre that Sterling just stormed into the canteen and set upon Gomez? Sorry but that just seems totally out of character,  I get emotions are still raw after losing a huge game but to be that angry that you set upon someone the next morning doesn't sound right imo. More to it than we know me thinks.

 

 

[Northern Red]

1 hour ago, RedRock said:

I ask the question why allow conflict to occur, physical injury to happen, damage to team spirit and relationships to develop when, with a simple process, the conflict could have been entirely avoided?

While we are dealing with petulant children, the adults - who are paid eye-watering salaries to manage - seem to have sat of their hands and watch it all kick off. Poor, poor management in my view. 

What would you have done then?

Bear in mind that the two players in question had appeared to have resolved any issue by the end of the game on Sunday, given that they shook hands and embraced.

[Up The City!]

3 minutes ago, Northern Red said:

What would you have done then?

Bear in mind that the two players in question had appeared to have resolved any issue by the end of the game on Sunday, given that they shook hands and embraced.

Hence why I think there is more to this than meets the eye. 

[Three Lions]

When you break people trust they always remember it. Plenty has gone at on at City and apart from the odd event like Cheltenham wee incident its kept away from public eyes under Cotterill and Johnson.  That is how its dealt with in football and should be. We are all blockheads now and again.

[Alex_BCFC]

I get the feeling that Southgate should have just done the team talk and got it all out in the open but not dropped Sterling. Seems a bit silly to drop him but he is still there with the squad. I think you either put everything aside and play him or if it’s serious enough then send home. 

Obviously what Sterling did was unacceptable but these kinds of scraps happen occasionally without the need to drop people.

Just hope it doesn’t backfire on GS that he has left out Sterling for England historic 1000th game. It’s not a big game apart from that because England will qualify with or without him. I wouldn’t want to go upsetting a genuine world class player for something that generally would be sorted out swiftly without this kind of punishment. And again that is not defending his behaviour - that’s unacceptable - but Sterling is clearly a guy who learns and improves all the time. Think he should have been give the opportunity to go so here too. 

No doubt the media will bang on about this all the way to the euros now too which never helps. 

[RedRock]

1 hour ago, Northern Red said:

What would you have done then?

Bear in mind that the two players in question had appeared to have resolved any issue by the end of the game on Sunday, given that they shook hands and embraced.

As previously suggested. As they arrived,  have them both in individually for a quick chat to gauge whether there was any simmering resentment. Which, clearly there was. 

Then, both of them together for a peace-making word or two. 

[Spud55]

Don't get all the furore to be honest, sterling is clearly still hurting from the defeat, takes a comment from Gomez the wrong way ends in a scuffle the aggressor gets punished, seems perfectly reasonable to me, same will happen at clubs, players will suddenly have an unspecified knock when they've had a barney with a team mate. 

Southgate doesn't have that option as its obvious Sterling is not injured and you don't just drop your best player for no reason, so it had to be public really. 

[Monkeh]

4 hours ago, Cowshed said:

Yes the player has shown a very high commitment to the national side despite immense pressure e,g.media. He is not a robot. We all process adversity differently. Some of us not very well. Some players under huge pressure need assistance. 

 

This is a player who has been vilified by the press. Mr Southgate has chosen to put the players behaviour under scrutiny of the media when he could have opted to keep it private.

I would question how beneficial the choice Mr Southgate made is to this player. 

He’s done exactly what sir Alex Ferguson the greatest manager to ever grace the prem has done countless times in the past with the likes of beckham stam etc 

[Sixtyseconds]

More I hear about this Sterling the more I like him.

Cares.

Plays.

Scores.

Got some marbles swell.

Might have overstepped the mark but hey ho.

Get on to the pr team.

Sterling got his big toe stood on and needs a rest.

The squad player cut himself shaving.

Move on.

If England were not playing the Dog and Duck.

He's in unless its murders.

[Cowshed]

10 minutes ago, Monkeh said:

He’s done exactly what sir Alex Ferguson

Did not do according to Rio Ferdinand …

[Up The City!]

Another thing that needs to be considered is whom it was that leaked this to the media last night? No doubt this was going to be kept in private and it would have been said Sterling had a knock or something so couldn't play however someone, most likely a player due to their media connections have leaked this to the press and prompted a response from Southgate.

This international period is now going to be dominated by the press learning of this, what happens in the England camp should stay in the England camp and if those responsible for leaking this are discovered they should be sent home. You dont snitch on a team mate to the press. That in itself undermines the manager.

[Laner]

11 hours ago, Spud55 said:

Don't get all the furore to be honest, sterling is clearly still hurting from the defeat, takes a comment from Gomez the wrong way ends in a scuffle the aggressor gets punished, seems perfectly reasonable to me, same will happen at clubs, players will suddenly have an unspecified knock when they've had a barney with a team mate. 

Southgate doesn't have that option as its obvious Sterling is not injured and you don't just drop your best player for no reason, so it had to be public really. 

Spot on. But the demand for 24 hour news means the media channels won't leave it at that.

Until it becomes common knowledge of what happened how can anyone know if Southgate's done the right thing or overreacted.

[alexukhc]

So I’ve just woke up and I’ve scratched my face in my sleep 

[Meh]

Based on the latest picture it looks like Sterling lost the plot

 

[Oh Louie louie]

Martin keown just hit the nail on the head, would southgate have done this if this was a bigger game?

He also said the fa could have done more to keep this in house.

 

[Bob Turnip]

1 hour ago, Oh Louie louie said:

Martin keown just hit the nail on the head, would southgate have done this if this was a bigger game?

He also said the fa could have done more to keep this in house.

 

Has he? Explain. All he's done is ask a hypothetical question that no one can possibly know the answer to. Proves nothing.

Why should the fa do that. GS wanted to make it public as he should be allowed to. This will die down a lot quicker than if they'd tried to cover it up.

 

 

 

[BRISTOL86]

Hilarious all these pro ‘experts’ saying he should have done this, should have done that etc, with absolutely zero knowledge of what’s actually happened, or any reasons why it couldn’t be swept under the carpet like they’d want.

Also interesting how many have suggested it should have all been swept away and lied about to the media, yet when our own club doesn’t give 100% full disclosure on anything, fans are up in arms about lack of transparency. 

Would those pros be moaning if Gomez attacked Sterling and it was Gomez dropped? Not a chance IMO. 

[Oh Louie louie]

Do you really think southgate wanted this news to be public?