2015-16 | #5 | One Month Down...

Heading into the first game of the September, the Robins are seven games down and unbeaten, going into their tie away to Altrincham.

Given the run-in of fixtures Cheltenham have faced, the fans, players and staff can all be very pleased on the opening form this season, which has presented four wins and three draws. Placed comfortably in fifth place, the most enlightening point of the first month has to be the bank holiday weekend, in which six points were obtained within three days.

If the results weren't fantastic enough, the character shown to gain these two massive wins was thrilling, ten men from the 7th minute at Plainmoor on the Saturday, required grit, determination and an endless work-rate to even try and get a point. However the performance from the boys proved empowering on Torquay's display, and was more than what any travelling fan would have expected, romping forward to a 3-0 victory.

With George McLennan's red-card failing to be overturned, another switch in personnel was needed going into Monday's fixture in front of the BT Sport cameras. With confidence at a high after the previous result, Wrexham travelled to the World of Smile Stadium on the back of five wins, and were expected to be the toughest test yet, which they most certainly were. Another slow start at home likewise to the Barrow game, the Robins were on the back foot for the majority of the first half and opening of the second. Dillon Phillips gave the sponsors the easiest job in awarding him the man of the match, after a spectacular performance, which without him would have seen three or four potentially hit the back of the net, and would have created an impossible challenge in getting back into the match.

The goal eventually came from Wrexham, James Gray making up for an earlier missed chance, slotted into the bottom corner, after some good build-up play and taking an overwhelming grasp of the game it required Gary Johnson's men to pull there socks up.

With that goal they did just that, again showing that character they dug deep and took the game by the scruff of the neck, with Wrexham fans aware their team were prone to switching off after taking the lead in games, Town used it to their advantage. It took all of five minutes to equalise, with one of the most unlikely suspects in Daniel Parslow in the poachers position, unmarked near the centre of the goal. As soon as it went in my thoughts were that he had no rights to be in such an open position, and the Welshman took his chance expertly.

From then on it was 50/50 and the game was wide open, with both teams in with a shout it was an entertaining match. With Phillips kicking being very hit and miss so far this season, the bit of play in the 83rd minute was executed perfectly, a ball lumped up to Amari Morgan-Smith, the striker took the touch down exquisitely under pressure and drove forward with the ball. At 20-yards he wrapped the ball beautifully around Belford who was left red-faced after his Joe Hart like celebrations when they took the lead. With the game turned on it's head the camp was ecstatic with the three points against their toughest test yet.

On to September, and the Robins face six fixtures, Altrincham, Dover, and Macclesfield open the month, with three tough fixtures which include the highly anticipated derby against Forest Green Rovers, as well as ties against in form Woking, and Tranmere Rovers, who were relegated alongside us last season.

On course for the two points a game requested by Robins' boss Gary Johnson, it will be interesting to find out where this unbeaten streak may take us. No fixture is easy or tough in any league, so although confidence is high, it's worth while to not get complacent and keep consistent. With the attitude set positively, and the all important character there, it could be an exciting month, especially with promising opening we've seen. With the return of Jordan Wynter and Lee Vaughan, competition for places in the starting 15 are hotting up, along with this we've had the news that Eliot Richards is now easing back into training, and hoping to get in a game before Christmas after his remission from cancer. His recovery is one thing, and hopefully his impact can push the Robins on to continue threatening the top teams and working towards operation bounce back. Come on you Robins!

2015-16 | #4 | What have we learnt? - 3 Things

It's the 17th of August and Cheltenham Town are getting preparing for their fourth game of the Vanarama National League campaign, an away trip to the undefeated Chester FC. Likewise to the opponents the Robins also find themselves without a loss so far, after two draws and an impressive 3-0 win on the weekend against Southport.

Now while many fans would have expected us to have nine points from nine, it was a bit of a reality check to some that we only had two points going into the weekends tie. Although it didn't look good on paper, what we saw in the opening two games were promising, here's the three things I have taken out of the opening three games of the season:

1) Mistakes must be acted upon immediately
A first half display at Sincil Bank saw Jack Munns score his first senior goal in his first senior appearance, a bit of luck with how it fell back to him, but it was a well deserved goal from the ex-Spurs prospect, who has seen himself involved in all four goals scored so far. However three out of them four came at the weekend, with Gary Johnson and many of the fans voicing concern over the ability to find that killer instinct.

Without that ability to kill the game off, we were able to invite Lincoln back into the game, who had a good backing behind them with the supporting crowd, as well as the addition of Liam Hearn in the second half earning them the point. A goal from a set-piece again, was the only real stand-out concern around the camp, in that goals had been conceded from corners continuously in pre-season, and to see it occur on the first game of the season was disappointing. It was clear the fault needed to be addressed.

Fortunately it was acted upon straight away, and when Aldershot Town were welcomed to the World of Smile Stadium, there was absolutely no cause for concern, and it was flipped on it's head on Saturday when we turned goals conceded from corners into goals scored, a header from captain Downes, and Amari Morgan-Smith completed an instant reaction to one of the early downfalls of the season. A job well done, we seemed to have a curse of not being able to deal with corners under the Yates reign, something that never seemed to resolve itself under him, hopefully the early improvements under Johnson will continue long into the season.

From 'zero to hero' for Amari? - ctfc.com

2) Teams will come to park the bus
Tuesday night against Aldershot was a brilliant example of some of the competition we will come up against. The travelling team came away with a positive 0-0 draw, and a massively frustrating one for us, the wood-work hit three times and two goals ruled out for offside. Aldershot are a team who will be around mid-table, they've got a fairly competitive team who will be looking back on games like this as a good draw against a promotion favourite. A majority of the teams in this league will play against us and see us as one of the 'big uns' and look to play for the draw and work on the counter. Things could have been a lot different if Rhys Browne hadn't missed the target from six yards.

It's fair to say they had two giants at centre-back and although we were still managing to get through and miss chances, these are going to be some of the toughest players to get past and break through and at times, teams will have eight or nine players behind the ball. In the end it will be down to our ability to play decent football, on the floor and get behind the defence with quick movement orchestrated by the likes of Storer, and speed and trickery of Munnsy and Billy Waters (who has promised he's got a lot more to give. Again it's a case of taking the chances, and killing the game off, something which was seen on Saturday, against a very poor team, hopefully it continues though, consistency along with confidence will see us live up to the expectations of bouncing back.

3) It just needs to click! Hopefully Saturday was the start...
The team has shown its quality in pre-season, and the fans know what they can do, proving that quality for the full 90 minutes had been the concern going into Saturday, adapting that attacking philosophy throughout the game had been a struggle and frustration at not finding the goal seemed to end up slowing the tempo down.

Fortunately Saturday was a different story, goalless going into the second half Cheltenham should have been well into the lead with some inaccurate headed attempts. The tempo and intent continued to show, and in a game that saw around 13 corner kicks for the Robins, Aaron Downes took it in his stride to convert, and it showed how much it meant that chance after chance payed off. An assist shortly after for the skipper saw Morgan-Smith open his account for the season, a cool chip over the keeper, and a well taken header saw him bag a brace in a 3-0 win.

Overall it was a brilliant all round performance, Billy Waters again didn't shine, but everyone else seemed to pull together well and the click seemed to happen, once a goal came, the others shortly followed as the opposition was worked to the point of giving in. Again it's good to keep in mind the quality of the opposition, who weren't in the game at all, and for the majority it was men against boys, however it's games like this that can hopefully start a run up together. The defence is finally beginning to gain a strong understanding, the attacking movements from midfield to attack are fluent and not desperate, and once we take the game by the scruff of the net we look to be able to kill the game off, long may it continue!

2015-16 | #3 | Season Preview - Who will be the most influential players?

New season, new league, and new era for Cheltenham Town. Lincoln City host the Robins on the opening game of the season, and it's a season in which many fans hope will be a one season appearance in the National League as they hope to bounce back at the first attempt under new boss Gary Johnson.

The new look team are likely to arrive at the Sincil Bank in new purple colours and set to form eleven debutants against the Imps, who are likely to give a debut to last seasons loanee Matt Sparrow, I'm doubting he's going to come back to haunt us. 

With the new season, comes new expectations, which has been set very high from everyone in and around the club, with the goal being promotion at first attempt. Gary Johnson really implemented his ideas from the day which project promotion came about, and that was he wanted character as well as ability - obviously. Now with this statement he could of meant a number of things, positivity, desire, determination, work-rate to name a few, and he probably meant all of them characteristics mentioned. With the players he's brought in I think he's got this approach etched into all of the minds of his players as well as his philosophy, maybe not JJ Hooper (the less said the better). First and foremost he wants them to buy into the type of football he believes in, and that is his main goal. 

Now with creating a promotion winning team, you need your key players, the ones who will pick the team up when a match might not be going our way, and when the benchmark needs to be set a little higher if we're going to get that vital win, or that 2 points a game target. Below I have put my opinion on who I think will be the three most influential players in our promotion push.

Captain Fantastic?

It goes without saying as a captain you have to be the biggest character out there, and have one of the biggest influences on the game as you're the leader of the team. Aaron Downes may not have had the most glowing report out of the whole squad from pre-season, but he was touted to be given the captains arm band from the moment he signed, as well as being the first signing this season. An array of experience the Aussie knows what the league is about, and he knows what to expect, with his age he might not be the quickest out of the blocks, but he'll be there to get the Robins out of any trouble along with any of the defensive line, and he'll keep it in shape and organised. Along with keeping it organised, he'll be a massive helping hand for George Mclennan on the left hand side and other younger members of the squad, he would have no doubt pre-warned many of his team-mates what to expect in one of the toughest leagues to get out of. Is he Cheltenham's answer to the departure of the likes of Alan Bennett or Steve Elliott, fingers crossed.

The organiser

Vice-captain Kyle Storer is another with plenty experience of the National League, the ex Kidderminster midfielder has slotted comfortably to the holding role within the diamond set up, and has caught the eye of a fair few. Second in line to Downes with the vice-captain role he will no doubt have a big impact in organising the team, and knowing what to expect from the teams. The reason I have him down to be one of the most influential this season is because everything has appeared to have ran through him, he'll pick it up from the defence, or the midfield and look to start the next attack, see who's making the run, creating the space and where next a goal might come from. Most of all he'll hopefully keep that shape in the diamond, although he won't always be sat back he'll be the one deepest of the midfield, and most aware of what's around him, who is out of position, and where the next option is. With everything starting of through him the players know they can fall back and play it too him to retain possession and keep the ball moving letting everyone re-assert themselves, ready for the next attack.

"Promotion? Easy..." @ctfcofficial

Driving force

Definitely one of the most exciting players in pre-season, Harry Pell has instantly become a fan favourite amongst Cheltenham fans. His tall stature and ability to dribble at pace is a surprising combination to see, he really looks a threat when he's on the ball, and off it as he's always looking to win it back. Hopefully with his presence he's able to be a handful for opponents and won't be an easy target to take off the ball being  the main driving force from the midfield through to the attack. He will be able to get the ball into the most dangerous positions in quick time to play onto another player adding to have a dig, or maybe making his way through the opposition himself to smash into the top corners which he's shown he can do. If he can't do this then the fans still hold a lot of faith in the other players around him to finish, Billy Waters certainly has a spring in his step as the advanced play-maker, Amari Morgan-Smith hasn't been shy of the goal either. Along with this there is his strike partner Danny Wright an absolute work-horse up top who will definitely be using his body and strength to knock a few on and provide assists as well as goals. It's finally nice to see a big player actually work for the ball in the Cheltenham team. 

It's clear to see that Gary Johnson has got a real good mix in the team, and maybe he will be the most influential out of them all. But it's now down to the players to do the talking on the pitch as they've shown us what they can do. Automatic promotion will be tough, and is a huge task, although I think consistency will see them through the finish line, and as of yet they've only been able to show that attacking intent up to 75-80 minutes, they need to show if for 90 minutes across the whole 46 games in the season. Play-offs is the realistic goal, and we're certainly more than capable of challenging for that play-off spot at Wembley come the end of the season. 

Lets be having ya! Source - ctfc.com

2015-16 | #2 | Pre-Season Review (2/2) - The Home Games

After a promising trio of away friendlies, the new look Robins returned to the newly named World of Smile Stadium - Whaddon Road to those that prefer to call it. With the prospect of more prestigious opposition, the boys in blue and white (STILL!) were set for their toughest challenge yet. Football League opposition in the form of Sheffield United, Bristol Rovers, and Cardiff City all came to entertain the fresh faced players on home soil for the first time.

Sheffield United
Prior to the game news broke of trialist James Rowe on the bench, a shock to most as there are already an overwhelming amount of midfielders in the team, although after the match Johnson admitted he had been in since the start of pre-season only to get injured, so it was worth the look.

Cheltenham started of a bit shaky, struggling to create anything or get any flow to their game, it wasn't a surprise to see that Che Adams tucked it home at the near post early on. With Mclennan out of position Downes struggled to get a header in and would have been glad to seen the half-time break, after a mistake-ridden 45 minutes from the Aussie. It was however all Cheltenham from that moment forward, taking a strong hold on the match as the Blades invited pressure.

With the Robins finally finding their flow, an array of chances just couldn't come to anything, and it was a question of when the goal would finally come. On the brink of half time an overhaul of Cheltenham players in the box allowed the opportunity to arise. Billy Waters, struggling to make anything of his chance gave the ball away, but the defender was quickly dispossessed and the ball was played to an unmarked Morgan-Smith in acres of space who equalised to send them level at half time.

The second half brought much of the same dominance from Cheltenham, taking a real grip of the game it was extremely pleasing against a top opposition. Many of the eleven were changed and Jordan Wynter made his return with around 20 minutes to work on fitness. Jack Barthram spent a whole 90 minutes on the field, and arguably his best display yet, along with Rowe who looked very, very lively.

It wasn't to be however, and after a failed clearance from a corner, a brilliant finish gave Sheffield what can only be described as an undeserved lead, and it was quickly added to after as Town pushed on for an equaliser. A counter-attack broke, and Baxter managed to control an awkward pass and slot past Kitscha for a 3-1 lead. Nigel Adkins would've been more than satisfied with the result, and it was a resilient effort from his team, and the difference in class eventually showed.

Bristol Rovers
Rivalry set aside for the pre-season, the opposition on this occasion was one in which most around club would be idolising after mastering the 'bounce back' effort last season. However it was Darrell Clarke who was left very red-faced and disappointed with his newly promoted Bristol Rovers.

In what was a mouth-watering affair, both teams failed to set a full set of subs for the game. With the goal happy Amari-Morgan Smith on the sideline with a slight injury, Zack Kotwica also spent his day playing for Evesham hinting that he'll depart on loan for added game time. In came trialist Rowe for his first start, pushing Billy Waters up to partner Danny Wright.

With the first proper attacking move of the game for the Robins, a free-kick floated in from just past the half way line, Harry Pell used his presence to head across goal for Billy Waters to guide it into the top corner from a volley. 1-0. From one well worked set piece to the other, Rovers quickly levelled from a corner, a fine move, but big questions will be asked of the marking and defending all round. Downes started slow again, but gradually asserted himself and improved as the game progressed.

Gary Johnson's attacking style was really starting to empower the opposition as the Robins continued to pressurise the opposition, Waters coming close again, and an Aaron Downes header was saved well. The chance finally arose however shortly after, a brilliant combination of passes around the defence and midfield opened up the chance on the counter. A lovely lobbed through ball from Rowe put Waters through on goal who didn't fail to finish with a driven strike into the far corner.

Taking the lead going into the break, the confidence shone through into the second half, especially from the fiery Waters. A ball through to him from Harry Pell, gave Mildenhall the temptation to come out and attempt to claim the ball, only to be dribbled past leaving him with no choice but to take down young Billy and rue him the chance of getting a hat-trick. However with a penalty awarded it was his chance to get his revenge, although it wasn't to be after a fine save from the experienced shot-stopper.

Rovers had the opportunity to get their own back, with what was a questionable penalty awarded, Matt Taylor stepped up in an attempt to claw back a second equaliser. Again it wasn't to be, Dillon Phillips scrambling down low saved well, and the same on the rebound, a fine effort from the young keeper, who has done well after a couple of edgy performances. Town held on well for their first win at Whaddon Road, and first game in the red and white.

Cardiff City

The final home pre-season game saw Daniel Parslow sign on for the Robins prior to the game, with Rowe, and young goal-keeper Rhys Lovett set to follow. Johnson expressed only one more addition was needed in what would be the mystery loan centre-back. However it was a surprise to see a trialist on the bench in JJ Hooper on the back of an 8-hour drive from Scotland.

In a tie that saw some experienced faces at Cardiff including Marshall, Noone, Doyle and Le Fondre. Local lad Bobbie Dale made a start up front in place of Rowe, along with Jack Deaman playing for a couple of other clubs as he looks to depart.

From the start Gary Johnsons highly attacking philosophy was highlighted again, the intent to get forward at every opportunity has been welcomed with open arms from the fans, and it's been a joy to watch the team play proper football. Dale started lively up top with Wright, both working well for each other to try get through, and it took 14 minutes for the flick on by the ex-Wrexham player, leaving Bobbie for a confident finish which was just what he needed to boost his confidence. Wright was unlucky not to double the lead with a powerful header from a free-kick that just needed directing away from the keeper.

In what saw a fairly quiet second half, the pace gradually slowed itself down. All throughout the game challenges were flying in, a pleasure to see commitment from the players in a game which some would say didn't hold a lot of meaning to being only pre-season. With the game slowing down, so did the attacking intent from Cheltenham, something the manager has raised, and has assured that he will get the team doing it for the full 90 minutes to kill off the game.

With the inability to finish off the game the Bluebirds began to apply pressure, and with four minutes left they managed to equalise from a corner. The one cause for concern to take from all these games is failing to deal with defending set-pieces as a goal has been conceded in each game at home. For some reason Cheltenham have never been able to deal well with them in the past, and hopefully it hasn't gone unnoticed going into the season.

2015-16 | #1 | Pre-Season Review (1/2) - The Away Games

Before the new adventure in the Vanarama National League could begin for Cheltenham, the Robins had to undergo the complete squad overhaul and new beginnings, and it all starts with pre-season. Always a handy time for the new team-mates to make their first impressions on the fans, the manager and their other colleagues.

This season Gary Johnsons new squad would begin the pre-season travelling to three consecutive away games, Cirencester Town, Evesham United and Weston Super Mare. This giving the pitch at Whaddon Road (refusing to call it by its new name) an extended period to properly bed in, and gain that carpet like texture that can hopefully be sustained over the course of the new season.

Cirencester Town
Ten of the eleven new signings started at the Corinium Stadium, the two keepers completing a half each, also making an appearance was trialist Daniel Parslow from York. Johnson hinted during an interview that the first few games he will be playing two sets of eleven in each half and at this stage it's all about fitness and embedding the tactics and playing style.

The first half saw plenty of chances being created, and while everyone was trying to work out who was who, it felt as if there was a huge breathe of fresh air within the squad. A diamond style shape seemed to be the judgement of most, with lots of switching and movement all across the middle of the park, which saw bags of dominance and creativity. Also adding to the attacking options was the constant options of pace down the flanks of new wing backs Jack Barthram and George Mclennan.

All throughout the half Danny Wright was proving a real handful, a saved one-on-one opportunity, and then managing to dispossess the keeper, it was a surprise to see the teams go in at half-time at 0-0, Cheltenham could have easily been two goals better off.

Eager to impress, the youth academy graduates from previous seasons, shown an aggressive attacking manner starting the second half, Hanks, Williams and Kotwica all throwing everything at them. A collective team effort, the understanding between the more well-known players proved the clicking point, and it wasn't soon before the hunger and desire to make ends meet finally happened. Zack Kotwica linking up well with with his partner Harry Williams to slot home past the keeper.

As the minutes passed, the dominance well and truly clear, the change of quality showed, a well worked short corner, and then a dummy, saw Hanks lash one into the roof off the net. Not long after Vaughan completed the 3-0 scoreline with some great footwork, and a well hit weak foot drive. A real statement of desire from what can only be seen as the fringe players.

Evesham United
With Omari-Sterling James, and Jamal Lawrence not present trialing with Oxford City, youth player James McCarthy started in the first XI, in a flipped side from the Cirencester game. Unfortunately the youngster came off after 30 minutes, with what looked like a painful injury. On came Jack Munns, who played the most out of anyone this pre-season at 60 minutes.

It was again a fairly impressive showing from the youngsters, Adam Page stood out well on the left, and has set a really good impression upon the gaffer, gaining an assist to Harry Williams who comfortably put the Robins into the lead, and doubled it soon after from a pinpoint driven cross from Lee Vaughan. Paul Collicuts men managed to pull one back before the break, after taking their odd chance well.

The second half saw the same eleven that started at Cirencester, Munns well into the game, the midfield oozed class against a struggling opposition. With Kyle Storer firmly holding in the well organised diamond, all of the attacking midfielders, and strikers managed to get on score sheet, taking the tally up to seven by the end of the match. The quality was really on show, in terms of creativity, movement, and most of all the finishing, not one of those which would have described the Cheltenham team only a matter of weeks ago.

The power and stature of Harry Pell, organisation of Kyle Storer, creativity of wide players, finishing and partnership up top shows what a brilliant spine the team holds going into the season. One thing to question within this game however was the ability for opposition to grab another two goals. One a brilliant finish from a free-kick, the other Dillon Phillips would be disappointed with his efforts, and then a fumble from a cross not soon after. This however shows their is competition for the number 1 slot, with two equally decent keepers, it will be interesting which one Gary Johnson chooses after pre-season performances.

Weston Super Mare
After two positive displays from both sets of eleven, this final away friendly of the three was the point in where more educated and reasoned judgements could be voiced. It's hard not to be optimistic with the team we have compared to last season, and the start of this game only added the confidence and hope in the air for the coming season.

It took all of three minutes for Amari Morgan-Smith to begin the scoring, heading low and hard into the goal from a drilled Jack Munns free-kick. Add another three minutes to that, and Danny Wright fed his partner through on goal, slotting home with a cool finish for his second of the game. The attacking play in the first half was just as consistent in previous outings from the new signings, and it could have easily been five or six goals to the better come half time.

The scoring was wrapped up though on the 40th minute, Wright latching onto a goalkeepers error slamming it into the roof of the net. A player of his size and stature could be looking to cause some serious problems for defences this season, alongside the pace of his strike partner it has the shaping of a formidable force.

The second half saw some of the new signings get some added minutes as Johnson began to test their fitness ahead of harder opposition, and also if the oncoming players worked well with what looks to be a set eleven. Although no goals managed to find the net, the attacking style was forever present throughout the final 45, many fans would have also been pleased to see Asa Hall fit back into the set-up nicely after his four minutes all of last season.

Page, Williams and Bowen all played a distinguish role across the pitch, as well as Lee Vaughan who has come to life within the pre-season clearing off the line on this occasion, it will be interesting to see if he may be playing a part next season. On the other hand, the likes of Zack and Bobbie haven't really stood out despite their best efforts, and could possibly end up on loan elsewhere, along with Deaman.

Raheem Sterling - The 50 Million Pound Question

Possibly one of the biggest talking points over the summer transfer window will be about where Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling will end up, and more importantly will the requested £50 million price-tag be given into.

Liverpool

The two previous seasons at Anfield have notably seen young Raheem burst into life and put his name well out in the football world, however he has found himself under the media spotlight especially this season for plenty of the wrong reasons. A video appeareing of the England international inhaling nitrous oxide back in April, and had been spoken to by Brendan Rodgers, not the best impression to be setting.

However some admiration I feel has to be shown for the way he publicly came out and said his view on the accusations of him being a "money-grabber" after turning down a £100,000 a-week contract at Liverpool. He claimed that he wanted to focus on being the best he can be and put talks on hold to the summer, take with that what you will.

The title-challenge season is where we saw the fresh talent begin to give the Premier League a taste of what was to come, with a lot of prospect and excitement about him, the offensive winger managed to bag nine goals and five assists in 33 (nine subtitute) appearances. In what was a prolific season for Liverpool with a total of 101 goals, a doomed end to the season by letting the championship slip out of their grasp in the last couple of weeks. 

With the 2014-15 season arriving and the ever present Luis Suarez departing to FC Barcelona, Sterling would learn that he would have to take up a much more offensive role than compared to the previous season, including an ever increasing amount of expectation from the Liverpool support. It was a positive start, bagging a goal in the first game, and linking up with the not so present Daniel Sturridge, things were looking promising. However with the added influence of Champions League football and poor results it didn't appear that Liverpool would come anywhere near to the success (or not) of the previous campaign. 35 appearances on and an extra 800 minutes playing time compared to the previous season seven goals and seven assists came out of the youngsters season, in a very busy season which was also on the back of three appearances at the World Cup. The season saw him take on an active and offensive role within the team, but with what can only be described as a shambles of a season sitting , media speculation about his future things begun to get sour towards him. 

However with the departure of such a big name, and the lack of playing quality around him, that raises the question as to whether Sterling should have performed better being one of the stand alone stars in a poor performing squad. Or does he need quality around him, to push his performance forward and to allow him to play better as an individual, maybe his next team will have just the quality he needs...

Destination: Manchester City

The most likely place it seems for Raheem Sterling next season will be in the sky blue colours at the Etihad Stadium. The players agent doing his job of stirring things up by saying he wouldn't even accept a £900,000 a-week contract at Liverpool, has attracted interest from an owner who probably would be silly enough to offer something of that proportion for the individual. With chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak recently expressing that the club will be targeting 'high quality' signings and two offers already rejected, this appears to be the number one target for the club providing they meet the £50 million pound price tag. 

Many questions will be circulating in many fans heads if this signing materialises, which I will aim to tackle within this post. 

Firstly will he be able to fit into the Manchester City team?  

In my honest opinion I feel it is the best possible place for the player if he decides to move to greener pastures. Sterling is very industrious with his attacking positions and can slot anywhere in the attacking frame in midfield. I feel Manchester City may look to slot him in the left side of midfield within the 4-2-3-1 formation, allowing David Silva to further his providing role in the centre of attacking midfield. Although Jesus Navas didn't compete in every game last season for City, I feel he will hold his role on the right side and provides much the same in which Sterling can, and although they may chop and change every so often, I feel it will be a close battle for that position between Nasri and Sterling on the left side. 

So how does Sterling compare to City's elite, well in terms of taking on a player and moving with the ball up the field, it's very promising, and shows he could be a real force anywhere across the pitch and pivotal when breaking out from defence. With a total of 103 successful take ons this season, it is only half of what he's attempted when running at a player this season. Now you may think 49.52% is a low success rate, but for a 20 year old attempting 206 take ons in 3047 minutes of football, if my calculations are correct he's attempting just under 15 a game and completing at least seven. Its also wise to take into consideration we don't know what areas of the pitch this is in, but more than likely with this type of footballer it will be in the final third, and with his explosive nature I believe it can only benefit City, and mirror what they have in Navas on the opposing side. 

Navas on the other hand has a much higher percentage of successful take ons at 74% although the number of take ons are much smaller at 37 due to reduced playing time, still fairly good if you take into account 12 appearances have been from the bench out of his 35 appearances this season. David Silva easily leads the chances created with a total of 93 compared to Sterling, which is why I feel City will benefit from moving him to a more central role. Although Navas had the least playing time out of the three he still managed the most assists with eight, compared to the other two on seven. Although this adds to the point that if all three played within the same midfield they would be one of the biggest attacking threats within the league and possibly Europe.

How does Sterling compare to City's midfield? - Squakwa

Is he worth £50 million?

It is a very hard question to estimate whether any player so young is worth such a high figure, and I feel that putting it down to his age makes it even harder to tackle. Liverpool are obviously going to try and get as much money as they can out of him and furthermore he's English, which is becoming evermore valuable for a team in the Premier League. However I do feel Liverpool have already replaced Sterling with the signing of James Milner, as he has proven to be just as effective as a pacey winger, without the pace. Whether this is the thinking behind it, time will tell. 

I think a much better question would be to guess whether he will justify that price tag, and if he will go on to exceed or match the supposed worth of his services. For the national teams sake I hope he will, and I hope he will be a player who continuously develops into a better player every season, and he does have the potential to do that. Whether he will fit into Manchester City's style, or wherever he ends up we will have to wait and see. 

To finish up this post, I will finish with a comparison between possibly the best wide midfielder in the league, Eden Hazard, after an astonishing title winning season for Chelsea he has set the Premier League alight. He has proved a consistent outfit for Chelsea, gaining 14 goals for the second season and picking up the PFA Player of the year awards it would be nice to see Sterling begin to replicate what he has done. He steals the show on the comparison stats, but looking at it, Sterling isn't a million miles away from the 24-year old. Development will be key, staying away from the media spotlight will also be massive. Maybe moving away from the mentor of the ever illustrious Mario Ballotelli to the likes of Sergio Aguero and David Silva may be the best for youngster who just needs to be steered onto the right path. 

Sterling vs Hazard - Squakwa     

When the news came to light that Sterling was going to leave Liverpool, I was fairly shocked, but also was puzzled to work out where he would fit in amongst the top European clubs. I quickly narrowed it down to two and came up with either Arsenal or Manchester City. Arsene Wenger has talked of admiration of Sterling, but with players like Sanchez, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain, I feel Sterling wouldn't fit well in there and would regularly be on the bench. I also thought of the same at City, and still could very much be the case. 

However I do believe Manchester City would fit his style of play and his ambition of winning trophies, no other club within the European leagues need someone like him and I don't think he would suit another league. In my opinion he should either stay with Liverpool and have the expectation of a lower chance of silverware, or take the risk of not starting every game, but increase the likelihood of a Premier League medal, Champions League football and possibly develop into a well established England international.