13 feb 2011

Heading The Right Way!

även publicerad på ChelseaVital

I was very happy when Daniel Sturridge went on loan to Bolton.

I was also quite surprised as I did not expect a move like that from Chelsea considering. Now we know that Torres was coming in and that opened the door for a loan, just as the transfer of Luiz opened the door for Jeffrey Bruma to Leicester later. (He made his debut yesterday as a substitute and Patrick van Aanholt played the entire game for the in form Foxes).

I was happy for several reasons, both for Sturridge personally and for Chelsea. I have the greatest respect for Owen Coyle as a manager. He also helped another loanee last season to find his potential at Bolton. I am of course talking about Jack Wilshere. I think he is a very good manager with the players and developing talent. He has also gotten the best out of Johan Elmander since arriving at Bolton.

Daniel Sturridge sure is taking his chance. He is red hot on fire right now. I have seen his two starting games and the substiution he made the first day in the club. He has scored three goals in these performances. A huge return on his loan already.

The first goal when he came on as a sub was a gift. His second well taken and the one Sunday against Everton was simply brilliant.

He is playing in a new formation where Coyle is playing him with the Bolton icon Kevin Davies with Elmander playing in the hole behind coming in at a freer role from the right.

What makes me so happy about this loan is however not that Daniel Sturridge is scoring vital goals for Bolton and showing his ability as a striker. We all know that selfconfidence has never been a problem for Sturridge, though I would say the same confidence is causing him a bit of problem in the public`s eye as some see him as a bit on the cocky side.

I have doubted his abilities, not as a striker but as a cog in the blue machine. The problem I always identified with Daniel Sturridge is that he tends to play more for Daniel Sturridge than the team. Something I hoped that a playing spell with Coyle would cure him of.

It already looks very good.

We have seen it before and everyone crying for young players to get their chances tend, in my eyes, to forget that teams like Chelsea can not play young players like teams i e Bolton can do. Chelsea play for immediate rewards, even when Chelsea have a horribly poor season like this, which naturally cuts down on patience. Chelsea also have a group of very promising youngsters, which makes it even harder. Had Chelsea only had a Josh McEchran on the verge of taking a permanent starting spot, it would be much easier for the manager to comply and give that player chances. With several like Josh, Danny, Bruma, Kakuta, PvAanholt etc the yongsters also rob each other of that maybe open spot to shine.

Hence so many young players in big clubs develop like Daniel Sturridge, they play to impress every second they are on the pitch. They take bad decisions for the team in order to shine and impress the manager enough to get more playing time the next time out. They play for themselves. This is most obvious of course with strikers that live by the goals they score. There is no patience for a striker that does not strike.

Sturridge was a classic example of this and needed very much to get more playing time. I also think Kakuta is the same kind of personality in this. At Bolton Sturridge is getting it.

Josh McEachran does not have the same pressure of scoring goals and he has come into the team being able to play more for Chelsea than for Josh McEchran. His play has hence been much more mature, he takes the simple ball and passes instead of trying to impress with every touch on the ball. Maybe it is easier for him not being a striker, maybe it is just his personality. It probably is a bit of both.

Watching Sturridge playing against Everton with experienced and generous players like Elmander that even on the pitch takes time to help him improve has already given its rewards. (They did today have a private conference for several minutes where Elmander explained to Sturridge what he expected from him like a teacher to a student and Sturridge listened with apt attention.)

Sturridge is not only dangerous striking goals already, he is already showing a different level of maturity in his play. He plays much more for the team already than he ever did in his short spells playing in Chelsea. Exactly the effect I hoped for when Chelsea loaned him to Owen Coyle. A manager that takes responsibilty for the player`s development. That just looks like a very smart thing for the future of Daniel Sturridge and of course for Chelsea as we will get back a player that developed not only in his natural role as striker, but also as a team player. Confidence is something Sturridge never lacked, but instead of that cocky confidence of youth he will come back with a stronger, more based confidence of a young man at the steps of becoming the player not only he wishes, but who we all want to see play for Chelsea.