Sturridge can be moody and negative at times ..but he scores a helluva lot of goals

IF Jurgen Klopp is going to ask Daniel Sturridge to play wide, then I reckon he’s going to have a massive problem on his hands.

I respect what the Liverpool manager says when he suggests the game has changed and there are no set positions any more. From my perspective, I liked to drift into other positions, to find pockets of space and use my initiative.

I also realised early on when I was at Liverpool that Robbie Fowler was going to be scoring a hell of a lot of goals and I’d have to tailor my position around that, even if I was used to doing the goalscoring at Nottingham Forest.

Yet with Sturridge (right), there is a fundamental issue, because Manchester City shoved him out of the middle, and it didn’t work. Chelsea shuffled him out of the middle... and it didn’t work.

At both those clubs, it was a kind of demotion, because he was pushed out for a bigger name, and he was the one who had to do the fitting in. If Klopp does the same, then it will be all a bit Groundhog Day for Dan.

And there’s the problem. I respect what Klopp is saying, but he can’t have his grand plan of players switching positions all along the front line without

some clever man-management – especially of Sturridge.

If the England striker is going to stay at Anfield, then he’ll score more goals than Roberto Firmino (left, bottom), more than Divock Origi (left, top), more than Sadio Mane and more than Danny Ings.

Jurgen, it’s a great plan, but you may have to put it away for a little while. Yes, Sturridge can be a bit moody, his body language can be a bit negative at times, but he’s a natural striker and scores a helluva lot of goals. I’ve known Daniel’s uncle Dean after playing against him many times, and I met Dan on the train to London recently. He’s

a decent lad who I like a lot and, despite his image, is very grounded, is not interested in all the nonsense around football, and just wants to score goals.

I reckon he’s someone who needs a manager who puts an arm round him and says, ‘You’re my man’. If not, then maybe he’ll be 65 per cent, not 100, maybe the injuries will go on a little longer than they should, maybe he’ll be a bit moody around the place.

It’s not just about a grand plan, but about understanding players. Sturridge, to me, is someone who was a bit damaged by being pushed out earlier in his career for bigger name strikers.

So Klopp has got to ensure he doesn’t repeat the same mistake. Otherwise, there could be trouble ahead.