Sturridge selfishly striking out for Chelsea exit

[Lazie]

He may have scored the critical fourth goal, but this was not a night to savour for Chelsea's Daniel Sturridge. Granted the central role that he has coveted since arriving at Stamford Bridge, he offered up a performance that highlighted far more of his negatives than his positives. Rumoured to be on the move in January, on the evidence of this, it's hard to see how it will be anything other than a step down.

Sturridge took his goal superbly, showing the deftness of touch and instinctive finishing for which he has long been renowned. Had it not been for his shortcomings, he could have taken many more. There were moments of slapstick, such as the time he ran on to Victor Moses' exquisite pass, took a touch, stumbled and skidded along the wet turf on his chin. There were moments of clumsiness, such as his attempted Cruyff turn that saw him go one way while the ball went the other. Both were relished by the United fans who told him he was a "City reject," but they were of no real importance next to the bigger issue; his extraordinary selfishness.

More at http://soccernet.espn.go.com/blog/_/.../id/54?cc=5901.

[Lazie]

I get the impression he cannot handle the big club/stage. Look how he was in the headlines playing for Bolton? Maybe its best if he goes to a smaller club like Liverpool .... he may get back into the national setup.

[Jangle]

This is a lesson for players like Sterling and others holding out for a callup from England. He's going to be on the outs for a good while until his form improves.....significantly. He could've been the "star" baller for Jamaica and basically just walk right in the side.

[Paul Marin]

This is a lesson for players like Sterling and others holding out for a callup from England. He's going to be on the outs for a good while until his form improves.....significantly. He could've been the "star" baller for Jamaica and basically just walk right in the side.

Sturridge is a 23 y.o. youth who was born in Birmingham. He is *arguably* more English than Jamaican. I doubt he lined the walls of his bedroom as a youth with posters of Tappa and Walter Boyd. My point is that you can't ignore the cultural transformation that second generation immigrants go through; their loyalties are likely to be to their adopted country than the land their parents came from. So it is more likely that his dream was to play for England, than it was to play for Jamaica...star status notwithstanding. Sterling *may be* different as he is directly from Jamaica and still has strong ties there.