Sturridge often gets labelled with the selfish tag, but a lot of the criticism of the Liverpool striker either seems over the top or just very strange.
Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge has hit back at claims that he is a selfish player by claiming he does work for the team, the Liverpool Echo has reported.
Sturridge seems to have got the tag of being a selfish performer who is in it for himself over the years but is insistent that is not the case.
The forward is quoted in the Liverpool Echo, saying: “It’s unfair.
“I feel that I contribute to the team. I assist, I score goals. I’m not worried about what other people say about me.”
Sturridge seems to generate plenty of column inches regardless of his situation. Whether it has been for his talent, his well-documented injuries, and bizarrely for his facial expression when he is used as a substitute.
At the moment, he is clearly down the pecking order at Anfield. The front three of Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane are causing that much devastation on a regular basis to opposition defences that it becomes very hard for any of them to be dropped.
Sturridge has been the next cab off the rank in terms of starting games. He has freely admitted he likes being played through the middle, because that is where any centre-forward likes to be played. There would be something wrong if he liked being played out on the wing.
Then there is the criticism of him not being happy on the bench. Why should any player of his talent be happy with a place on the bench? If he was, that would be worrying.
Some point to his lack of goals in the Premier League as a worry, but his cameo in the 6-1 win over Watford suggests that he could not be trying much harder – having hit the woodwork twice and forced the save that led to Georginio Wijnaldum’s first Liverpool goal.
It could be easy for him to spit his dummy out whenever he gets his first-team chances. But on his last start he found the net twice against Tottenham Hotspur and he provided a different threat in several league games even when he has not started this season.
For much of the back end of last season, Sturridge started games in more ‘experimental’ line-ups when he featured alongside some of the club’s younger players. One thing that was telling was how much he was talking players through the game – notably Sheyi Ojo – whenever they featured together. He seems to command that respect from the younger players in the squad.
The whole circus around Sturridge just seems to be weird, even to the extent where he was criticised for his injuries. There is not a professional footballer out there who wants to be injured.
Instead he gets slated for his honesty when asked about his role in the side, but you rarely see any of his managers criticise him. That aspect speaks louder than anything else.
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