Stan Collymore thinks he should never play for England again; Alan Shearer thinks it’s an insult to “the working man who is up at 6am and home at 8pm”; while Gaz on Twitter thinks “he should do a tour of Afghanistan and see how tired he is then.”

These are just some of the hyperbolic reactions to Raheem Sterling’s crime of admitting that he was, well, a little tired.

The media storm and moralising over Sterling’s admission that he would rather sit out of England’s qualifier against Estonia has been baffling, and has served to expose the faults in our footballing culture that contribute to England’s status as perennial underachievers on the international stage. 

It is difficult to see what exactly Sterling has done to be deserving of such outrage. As a 19 year old who has recently been catapulted into the position of a talismanic player for both club and country, you can forgive him for feeling physically and mentally worn-out. Indeed, Sterling’s honesty should be commended - is it not preferable for the team to line up with a fit and fresh player than a fatigued one liable to make mistakes?

The outrage directed Sterling’s way would be better targeted elsewhere. Perhaps criticise Brendan Rodgers, for speaking to the press about the importance of protecting Sterling from burn-out, and then proceeding to play him for 120 minutes in a midweek Capital One cup tie against Middlesborough.

Certainly criticise Roy Hodgson, for once again confirming his remarkable ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. The England manager could have protected his player by simply stating he believed Adam Lallana deserved to start in Sterling’s place. Instead, Hodgson chose to make a private conversation public, and in the process exposed the teenager to a barrage of condemnation about his apparent lack of commitment to the cause. 

Any criticism directed at Sterling himself is, however, unwarranted, and has simply served as a timely reminder of where it has all gone wrong with young talented English players in previous generations. 

You cannot fail to be dazzled by Raheem Sterling’s combination of speed, flair and game intelligence, and such a special talent needs protection. However, Hodgson’s mishandling of the situation means he has exposed the starlet to the same pressure cooker that has had a suffocating effect on other young players, to the detriment of English football.

Furthermore, the debate over Sterling’s omission from the team has highlighted just how many figures within the game have ill-informed and out-dated attitudes when it comes to the subject of giving young players sufficient rest. One only needs to look at the downward trajectory of Michael Owen’s career to see how a young player can be burnt out too fast, too soon.

Sterling is simply too good to be allowed to go the same way as Owen, Fowler and other teenage prodigies, and Hodgson must take into account what is best for the player in the long term, and if that means Sterling remains on the bench for certain games, then so be it. Indeed, rather than moralising over his omission against Estonia, England should perhaps be asking themselves how it is that they are so reliant upon a 19 year old in the first place.