13 May 2013

Aldo hails 'phenomenal' Reds star for breaking LFC record

Liverpool star Daniel Sturridge is in fantastic form at the moment, and yesterday, the striker broke one of Liverpool's goalscoring records with his superb hat-trick against Fulham.

Sturridge now has ten goals in thirteen League games for the Reds, which means he's reached ten Premier League goals faster than any other LFC player.

That's faster than Owen, Fowler, Torres and Suarez, which is a magnificent achievement.

Responding to news of Sturridge's record, Liverpool legend John Aldridge told the official Liverpool FC website:

"That's unbelievable. He’s phenomenal. And people were questioning him before he’d even kicked a ball. He can be a really good player for us, and he’s showed the doubters what he can do under the pressure of having to stand in for Suarez".

Former Reds boss Roy Evans added:

"His [Sturridge's] movement and finishing were absolutely fantastic [against Fulham]. He’s been a great asset since we bought him. He’s had a few injury niggles, and hopefully he can get those cleared out the way for next season".

Sturridge's record-breaking goalscoring exploits make a mockery of the ridiculous criticism hurled his way, specifically the tired, cliched accusations of being 'selfish'. What a crock. A player who grabs 13 goals/assists in 13 games is *entitled* to be selfish with the ball, and all great strikers - including Luis Suarez - hog the ball and are desperate to score.

The time to start moaning is if/when Sturridge's alleged 'selfishness' actually starts to harm the team, and since he's arrived, that is most definitely not the case. Quite simply, in the Premier League, Sturridge is Liverpool's most effective striker. Yes, even more effective that Luis Suarez:

STURRIDGE

* 10 goals/3 assists in 13 league apps.
* Goal every 1.3 games
* Goal/assists every 1.0 games.
* Goal every 99 mins.
* Goal/Assist every 76 minutes.
* Shooting accuracy: 59%

SUAREZ

* 23 goals/5 assists in 33 apps.
* Goal every 1.4 games.
* Goal/assist every 1.1 games.
* Goal every 128 minutes.
* Goal/assist every 105 mins.
* Shooting accuracy: 42%

Stats: OPTA

As you can see, Sturridge's stats are superior to Suarez's, but the treatment of both players is different. Fans worship the Uruguayan like he's some kind of messiah, yet Sturridge is tarred with baseless criticism.

Ultimately, a striker's job is to score and create goals. Sturridge is doing that, and then some. End of story.



NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)


111 comments:

  1. Yeah, we would definitely be in the relegation zone without Suarez.

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  2. Some things to clarify here:

    1. To insinuate the Suarez's value to the club is only in goals and assists is (for lack of a better word) short-sighted. The impact he has on the opposition by his mere presence alone is significant. There's a reason why he's in the talk for being one of the best players in the world.


    2. As a pure striker, Sturridge is probably better than Suarez... certainly more efficient. But he's not a better overall player.

    3. Just because fans defend Suarez does not mean they treat him as some sort of "Messiah".

    4. I don't get the impression that the majority of the fans here treat him as some sort of Messiah. Are there some? Sure. But I don't get the impression that there is an overwhelming majority.



    5. Happy to see that Danny's form has continued. He had that dry spell, but he's shown that given the opportunity to consistently play, he will perform well over the course of time.

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  3. 1. I didn't insinuate that Suarez's only value is goals and assists. That's what you've projected. A striker's primary purpose is to score and create goals, and it is fair to judge a striker on achievements in that area. Who cares is striker X creates 50 chances, or nutmegs 10 players if he barely scores/creates goals?


    2. I didn't say Sturridge is a better 'overall player' than Suarez. It doesn't matter anyway - as I said, a striker's job is to score/create, and comparative ability is irrelevant as long as he's doing the job. If, say, Jordan Rhodes came to Anfield and scored 50 goals, do you think anyone would care that he doesn't have the skill of Suarez?


    3. Many fans worship Suarez like he's some kind of godlike figure, and if you refuse to acknowledge that then you're just lying to yourself. The evidence of this everywhere.

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  4. liverpool4life5652:41 pm, May 13, 2013

    Good thing for next season then? Having two strikers who can score goals, add another striker to the mix then we would have 4 decent strikers, yes I put borini into that bracket, you can see his hungry. And will be decent next season.

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  5. jaimie yet again you miss the point all fans were pointing out yesterday was he should have squared the ball for a simple tap in,for one of two players if it had been 3or4 one maybe the reaction from fans would not have been so vocal ,the fact it was only 2/1 was more the issue,if it had been against man ure and we had gone on to lose 3/2 they would have been a bigger issue,also shelvey was as guity 2or3 minutes later when he could have squared it to sturridge but maybe because of sturridges actions i few minutes earlier shelvey went for glory,so two golden chances were wasted,

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  6. Is the fact that Suarez might be a comparatively better player in some departments enough reason to make his trouble-laden, sportsmanship-insulting, disrespectful presence at Liverpool Football Club worth it?

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  7. 1. You said that Sturridge is a more effective striker than Suarez based on the stats provided. True. But it's also what you didn't say that's important.



    2. I agree.


    3. Are there fans that do treat him like a godlike figure? Yes. All I'm saying is that on this site alone, I don't think that there are that many people who do this. Again, just because one defends him doesn't mean they worship him.

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  8. Then you prioritise the individual over the club, then? Just as I thought.

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  9. 'All fans' were not pointing that out. Your speculative theories about what might have been are irrelevant. Sturridge scored a hat-trick, which buys him a licence to be as selfish with the ball as he likes.

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  10. Simply put... No.

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  11. liverpool4life5652:48 pm, May 13, 2013

    Jaime, reports are saying we've agreed a 25 million deal for eriksson and Toby from Ajax,

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  12. As long as he scores, who cares if he's "selfish".

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  13. when sturridge maintains this current form and plays the amount of games suarez has played then we can now start comparing both n maybe later claim sturridge is more effective than suarez but with just 15 apps. no basic conclusion can be made and please lets not get ahead of ourselves.

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  14. 'Reports' - you mean made up news from Caught Offside? That's where that 'story' originates, so it has no veracity.

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  15. Mr. Point Of View2:55 pm, May 13, 2013

    doesnt matter right? as long as we won. as long as ball found the net.

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  16. u name it how much player who player as 2nd striker but still manage to score as top 3 in certain league. Also, u name it which player who successfully convert his no 10 role or false 9 role (instead of messi), who gain score as much as suarez. IM also not support what Suarez been done, but since u use the display picture (DP) juz like that show u not respect what was Liverpool and Liverpool Family at all..

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  17. Yes, Suarez is irreplaceable. No other player in the world - past or present - is capable of scoring goas for Liverpool.

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  18. no i do not whats wrong with wanting one of the best players in the world to stay at the club i support lfc not suarez but whilst hes at the club he will get my support 100%

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  19. Wow didn't realise he broke that record! I always knew he would be good for us.
    I was wondering yesterday how many goals Torres and Ba had scored since January, and thought it must be similar if not less than what Sturridge has scored. Bargain in my eyes!

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  20. If you blindly support a player who regularly brings shame on the club, and do so just because he's quality, then that is supporting the individual over the club.

    If Joe Allen did everything Suarez had done, would you be supporting him? NO, and you know that's true.

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  21. why does everything have to be about suarez? all the coments surround suarez and that's because for some reason you take every chance you can to tell everyone he's not as important as we think. can't this just be about sturridge, and maybe compare him to others in the league to show how good our player is against other teams' players, not pitting him against suarez to try and make a point. i get that suarez isnt irreplacable, enough putting him down at every opportunity already.

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  22. Yea I'm pretty sure I didn't say that. I'm glad he is a bit selfish, that what a striker is for. He isn't there to provide 'potential assists' (because he had passed, there is no guarantee anyone else would score), I'm glad he has to confidence to take it on himself.
    You clearly aren't a fan of Sturridge, and I'm not really sure why, as he has been fantastic for us so far, and has done exactly what has been asked of him.

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  23. Yet Suarez is the best player in the league ;)

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  24. Suarez plays for Liverpool, so that is Sturridge's competition. That is why he is compared to him.

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  25. I have not 'put down' Suarez at all, and if you weren't so emotionally involved, perhaps you wouldn't get in such a huff when Suarez is discussed.

    Comparing Suarez to Sturridge is the obvious thing to do because they're both LFC players. And since it's fairly clearly that I want LFC to sell Suarez, then I will highlight how the club can do without him whenever I can. People should expect that coming to this site. Moaning about it is pointless as it's not going to stop.

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  26. I don't understand why people continue to slate Sturridge.. He has been phenomenal for us and sure he has been a little selfish at times but I actually like that about him. He's backing that up with goals and assists so whilst that continues he can be selfish. Also why do people have to compare Suarez to Sturridge in such negative ways. We should be thankful to have both amazing players on our books. Sturridge is definitely the more clinical and effective striker but IMO Suarez remains the more complete player that doesn't mean anything should be taken away from DS though. When both are fit and back together playing in the same team it'll be amazing. Defenders won't know who to mark.

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  27. They're both Messiah's darnit!

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  28. What SRKD24 just said wasn't hero-worshipping. Heck, it wasn't even about defending Suarez. SRKD24 actually says that "Suarez ISN'T irreplaceable".

    I understand that you have a point of view which dictates that you want to sell Suarez. That's fine.

    But for all the "hero-worshipping" that you accuse people of, you take the polar opposite approach. You accuse us of having an issue with any discussion about Suarez that doesn't involve "amazing, fantastic or irreplaceable". Yet, if we defend him in any way shape or form, we "worship" him.

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  29. Wait till both of them play the same amount of game time than we compare.

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  30. Islesfan - where in my reply to SRKD24 did I use the words 'hero-worshipping'?

    Please stop trying to twist my words. The bottom line here is I stated a perfectly reasonable view on Suarez/Sturridge in the article, and Suarez's fans - as usual - can't hack it, and go on the attack.

    People constantly praise Suarez in the comment section, but you don't see me replying to every one complaining about their praise, do you?

    If I think someone is a Suarez hero-worshipper, I will specifically say so. I did not say that to SRKD24, or you, and in my article, I refer to a subset of fans, not all fans.

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  31. Go Home Jamie you are Drunk! All the time. Suarez is a World Class Striker. End of Story.

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  32. the reason i clicked on the story was to read something good about a liverpool player because i actually do support the whole team and therefore wanted to read about sturridge. instead i get the usual drivel about suarez. we all get you want him out but do you really always have to write with an agenda? it's more than understandable that you should write about the negative things about suarez when appropriate like the racism case, the biting, diving etc etc that has happened in the past but i just don't see why you have to go on. and thank you islesfan74 for realising i'm not a worshipper of suarez, at least someone can see that.

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  33. Your stats ring true but will u be tearing him down just as quickly when like all players he has a dry run.
    Sturridge has done well no doubt but lets see how he goes next season before calling him the next great Liverpool striker like many are.
    Thats my biggest irk with footballers the media build them up often to be something they are not and as soon as they stumble are so quick to bring them down.

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  34. First off JK this is an enjoyable site to visit and read the opinions of other LFC fans, the banter can be rather good as well and is also a good reason to visit. However the Suarez bashing is a tad tedious to say the least, yes we know your opinion on the guy and you have your right to hold whatever opinion you like, my point is the amount of times you air your views on Suarez has started to dominate the posts on the site and is spoiling the experience. I prefer to hear about all things Liverpool and have the lively debates on all subjects. Bottom line is Suarez is a LFC player, you might hate it, you might like it but he is a LFC player and as such he is deserving of our support. He's been punished for his offences and in order for him to perform to his maximum for LFC which is what it is all about we should back him and leave his nonsense for BR to sort out. Besides with the FA and the scumbag Media gunning for him i'd say he has enough detractors. Now before you say i hero worship him or think he is the second coming of Christ i do not, i just view him in the same bracket as Souness.

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  35. if joe allen turns out half as good as suarez he will get my full support,and like i,ve said before many other players have done something that as not shown lfc in the best light before not just suarez

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  36. some fans were which you tried to shoot down straight away but if fans start to slate suarez its a different matter you encourage them lol

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  37. Admittedly at the time I was frustrated when he didnt pass the ball but DS was having a tremendous game and I like to see him back himself to score that. Okay he should have squared it up for what would have almost certainly be a goal but many many players who had already scored 2 would have done what he did. If Suarez had done the same I doubt he would have coped as much flak for it in the same way DS is. He is a selfish player thats clear but I don't see that to be the blindingly terrible thing many LFC fans do. Whilst he continues to score and create goals he can be selfish. As Jamie pointed out until it begins to hurt the team it isnt a problem if he keeps bangin in the goals.

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  38. I think I've proved over the last six years that I don't have favourites. I criticise all players when it's warranted, and also praise when it's deserved.

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  39. Couldn't have said it better myself.

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  40. Why should I shoot down fans who criticise Suarez for diving/cheating/stamping/biting etc?

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  41. I agree its hard to say but the fact remains he is the quickest LFC in history to score 10 league goals we can't take that away from him. He has looked quality and beyond that has shown consistency so far. Will have to wait and see how he performs next season but I'm awfully optimistic. I don't actually care if he's more effective or not than Suarez. Just happy with the notion that both are scoring and creating goals for fun so when both are free to play together it'll be a scary proposition for opposing teams. Lets not forget Coutinho too who has been amazing. What a pass for Sturridges third. How does he even spot those?

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  42. Exact quote from your first response to srkd24:


    "you, like so many others, seemingly refuse to countenance any discussion of Suarez that doesn't involve the words 'amazing', 'fantastic', or 'irreplaceable'."


    Did you use the actual phrase "hero-worship"? No, but it's certainly implied.


    There's nothing wrong with praising Suarez. And there's nothing wrong with criticizing him. It's not a cut and dry issue all the time.

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  43. well if he starts doing it on a regular basis and over the season we drop points do not start moaning about it then as long as he shoots who cares

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  44. And as long as long as he doesn't follow Luis' footsteps and start biting people :)

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  45. No, that doesn't imply hero worship at all. You just want it to. If I want to call people who lavish gross praise on Suarez (whilst ignoring the damage he does to the club) hero-worshippers then I will. If you don't like it, tough luck.

    Similarly, people can and will moan about me criticising Suarez, and that's their right.

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  46. come on m8 did you watch the game coutinho or shelvey could have walked it into the goal god sake even stephen hawkings could have scored

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  47. jaimie i asked the question yesterday but you did not answer 5or ten minutes after the fulham match did you or did you not put a piece on facebook saying who needs suarez i said last week he was no longer needed sell to the highest bidder,thats just after the fulham game ,you could have put something like great hatrick from sturridge or something,but you turned it round to suarez ,so yes you do put suarez down at every oppotunaty even when hes nothing to do with the story

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  48. you do not as it suits your agenda if everyone on here who as the nerve to stick up for suarez is a hero worshiper or enabler whats the exact opposite of that because thats what you are

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  49. weird how my last comment isnt here. i am 100% sure there was nothing in its content to merit its exclusion. oh well, i guess you're in charge.

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  50. Fair enough! :)

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  51. Fair enough just thought that Aldridges comment was a little over the top liked what Evans had to say a little more down to earth.

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  52. as if by magic it now appears

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  53. eexactly. jaimie k just seems to hate suarez despite how much effort he puts in for the club. sturridge is very good, very very good but to compare him to suarez is just barbaric jaimie and you know it. suarez is the 3rd best player in the world. sturridge could even possibly be in the top 10 but he must prove that first. sturridge ability can not be questioned though, hes as good as any striker out there. its his work rate and fitness which is the issue...although he showed great work rate against chasing down defenders and put pressure on them like luis suarez does everygame. and he was duely rewarded with a hattrick

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  54. but why do you want the club to sell suarez? because he bites and could possibly be a racist? FORGET ALL OF THAT. he gives 100% every game, scores plenty goals and really loves and does his best for the fans. if he was causing problems in the dressing room like balotelli or adebayor then i could understand, buts hes a nice guy who is slightly contreversial and needs help. which we are going to offer. YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE means alot to our club but you are clearly not displaying this jaimie as you take every chance to put suarez down and let him walk alone. this is not the liverpool way jaimie k and you know it. #YNWA #LFC

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  55. Jamie there is an inherent psychological problem with some of your musings. Why does everything have to revert back to either Rafa or Suarez? Why cant we look at an individual in his own right? Sturridge is a good player, without a shadow of doubt. He was rightly criticized after some poor games and that is par for the course when you have bad games.

    Suarez and any other player is replaceable there is no doubt about that - what liverpool fans doubt is our ability to replace like for like. Did we actually replace torres/alonso/mascherano? Herein lies our fears.

    Over the last few weeks there have been enough incidents which had suarez committed them we would have called for him to be cut in 2 halves - one to be kept in belmarsh and the other in guantanamo!

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  56. he needs look up more and bring other players in for the tap in a simple goal is a good goal .his head is down more than linda lovelace !!!

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  57. I assume you'll be posting this as fact soon enough then

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  58. Sturridge has been absolutely fantastic since joining us.

    Suarez has been brilliant aswell this season. scoring goals as a striker taking in concideration that /-in my oppinnion-/(highlighted), that he isnt a striker at all.

    the way he drops deep to get ball would be far better utilized if he would play just an inch behind sturridge, and they have linked up well when they have been playing together.

    ------------------------Reina-------------------------

    Johnson----Agger----(new CB)-----Enrique
    ----------Gerrard/(new DM)---Lucas------------
    (new winger/SG)----------------------Coutinho
    ------------------Suarez------------------------------
    -----------------------------Sturridge----------------

    This is how i hope to see us lining up next season.

    i dont see the point in selling Luis, if we dont get a shedload of cash. and im talking more than we got from Torres. Form concidering Luis is in better form this season than Torres was on his last season with us.

    JK has highlighted how much negative pubicity Suarez has brought to club. but im not sure if its necesserily a truth. now again just my observation. the antics of suarez has been mainly shrugged off in Finland where i live for example ( though we are a footballing midget, though we got Hyypiä and Litmanen). for what ive seen it is only british press that has highlighted the matter, making a mountain out of moehill? (or whatever is the expression)

    if we sell suarez now we are showing wrong signal. if sturridge scores twenty goals next season, do we sell him aswell?

    im keeping my fingers crossed that next season we have both Daniel and Luis spearheading our attack. and that is scary combination which will tear teams down. especially with coutinho behind them.

    And for those idiots who are in the antisturridgebrigade? what is your problem. the lad is one of best forwards who have hailed from england in past 10 years. embrace him! he is the future of your national team.

    (sorry for typos and such - Laphroaig messes up my grammar)

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  59. As I recall you didn't want Sturridge here in the first place

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  60. I am guilty as well for doubting DS. One thing is clear for now. We are playing better football without Suarez.. as a team. Thats what matters most.

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  61. Then why not compare Borini to Sturridge or Downing to Sturridge.....Because your obssesed with Suarez

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  62. lol and she could head the balls;-)

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  63. Simply put, we are a better and more talented team with Luis Suarez than without.


    Still, it's nice to see that we continue to play well without him. That speaks to the depth of the club, though it helps to play a club like Fulham.

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  64. Maybe they would have scored maybe they wouldn't, I have seen plenty of players miss golden opportunities before. It's the strikers job to score goals, he is doing his job.
    What if he had of passed, and no one scored. People would be saying "he is a striker, why isn't he shooting".

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  65. jaimie you say some fans put suarez over the club,so a question for you when you get to games do you join in the suarez song if you do your an enabler to use your phrase,and if you do not sing the song dos,e that mean you put your dislike of suarez above the club as your not giving your full support

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  66. lol not that old chestnut,if i had a pound for everytime someone posted that i could buy lfc ;-)

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  67. we will have to agree to disagree m8

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  68. I agree with most of what you say here.


    The only thing is that you can't compare the Torres sale to anything. That was Abrahamovich making an impulse buy without taking much into consideration. I think the conversation went something like this:


    CFC: What will it take to get Torres?
    LFC: 50m.
    CFC: Who do we make the check out to?


    Everything else, I think you are relatively spot on.

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  69. unreasonable criticism...

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  70. is chair would have pushed it in lol

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  71. Agree with everything above but Suarez takes the heat off Sturridge (and everybody else) and the latter (and the team) could benefit from this.

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  72. lol yeah maybe but we'll never know. I've seen better players miss from 3 yards out, so anythings possible.

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  73. I'd have to agree. I'd rather Sturridge's attitude than Downing's, who seems to be totally toothless in front of goal. At least Sturridge gets stick for trying to score rather than having no impact at all. To be honest, there are plenty of times Suarez got into the same situation and did the same thing...Shoots when there are easier options available. I suppose that's why he is one of the top scorers in the league.

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  74. NonEventHorizon7:02 pm, May 13, 2013

    At the end of the day we all know we need more than 1 player capable of scoring 20 goals a season if we are going to get back in the CL. Sturridge is looking capable of that and Suarez is already capable, so like you JC I'm going to support Suarez cause he'll help our clubs ambitions. I know JK would point out that we could get another striker in and he might score 20 goals, but why chance it when we already know LS can do it and he's already settled into the team and style of play. I'm sure Arsenal thought Podolski was gonna get a hatfull when they signed him but that hasn't really come true. So like I said, I'm with you JC on this

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  75. its not only suarezs goals its his movement,him sturridge,and coutinho could score a bucket load next season

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  76. suarez has a great quality ....he is world class and surely he is messiah he doesnt get injured like stirridge though and has the capacity to soak the presure playing for a club like liverpool

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  77. Jaime... How can you compare 10 games to 33?????


    Please, cmon mate.

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  78. Considering Sturridge is the oldest at 23, I think that gives us plenty of time.

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  79. That's Obvious, Suarez created that world after all..

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  80. Some may say that it's supporters like yourself who spend more time criticising one player than concentrating on the club as a whole, who bring shame on the club though JK. Are they right just because they say so? No. Are you? No.

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  81. I don't get it - so here we finally have two fantastic strikers at our club who can both score goals and complement each other in a way we haven't seen since Rush and Fowler and most of you prefer to argue about who's better, nicer, prettier and Fowler knows what else. I would suggest you'd all just be happy about the position we're in having two strikers of this calibre at our club...

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  82. Owen and Fowler didn't gel, and they were two great strikers.

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  83. My only wish is we back Sturridge 100%. If LS stays excellent if he doesn't then DS can step in as he's shown that he can score against top 4 teams as well as poorer teams!

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  84. stop reading Jaimie's blog10:11 pm, May 13, 2013

    you are seriously comparing Sturidge who player only 13 match to Suarez who played 33 matches? LOL

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  85. Might be cause JK uses controversial Suarez comments to inflame opinions and get more traffic to the site which he get paid from by the Advertisers ?

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  86. Downing doesn't get that many shots on goal to begin with though. That's not his role. Yesterday, he started at wing back.


    The problem for Downing is he doesn't get enough assists.

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  87. I'm with you mate and I was worried that against bigger teams being selfish in the instance you described above could be the difference between 3 points, a birth in a final, a cup or failure. But you know what, midway through the second half it looked like someone said something to him because he started linking up play beautifully (back-flick and so on) and he realized that he needed to be patient and play his role and the final goal would come, and low an behold it did. I hope he learnt from that game because we saw both sides of him. He has talent and nobody can deny that, but his maturity in the closing 15 odd minutes of that game was, for me, a bigger positive for us than the hatrick

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  88. its there policy only buy players with a sell on value

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  89. I love Daniel Sturridge but Luis Suarez is quite simply the most talented player I have ever seen put on a Liverpool shirt - he is comfortably up their with the best attacking flair players I have ever had the privilege to watch - Messi - Ronaldo - Ronaldinho - So I don't care if he dives bites or gets wrongly hit with a racism charge - I will always love the misunderstood footballing majician that is Luis Suarez! - He turns us from a very good team into a Great team

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  90. They didn't complement each other either. Fowler was a poacher who needed to play far up the pitch and Owen needed to get in behind defences and although the good Lord did his best to setup Owen as much as he could, Mick never even considered returning the favour. Suarez and Sturridge feed off each other, that's there for everyone to see. Sturridge takes advantage of Luis's vision and ability to pull defenders out of position and Luis benefits from Sturridge's space which pushes defenders further back towards their own goal. And even if you can't see it for yourself, they have both come out and said so.

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  91. Question is...which top striker would want to come to Liverpool?

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  92. Mr. Point Of View7:50 am, May 14, 2013

    "as long as we won"

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  93. I don't rate his overall game but the boy can finish and moves around well in the last third without the ball. As I said in another thread in more detail, I don't see it as 'baseless criticism', in relation to the past regarding Sturridge's narrow-mindedness/selfishness. He is toning it down, he is getting older, getting more experience, getting more games and getting more mentally mature. The last bit especially is somewhat implied by the man himself in the comments he made recently after his hat trick. Some may have taken it too far, the selfish stick but certainly not baseless.

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  94. Suarez is replaceable, but not by Sturridge , at least not next season. He may become as good as him after a couple of seasons. But to say Sturridge is a better striker than Suarez based on 13 odd games is ridiculous. For example, Henderson has got more goals assists than Wilshere this season but who would you prefer in your team??

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  95. Exactly Will

    I was complaining earlier in the season when Henderson was refusing to shoot when ideal opportunities arose and he's a midfielder. To criticize a striker for having a good effort at goal saved, instead of him trying a pass, strikers me as more than a little silly.

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  96. Downing has been playing as part of a front 3 - he should be a regular goal threat himself, as well as creating chances for his teammates...

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  97. Am I the only person that has seen Sturridge set up his teammates for clear shooting chances on a pretty frequent basis??

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  98. tbf, the comparisons between Suarez and Torres/Owen/Fowler/Rush/Dalglish etc all began within a few games of him playing for our club...

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  99. Sturridge and Suarez floating around with another quality forward, and Coutinho in behind them would easily be amongst the very best attacks in the Premier League imo, if not the very best!

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  100. We're not a great team at all though...

    Suarez could possibly make the difference if we had more talented players around him though.

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  101. I guess we're seeing something different then - I rate Sturridge's overall game as far above that of somebody like Fernando Torres', who even at his peak was a great striker but never really a great overall football player.

    From all I've seen so far, Sturridge is a far better overall player than most of his peers, and is far more technically adept than you appear to give him credit for OriginalChan.


    Sturridge attacks the space behind opposition defences well, but he is also very good at linking play, due to his high level of technical ability...

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  102. I do rate his technical ability, I haven't explicitly contradicted that to be fair but I don't rate his link up play. He has a good touch but that isn't the be all and end all to illustrate a very good overall game (e.g. Rooney has a poor and erratic touch but still is very creative). Yep, his overall game better than Torres' but that isn't saying much as Torres isn't exactly a great benchmark in terms of overall game. The likes of Cavani, Berbatov, Ibra, Villa, Henry and Drogba have/had really good link/hold up play as main striker and I'd take them over Sturridge, in terms of all around play. As a no.9 type striker, his all round game is decent but nothing special. Takes more than technique to illustrate a very good overall game. So yes, we are seeing something different as I certainly do not agree at all with your view about his overall game but that is football, each to their own. Agree to disagree.

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  103. Summed it up nicely. After his failure to square that ball I wouldn't be surprised if someone had a word in his ear about it like you said. He definitely started linking up a little better. It's all about finding that balance with him. I think the fact that he is selfish will only help make him a better player. Hunger to score goals and prove himself is there for all to see. I expect him to only get better

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  104. If we can find the defensive balance and drive in the midfield I'm of the opinion that forward line, on current form at least, would be the best in the EPL. Hard to argue there being a stronger one. I think it will only work if we can have a strong foundation behind them as I don't see any of those players defending much which could be a problem against stronger teams.

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  105. Rooney has a poor touch? Really??
    Tbh I haven't watched much of Cavani or Lewandowski, but to say that Sturridge isn't as good as some of the biggest and best link up players of recent times isn't much of a knock on him imo. If that's who you consider to be his peers alreadyn at this stage of his career, then maybe he isn't so under-rated after all!


    I compared Sturridge to Torres as Torres was our player, and I don't remember too many complaints from our fans about his all around ability, in spite of it being pretty obvious that Sturridge is a better all around player than Torres was.

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  106. Btw, I don't think that those players have comfortably outshone what we've seen from Sturridge so far anyway.


    It is just a small sample size and all, so it's very likely that he won't maintain the high standards he's set so far, but he keeps the ball well, consistently creates chances for himself and his teammates and overall has performed to an elite level for LFC to date as far as I'm concerned...

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  107. Torres always used to play for Spain when he was on top form in spite of his "limited" overall game.


    And Sturridge's peers are either his Liverpool counterparts, or those playing at clubs with similar aspirations - LFC were (unrealistically?) aiming to compete with Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs & Everton for the 4th CL place. So his competition would be Torres, Ba, Giroud, Podolski, Walcott, Defoe, Adebayor, Jelavic etc. I've watched them all play pretty frequently, and I maintain that the overall play that we have seen from Sturridge at LFC so far has been at least equal to most of them, if not better.

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  108. Tevez-Aguero-Silva


    I said we're not a great team anyway, not that we didn't have any potentially great partnerships within the team...

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  109. Suarez's work-rate is well known, but from what I've seen the defensive/pressing contributions from Sturridge and Coutinho (in particular) are definitely enough to work against most teams.


    We just need a bit more pace further back to more effectively plug the gaps left behind if/when teams evade our pressing high up the pitch

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