James Olley: Raheem Sterling will get my vote for player of the year... he is changing face of the game

Four goals, three assists, a courageous stance on racism and a personal tribute to a leukemia sufferer. Raheem Sterling impressed on every level during the international break.

Stood with his hands in his pockets a few yards away from the Gradski Stadion pitch where he and several team-mates stood tall in the face of despicable monkey chants half an hour earlier, Sterling shied away from the notion he has become a figurehead for anti-racism.

“I didn’t mean to be a leader,” he said. “I don’t think I’m a leader. It’s just something I thought that I’d been seeing for a while and it was sad and I just wanted to bring awareness.”

He’s certainly done that. England manager Gareth Southgate would contend with his first assertion, however, having drafted him into the ‘leadership group’ which sets the tone within the camp for a young squad acclimatising to the highest level. Sterling scythed through the Montenegro defence just as he had the Czech Republic four days earlier before cutting to the chase of a racism debate that should have been consigned to history long before 2019.

There’s no doubt he will get my vote for Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year when the polling begins next month.

A key factor has always been to single out the player who has made the most decisive contribution in the team that win the title.

But other factors are always in play, most prominently the verdict from one of the founding fathers of the FWA, Charles Buchan, who stated in 1947 that the award should be given “to the professional player who by precept and example is considered by a ballot of members to be the footballer of the year”.

Of course, Sterling may not win the title this season with Manchester City. Liverpool will resume the domestic campaign this weekend two points ahead having played a game more. Virgil van Dijk is the leading candidate from Anfield and he would be a worthy winner.

But few players have challenged preconceptions in the space of one season like Sterling. To hear Callum Hudson-Odoi speak in glowing terms about Sterling’s efforts to prepare him for the hostile atmosphere in Podgorica is to extend the already long list of figures to herald his influence.

He faced dreadful social media abuse at the World Cup, exemplified by the BBC website running player ratings voted for by the public. Ahead of the semi-final defeat to Croatia, he was the worst-ranked player with 4.8 out of 10.

A personal view is Southgate’s post-World Cup switch from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3 has liberated Sterling in so far as he can attack defences and receive chances in positions he is accustomed to at City.

But the transformation is far more than tactical. Sterling has listened to the abuse — most notable in Montenegro and also Stamford Bridge in December — and sought to deconstruct it by turning the spotlight on his critics.

Of course, that has included mainstream media and there is no doubt that a long period of introspection has taken place within the industry ever since Sterling highlighted a case of black and white players doing similar things yet being treated differently.

Change will take time but at least a long overdue conversation is now being sustained in the public domain. And that is because of Sterling’s intervention. On the pitch, he is one of the most devastating attackers for a club still on for the quadruple heading into April and a country enjoying their football for the first time in years. The current numbers for City alone are 19 goals and 16 assists while for England, the indecision has been replaced by a menacing threat.

Off it, he is making an often acerbic profession reassess its approach, while still finding the time to pay tribute to Damary Dawkins, the 13-year-old formerly of Crystal Palace’s development squad who died this month after relapsing following a stem cell transplant.

It is this sort of character we should recognise when individual awards are handed out. Precept and example, indeed.