Heard some very negative stuff about Sturridge's attitude yesterday. Apparently, ho told someone BEFORE the England match that he wouldn't be playing in the Derby. It was HIS request not to start. Apparently Rodgers was ripping him to pieces for his attitude. When he was about to bring him on, he was talking to him at the touchline. We nearly scored and Rodgers peeled away to start to celebrate. Sturridge stood there like he was watching just another game. Rodgers wants everyone who wears the shirt to give nothing less than total commitment. Sturridge needs to remember who it was that gave him his chance to shine. Not good.
The twat looked committed enough when he came on ffs & he seemed to enjoy scoring himself (that dance, urrrggh, please) He's always been a Billy Big Bollocks mind, even going back to his days at City.
Probably explains Rodgers's comments yesterday/this morning when he had a dig at Sturridge re. his fitness etc.
To be honest I have noticed it. Mainly in the games against Fulham & West Brom, whether he wanted to score or not he was playing purely for himself. I don't like that, you listen to some of his interviews and you can see what he's told to say but some of the arrogance does seep through. ..But then again, that may be just because of my preconceived perception of him.
Rodgers explained his selection decision, based on Sturridge’s fitness in training before the game. He is quoted in the Guardian as saying, “I am looking at him in training on Friday and he is not right. Whose responsibility is that? It is the [Football] Association and the player. “It is very simple for me. With any player, you have to put yourself on the training field. If you do that, you will be in with a chance of playing. Jon Flanagan was immense. He will be in a derby that is shown on Sky Golden in 30 years’ time because of his desire and will to put himself out there every day. “If you don’t do that, there is a consequence – you don’t play. If you want to be a champion, if you want to win things, you have to be ready. For this game I just felt Daniel wasn’t ready.” Rodgers added that he was right to rest Sturridge and had predicted an under-par performance from him due to lack of full training. “I could see it in him. I have seen it before. There is a trend,” he added. “The games he has disappointed in have come when he hasn’t trained. That was the call here.” If that's accurately quoted then fair do's to Rogers.
Thought Rodgers was being slightly harsh on the lad but given Red's comments, it kinda puts it into context.
To add to that. It did cross my mind what his reaction would be when Suarez increasingly took centre stage again and he maybe went a game or two not being the match winner as he was in the beginning of the season. Lets see if the sulky sturridge returns after that kick up the arse..
What he tells the press and the real thing are not necessarily the same. The comments I allude to were for the ears of a couple of trusted Liverpool reporters, and was not to go out officially in the papers.
On attitude, it was really nice to hear from Gerrard that the entire team gave Flannagan a round of applause when he came back into the dressing room after the match. That's got to mean the world to a 19 year old player. Hopefully keeps him on the upward curve.
It's got the same feel though: poor attitude, not putting the team first. Normally not a fan of it but it seems Rogers has gone public because he had no punishment available. Dropping him was exactly what Sturridge wanted after all so why should he get to hide behind "injury" to us when it's actually attitude. I'm sure the reality is probably even worse for Sturridge regarding what he actually said to England camp or in discussions with Rogers but the gist is there.
When Sturridge signed I was very happy I thought he was just what we needed, I had seen enough to make me think that he could be a very good player. Obviously he has proven to be even better than I expected. The attitude thing has always followed him and I hope these rumours are just a blip and that he will be with us for many years. If not though we can at least be sure that we'll make a lot of money on his sale.
“I could see it in him. I have seen it before. There is a trend,” he added. “The games he has disappointed in have come when he hasn’t trained. That was the call here.” I actually think this bit is the real warning. As he's been largely good in the vast majority of games for us since joining this sounds more like a reference to his Chelsea days. A reminder from BR that he saw it the first time round and maybe sturridge should remember what happened as a result....? Anyway as you say, everyone can have a strop as long as it doesn't become a habit again.
On top of that, I noticed him shake his head at the miss. For me that is the right attitude! Not 'ohhh how unlucky was that' but more 'should of done better' Wasn't he warming up after about 20 minutes as well? If he was sulking or didn't even want to start surely he would have been happy to sit down with his arms folded and watch the game? Maybe it is true maybe it isn't but if his attitude is **** with the record he has with us then I hope BR can get it right as I can only imagine what he would be capable of.
I'm certainly not going to turn on the lad, he's been great since we signed him, but I didn't want us to sign him partly because of this (the other bit being the velcro on his boots). So far, he's been pretty much as I expected him to do; I thought he would score, I knew he'd offer pace and directness, and I was pretty confident he'd bring goals too. the only bit I was expecting was his ability at holding the ball up, he is very good at this. I also expected the ball retention / greediness and feared the attitude.
