The Kop fans had gotten a little tired of trying to defend Luis Suarez. Last season the Uruguayan striker had almost managed to make up for the myriad scandals (and disappointing number of goals) that coloured his first year at Anfield, only for a bit of non-traditional play at the World Cup and the ensuing scandal forcing Brendan Rodgers' hand and selling him to Barcelona over the summer. One of the big worries the fans had when a Suarez sale was mooted last season was who could possibly replace him - Borini was injured, and he was basically their only other forward, so without Suarez, what did they have? Step forward Daniel Sturridge. The young Brummy striker (and rap fan) worked his way up through the Aston Villa youth academy and was quickly snapped up by the top flight, first by Manchester City and then Chelsea, where the 24-year-old was never actually given much play. All he needed was somebody to take a chance on him, which Rodgers most certainly did when he splashed out an estimated £12 million. Clearly it was a gamble that paid off, since Sturridge hit the ground running and scored 22 goals in the 2013/14 season. Suarez who? With the Uruguayan striker shipped off to Spain, and Daniel's decent performance for England in the summer, we reckon that Sturridge will graduate to the top-pick forward for Liverpool during this season. Despite missing a lot of play thanks to the London Olympics he managed a decent 99 points during his final 2012/13 season with Chelsea, which shot up to 197 points through his first year with Liverpool. 22 goals, 8 assists, 9 clean sheets, all yours for £10.1 million. It's a good investment, believe us.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
