The Kop backed Sterling, the next move must be his (ESPN article)

by Dave Usher for ESPN

It's been an eventful last couple of weeks for Raheem Sterling. An awful lot has gone on and very little of it has enhanced his reputation, so on Monday night it was nice for him to finally make some headlines for what he did on the pitch. His fine opener in a routine 2-0 win over Newcastle United may not have been enough to overshadow the negative publicity that came his way following some, shall we say, questionable off-the-field practices, but it was a timely reminder of what he is capable of.

More significant than the goal, however, was the positive way the crowd responded to him when he was eventually substituted in the closing stages. The warm reception afforded to him by all four sides of the stadium will have surely offered some welcome relief to the stress that the youngster must be feeling after such public scrutiny. Despite all the turmoil of the last fortnight and all the negative headlines he's attracted, at least the fans have not turned on him.

Of course the night wasn't a total success for him as despite his goal, he would later suffer the considerable embarrassment of missing an absolute sitter in front of the Kop. That's the last thing you'd want when you're involved in a high-profile contract dispute over money, but the crowd's reaction to that miss was not what many would have expected.

Liverpudlian patience with Sterling had been close to snapping in recent weeks, particularly in the disappointing home loss to Manchester United when the youngster made little impact on the game and copped an earful from the fans on more than one occasion following sloppy play. But when he screwed his shot wide from close range with Monday's game still finely poised at 1-0, the reaction was almost sympathetic. The next time he received the ball he was urged on rather than heckled, and despite another missed opportunity later that he blasted over the bar he was warmly applauded from the field when replaced by Rickie Lambert in the 90th minute.

Read the full article here.