Roy Hodgson has risked losing the trust of his young England stars by claiming that Raheem Sterling told him he was tired before England’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Estonia.
Hodgson, the England manager, revealed details of a conversation he had with Sterling on Saturday that resulted in him replacing the teenager with Adam Lallana in his starting line-up in Tallinn.
It is understood that Sterling did not approach Hodgson to complain of being too tired to play but that the England manager decided that was the case after asking the forward a series of questions.
While there is an understanding that the 67-year-old was not attempting to make life difficult for Sterling, there is surprise among the England squad that Hodgson went public over the youngster’s supposed fatigue.
Sterling immediately suffered criticism and accusations that he had refused to play for England and was subjected to abuse on social network sites, a consequence that Hodgson is unlikely to have considered.
Hodgson has made a point of pulling aside members of his squad, particularly the younger players, for private conversations during England get-togethers. But Sterling, 19, and some of his international colleagues may now be reluctant to open up to Hodgson for fear of their conversations being exposed.
There are also theories that Sterling has been caught at the centre of a growing debate between Hodgson and Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, into which other players do not want to be drawn. Hodgson may need to address the issue before England’s next game, against Slovenia at Wembley on Nov 15. Hours after the final whistle in Tallinn, Sterling posted a message on Twitter that read: “Now listening to..Excuse me for being human. Omw [on my way] home.” He also retweeted a message telling him to “sod off and for Jamaica if you’re going to continue all this tired nonsense”.
Rio Ferdinand, the former England captain who may have to try to stop Sterling when Liverpool visit Queens Park Rangers for their Premier League match on Sunday, jumped to the defence of the Liverpool forward.
On Twitter, Ferdinand said: “Sterling – tired, fair play to him. English players are normally too proud to do that unlike our foreign friends. #FreshWhenItMattersMost.
“For instance, Tévez would come in some days and sit on the massage bed while the team trained..‘I’m tired’...match day – firing & energised. With more rest at the right times throughout seasons, Rooney would have gone into tournaments for England fresher.
“Same could be said of Gerrard, Lampard, JT, A.Cole myself – all too proud to sit out of training or a match with the bigger picture in mind.”
Jamie Carragher, the former England and Liverpool defender, believes that Hodgson should have kept his conversation with Sterling confidential. “We can debate whether Raheem Sterling should say that to the manager – for me, as a player, I’d never give the manager an opportunity to leave me out,” Carragher said. “I just think, whether he is tired or if he didn’t feel right before the game, keep that between yourselves.
“Listening to Roy Hodgson – let’s not forget Adam Lallana came on for Sterling and did really well against San Marino – he may have been looking to rest him.
“Just come out after the game and say, ‘I played Lallana, he came on and did well in the last game, I think Raheem needs a little bit of a rest’ and talk about it then. Rather than now, where there’s going to be a debate about Raheem Sterling and is he right at that age to be asking things like that?
“Roy Hodgson could have been a bit more careful with what he said before the game and after the game, and we wouldn’t be having these *discussions now.”
Like Ferdinand, Carragher thinks that it is sensible for England players to take a rest if they do not feel 100 per cent fit, to avoid the problems endured by former internationals such as Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler. “We’ve got to be careful with Raheem Sterling burning out,” Carragher said. “You think of players in the past – I played with two of the best young players you’ll ever see in Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler. They had a lot of injuries when they got to 23, 24, and a lot of it comes from too much football.
“So it’s not the worst thing in the world, I just think the Englishman on the street doesn’t understand someone saying they don’t want to play.
“If he keeps playing and playing, he may pick up injuries – maybe he’s being clever and looking after himself in terms of his well-being in the future, and it’s important he doesn’t suffer burnout.
“But I think Roy Hodgson could have been a bit more careful with what he said before the game and after the game, and we wouldn’t be having these discussions now.”
Hodgson, the England manager, revealed details of a conversation he had with Sterling on Saturday that resulted in him replacing the teenager with Adam Lallana in his starting line-up in Tallinn.
It is understood that Sterling did not approach Hodgson to complain of being too tired to play but that the England manager decided that was the case after asking the forward a series of questions.
While there is an understanding that the 67-year-old was not attempting to make life difficult for Sterling, there is surprise among the England squad that Hodgson went public over the youngster’s supposed fatigue.
Sterling immediately suffered criticism and accusations that he had refused to play for England and was subjected to abuse on social network sites, a consequence that Hodgson is unlikely to have considered.
Hodgson has made a point of pulling aside members of his squad, particularly the younger players, for private conversations during England get-togethers. But Sterling, 19, and some of his international colleagues may now be reluctant to open up to Hodgson for fear of their conversations being exposed.
There are also theories that Sterling has been caught at the centre of a growing debate between Hodgson and Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, into which other players do not want to be drawn. Hodgson may need to address the issue before England’s next game, against Slovenia at Wembley on Nov 15. Hours after the final whistle in Tallinn, Sterling posted a message on Twitter that read: “Now listening to..Excuse me for being human. Omw [on my way] home.” He also retweeted a message telling him to “sod off and for Jamaica if you’re going to continue all this tired nonsense”.
Rio Ferdinand, the former England captain who may have to try to stop Sterling when Liverpool visit Queens Park Rangers for their Premier League match on Sunday, jumped to the defence of the Liverpool forward.
On Twitter, Ferdinand said: “Sterling – tired, fair play to him. English players are normally too proud to do that unlike our foreign friends. #FreshWhenItMattersMost.
“For instance, Tévez would come in some days and sit on the massage bed while the team trained..‘I’m tired’...match day – firing & energised. With more rest at the right times throughout seasons, Rooney would have gone into tournaments for England fresher.
“Same could be said of Gerrard, Lampard, JT, A.Cole myself – all too proud to sit out of training or a match with the bigger picture in mind.”
Jamie Carragher, the former England and Liverpool defender, believes that Hodgson should have kept his conversation with Sterling confidential. “We can debate whether Raheem Sterling should say that to the manager – for me, as a player, I’d never give the manager an opportunity to leave me out,” Carragher said. “I just think, whether he is tired or if he didn’t feel right before the game, keep that between yourselves.
“Listening to Roy Hodgson – let’s not forget Adam Lallana came on for Sterling and did really well against San Marino – he may have been looking to rest him.
“Just come out after the game and say, ‘I played Lallana, he came on and did well in the last game, I think Raheem needs a little bit of a rest’ and talk about it then. Rather than now, where there’s going to be a debate about Raheem Sterling and is he right at that age to be asking things like that?
“Roy Hodgson could have been a bit more careful with what he said before the game and after the game, and we wouldn’t be having these *discussions now.”
Like Ferdinand, Carragher thinks that it is sensible for England players to take a rest if they do not feel 100 per cent fit, to avoid the problems endured by former internationals such as Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler. “We’ve got to be careful with Raheem Sterling burning out,” Carragher said. “You think of players in the past – I played with two of the best young players you’ll ever see in Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler. They had a lot of injuries when they got to 23, 24, and a lot of it comes from too much football.
“So it’s not the worst thing in the world, I just think the Englishman on the street doesn’t understand someone saying they don’t want to play.
“If he keeps playing and playing, he may pick up injuries – maybe he’s being clever and looking after himself in terms of his well-being in the future, and it’s important he doesn’t suffer burnout.
“But I think Roy Hodgson could have been a bit more careful with what he said before the game and after the game, and we wouldn’t be having these discussions now.”
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