Adrian Durham strikes again…
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talkSPORT presenter and football columnist Adrian Durham has claimed that Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is a fool for sending England a dossier on the fitness of his star striker Daniel Sturridge, he wrote in the Daily Mail.
Sturridge picked up an injury while away on international duty nearly a month ago, and has not played for Liverpool since.
The Reds claimed that England were irresponsible in letting the 25-year-old train two days after playing the full 90 against Norway, despite the striker telling England staff he was on a strict programme that incorporated two days rest.
Durham though reckons that Rodgers sending England manager Roy Hodgson a dossier on how to maintain Sturridge’s peak fitness has other motives, and is driven by bitterness at missing out on the assistant manager’s job previously, and Liverpool’s poor start to the season.
Durham wrote:
It could be that Rodgers is upset that he was denied the opportunity to get involved with the England set-up – he could have been Harry Redknapp’s assistant, but Hodgson got the top job instead. I’d like to think that bitterness isn’t why Rodgers has caused such difficulty for Hodgson.
The fact is, if either or both of Rodgers’ signings Mario Balotelli or Rickie Lambert had started the season on fire, the boss wouldn’t be so upset about Sturridge’s injury.
The Liverpool manager did superbly last season and he took the credit he deserved.
In more difficult times so far this season, Rodgers would earn far more respect if he took criticism on board, rather than tapping into the anti-England and anti-Hodgson sentiment on Merseyside, and loading some of the blame onto the England manager.
The journalist regularly churns out drivel of the highest order, but this is probably his most farcical claim yet.
As manager of a top club, Rodgers has every right to support England in maintaining the fitness of the player for the benefit of both club and country. As a result of the previously discussed injury, Sturridge has been left out of this international squad to face San marino and Estonia – and as the club who pay his large wages, the Reds have an obligation to work with England to maximise the player’s recovery.