Latest Articles
The Real Reason For Arsenal To Be Happy
1 comments
It's easy to mock Arsenal for being happy with fourth, but Nick Miller says the enormous changes coming up at the top mean there is a genuine reason to celebrate...
The Most Unsatisfying European Victory...
19 comments
Matt Stanger finds it impossible to believe that Roman Abramovich is content with the haphazard nature of Chelsea's European title victories in the last 12 months...
All Articles
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Liverpool's apparent acquisition of Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea - the transfer is, by all accounts, a done deal - has been the rather lukewarm response from many supporters of the Merseyside club.
Not that Liverpool fans are unique in their ambivalence towards Sturridge, but they provide yet another example of the response the striker has been inspiring throughout his young career.
Sturridge's signature, lest it be forgotten, represents the procuring of a young, exciting forward who has already played for two of the last three Premier League champions. Of a goalscorer, comfortable anywhere across the forward line, who is unlikely to suffer from the self-doubt that has too often blunted Liverpool's attacks in recent seasons. And all for a very reasonable £12million.
At least, that's one way of seeing it.
Others would say that merely 'exciting' is no longer enough at the age of 23. That an absence of progress has already seen Sturridge discarded by two of Liverpool's would-be competitors. They see a striker who doesn't score enough, a winger who doesn't work enough, and point to a troubling disparity between his touchline-jigging degree of narcissism and his tangible output on the pitch. And all for an exorbitant £12million.
Unfortunately for Sturridge himself, the majority of judgements - including, presumably, those wielding power at Stamford Bridge - seem to sway towards the latter.
The point here isn't that his reputation as an underperforming egotist is undeserved, but more that a footballer of his undoubted ability should not be finding Premier League success so elusive - after all, an overgrown ego has never stood in the way of many, if not most, of the game's finest players.
Not that Sturridge is some sort of Ronaldo-in-waiting - he clearly isn't - but it would be difficult not to see his career so far as something of an underachievement given the raw materials at his disposal.
The ex-Manchester City man has explosive pace, blindingly quick feet, and a natural eye for goal. And yet, despite boasting such an armoury, he seems wilfully unable to grasp the game's basics. Often, a straightforward cut-back been declined in favour of an absurd attempt at goal, or a head-down dribble been granted wrongful priority over some shrewder, simpler link-up play.
And, from such behaviour, an unenviable reputation has been carved. He plays for himself, goes the accusation, and compromises his team's efforts in the process.
Amidst the complaints of selfishness and arrogance, though, could it in fact be that he was actually trying too hard to prove himself during his sporadic outings for Chelsea? While the incessant stepovers and constant hammering of the ball goalwards was instinctively construed as self-indulgence, perhaps it was the case that the perennial benchwarmer and England hopeful was simply desperate to mark his rare appearances with a goal, an eye-catching piece of skill, or anything that might dismantle the apparently set-in-stone status quo that is Chelsea's first-choice striker.
Perhaps.
Ultimately, and for whatever reason, there's little doubt that Sturridge's on-field decision-making has thus far undermined his raw ability, depriving him, for the time being, of the chance to display his talents at the top level.
The fact that his best and most consistent form so far in his career came not at either of his parent clubs, but during his loan spell at Owen Coyle's Bolton Wanderers, would certainly seem to align with the oft-touted theory that the vainglorious Sturridge thrives as the proverbial big fish. Two years ago, Sturridge swaggered into the relegation-threatened club, mid-season, and helped keep them afloat with eight goals in 12 games. Back in London, though, in the far larger pond of Stamford Bridge, he has impressed rather less regularly.
(Sturridge himself would doubtless claim his form at Bolton corresponded with his position, Coyle being the only manager to consistently grant him a central striker's role - a case he is very much entitled to.)
Liverpool, in its current incarnation, would seem to provide something of a middle ground between the two. Anfield is hardly the pressure-free playground that the Reebok Stadium proved to be, but the division's 12th-placed club will provide far more leeway than Chelsea's elite-level pursuits in terms of patience and margin for error - both of these so important in a young footballer's development, yet so far denied to Sturridge.
Given Luis Suarez's dazzling form this season, the role as the side's spearhead forward will not be there for the taking. But nor will it be as perpetually unreachable as before, with an already versatile attack likely to have the luxury of rotation after the arrival of January's reinforcements.
Most crucially, though, the club need him. Desperately short of goals, creative flair, and, more basely, attackers in general, Sturridge will be a far more central figure with his new employers than has been the case before, Bolton aside.
And so, on paper, the move has many hallmarks of a fruitful one, despite the muted reaction from Merseyside. Offering some healthy room to breathe, greater security of a starting berth, and a club in need of goal-getting forwards, Liverpool would seem a fertile ground for Sturridge to blossom. Similarly, there's no doubt that the player will improve Brendan Rodgers' current squad, and with time on his side, the presumption should be that Rodgers will improve Sturridge, too.
But his critics are certainly right about one thing: at 23, time won't be on Daniel Sturridge's side for a great deal longer. If he doesn't start to impress soon, the excuses - so far just about legitimate - will fall on deaf ears. Time to show your worth, Danny.
Alex Hess - argue with him on Twitter
Post Comment
