EPL 2016/17: A conundrum called Daniel Sturridge

What has gone wrong for Sturridge?

This is the 15^th week of the 2016-17 English Premier League season and it’s the same old story for Daniel Sturridge. The England international is injured (again) with a calf injury which kept him out of the past two Premier League encounters for Liverpool.

In his absence, Divock Origi has jumped ahead in the pecking order and has scored four back to back goals in as many matches. But what’s alarming to note here is that Daniel Sturridge is not the first choice striker for Liverpool anymore even when he is fit. 

Starting only 4 out of 14 Premier League matches so far, the striker is without a league goal this season. These stats don't match with his otherwise impeccable goalscoring record for the club. 57 goals in 103 games, that is - a goal every other game. 

To an ardent Sturridge fan, it seems quite puzzling to see him leading the line for a largely second-string Liverpool side against Tottenham in the EFL Cup and one can only wonder whether it is befitting for a striker of that ilk to be playing second fiddle. For any other top flight team in the league, the answer is clearly a no. 

When Steven Gerrard says - “Ability-wise, Daniel is possibly the No.1 English striker I’ve played with,” you know it means something. No wonder this week’s football gossip columns were filled with the rumours of him looking to move on, with West-Ham’s Slaven Bilic especially vocal in his admiration for the Englishman.

With the game-to-goal ratio that Daniel Sturridge possesses, it would be a no-brainer for him to lead the line for his club in every single game. However, for the current Liverpool side, this argument doesn’t hold much credence. 

Why this dilemma in the first place?

All the successful Liverpool teams of the last decade had one thing in common - the presence of a world class striker, around whom the whole team was built. Whether it was Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler for Gerrard Houllier, Fernando Torres for Rafa Benitez or Luis Suarez for Brendan Rodgers, all the Liverpool teams were typified by the individual brilliance of their main striker. 

When Luis Suarez left in the summer of 2014, with Liverpool on the back of a “rare” title run, the stage was set for Daniel Sturridge to become that coveted main striker for the Reds. But there was a belief that there wouldn’t be much change in the side’s approach and they would continue over rely on their main man. 

Unfortunately for Sturridge, the 2014-15 season proved to be a nightmare. He was injured for most of the season and with Liverpool clearly lacking a plan B, they struggled.

The Englishman has found playing time hard to come by this season

With Brendan Rodgers gone and Jurgen Klopp now at the helm, there was an opportunity for Liverpool to redraw their strategy and they did exactly that. Jurgen Klopp introduced a high-octane passing football, where you press your opponent relentlessly and force them to commit mistakes. All the players have to be on the same footing to implement this brand of football efficiently and that’s where Sturridge’s role changed from main to supporting, just like the other ten players. 

Every player in this current side is a supporting act, whose role is to put the team’s ambition ahead of his own and one doesn’t have to look far but two of the current first team players, James Milner and Lucas Leiva.

The picture is not altogether bleak

All this doesn’t mean there is an ounce of doubt in his abilities as a striker - Daniel Sturridge is a  world class talent barring injuries. He is one of the best strikers to have emerged from English Football in decades, but as Jurgen Klopp repeatedly quotes, “Football is a team game, you always want to have the best, but building the group is necessary to be successful.” 

His philosophy also has results to show on the field. There are 11 different goalscorers for Liverpool in the league so far to account for 37 goals and ironically Daniel Sturridge is not one of them. 

The Merseyside club are playing the best-attacking football in the league right now, thanks to the attacking quartet of Coutinho, Lallana, Mane, and Firmino, with the latter being the focal point of attack. The ingenuity with which Firmino has performed, blurring the lines between a centre-forward and a false-nine, is another reason why Sturridge is finding it so hard to force his way into the team.  

What the legends have to say

So what’s in there for Daniel Sturridge? Should he stay and fight for his place or should he move on and find a new club where he will be the focal point? After reports emerged last week of his proposed transfer, Liverpool legends of yesteryears, Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler, and Jamie Carragher urged him to stay and fight for his place and warned Jurgen Klopp against selling him at any price. 

Fowler, talking to The Daily Mirror said, “A fit and firing Daniel Sturridge is top quality and we want top quality players at this club.” Speaking to ESPN FC Carragher said, “I don’t think he can do better than being at Liverpool at the moment, even if he’s not playing as often as he wants at the moment.”

Will we ever see Sturridge at his best again?

That’s true, Daniel Sturridge is too good to be playing for a mid-table club and as in the words of Jamie Carragher, “Liverpool would not sell him to a big rival and while he could go to a mid-table team, Daniel Sturridge is better than that.” 

No doubt the Liverpool playing 11 is one of the best in the league and it is hard to disturb the balance of the team to accommodate an individual player, but being at top of the league in November and winning the league are two completely different things all together. 

In a long season, a player of Sturridge’s quality could come in very handy if you are aiming for the league, not to mention the occasional genius one can expect from him when things are not going as planned. (Europa League final against Sevilla.)

Also, one of the stand-out performers for Liverpool, Sadio Mane, will not be available in January, as he is going to represent Senegal in the African Cup of Nations. Sturridge has the quality and experience to fill his void more than any other player in the current Liverpool set-up.

But for now, one can just hope that he quickly leaves behind his injury worries and comes back more ambitious than ever.