How Do England Players Cope with a Country That Doesn't Support Them?

The witch-hunt has already begun. At every major tournament, England face the same opposition: their own fans and media.

The latest circus started before the squad even set foot on Russian soil.

Raheem Sterling was targeted by The Sun on Tuesday for the gun tattoo on his lower leg. "Ace's sick new tattoo: Raheem shoots himself in foot," the front page read.

Star striker and team captain Harry Kane has also been targeted.

The Tottenham Hotspur forward has been mocked on social media for everything, from the way he speaks to his claiming a disputable goal. And to add insult to injury, even the Football Association had a dig at him on its official FA Cup Twitter page in April by suggesting he was in Chris Smalling's pocket in the wake of Spurs' 2-1 semi-final defeat to Manchester United.

England's two most influential players are swimming against the tide before a ball has been kicked in anger at the FIFA World Cup.

"Unique to this country to attempt to destroy our players' morale before a major tournament" former England international Gary Lineker wrote on Tuesday. "It's weird, unpatriotic and sad."

It's nothing new, but it's certainly weird.

After The Sun called out Sterling for glamourising guns, the Manchester City and England attacker responded through a post on Instagram.

He explained how the tattoo was a tribute to his father—gunned down when Sterling was just two. Yet still The Sun did not ease off. The following day, its front page had a message from the father of Damilola Taylor, a 10-year-old who was killed almost 18 years ago, asking Sterling to apologise for the tattoo.

Sterling has had to become familiar with such treatment. As pointed out in a remarkable thread from Twitter user Adam Keyworth, in recent years, the winger has also made headlines for an array of bizarre reasons: from being greedy for wanting to leave Liverpool to being cheap for travelling on a budget airline to being "obscene" when he treated his mother to a new home.

Other players don't get this treatment, so why Sterling?

Troy Townsend, education manager at Kick It Out, told B/R: "It's almost certain that sections of the media see him as an easy target.

"Look back to the Euros when he was targeted for being normal, for being Raheem. One minute, they write about him as a cheapskate; the next minute, he is big time because he spends money on his mother.

"We have a young talent who has had an amazing season at City and produced football of a top-quality level, but unfortunately our press—well, avenues of the press—write negative stories.

"I'm careful about whom I label because, often, it is not the sports guys who go after him. Raheem is on a platform—it's like we are designed to knock people down in this country."

The language used against Sterling is also curious, with terms such as "bling" often found in articles alongside the City star.

"The terminology against Raheem is not used against the other players," Townsend noticed. "Is there evidence of a colour thing here? There has to be an agenda of some sort. Is it that Sterling and where he was brought up brings this on him?

"If he didn't have thick skin and was not of a certain nature, he wouldn't be at Man City now and would not have played for Liverpool.

"Raheem and the people around him had a vision to be at the best team, to be recognised at international level—you can throw in that he wanted to be a superstar as well. That's what he is aiming for as a footballer."

But how thick-skinned can a player really be?

In the instance of Kane, who has scored more than 25 goals in three successive Premier League seasons, why should he not claim a goal he believes he scored? The goal in question was a header against Stoke City in April, which the Premier League's Goal Accreditation Panel ruled in his favour.

But more worrying was when that tweet from the FA poked fun at him, suggesting Smalling had him in his pocket.

"It is strange," Kane explained to reporters. He continued:

"I think it is a mentality thing. It is easier these days to maybe banter England players or take the mick out of England players. If we don't do well in the World Cup, it's, 'Oh, we told you so.'

"It's maybe a weaker mentality, but it is what it is. As a team we are focused on what we need to do. We have got to go with a mindset and a belief that we can win. We try to win everything we do, and the World Cup is no different.

"For me, personally, I have always engaged with my fans. There are a small minority of fans that maybe go over the mark, but that is life. You can't get too down about it."

Dan Abrahams, a sports psychologist who has worked with elite footballers and the England rugby team, realises how hard it can be to retain focus.

"Just because you're skilful on a football pitch doesn't make you less human," he says. "We all have different personalities with different doubts and dreams—but every footballer wants to do well. No one goes there wanting to play badly.

"When you talk about being thick-skinned, the word you need to really refer to is 'resilience.' I think more and more in the world of elite football, there are more coaches able to help players to become resilient.

"At academies, there is more sports psychology and mental skills training than before, so young players are exposed to that early. But that doesn't mean it is not difficult to cope with external criticism.

"The media hold a lot of power with their words and can hurt players. Just imagine, as a journalist, that another journalist is constantly criticising your work—saying you are illiterate or your writing is not succinct. It would be hard to cope with.  

"Yes, these players do get paid a lot of money and do have ability—but they are also human.

"The England setup will have people around the camp to help create an environment and culture that helps cope with such matters at the World Cup, but it is difficult."

Under Roy Hodgson at UEFA Euro 2016, there were no newspapers within the camp. Only the media team had access to the publications, meaning the coach could be warned of any headlines he should be aware of.

But the days when international players could be cut off from the outside world by having their access to papers and television coverage limited, mobile phones and laptops allow players to see every negative comment being thrown at them.

Hodgson warned players not to look at social media, but ultimately he could not stop them. And in fairness to young players—trapped in the confines of a remote hotel with little but computer games, darts, pool and the odd quiz night to keep them amused—of course they want to entertain themselves on Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp.

But that's when problems arise. At Euro 2016, Sterling knew he was being targeted because he could see all the comments after the first match.

And when fans were getting on his back against Wales, he was suddenly hyperaware of his surroundings. Struggling to meet his usual high standards, Hodgson decided to take Sterling away from the boo-boys and out of the frame at half-time in a bid to spare him further anguish.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

As one England insider told B/R: "Raheem has quite a fragile character. He's only human, and whether it is criticism from the stands or comments on social media, it is extremely hard for him not to be affected by it. Around the squad, he is quiet and introverted. He's not this brash lad a lot of people expect of him. He's a really down-to-earth, nice guy. But it can't be easy for him to deal with all the attention."

The players will have their phones on at this tournament too. For all the warnings England manager Gareth Southgate can give, he can't confiscate their phones.

"It's tough for the manager," explained the source. "Because when there are negative headlines, he then has to decide whether to highlight it and let players know or to just try to bury it. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter—they'll all know what is being said in the outside world."

The English press are not the only ones to criticise their own team, but quite frequently, they hit first and hit hardest.

England's main group rivals this summer are Belgium, and Roberto Martinez's men will have an opportunity to take advantage of the edgy English mentality when the nations meet in the final Group G fixture.

B/R's Gianni Verschueren is not so sure the news has spread as far as the Belgian camp, though. "Sterling's tattoo or coverage of it didn't make the news," he said. "As far as I can tell, they are blissfully unaware of the horrendous treatment he faces.

"As for the mocking of Harry Kane, it's something that happens everywhere. We'll also rag on Romelu Lukaku or take shots at Kevin De Bruyne when he does his disappearing act for the national team."

Portuguese football writer Luis Santos Castelo said his compatriots target their best player in a similar fashion to the grief Sterling and Kane suffer.

"This is not just an English problem," he insists. "In Portugal, for example, this also happens with Cristiano Ronaldo—considered by many to be the best player in the world. The vast majority of Portuguese are very fond of Cristiano Ronaldo, but there is always someone who criticises him because he does not pass the ball or because he does not run or because of his hairstyle.

"Any reason will do to attack Ronaldo for a certain group of people who are probably jealous of his money, fame and success. And then there are the small hatreds motivated by the clubs' rivalries. Sporting CP fans will almost always criticize Benfica players who play for Portugal, and vice versa."

But Spanish journalist Jorge Calabres of El Chiringuito TV said: "I do not think that it is right to attack two top stars of England just a few weeks away from the World Cup. I think it's counterproductive, and it does not help anything. I am completely against personal criticism.

"In Spain, there are many critics also to the soccer players, but they always focus on the professional and sporting aspect."

Kane and Sterling are the two England players most likely to decide whether the team are successful at the World Cup and could yet win over those people so keen to knock them down.

The Spurs man will have his eye on scoring the goals that send the Three Lions into the latter stages of the tournament, while Sterling will keep his head down and try to play the way he has been for Manchester City over the past season.

"He could have gone down the wrong route," Townsend explained, reflecting on Sterling's route to becoming an elite footballer. "But he's gone the right route, and I'd be proud to be associated with someone like that.

"The fact we want to bring someone like him down I find absolutely maddening.

"At the World Cup, I'd wrap him in cotton wool. Keep him away from limelight and media attention. I hope he doesn't even use social media for six weeks."

If only it were that easy.