As we all know, England forward Raheem Sterling was too tired to represent his country in the recent qualifying game with Estonia.

Well, apparently, spending two-thirds of that game sitting on the bench rather than out on the pitch helping his teammates did him the world of good because just 24 hours later he was capable of partying in a nightclub till 3am.

Part of me was willing to give Sterling the benefit of the doubt when he first declared himself too worn out to start England’s match. After all, playing football for a living must be awfully draining on a fit, healthy young man.

However, the revelations that he was out at a trendy London nightclub on the Monday night, with Danny Welbeck and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in tow, put a somewhat significant dent in his argument.

Every young football fan dreams of representing their country. The idea of walking out in front of a packed stadium with your nation’s badge proudly displayed on your chest and the national anthem ringing in your ears should send shivers down the spine.

It is the ultimate ambition of any budding football players and should be the ultimate honour for those who have made it to the professional game.

For Sterling, however, it obviously isn’t. At least not since he made it into the big time.

Where many of us would crawl over broken glass just for the chance of representing our country, Sterling couldn’t drag himself out from under the duvet to do so.

The lad is a great young player with immense potential, but he is obviously pampered by his club in general and his manager in particular. And international football is a game for men, not spoilt children.

In future I would suggest Sterling takes a leaf out of Cristiano Ronaldo’s book.

Despite his undoubted brilliance I have never been the Real Madrid player’s biggest fan. However, if there is one thing you have to give the man credit for, it’s that he never turns his back on his country.

Time after time you read about Ronaldo needing to recover from one injury or another in order to be fit for a Portugal game. But every time he makes it, often with little regard to the potential damage he may be doing to himself.

In fact, he played last summer’s World Cup with a knee injury despite experts telling him he was risking further damage. He didn’t care because he knew that representing his country, despite all the honours he may have won in the domestic game, is still the ultimate sporting goal.

Sterling may want to think about that the next time he is tucked up in bed.

Rock and a hard place

It’s never dull supporting Sheffield United, although the dilemma the club currently finds itself in is extreme even by our standards.

Two-and-half-years ago, the Blade’s star striker – Ched Evans – was found guilty of rape and has spent the past two years at her Majesty’s pleasure as a result.

Now the former Welsh international has been released from jail and there is huge national debate taking place over whether or not it is right for him to return to football.

Some are suggesting he shouldn’t be allowed to resume his life as a footballer because of his conviction and because being a sportsman automatically makes him a ‘role model’ to the younger generation.

Others insist he has absolutely every right to get back on the pitch and earn a living the same way he was doing before he committed his crime.

He has served his time and that should be that, they say.

One of the arguments put forward by those who don’t want to see him return to football is that he has shown no remorse for what he did.

Walking out in front of a packed stadium with your nation’s badge proudly displayed on your chest is the ultimate ambition of any budding football players. For Sterling, it obviously isn’t

But again, the counter argument to that is that he still believes himself to be innocent and his legal team are currently working on a new appeal aimed at clearing his name.

Ultimately it would have been simpler for him to express remorse for his actions and apologise to his victim as that would have smoothed the way for him to return to action.

But saying he was sorry would also have been an admission of guilt and that is something he refuses to do.

All in all it adds up to a rather tricky dilemma for Sheffield United’s directors.

Should they offer a contract to a player who could make a huge difference to a League One club and who could, especially if he eventually clears his name, be worth millions?

Or should they bow to the politically correct masses and turn their back on a man who currently remains a convicted rapist despite his protestations to the contrary?

It is very much a no-win situation and a decision I am glad I don’t have to take.

But one thing is for certain and that is that Evans will end up playing professional football again at one point or another.

Anyone who thinks otherwise has not been following football very closely for the past few decades…

Moody Mario’s malaise

When Mario Balotelli arrived at Liverpool, I think we all knew it was a bit of a gamble by Brendan Rogers.

The Italian striker undoubtedly has some talent, it just spends a lot of time buried under the copious amounts of baggage he perpetually lugs around with him.

The departure of Luis Suarez and the injury to Daniel Sturridge meant Balotelli was thrust straight into the Anfield spotlight this season. It was pretty much a sink or swim scenario for the former Manchester City player.

And so far, I think it would be pretty fair to say he has spent most of his time well below the surface.

It’s not just the fact that he isn’t scoring – any striker can go through a lean spell. What would worry me if I was a Liverpool fan, and more so if I was his manager, is that he doesn’t seem to care.

When Balotelli walks onto the pitch at the moment, he is doing so with the air of a man who has absolutely no desire to be there. You could argue he has always had an aloofness about him, even when he has been playing well and scoring goals. But now we are talking about utter disinterest.

Yes, it’s still early in his Liverpool career and there is plenty of time for him to turn things round. And maybe he will. But right now he is looking like a £16 million mistake.

Having said all that, I don’t agree with all the fuss about him swapping shirts with Pepe at half time during Wednesday’s defeat to Real Madrid.

It might not be the correct thing to do but it is certainly not the crime some people are making it out to be.

After all, at 3-0 down and with Liverpool being played off the park, the game was pretty much over after 45 minutes anyway, wasn’t it?

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade