When football club owner turned broadcaster, Simon Jordan, opens his mouth, people invariably listen, principally because he doesn’t sugar coat his opinions, including his latest broadside which is directed at Chelsea ace, Raheem Sterling.
A fixture in the England squad until the last World Cup, Sterling hasn’t played since, and many are questioning whether he has any sort of future with the Three Lions whilst Gareth Southgate is in charge.
At just 28 years of age, there’s clearly a number years left for Sterling to play at the top level, but perhaps not internationally.
His omission would appear to have caused a bit of an uproar, however, broadcaster Jordan, can’t see what all of the fuss is about.
‘Curiously, and for reasons that quite frankly evade me, eyebrows have been raised over Raheem Sterling’s continued omission from the England squad,’ he wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.
‘But why? He’s been pretty bang average for Chelsea. OK, he’s had a few decent games in recent weeks but I haven’t seen a series of hugely impressive performances from him that mean he demands inclusion.’
Though his comments won’t be seen as being particularly supportive, Jordan will almost certainly find a section of supporters that wholeheartedly agree with his sentiments.
Moreover, Southgate is paid to make difficult decisions and he will live and die at tournaments by his choices.
For now, the England manager hasn’t definitively called time on Sterling’s international career, though it’s clearly going to be difficult for the Chelsea man to break back in.
That said, what more motivation does Sterling need than a European Championship on the horizon.
If he’s able to find some consistency to his play then he can serve up some humble pie to Jordan in the process.