Chris Sutton has few words of consolation for Raheem Sterling after the so-called stunt his “representatives” pulled off Sunday just a few hours before kick-off between Chelsea and Manchester City. The former England international was left out of the squad and should have dealt with that entirely differently, the former Blackburn and Chelsea striker turned BBC pundit tells Tribalfootball in an exclusive interview.
“He's just another player. A new manager comes in and he is entitled to select whichever players he sees fit. Sterling wanting clarity over the situation, that's absolutely ridiculous. To go public is not a very good look for him. He also made the point he's on a three-year deal. I don't know what was the point of that.
“And that he had been in a couple of weeks early to get himself fit. He should be doing that anyway, shouldn't he? I don't get where he's going with that. I don't know whether it's a modern thing, it's something which I don't think would have happened back when I played,” Sutton continues, while pointing a finger at the team apparently trying to pull a few strings for Sterling.
“High-profile players have more representation these days, but essentially Raheem Sterling's a bright guy. It would have been his decision and this was never a situation where Raheem Sterling had to go public. He obviously feels angry about this whole situation, but in fairness to Maresca, they've got over 40 players.
“It's a nightmare situation and I think it's simple from Maresca's perspective. He wants to start well. And he’s got Cole Palmer. He’s got Neto, Mudryk, Nkunku, there are so many players vying for certain positions at Chelsea and he has to leave somebody out,” Sutton continues, before pondering the question whether this is now it for Sterling at Stamford Bridge.
“Maresca was asked that after the game, and the fact he hesitated for so long before answering, I think, told its own story. The issue will be his wages. Chelsea may be trying to maneuver him out so they can free up some funds to go and spend again. But his wages are astronomical, so who's going to want to take on a player like that?”
Had it not been for Raheem Sterling another issue could have easily attracted a lot more attention in Sunday’s game against the champions with Enzo Fernandez being gifted the captain’s armband. Having done himself no favours towards his Chelsea teammates after winning the Copa America with Argentina, was he the right person to turn to?
“Maresca came out and said this is a guy who's made a mistake and everybody's made mistakes. But I suppose everybody feels the same way after what happened in the summer and you wonder whether there will be unrest in the Chelsea dressing room with him getting the captaincy. But the manager's made that decision, and they'll just have to get on with it,” says Sutton, believing it is just another topic adding to the feel of chaos at Stamford Bridge.
“It's easy to say that you couldn't make up what's happened at the start of the season. But in many ways, it is to be expected at Chelsea with what's been going in the last couple of seasons. It's a chaotic club.
“Just when they got it together last season with Pochettino hitting a good run of results, you thought, blimey, here we go. Is this the change? There's been a bit of patience, Chelsea are moving in the right direction. Then they change the manager...” Sutton sighs and leaves it that before going on to praise Manchester City for their Sunday performance.
“That was a pretty ominous performance from a half-cooked Manchester City whose standards have been so high. Think of how close Arsenal came last season. Arsenal had one bad half of football against Aston Villa and that's what did it for them. Pep Guardiola just finds different ways of winning titles.
“They've just sold Alvarez. Foden is coming off the bench. Kyle Walker is just back in training. Even without Rodri, Manchester City were still very comfortable. I think that psychologically they just have this belief and confidence that they're just going to plough. And that's what they've done in the previous four seasons.”
Chris Sutton was talking to Tribalfootball on behalf of Instant Withdrawal Casino
