19 Nov 2013

'Prove it' - Gerrard puts unfair pressure on 'fantastic' £12m star. Set-up to fail...?

England face Germany tonight in another pointless, meaningless, season-interrupting friendly, and Liverpool stars Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard are both in the starting line-up. After his superb form for the Reds this season, Sturridge definitely deserves to be in the team, but in my view, Gerrard has placed an unfair level of pressure on the striker to perform, and this could easily backfire.

Speaking to the press ahead of tonight's game, Gerrard hailed Sturridge as 'fantastic' and 'naturally gifted', but also set him up for a media barracking if he doesn't get on the scoresheet. He told Sky Sports:

"The stage is set for Daniel to go on and prove it to everyone that he's a top-class forward. You talk about his partnership with Wayne Rooney. The difference is Wayne's done it, Daniel's got to go and do it now. He's certainly got the talent."

Maybe it's only me, but I just don't see the sense or benefit of comments like this. Sturridge already has enough pressure on his shoulders, so why does Gerrard need to exacerbate the situation by saying things like this. In one sentence, he gives Rooney licence to underperform (because he's 'done it' already), and puts the onus on Sturridge to carry the striking threat.

These comments place massive pressure on Sturridge now, and if he doesn't have a decent game, or fails to score a goal, he'll probably be torn apart by the media and/or have his confidence dented. The press have already seized on Gerrard's comments, playing up the fact that he's 'challenged' Sturridge to perform against Germany.

Gerrard may be right with his view, but why say it in public? Also, Sturridge IS a top-class forward, and he's proved that since signing for Liverpool. He'll probably turn out to be a great player for England too, but not if he's repeatedly put under intense public pressure to perform.

Gerrard often makes unhelpful comments like this. Whether he's comparing Joe Cole to Lionel Messi; repeatedly tipping Liverpool for the title, or telling the media in January that there will be 'no excuse' if Sturridge doesn't perform for LFC, the Reds captain has a habit of making ill-advised public pronouncements, and this one could backfire.

What if England get beaten easily by German (just like Chile game)? If Sturridge makes no impact, then it will theoretically mean that he is not a 'top class striker'. Plus, Sturridge may suffer a dent in his confidence for failing to live up to the mighty Gerrard's expectations, and that could affect his form for Liverpool.

Sorry, but statements like this really get my goat. Gerrard may have good intentions, but it's a poor attempt at (needless) reverse psychology, and (IMO), he should refrain from singling out individuals in public, and stick to trying to motivate the TEAM.

Author:


39 comments:

  1. mohammed abudulahi2:33 pm, November 19, 2013

    i loved what you wrote....he doesn't have to pressure sturidge...i agree

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is not only down the the coaches. These youngsters need to step up to the plate too.

    How many young strikers do we have at the moment that are at the level Fowler and Owen were when the broke into the first team.You either have it or you don't.

    ReplyDelete
  3. could go either way, if he doesn't score he might get some stick but if he does score he will be the hero of the night and gerards comments will be justified, but more important is that they both come through with no injuries

    ReplyDelete
  4. Can you tell me what other top club has had lots of youth strikers come through please thank you

    ReplyDelete
  5. Just out of curiosity, what's the relative success rate among other top clubs as it relates to developing strikers?

    For instance, look at Arsenal (Giroud, Podolski), ManU (Rooney, RVP), Man City (Aguero, Dzeko, Negredo), Spurs (Soldado), Chelsea (Torres, Ba, Eto'o).


    All I'm asking is... for the two guys that have been successes for us coming out of the academy, how does that number (two) rank against other top clubs over the same time period.

    ReplyDelete
  6. If this type of thing is going to put "too much pressure" on Sturridge, than I am afraid that he was doomed to fail from the beginning.


    Pressure resides in helping the team win and scoring goals. Not in living up to Steven Gerrard's expectations because of what he says in the press.


    All I see is Gerrard saying that Sturridge has the opportunity to do something great. It's up to him to take advantage of that opportunity.


    Not quite sure how that places added pressure on him.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anti Lpool as always! JOKE SITE

    ReplyDelete
  8. I recall you making similar comments about BR when he challenged DS to perform and he has responded brilliantly. Gerrard didn't just challenge Sturridge he said it's time for all WC wannabes to step up and I don't have a problem with his comments.
    The only issue I have is his assertion that Rooney has done it when his record in tournaments is abject.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That first sentence is so true,but really an unnecessary statement from Gerrard.
    Also, as redraider posted above when BR and Gerrard applied pressure on him in Jan he responded in great manner

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Jamie,


    I think my last few comments have gotten caught in the word filter for some reason. Do you know if it's a glitch? I don't use any words that may be caught in the filter.


    :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good point. Big clubs do not breed their own, they buy the best.
    But still, we should at least be selling academy players or loaning with possibiliti to sell.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I agree with Jamie on this.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Gerard works with Sturridge day in day out so I guess he knows what effect the comments will have on the player and to be fair he has said this since Sturridge has joined the club. I think the player knows his self that this is a great chance for him to put a marker down for the starting xi. Plus Gerard has worked with strikers like Heskey, Cisse and Carroll in the past who never kicked on to the next level so maybe he is passing his experience on to Sturridge.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Than answer the question from islefan below?

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm afraid anything to have a go at Gerrard will do for JK

    ReplyDelete
  16. Agreed, but letting him for free means that 10 years at our school he learned nothing, and that cant be true, right?

    ReplyDelete
  17. I agree with gerrard here jaimie, this is a breakpoint for sturridge.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sturridge would've been a success without those comments from BR and Gerrard (IMO). They didn't need to treat him like some naughty schoolkid.

    ReplyDelete
  19. How do you know their comments had some galvanising impact on Sturridge? He would've scored all those goals anyway - all he needed was regular gametime, and that's what he got at LFC.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I't perfectly clear how it places increased pressure on Sturridge. If you can't see it, fair enough. Why doesn't Gerrard make the same comments about players like Welbeck etc? You don't hear Rooney saying things like this about his England team-mates. In fact, I doubt you'll be able to find any international captain making similar comments about any other player.

    ReplyDelete
  21. This is why sponsors love Gerrard, I guess. He gives a strong quote, gets his picture and his sponsor's logo in the paper, everyone's happy.



    Out of interest, how would you have answered the question? Imagine it was something like:



    "Steven, how good is Daniel Sturridge? How does he compare to Rooney, and can he take this opportunity to really cement his place in the starting line-up?"



    I mean... what do you say?

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'm sure he learned plenty but he just couldn't take the next step. If he'd developed express pace, particularly, things might have been different, but it just didn't happen. Most youngsters leave the big clubs without a fee, as I understand it. It's not unusual; the reality is, most clubs lower down the leagues just can't afford to pay anything at all, let alone on a kid who hasn't scored a senior goal yet.

    ReplyDelete
  23. 1. Welbeck isn't as good as Sturridge therefore the expectations for Welbeck's performance aren't the same as Sturridge's.


    2. Gerrard plays with Sturridge year round for both club and country.


    3. Gerrard is the club captain and the national captain. Wayne Rooney is neither.

    ReplyDelete
  24. No harm here. This article makes a mountain out of a molehill. They're both professionals and neither lacks any confidence so SG's comments aren't out of line. Next topic.

    ReplyDelete
  25. JK, one of the things that you and I disagreed on was what constituted overpraise following the Fulham game.


    Now we have someone not overpraising... but challenging another player to perform even better, and in your opinion, it's putting too much pressure on said player.


    What would you prefer players/managers to say if they can't praise performances and can't challenge players to perform better?


    In my opinion, I'd rather them just say nothing at all... but that's not realistic.

    ReplyDelete
  26. It's a delicate balancing act. As a general principle, just never single out individuals, either for over the top praise or specific criticism. That was Fergie's philosophy, and it didn't do him any harm.

    Praise where it's due, but I just don't see the benefit in putting undue pressure on players. Why does Gerrard have to be the one to challenge players in public. It's pretty arrogant if you ask me. If anyone is going to publicly challenge players, it should be the manager (IMO)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Fair points, but why do these things make a difference? Sturridge's club form is absolutely superb, so why does he need to be publicly challenged to prove himself to be a 'top class player' in a meaningless friendly? If Sturridge's club form was poor - like Welbeck's - perhaps it would be more understandable. It just seems to me that too many people get on Sturridge's back. Whether it's the nonsense about having an alleged 'attitude problem', or having his 'last chance at LFC', and now this, it's just not warranted.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I actually took this comment as "praise" from Gerrard. He's saying that Sturridge has the opportunity to become a top class forward, and what's more, he has the chance to play with Rooney and learn from him.


    I don't take it as criticism/added pressure. The stage is set for him to be even better.


    In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with that. I think his comments last year about this being Sturridge's "last chance" was much more in line with what you're talking about.


    But this most recent quote is relatively harmless in my opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  29. By chance did you put in the phrase "Let's put a smile on that face"...


    Maybe that's getting caught :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. All the talk about Sturridge since he signed for Liverpool was basically this same sentiment and it's done him no harm. Has it helped him? Not sure, only the team shrink would know for sure. I suspect we take this kind of thing more seriously than he would but that's also a guess. Gerrard and Sturridge have a personal relationship, they play together for club and country so to presume that we can second guess the effect these comments would have is really a step beyond reason. They might motivate him, they might de-motivate him, he might not care, he might find them amusing ... who knows? The overriding reasoning behind the logic in this article is the personal preference of a fan and there is a disconnect between that and the reality of how it actually effects the player. What we like or dislike isn't really that relevant.

    ReplyDelete
  31. You just ignore the parts of the question you don't want to answer. I'd just say that Sturridge and Rooney are both excellent players, and I'm sure they'll do their best for England. Just because a question is asked, doesn't mean you have to answer it exactly how they want. It's not as if the reporter is going to pester you to answer each specific part of the question, but if he persisted, and said 'but how do you compare rooney and Sturridge', I'd just say 'I don't think it's fair to compare players'.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Sorry about that. How the word filter works is anyone's guess! Your post (above) is fine, but it still seems to catch innocuous posts sometimes.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I see another "Ince" happening

    ReplyDelete
  34. He was, and still is a naughty schoolkid..

    ReplyDelete
  35. I would cancell world cup qualifications to enjoy Liverpool, but England- Germany can never be meaningless, nor friendly...

    ReplyDelete
  36. This season has been so frustrating with the stupid international breaks. Six weeks of the season down the pan already due to these boring breaks. Thankfully, there are no more now until March.

    ReplyDelete
  37. its one thing being judged by Liverpool and being judged by England.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I didn't mean as judging him I just thought it was a team mate who knows how to get the lad fired up rather than it being a real judgment. But he didn't play all that well so perhaps I was wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Doesn't matter what they say, JK will twist it into a negative.


    Pretty sure he had a good old moan at Dalglish when he used to give dour answers in press conferences.

    "Why is KD so antagonistic? What does he hope to achieve?"


    Gerrard now answers a simple question with an honest opinion and JK finds a way to slag him off.


    If Gerrard had dodged the issue then I'm sure this site would have run an article headlined: "LFC captain's disrespectful snub to Sturridge. Sack him?"

    ReplyDelete