Raheem Sterling is used to it by now. He's been through the ringer at club and international level. Doubted beyond reason and without comprehension, ready to prove people wrong and prove a point, again. There were people that didn't want him to start at Euro 2020, for example.
Now, this is perhaps the biggest task Sterling has had in his professional career. The scale of the rebuild needed at both Chelsea and England is unavoidable and he doesn't have much time before even more damaging questions will be asked. There's no hiding away now for Sterling, but then again, there never was.
The Englishman has just one goal in his last nine England games. Compare that to four in the nine before. It's not all his fault, little of the slump under Gareth Southgate is down to individuals, and it's that reason that the 27-year-old has stood by his manager.
