Now it’s time for Dan to be THE man
THE clock is ticking. Daniel Sturridge, as he approaches the peak years of his career, will not appreciate it fully but time is moving fast.
His career has been good so far. He emerged at Manchester City, developed at Chelsea and enhanced his reputation on loan at Bolton; he helped Liverpool come within one win of the title and has scored for England at the World Cup.
But he is 26 now. Before he knows it, his career will be gone. Strikers do not tend to have the same impact once they reach 30, so the next four years are crucial: this is the time, starting with tomorrow’s Capital One Cup final, when Dan has to become The Man.
I wasn’t sure what Liverpool were getting when we signed him in January 2013 but, from his first session, we knew he was a good one — the way he moved, the way he controlled a ball, the ruthless way he finished his chances. Here, it was clear, was a class act.
We had heard all the stories about his ‘difficult’ reputation, too, but, again, we never saw anything to back it up: Daniel never provided a moment’s problem and one of my favourite memories of playing with him was when he scored a hat-trick in my final away match at Fulham in May 2013.
Yet Sturridge has suffered persistent injuries and his answers during the press conference ahead of the Europa League tie against Augsburg gave an insight into how much it has affected him mentally. The club have suffered, too, as his absence has seriously impacted on results.
He has played 61 times in the Barclays Premier League for Liverpool. They have won 37 of those games and scored 139 goals, losing only nine times. But he has missed 58 games through injury and 20 of those were defeats. The goal tally without him drops to 89. It shows his impact on those around him
So Liverpool have spent almost £100million on strikers since Luis Suarez joined Barcelona but none is able to hold a candle to Daniel at his best. In fact, the only forward in the division who has an edge on him is Sergio Aguero, who will spear-head City’s attack at Wembley.
When he is fully fit, Sturridge is England’s best striker. I would even go as far as saying he might be the best player Roy Hodgson takes with him to France this summer. He is certainly the one player in Liverpool’s squad that the other teams in the Premier League would love to have.
The big problem with Sturridge, however, is the fact that all of the above comes with a ‘but’ — Liverpool should have been building their team around him but they had to spend £32.5m on Christian Benteke because they could not count on him being available.
It all means he doesn’t have the affinity with supporters that he should. Daniel’s goals-to-games ratio is better than some of the club’s greatest ever strikers but, in some ways, his standing reminds me of how things were for Michael Owen with Robbie Fowler.
Robbie was loved unconditionally by Liverpool fans and Michael emerged at the height of his popularity; it was never going to be possible for them to enjoy the same kind of adoration, even after Michael scored two late goals to win the FA Cup in 2001.
Daniel suffered similarly because of the regard in which Suarez was held but it should not be forgotten how good they were for each other: before Daniel arrived, Luis had 30 goals in 64 games; once they began working in tandem, Luis had 39 goals in 46 appearances.
Did it suit Daniel playing second fiddle to Luis, who was getting all the attention? Did the rivalry they had spur him on to the best form of his career? One thing for certain is we have not seen Sturridge get anywhere near the heights of 2013-14, other than in brief flashes.
Another thing that has bothered fans are the stories about him wanting to leave. He said on Wednesday that his future was at Liverpool but, if there was no substance to the speculation, why did he not go on social media to provide some reassurance?
If he was to leave, who would Liverpool get to replace him? Jurgen Klopp also has a problem here. How many games can he afford to be without him? If I was manager and could guarantee Daniel would be available for 50 per cent of matches, I would keep him no matter what. He is that good.
Having started the last three games, he should be in perfect condition to face City and here is an opening to do what two recent heroes could not; Suarez and Fernando Torres will never be forgotten but there is a reason they haven’t dislodged icons such as Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush.
When you think of Dalglish, you think of his goals winning the 1978 European Cup or the 1986 league title. Rush scored in three FA Cup finals. Suarez and Torres, for all their brilliance, never took Liverpool to a trophy.
Daniel has that chance. His numbers are brilliant but to be the man who won Liverpool a cup would mean so much more. He has to realise what is at stake — winning in Red at Wembley, knocking Manchester United out of Europe — because how many more chances like this will come around?
If he does not grab something in the next four years, if he does not stamp his class on a game that really matters, he could find himself in the future wondering why there were not more of the days every footballer wants. Tomorrow could be one of those days. This could be his moment.
“Sturridge will be an icon if his goals win a cup for Liverpool”