Lawro: Sterling could be priceless in Rio 2 Mar 2014 11:00 In-form Reds midfielder can make Roy Hodgsons World Cup squad If England’s World Cup squad was named today, then I would fully expect Raheem Sterling to make the final cut. As it is, Sterling is one of several Liverpool FC players who have a chance of being on the plane to Rio in the summer. He joined Steven Gerrard , Daniel Sturridge , Glen Johnson and Jordan Henderson in the party named for next Wednesday’s friendly against Denmark at Wembley. On the face of it, Sterling faces a lot of competition with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Andros Townsend and, if he returns to fitness, Theo Walcott, all similar players competing for similar positions. But Sterling is the man in form. His performance in the FA Cup defeat at Arsenal last month certainly helped win over a number of London-based pundits who perhaps hadn’t seen enough of Sterling in the flesh to be convinced of his talent. It also helps that Liverpool are keeping him on the straight and narrow. Yes, he has had a few off-field scrapes but that is to be expected as a young player. If Sterling is a definite, then I’m not too sure about Henderson. Not because of his form. For a long time, I’d often say that I wasn’t exactly sure what he brings to the side. But Henderson is now one of the first names on the teamsheet. He has everything going for him – he is fit, healthy, can run all day, and is starting to not only create goals but score them as well. When you name Liverpool’s attacking players – Luis Suarez, Sturridge, Gerrard, Philippe Coutinho – you now have to include Henderson in that list. But he faces a lot of competition in that England squad. Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Jack Wilshere and even Tom Cleverley appear ahead of him. Okay, Roy Hodgson included him in the squad for Euro 2012. But he hasn’t called on Henderson much since. And with Hodgson seeming to favour his wide men, it could make life that little bit more difficult for Henderson to get on the plane. Both Sterling and Henderson are still young, as are team-mates Coutinho and Jon Flanagan. And that could work in Liverpool’s favour during the Premier League title run-in. Those youngsters don’t have much experience, and what experience boils down to is the experience of being near and yet so far. The experience of failing. They don’t know what that is like. Experience isn’t about winning games every week, it’s about how you cope when you fall short. For the first time in a long time, many of Liverpool’s players haven’t been involved in a title challenge before and aren’t burdened by the weight of history. That could ultimately help Brendan Rodgers’ side. echo
Posted on: Sun, 02 Mar 2014 13:00:00 +0000