The Dutch media have made their feelings very clear about Raheem Sterling after his first two outings as a Feyenoord player.
Sterling became a free agent in January when his contract with Chelsea was mutually terminated. After a short period without a club, the former England international made the surprise decision to join Eredivisie club Feyenoord. He penned a short-term deal with the Dutch giants until the end of the season.
The Englishman was named in Feyenoord's squad for the first time in their Eredivisie clash against Telstar. Sterling, who hadn't played football in nine months, entered the fray with half-an-hour remaining. Feyenoord fans weren't overly impressed with his performance despite a 2-1 victory.
Sterling was again named on the substitutes bench for their clash against Twente last weekend. He came on with 29 minutes as Feyenoord fell to a 2-0 defeat.
The Dutch media have now made their feelings about the former England international very clear.
Raheem Sterling wearing headphones
AD slammed Sterling's lack of match fitness following Feyenoord's defeat to Twente. A report read: "After the break, Feyenoord had to hunt for an equaliser and the question was how many minutes the much-discussed Raheem Sterling would get. He ended up with half an hour.
"But Feyenoord were just winging it in the Grolsch Veste stadium. Sterling is far from fit, everyone knows and sees that, so a heroic performance is simply not possible. They were just waiting for FC Twente's knockout."
Willem van Hanegem, a columnist for the publication gave a damning assessment, writing: "The Englishman shouldn't have wanted this move, and neither should Feyenoord.
"According to the manager, it will take another eight weeks before Sterling can be properly assessed. Only then will he be fit. Why sign him then?"
De Telegraaf noted his lack of impact following the Twente defeat, writing: "Robin van Persie knew he had to intervene and did so after an hour, making three substitutions simultaneously. Englishman Raheem Sterling, Dane Casper Tengstedt and Korean In-beom Hwang were tasked with revitalising the team. But the attacking play didn't improve.
"FC Twente, who had won considerably more duels, felt in control of the pitch in the second half, keeping Sterling, Tengstedt and Hwang in check."
While NOS had a similar assessment: "Van Persie tried to revitalise the game with three substitutions in the 61st minute. But the introduction of Raheem Sterling, among others, proved futile."
Robin van Persie Hits Back at Raheem Sterling Critics
Feyenoord trainer/coach Robin van Persie during the press conference
Jack Grealish defended Sterling after he was criticised for his performance on his debut against Telstar. Robin van Persie also hit back at his critics. He said, per BeIN Sports:
"I thought [the criticism] was totally out of order. I found some of those responses delightfully Dutch: stating bluntly what was wrong.
"If you have any sense of context, where Raheem comes from, what he has achieved in the past and that he hasn't done any team training for months.
"I understand that there are expectations of an absolute top player. His career is quite remarkable. We are talking about an absolute top player who has won almost everything there is to win.
"But to write him off like that after half an hour, his first half-hour after six months. Then you really don't understand anything at all.
"Six to eight weeks down the line. If you then feel that he's not delivering, and you have a well-founded opinion about that, then I say: you have a point. But to express strong opinions based on his first half hour, I think that's inappropriate."
Sterling will be looking to answer his critics when Feyenoord take on NAC Breda in their next match on Saturday, March 8.