By August 8th, I’ll be ready.
Myles will be up for it.
But I have to admit, I’m not up for it now.
I’m not in the zone this morning, so I’m just letting my thoughts wander.
My thing, I suppose, is that I love great footballers and exciting footballers.
So in July I keep an eye on a few clubs to see if they have signed exciting or great.
MEMPHIS DEPAY looks like an exciting winger who can score goals and get people jumping out of their seats in the Theatre of Dreams.
It’s a shame CHRISTIAN BENTEKE joined Liverpool after Gerrard and Sterling left.
If Benteke had joined a year ago instead of Balotelli, Liverpool’s season would have been very different.
Because they would have had a goalscorer in the box.
What about RAHEEM STERLING?
Looking at Sterling’s debut for Manchester City, I wondered about his best position, his versatility, asked myself: what is he?
I wasn’t worried about City winning or losing or Raheem playing well or badly.
I just kept thinking: What is he?
My conclusion was this: The hard part of football is scoring goals. That’s why the guys who score a lot are heroes.
Brought up on Denis Law and George Best and Peter Osgood, I realised that in England a top striker has to be fast, skilful and brave.
Raheem Sterling is fast, skilful and brave.
So let’s forget about his rubbish season last year. Seven assists and seven goals is a rubbish season. Forget that. He didn’t want to be there and Borini was on higher wages than him.
Will Sterling make it? Nobody knows.
But when he plays with Aguero and David Silva, we’ll see whether he can score regularly. Right now I’m not thinking about Sterling’s assists or the free-kicks he’ll win in his next 50 games.
That’s because I’m sure he has the equipment to be a goalscorer.
If a forward fast, tough, able to dribble and ride a tackle and take a kick, he should be a goalscorer.
Raheem Sterling has always taken a kick and got on with it. He doesn’t whinge or wave his arms at the ref or mouth off because he knows it’s a contact sport. So he just gets on with the game.
Man City really need a player like that. They have enough moody superstars, and used to be coached by an Italian diva
My guess, my hope, is that Raheem Sterling can give Citeh a lot.He can score 20 goals.
PS I don’t sit on the fence. I’ve put my balls on the rails before and been wrong and that can make you hesitate. But this is what I think in late July 2015: Sterling can score 20 goals. However, let’s face it: few of us remember what we said in July.
Because in August a tide of action and results and goals starts to flow over us and by September football fans are surfing on a tsunami of action, much of which contradicts what we think we know.
First lesson of football we should all re-learn every August: This season is not last season.