Moving Target – Daniel Sturridge
Filed under: Moving Target, Scout Reports - Posted by: Paul
In stark contrast to their summer transfer dealings, Liverpool were quick out the blocks yesterday as the Reds made their first significant move of the winter window by snapping up Daniel Sturridge on a long-term contract from Chelsea.
The Anfield club missed out on targets such as Gylfi Sigurdsson and Clint Dempsey prior to the start of the season and having allowed Andy Carroll a loan move to West Ham, Brendan Rodgers’ attacking options have been somewhat limited in the opening five months of the campaign. After announcing the deal, Liverpool’s managing director Ian Ayre admitted the club were keen to get their business for the winter up and running:
“It was always going to be an important one. As we’ve said all along, the most important thing was to continue to strengthen the team – and clearly up front. Daniel is somebody we’ve always had in our sights and somebody the manager has had huge interest in right from the start. It was important to us that we did all of the work ahead of the transfer window in talking to Chelsea and the player and his representatives. We made sure we did that so we could have him hit the ground running in January – and here we are today on the second and we’re all done and dusted, so we’ll look forward to seeing him in a Liverpool shirt and on the pitch.”
The Statistics
For a 23-year-old, Sturridge has led a somewhat nomadic existence. A youth career that began at Coventry and Villa led the forward to Man City but, in spite of his renowned self-assurance, he struggled to make any real impact at the Etihad, with 21 appearances harvesting five goals and three assists over three seasons.
Snapped up by Chelsea in the summer of 2009 as his contract ran down, Sturridge spent a total of four seasons at the Bridge but his only real impact came mainly under Andre Villas-Boas last term. Starring on the wing in the 2011/12 campaign, he produced 11 goals and five assists from 30 appearances, compared to a combined haul of two goals and a pair of assists in 33 first-team outings over the rest of his time in London.
Indeed, Sturridge’s most impressive Premier League displays came on loan at Bolton in 2010/11. Handed a regular role at the Reebok under Owen Coyle, Sturridge – playing through the middle in a 4-4-2 – produced eight strikes in just 12 appearances; a sign of the goalscoring capabilities he hopes to bring to Anfield.
The Prospects
Upon arriving at the club, Sturridge once again reiterated a desire to play centrally but, within Rodgers’ default 4-3-3 formation, a role on the flank looks the likeliest outcome. With Luis Suarez’s displays through the middle bringing the Uruguayan 15 goals already, the former Chelsea man is expected to be handed a right flank berth, swapping wings with the likes of Raheem Sterling or Stewart Downing during matches – a tactic Rodgers has employed on plenty occasions this term.
Indeed, Sturridge’s arrival may well have a knock-on effect on the likes of Sterling. With his threadbare squad stretched to the limit this season, Rodgers has had little option but to play the teenager in every match since Gameweek 2 but cited fatigue when dropping Sterling to the bench during the recent festive fixture pileup – with more options on the flanks, he may choose to manage the teenager’s appearances slightly more efficiently. Downing’s game time is clearly at threat – he has started seven of the last eight now but Rodgers is now afforded the chance to pick and choose his wide men on either side of Suarez, while the likes of Suso and Jonjo Shelvey look set to drop further down the pecking order.
In a sense, the signing of Sturridge is somewhat at odds with Rodgers’ passing game ethos. Accusations of selfishness have been somewhat justified – the new arrival’s penchant for the spectacular, shooting from distance when a simple pass seems the obvious option; this will have to be reined in as he adjusts to his new surrounds. Rodgers talked up his new acquisition yesterday, pinpointing the qualities that persuaded him to splash the cash:
“He will give us power and presence at the top end of the field but the biggest thing is his hunger to perform. We are bringing in a player who knows he has to perform as he will be playing with one of the biggest clubs in the world. He has got quality. If he wants to stay at the top level, this is probably his last chance. I think he will prove a big hit and give us another attacking thread.”
Priced at 7.3 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) and 8.5 in the Sky Sports game, Sturridge’s appeal is dented by his classification as a forward. With Sterling priced at 5.6 and listed as a midfielder in FPL, his 20% owners will be happy to hold, while Suarez’s electrifying performances surely make him the must-have Liverpool forward; therefore keeping Sturridge firmly in the Fantasy background. A regular role under Rodgers will certainly afford him the platform to justify his own self-belief but with Liverpool offering plenty other options such as Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson elsewhere, it may well take something quite spectacular for Sturridge to rocket onto Fantasy radars and come under consideration for our three-man forward lines.
Further Reference
Daniel Sturridge Wikipedia
Daniel Sturridge Statistics
Daniel Sturridge Highlights 2011/12
About The Author
paul
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January 3 at 5:00 pm
donaldducksnr says:
A lot of people seem to think Fulham will spank Wigan. However, this season has been really topsy-turvy. Even the big boys get surprisingly beaten (Man Utd v Spurs & Norwich; City vs Sunderland; Chelsea vs QPR). I have a feeling Wigan will beat Fulham. I don’t see any of their players as essential.
January 3 at 5:02 pm
Zidane~SpartakMac says:
Could easily happen, it’s just the combination of Ruiz & Berbatov which is tempting. They’re a good FPL duo.
January 3 at 5:00 pm
Dr Ennet - FC Lorient, future French champions says:
Ok, since everyone is doing it I might as well…
Which version of my WC team do you prefer guys?
A)
RUDD – Begovic
NASTASIC – J Evans – DEMEL – Wilson – Davies
Michu – Fellaini – Puncheon – Bale – Mata
RVP – Suarez – AGUERO
B)
FEDERICI – Begovic
ZABALETA – J Evans – BAINES – Wilson – Davies
Michu – Fellaini – Puncheon – Bale – Mata
RVP – Suarez – BERBATOV
Cheers for your time!
January 3 at 5:04 pm
The Parmtree says:
B, Stick to the template.
January 3 at 5:06 pm
Dr Ennet - FC Lorient, future French champions says:
Cheers Parmtree…
January 3 at 5:07 pm
█▓▒░ Hanamichi ░▒▓█ says:
shocking TV
I will go for A
January 3 at 5:09 pm
Dr Ennet - FC Lorient, future French champions says:
I know mate… Couldn’t believe myself the amount of money I could spend… Cheers for your input!
January 3 at 5:09 pm
Chrissy Waddle - Luca Modric: The Gail Tilsley of Madrid says:
A. Very close to the team I’m thinking of.
January 3 at 5:11 pm
Chrissy Waddle - Luca Modric: The Gail Tilsley of Madrid says:
I’d replace Rudd with Bunn (to have a 2nd active keeper) and downgrade Demel to a 3.8 cheapie. Just in case Bego misses the odd game.
January 3 at 5:13 pm
Dr Ennet - FC Lorient, future French champions says:
True… Good point mate… Would be quite a hassle to be without a keeper… Thanks for your input!
January 3 at 9:23 pm
NickyKids says:
B looks fine to me
January 3 at 5:01 pm
The Parmtree says:
Anyone going for DDG in the wildcard?
January 3 at 5:04 pm
█▓▒░ Hanamichi ░▒▓█ says:
When Champions League back, Fergie will rotate the keepers again
January 3 at 5:04 pm
TheSportsGuy - I fink u fRicky and i Lambert a lot says:
5.5 for a rotation risk? spend extra 0.3 on evans and get more stability and some attacking threat. (if ManU backline is what you are after)
January 3 at 5:07 pm
The Parmtree says:
Not going for him personally, I just saw him in a few RMT’s…
January 3 at 5:01 pm
Super-Hans says:
Just got back from the local newspaper. They wanted to write a piece about me and my ranking. Being number one in my country for a while had caught their attention. 80p gap at the top of their league created for all the cities inhabitants, and number one out of 48.000 in Norway was obviously worth writing about. My wife is not too impressed, she is only annoyed that I watch footy every weekend, and my daughter is too young to even care. So I thought I would share it with you guys. I know you understand me. I’m also glad I have my 16 year old students who really think I am the greatest manager that have ever lived!
And I must stress that I did not contact the newspaper. They contacted me!
January 3 at 5:02 pm
heco87 says:
Haha nice one… well done
January 3 at 5:03 pm
The Parmtree says:
But you’r 2nd in Norway
January 3 at 5:03 pm
Andrew says:
Cool. How ironic you went out of the Cup in the first week!
January 3 at 5:04 pm
Eunuch Jelly says:
Well, that is pretty cool. One part of me like to think I would decline, as it’s just a silly game, but the truth is I would be flattered and enjoy every bit of it.
January 3 at 5:05 pm
goonerbyron says:
I thought this was a joke, especially as your name was Super-Hans.. But now I’m not sure
January 3 at 5:05 pm
Manani says:
well done!
didn’t know that fantasy football can get you into the news!!
must be one of those stories to tell your children/grand children/grand grand children!
January 3 at 5:07 pm
heco87 says:
Must be a quiet week in Norway…
January 3 at 5:07 pm
Super-Hans says:
I know. They called me last week when I was number one. Annoying he got ahead of me by two points this week…! ;(
January 3 at 5:01 pm
bigjohn says:
Hi guys.
Who do you all reckon will score more points ( not goals ) over the next 5 games Berba or Fellaini?
January 3 at 5:02 pm
goonerbyron says:
Fellaini
January 3 at 5:03 pm
Hybrid.power says:
Fellaini
January 3 at 5:03 pm
MC says:
Could go either way. Both are fixture proof. But berba id say
January 3 at 5:01 pm
ClaireT says:
Hey guys, looking for some suggestions on how to improve my team wildcard:
Begovic, Jaaskalinen
Demel, Davies, Ridgewell, Cuellar, Nelsen
Mata, Fellaini, Michu, Cazorla, Ramirez
Ba, Jelavic, RVP
Thanks in advance !
January 3 at 5:02 pm
Manani says:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/n.....57?cc=4716
BS??
January 3 at 5:03 pm
Bemba Da says:
Nope, apparently zaha wants to go to Arsenal but palace prefer the package from man utd.
January 3 at 5:03 pm
JK 171 says:
a lot of talk of ppl avin a front 3 of RVP-SAUREZ-KUN ive ad this since gameweek 6 and I’m currently jus inside the top 60k which i believe is worse off then most ppl on this site, granted i should of given robin the armband more often but thought id let u guy know its not all gravy…baby lol
January 3 at 5:06 pm
Trendsetters says:
i tried a 3 “heavy hitter” option at the start but soon abandoned it…a lot of value elsewhere i think
January 3 at 5:10 pm
JK 171 says:
yea I’m currently on wildcard and tempted to downgrade kun but jus cant bring myself to do it as he’s only really jus started to return major points for me, if hes injured im thinking berb for 1 week and leavin the money in the bank to get him bak
January 3 at 5:07 pm
Zidane~SpartakMac says:
Think the fact that Citeh haven’t got European football to prepare for is tempting many.
January 3 at 5:12 pm
JK 171 says:
thats true and decided it for me he stays thanks
January 3 at 5:16 pm
Chrissy Waddle - Luca Modric: The Gail Tilsley of Madrid says:
Aguero has not been good value first half of the season, but Citeh out of Europe and bound to finish the season strong, I expect him to be a great pick for the run in.
It’s the front 3 for my WC team.
January 3 at 5:03 pm
Trendsetters says:
if a player gets to the 10 yellow card mark is it a 2 game ban??? just wondering…cant remember from last year
January 3 at 5:06 pm
TheSportsGuy - I fink u fRicky and i Lambert a lot says:
yes, suarez will be there in about 6 games…
January 3 at 5:07 pm
Trendsetters says:
cheers, ya just noticed he is on 7
January 3 at 5:08 pm
Back on the horse says:
apparently
January 3 at 5:04 pm
when in doubt (C) him,his left foot will save ya!!! says:
is wilson nailed on when he returns from injury???
January 3 at 5:05 pm
█▓▒░ Hanamichi ░▒▓█ says:
first choice before got injured
January 3 at 5:08 pm
when in doubt (C) him,his left foot will save ya!!! says:
position???
January 3 at 5:09 pm
█▓▒░ Hanamichi ░▒▓█ says:
LB
January 3 at 5:08 pm
when in doubt (C) him,his left foot will save ya!!! says:
who will be benched if he gets first team???
January 3 at 5:10 pm
█▓▒░ Hanamichi ░▒▓█ says:
Wilkinson, Shotton
January 3 at 5:04 pm
Mike the Knight says:
Any Hammers fans out there know who your back 4 are meant to be? Is Demel nailed on?
January 3 at 5:13 pm
Mike the Knight says:
anyone?
Does Demel, Reid, Collins, O’Brien sound right?
Where does Tomkins fir in all this?
January 3 at 5:04 pm
GARRIDO IS THE NEW BAINES says:
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Are people ACTUALLY going to go to 3-5-2, or are they just saying they are? The very idea bemuses me, I really can’t see mids like Fellaini [had his day in the sun this season], Hazard [rotation], Mata [rotation] and Cazorla [superb but not for FPL, he's had his one-off haul for this season] keeping up with much cheaper [nailed on!!!] strikers like Berbatov, Benteke and Fletcher. The very idea bemuses me…
January 3 at 5:06 pm
Eunuch Jelly says:
Evidently, you are bemused by the idea . . .
January 3 at 5:07 pm
GARRIDO IS THE NEW BAINES says:
Lol just noticed that I repeated that
January 3 at 5:11 pm
Eunuch Jelly says:
I kind of agree with HECO. My WC will probably give me some benching headaches, but I will have five midfielders I will happily play (Looking at Fell, Michu, Nolan, Mata, Bale, or maybe even Walcott instead of Nolan), which I can just afford with some uber-cheap defenders and Bunn as backup goalie.
January 3 at 5:15 pm
Eunuch Jelly says:
Forgot to mention that would still involve a front three of RVP, Suarez, Berb.
January 3 at 5:16 pm
GARRIDO IS THE NEW BAINES says:
That does look good to be fair, you think Mata’s gonna be nailed on after yesterday?
January 3 at 5:06 pm
heco87 says:
The thing is.. going for the expensive mids means you are taking those cheaper strikers such as Berbatov.
The trade off is more like Michu vs Defoe, Bale vs Torres, Cazorla vs Tevez or Walcott vs Jelavic is it not?
January 3 at 5:09 pm
GARRIDO IS THE NEW BAINES says:
I think the idea is that, to have a true meaningful 3-5-2, the third stiker has to be like sub 5.5 or you may as well just play the 3rd striker over the 5th midfielder unless you absolutely obliterate your defence, which only leaves options like Pogrebnyak, Carlton Cole etc who are average, non-nailed on strikers
January 3 at 5:10 pm
heco87 says:
My current front 8 includes both, i.e. Berbatov and Pogrebnyak but with a pretty heavy midfield. I suppose it depends where your trade off lies.
January 3 at 5:18 pm
GARRIDO IS THE NEW BAINES says:
True that, I guess the question is if you back your midfield enough to get consistent returns, I think that with a midfield of heavy hitters, some weeks will be dissapointing while others will give you some massive green arrows
January 3 at 5:09 pm
Santiagounreal says:
Well I think the concept is based on RVP and Suarez being the only two strikers worth owning. That’s the 3-5-2 thing in a nutshell.
January 3 at 5:15 pm
GARRIDO IS THE NEW BAINES says:
I see where you are coming from, but I think that Benteke/Berbatov/Fletcher have proven that theory wrong over the course of the season so far, if you have one of them as your third striker, it also gives you loads more flexibility when injuries/suspensions start kicking in due to the availability of a decent 5th midfielder as opposed to a 3rd sriker who isn’t going to deliver returns whch is who you would have to turn to if you were playing a 3-5-2, and also it frees up more money for a stronger defence IMO
January 3 at 5:19 pm
Chrissy Waddle - Luca Modric: The Gail Tilsley of Madrid says:
If you look at Michu, Felliani and Walcott as effectively 3 extra strikers in MF slots, then playing 2 up front actually gives you 5 forwards!
That’s the appeal for me if I went with it.
January 3 at 5:04 pm
ol says:
Any advice on my team:
I have just activated the wildcard to try and squeeze Suarez in and have £0 in the bank – any better choices I could make? I am fairly happy with it but would appreicate the opinions of others.
Thanks
Begovic
Baines, Sagna, Azpilicueta
Mata, Walcott, Fellaini, Michu
RVP, Suarez, Berbatov
Subs Bunn, O’Brien, Davies, Sterling
January 3 at 5:07 pm
fredwestham says:
Looks solid, I’d maybe consider squeezing Bale in there if you can…
January 3 at 5:07 pm
fredwestham says:
Looks solid, I’d maybe consider squeezing Bale in there if you can.
January 3 at 5:08 pm
Manani says:
standard team like every team else here.
Bale maybe a problem though
and good luck onbaines
January 3 at 5:09 pm
ol says:
I’ve had Baines virtually all season and still think he will deliver – stubborn/stupid.
Bale or Mata is the question. I think Mata will score slightly better when he plays but there is always rotation to worry about unlike with Bale. Is Sterling enough on the bench if Mata doesn’t play?
January 3 at 5:08 pm
Aguerolicious says:
Nice but how can you afford it?
January 3 at 5:10 pm
ol says:
Built value over the season – £108.3 million affords that 15 exactly!
January 3 at 5:11 pm
Aguerolicious says:
Your team profile says otherwise
January 3 at 5:12 pm
ol says:
What do you mean?
January 3 at 5:13 pm
Aguerolicious says:
am just going by the team that is linked
January 3 at 5:15 pm
ol says:
That is last week before I played the wildcard. The value still says £108.3 million doesn’t it? So where do you stand on Bale vs Mata?
January 3 at 5:17 pm
Aguerolicious says:
shows value of 101.1
January 3 at 5:20 pm
ol says:
Ha ha – my link has gone weird! It says I am Pravin Shet!!! Someone has hacked my team…
How do I reset the link?
January 3 at 5:21 pm
ol says:
http://fantasy.premierleague.c.....istory/21/
January 3 at 5:22 pm
Chrissy Waddle - Luca Modric: The Gail Tilsley of Madrid says:
I wouldn’t have 3 defenders at that price, you’ll never want to plat the other two.
Downgrade one of those 3 and use the cash to get Bale for Walcott.
January 3 at 5:24 pm
Chrissy Waddle - Luca Modric: The Gail Tilsley of Madrid says:
play/play
January 3 at 5:25 pm
Chrissy Waddle - Luca Modric: The Gail Tilsley of Madrid says:
January 3 at 5:25 pm
ol says:
I don’t really want to ever play the other 2! I quite fancy Walcott to score well for the next few, especially with the double gameweek coming up.
January 3 at 5:26 pm
Chrissy Waddle - Luca Modric: The Gail Tilsley of Madrid says:
Fair enough. Maybe downgrade one anyway and store the cash so you can get him if required.
January 3 at 5:28 pm
ol says:
Good call – thanks for the help. Any idea how I can sort my link out – I did my grav and linked team ages ago but my team link isn’t actually MY team anymore, its someone from India’s! Do you know how to go about linking the correct team?
January 3 at 5:41 pm
Chrissy Waddle - Luca Modric: The Gail Tilsley of Madrid says:
Explains all in the FAQ on here mate.
January 3 at 5:06 pm
Santiagounreal says:
The smugness…
January 3 at 5:06 pm
Conal_H says:
New post
http://www.fantasyfootballscou...../#comments
January 3 at 5:08 pm
The Viper says:
Ba -> Berba worth a 4 point hit this week?
I know its not for a while but all going well..
January 3 at 5:09 pm
Tommytour - Show us what you Gotze says:
Regretting wildcarding but dont want to miss out on dgw action, what scenario would you go for?
A) Bale > Cazorla > Bale 2 transfers
B) Cazorla > Bale 1 transfer
C) Bale don’t bother with Cazorla
January 3 at 5:11 pm
donaldducksnr says:
Why Sagna over Gibbs?
Why Zabs over Clichy?
January 3 at 5:14 pm
Mike the Knight says:
gibbs is playing better – sagna doesn’t look as good post injury.
Zabs is less likely to be rotated with Richards out injured and Maicon being Poo.
January 3 at 5:16 pm
donaldducksnr says:
Good points. However, losing one of them for their team mate means I can have Ruiz over C.Cole. Are they really that much better?
January 3 at 5:12 pm
fdotman says:
RMWCT
Begovic– (Bunn)
Davies – Demel – O’Brien – Mariappa – Nelsen (3 of these, depending on fixtures)
Mata – Fellaini – Bale – Walcott – (Guthrie)
Suarez – RVP – (Pogrebnyak)
rotate Pog/Guth depending on fixtures
potential Walcott/Pog/O’Brien -> Cuellar/Michu/Ruiz after DGW
January 3 at 5:16 pm
Mike the Knight says:
NEW POST
January 3 at 5:18 pm
olidooley says:
How about this:
Bego – Bunn
Rafael – Sagna – Demel – Nelson – Fonte
Mata – Bale – Michu – Fellaini – Punch
RVP – Suarez – Berba
January 3 at 5:23 pm
Conrad. - Michu @ Santi's Sleigh! says:
other than Reid and O’Brien, who is the Hammers most nailed-on defender? Tomkins? Demel? Collins?
January 3 at 5:35 pm
Mile Plankton says:
I really, trully, don’t know what to do until next GW. Last 10 days were all about FPL and now I’m lost with a lot of free time. I might just try to find some work.
January 3 at 6:00 pm
ol says:
When you click on my link am I still Pravin Shet? I have no idea how this happened as that is not my name and I am not from India. My team used to be correctly linked – has this happened to anyone else? I have hopefully re-linked successfully…
January 4 at 2:26 pm
jfr says:
Nolan or Lennon?
January 5 at 9:24 pm
GoneGooner says:
Anyone think Sturridge will take the goal scoring thunder from Suarez? I think it will be a lot like
Newcastle when Cisse was brought in.