“Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane
I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain”
What’s that? Is Daniel Sturridge injured yet again and off to see some expensive consultant; or, is his mind playing games on him and everybody else as usual?
What would Liverpool fans think if they heard that Daniel was off to join a Spanish football club or maybe serve as a mercenary in a campaign for freedom and independence as so many of his compatriots did, eighty years ago (or both)?
I don’t think that Daniel would have the stomach for the fight, or the legs, knees, or any other body part that will one day be part of a sports science course in, say, Derby or Sheffield, where physical failings will be dissected and reconstituted as bullet points on Powerpoint slides.
Or, is this all in the mind?
The opening words to this satirical piece come from Elton John and, more prophetic than any Watford fan called Pozzo (because Bernie Taupin couldn’t get that to rhyme or resonate with anything decent), the song goes on to discuss Sturridge’s frequent visits to hospital:
“Daniel says it’s the best place that he’s ever seen
Oh, and he should know, he’s been there enough…”
So why, in the 73rd minute of Liverpool’s match against Newcastle United on Sunday did Daniel writhe on the ground, holding his foot, before expressing disbelief – even outrage – that he was substituted as a result?
Daniel’s belief system centres on him thinking he is a success, even if most everybody else doesn’t. Perhaps he would do better to consider himself a failure and see everything else as a bonus – or maybe he already sees his remuneration package as exactly that.
Or, is this all in the mind?
Elton’s song was actually about the last stages of the Vietnam War – another call for unity. If Daniel could unite his own parts in a meaningful way, maybe that would help Liverpool to become a team again?
Or, is this all in the mind?
Elton’s song was released in 1973 when Liverpool were champions of England and won their first European trophy – the UEFA Cup. Maybe it is unfair to compare Daniel with the likes of Steve Heighway or Kevin Keegan or John Toshack who – in the modern-day Sky commentator’s book of keen insights and other privileged inside information – ‘knew where the net was.’I’m sure that Daniel does know where the net is; it’s just that, on Sunday’s evidence, he seems keener on lobbing the ball over it, or to the left or the right of it – the classic hat-trick of strikers who think that they are successful.
Daniel might also point (he does do that a lot) at his defence but, as Liverpool fans know full well, that really is pure fantasy. As Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip lamented the apparent dearth of words that rhyme with their own names, another striker who misguidedly believes himself to be successful – Joselu – ran between them both, before waiting for one of them to catch up and score a goal he would surely have missed, every bit as much as a First Name.
In 1973, Liverpool had the likes of Ray Clemence in goal and Chris Lawler, Tommy Smith, Larry Lloyd, Emlyn Hughes and Alec Lindsay to call upon to defend their cause. Liverpool fans will look back fondly on those days because there isn’t much to look forward to.
Liverpool do have the unfortunate knack of signing truly dreadful players from Spain such as Alberto Moreno and letting their best players head in the other direction. Luis Suarez – for all his many faults, including being annoyingly Uruguayan and thus scoring against England when it mattered most – made Daniel look good. Even the price of Sterling increased as a result.
Suarez, quite understandably, observed Liverpool’s barren landscape – not helped by the Koeman effect of trying to make sows’ ears out of silk purses – and headed for Spain as soon as he could. Coutinho will undoubtedly do the same in January.
What would Liverpool fans think if the red tail light really did belong to Daniel, rather than their good player? Would he or they be any more successful, or are there just too many clouds in their eyes for people to truly escape the past?