Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well?
Football has a way of surprising you each season and sometimes a familiar player seems like a total stranger possibly because of the massive changes that can be seen in their playing style.
This is largely due to the human element in the sport. For instance a player like Fred at Manchester United was playing much better last season under Ole Gunner Solksjear but the same player was underperformiing under him this season.
Similarly, you have a bright youngster like Raheem Sterling who could have arguably been the one carrying Manchester City in terms of goals for a couple seasons. From the 2016/17 season till date, he had been racking up an impressive goal of about 0.5 goals per game.
However, he wasn't at his best last year. In fact, it might just be the year he wishes to erase from his career. Last season was possibly his worst season at Etihad ever since becoming a regular starter. He had dropped out of the players we would normally look our for, to the one you possibly wouldn't like in your team.
There were even rumours that he wanted to leave to Barcelona for a fresh start but hasn't been confirmed just yet.
Another example of football dynamics can also be seen in Leroy Sane who is currently a Bayern Munich player. He has grown to become one of the best players on the squad despite Guardiola's decision of not making him a regular starter at Man City.
The duo between him and Raheem Sterling in previous times was so powerful that teams were scared to see them on the wings of the starting lineups.
But that is football. One person could be the star of the show in a particular match and the same person would be viewed as the problem in the next match.
I think fans should be patient with the players on such circumstances and give them some time to recover just like they do for some of their great players.