Sturridge- Can he force his way back in?

Liverpool signed Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea in the January transfer window, and the striker had an immediate impact. He scored 10 goals in just 14 games, and was hailed by many as the clinical striker we needed. He was so successful that he earned himself a call-up to the national side. Unfortunately, in a game for England against the Republic of Ireland, he injured his ankle, meaning he was forced to miss Liverpool’s pre-season tour. However, this didn’t seem to hinder Liverpool in the slightest, as they managed to score 13 goals in their first 5 pre-season fixtures, conceding none. The team gelled extremely well together, and a combination of Coutinho, Sterling, Aspas and Gerrard proved deadly in front of goal. The question is, now Sturridge has returned to full training, will he be able to win his place in the team back?

At the end of the 2012/13 season, it would have been unthinkable that, come the start of the new season, Sturridge’s place in the first team would be in question. His performances for Liverpool produced a lot of goals, and he was one of the stand-out players in the second half of the campaign. However, there are question marks over his consistency. Despite his impressive average of a goal every 0.71 games, he failed to net in half of his Premier League games for Liverpool. This shows that his goals came in bursts. In some games, he simply failed to perform, and consequently Liverpool struggled. Now, with the arrival of Iago Aspas, Liverpool’s attacking players are scoring seamlessly (though admittedly against relatively weak opposition), and consistency would not appear to be an issue, as the reds have netted at least two in every pre-season game thus far. Daniel Sturridge was brought in because we needed goals; now, even without him, we are scoring regularly.

Saying this, it is likely that Sturridge will make it to the starting 11 come the first game against Stoke. Regardless of the fact that Liverpool have been scoring in pre-season without him, Sturridge’s performances last season justify his place in the team. What is different from last year is that Sturridge is no longer a necessity. If he fails to perform, pre-season has shown Rodgers can drop him, and still have a team that are able to play some beautiful football that results in goals. Consequently, the pressure on Sturridge to be quick off the mark is huge. Last season, Liverpool’s only other attacking option was the injury-ridden, underperforming Fabio Borini, meaning Sturridge was essentially guaranteed first team football. This year, if he is unable to perform right from the start of the season, his place in the first team is at serious risk.

This could have one of two effects. It could spur him on to perform at his very best, which would be the best case scenario for Liverpool. We saw in multiple games last season (such as against Fulham and Newcastle) that Sturridge at his best is an absolute nightmare for defenders, and a very potent goal threat. The fact that he is, in essence, playing for his position in the team every game, may well inspire him to put in his best possible performances week in, week out. This would be brilliant, as it would cover over the only major chink in Sturridge’s armour, his consistency issues. If Liverpool can get Sturridge playing to his full potential all season, then their chances of breaking back into the top 4 are greatly increased.

On the other hand, the pressure could ‘get to him’. By signing Iago Aspas, who is already proving himself to be a very good attacker, Brendan Rodgers has dramatically raised the stakes for Daniel Sturridge. In doing this, he has potentially executed a masterstroke, but he has also taken a considerable risk. If Sturridge is unable to handle the pressure of constantly having to fight to stay in the first team, there is a significant danger that his performances will become lacklustre. Although Liverpool will be able to cope if this happens (as we have seen in pre-season), it would be tragic to waste a talent like Sturridge.

To sum up, although the likes of Jordan Ibe, Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho, Steven Gerrard and new signing Iago Aspas have all proved that they can combine well to get lots of goals this pre-season, it is extremely unlikely that Daniel Sturridge will have been robbed of his place come the start of the season. However, he will have to be on top of his game right from the word go if he wants to retain his place, as Rodgers has given Liverpool an attacking depth that they have been clearly lacking for the past few seasons. If he is able to find his form straight away, Liverpool could be in for a very successful season.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013