I wanted to wait until he made another appearance for the club before commenting on his future. Now the time has come to discuss Daniel Sturridge and what happens next.
The big name signing played for the first time since the 23rd of February and made his starting debut for the Glory in Saturday’s draw with the Wanderers.
Despite many fans predicting he wouldn’t last half an hour or even a quarter of the game, Sturridge managed 45 minutes before being replaced at half time by Ciaran Bramwell.
If you’re a glass half empty person, he was going through the motions, barely getting out of second gear and hardly sprinting. He wasn’t on the ball often, like in the previous five appearances he’d made this season.
It was pretty obvious Ruben Zadkovich’s comments on his condition pre-game were spot on. He looked underdone and is understandably cautious when it comes to his body; coming off a serious groin injury to go along with the countless others he’s suffered in his career.
On all accounts, this season has been an unmitigated disaster for the former Liverpool striker. Quarantine, COVID and his injury dramas have all combined to keep him sidelined for the majority of the campaign.
Both Tony Sage and Tony Pignata have said its unlikely Sturridge stays with the club for another season, and many fans will be glad to hear that. The wages he’s on hasn’t matched up with his contribution to the club on and off the pitch.
The curious case of the Englishman in Perth looks set to be a ‘what if’. Had he stayed fit and played well, who knows how differently the season would have panned out. Saturday night offered a glimpse as to what might have been, or what could still be.
I prefer to look at the glass as half full, and my opinion is I wouldn’t mind if Sturridge carried on in purple.
On Saturday, he was at the heart of all our best attacks in the first half. Two involvements which led to two goals, one ruled for offside and the one which eventually stood.
For the offside goal, Darryl Lachman played a direct pass to Bruno Fornaroli in the centre circle. Sturridge came to the ball carrier and received the pass, giving him space to run into. His through ball was almost perfect to Antonee Burke-Gilroy, who then squared it to Nick Fitzgerald for a tap in.
In the 18th minute, Lachman picked out Sturridge with a long ball. Many stepovers created enough separation for a long-range effort. The shot deflected to Fornaroli in the box on an angle. He managed to find a gap and curl a neat little effort beyond Daniel Margush, off the post and in for his eighth goal of the season.
Another one of his through balls nearly played in Nick Fitzgerald too. It took a sliding intervention from Margush to kill the threat and prevent the scoring opportunity.
When he’s been on the park this season, its been his passing which I’ve found most impressive. His ability to keep possession has also been great. Diego Castro had those two qualities, and we need a player of his calibre. I’m not saying Sturridge is the man to take on that responsibility, but it certainly helps to have a forward with those capabilities.
Here’s why else I think it can work. Having more time to settle will do him a world of good. He was away from football for 18 months, it wasn’t going to click all of a sudden in one season.
Give him a full preseason at a new and improved training facility and take away the quarantine and travel complications he faced. I also think he would enter the new season with added hunger to make a huge statement, after what’s been a big failure in this one.
That’s my word on Sturridge. As for the rest of the game on Saturday, I was disappointed we played so defensively at home. I would have preferred for us to have more of the ball, because we created some good chances when we did have it.
All the defenders had good games. Joseph Forde bounced back from a tough outing against Adelaide and was great on the left. Jacob Muir and Lachman were brilliant at getting the ball out of danger every time the Wanderers put a cross in.
Their persistence paid off and they got their equaliser late on. Keijiro Ogawa’s 78th minute strike came after a good run from Tomislav Mrcela and nice layoff from Tomer Hemed. Liam Reddy was largely untested throughout the game, a testament to the defensive effort of the whole team.
For the Wanderers, James Troisi was constantly trying to create opportunities, setting up a great chance for Steven Ugarkovic on the brink of half time. Ogawa looked much more threatening when he entered the fray in the second half, managing to find his second goal in the red and black.
Disappointing not to win on the weekend in what was a very winnable contest. It was great to farewell Andy Keogh in his last ever match, bringing an end to a wonderful career. No goal but he did get involved in some late game biff, which came as no surprise. Our season concludes midweek against the champs. The hope is for one last big effort to round off a forgettable season, and maybe a Sturridge goal to boot.
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