Raheem Sterling- a priceless asset.

Raheem Sterling- a priceless asset.

Last Monday evening Raheem Sterling restored our faith in human nature. After England's ultimately convincing 5-1 Euro 2020 qualifier win against Montenegro, Sterling did more than any of us could have  expected of him. The disgraceful racist attacks on the superb Manchester City winger brought to the surface the kind of problems English football thought it had left in some dusty old 1970s archive where all that still remained were some ancient Space Hoppers, a filthy pair of  flared trousers and some cracked mirrors that looked as though they had just fallen off a wall.

For England the immense satisfaction they must have taken from a 10 goal haul from both the Czech Republic at Wembley and the thrashing of a stunned Montenegro side, must have been ever so slightly tarnished by racist bile and poison. It seemed to pour from the repulsive lips of a small section of the home crowd and those who heard it can only be totally reviled by such uncouth behaviour.

When Sterling was interviewed after the game he sensibly articulated the feelings of many when he told us that racism in all its ugly forms should never be allowed to infiltrate and infect the English game at any time in the future. Sterling is a mature and civilised young man for whom the very presence of racism in a modern society must represent the most horrible throwback to another age.

Still, it may be advisable to reflect on the sizeable margin of England's ruthless demolition of  Montenegro. Although briefly in the lead, the home side were then smashed open, pillaged, looted, embarrassed and overwhelmed by a still bubbling England team. The World Cup in Russia is probably just another a yellowing page in England's now very antiquated history book but once your team reach a World Cup semi final, you may begin to think that anything might be possible.

Fast forward to a year after the thrilling events in Russia to another place, another time and somewhat more hostile environment in the Balkans of Europe. This was no place for faint hearts and England manager Gareth Southgate might have been inclined to think that Montenegro at the beginning of spring is no place for pleasant introductions and polite formalities. There were no welcoming red carpets here and when Marko Vesovic gave Montenegro an unexpected lead, the home side were in no mood for lily livered leniency. Here was a team who meant business.

But in a ground that bore a remarkable resemblance to a municipal park, England probably felt as if the game itself should have been played on a recreation ground. Eventually England's second game in their Euro 2020 qualifying group reminded you of a gentle training ground exercise where the simple act of passing the ball looked so logical that at one point Gareth Southgate's men looked as though they were taking part in some very sedate game of croquet.

This was one hilariously one sided contest where England's more cultured players and their refined touch players spent almost the entire match flicking, tapping and moving the ball prettily and very daintily between themselves in neat circles and taunting triangles. Once the Montenegrin's had run out of puff, England helped themselves to a medieval banquet of goals. White England shirts were snapping open the hosts defence with the ease of a local mayor at a local summer fete, England sent in the attacking artillery with all the requisite firing power we have come to expect from England.

When Spurs Danny Rose and Manchester City's Kyle Walker began to charge forward from full backs with more and more ambition, England's minds must have been harking back to that special evening in the World Cup semi final against Croatia. Once again England were fearless, progressive and joyously confident. Rose and Walker, supported by the emerging Michael Keane and an immaculate display from the West Ham debutant Declan Rice, ensured that everything England did quite literally turned to gold.

So it was that the young England defender Michael Keane joined a jostling batch for an England free kick that was flighted impressively towards the Montenegro six yard box. Judging his run to perfection, Keane pulled away adroitly from his marker before heading the ball cleverly away from the goalkeeper, the ball nestling snugly in the bottom corner of the net. England were level and hungry for richer pickings.

Minutes later one of England's stardust sprinkled youngsters Callum Hudson Odoi, tricked his way deliciously through a static Montenegro defence. Hudson- Odoi seemed to be twisting and turning his opponents so persistently that had somebody given him a pair of carpet slippers he wouldn't have looked out of his depth.

Minutes after England's equaliser, the white shirts rolled forward relentlessly and menacingly. Hudson Odoi, now unstoppably rampant, cut in sharply from the wing, left his opponents completely hypnotised before cracking a fierce shot at goal. Then suddenly Ross Barkley, now almost the complete article for England, was in the right place and time to volley the ball home from close range. Barkley has every reason to believe that a permanent place in Gareth Southgate's first eleven has to be rubber stamped now without any second thoughts.

Throughout this game, Barkley was magnificent, a player of smooth intelligence, classical grace notes and a glorious touch on the ball. Barkley is England's prompter, thinker, playmaker, catalyst and inventor, gliding into spaces that very few players would have had the foresight to spot. English midfield players have to be cherished and wrapped in cotton wool but Barkley has to be a singing nightingale sooner rather than later.

For the rest of the game, England proceeded to use their most clinical anaesthetic and in a matter of seconds, put the home side out. Raheem Sterling, by now one of  England's most artistic players on the night, wriggled his way past another set of defenders as if they were mannequins in a shop window clipping the ball perfectly into the path of Ross Barkley who sweetly stroked the ball into the net with the air of a man with a blindfold over his face.

Now it was that the vocal Montenegro fans, who could barely hold back their racist invective and foul mouthed language, were silenced by the sheer majesty of Gareth Southgate's side. When Sterling broke away from a now tiring defence, the hosts were now offering only token resistance. In fact there were times when the Montenegrins hardly ventured over their own half way line such was England's dominant command. Feeding the ball across to his delighted colleague, Sterling almost spoon fed Harry Kane, who must have thought it was his birthday. Goal four and game over.

In the closing stages Liverpool's Jordan Henderson, another of England's most educated of passers, chipped a gorgeous through ball which found Raheem Sterling. Sterling connected with the ball beautifully and slid the ball into the net for a now inevitable fifth goal. Oh what a wondrous sight England were to behold. We'll have more of the same please.