Daniel Sturridge is being too indulgent, common sense prevailed at Villa and Newcastle need the Champions League desperately
Sturridge trying too hard to impress
Ruud Gullit was unimpressed. On Sky they were discussing Daniel Sturridge before Chelsea's game at Arsenal, when the forward's outrageous backheel goal against Sunderland in September was brought up. Most pundits might have cooed at such improvisation from a young English talent – and this column certainly did at the time – but Gullit was unmoved. "Why do you need to do that?" said the Dutchman, and he had a point; while Sturridge's goal was breathtaking, it did hint at his predilection for flashiness over efficiency.
Gullit's criticism was vindicated by Sturridge's wayward, indulgent performance at the Emirates, in which Fernando Torres was regularly left exasperated by his team-mate's selfishness. This was a rare start for Sturridge under Roberto Di Matteo. He was a regular in André Villas-Boas's first-choice team and scored 10 goals in his first 19 games this season but Di Matteo does not rate Sturridge as highly as the Portuguese did. Di Matteo has been in charge for 14 games and Sturridge has been involved in only nine of them and has started six, scoring once.
Indeed he has been properly involved in only one big game since Villas-Boas's sacking, the victory over Napoli in the last 16 of the Champions League. Even then he was taken off after 63 minutes, at which point Chelsea were heading out on away goals. In the quarter-final against Benfica he played only the last eight minutes of the away leg and was an unused substitute in the home leg, as he was against Barcelona last Tuesday and against Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final.
While Sturridge would prefer to play through the middle, that is not going to happen while Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres remain at Chelsea, meaning he has been forced to make do with a role on the right. But in a position that demands defensive discipline as well as attacking prowess, much has been made of Sturridge's inability to track back, most notably in the 5-3 defeat by Arsenal in October, when he was responsible for André Santos's goal. The way Ramires pinned down Dani Alves and then pounced to set up Drogba's winner was a major part of Chelsea's win over Barcelona; Di Matteo could not trust Sturridge to perform a similar role against Adriano on the right.
Yet against Arsenal Sturridge's problem was not what he did without the ball but rather what he did with it. In the first half his second touch was often a tackle and a string of half-hearted crosses were dealt with comfortably by the home defence. Sturridge's frustration grew as the game went on and he increasingly looked like a player who was trying too hard, an attention-starved child doing cartwheels for an unappreciative parent. Nothing could have summed this up better than his attempt to emulate Dejan Stankovic and score with a volley from the halfway line, with Wojiech Szczesny momentarily out of his goal. Suffice to say, hearts were not in Arsenal mouths. JS
Sometimes you have to acknowledge a great goal
There is a huge difference between knowing what someone is going to do and preventing him from doing it. After Real Madrid's defeat by Bayern Munich last week Fabio Coentrao was criticised for allowing Arjen Robben to jink inside on to his left foot. Yet it is easy enough to pinpoint a player's strength from the comfort of the sofa and quite another to come up with a way to counter it on the pitch. It is not that defenders are unaware of Robben's favourite trick; it is just that, on account of the Dutchman being a world-class winger, it turns out he is rather good at it.
Scott Sinclair is not quite at that level and never will be but in his role as an inside-out winger for Swansea City he has a similar knack of cutting in from his flank and getting shots off with his stronger foot – as Bolton found out to their cost. Yet while Sinclair's crunching drive into the top corner looked unstoppable, Owen Coyle was unhappy with his side's defending.
"We stressed all week that every time he gets the ball in those areas, he is looking to come in on his right foot," said Bolton's manager. "You can show people what is involved but they have to take responsibility. For me that's frustration." Perhaps, but it is easier said than done. Despite all the best-laid plans, good players tend to find a way through. JS
Common sense prevailed at Villa Park
Referees have come under fire in recent weeks after a string of dodgy decisions, so it was good to see Anthony Taylor applying some common sense at Villa Park on Saturday. It would have been easy for the referee to send off Sunderland's goalkeeper Simon Mignolet for inadvertently handling the ball outside the area during the goalless draw with Aston Villa. Not much would have been made of it. Instead the referee awarded only a free-kick, recognising that there was little the Belgian could have done once the slippery surface sent him skidding outside the area. Mignolet actually first touched the ball with his hands inside the box but his momentum was so strong he was unable to stop in time – a mistake rather than a deliberate act, then, and definitely not an indiscretion worthy of greater punishment. JS
Manchester United miss Nemanja Vidic
Bob Dylan is so good that he can write beautiful lyrics without typing a word. In Most Of The Time, his song about the tortuous aftermath of a relationship, he tells us, through simple repetition of the titular phrase, that he is essentially fine – that he is "halfways content" and he "don't even notice she gone". Most of the time. There is no need to tell us what happens the rest of the time.
The song came to mind on Sunday as Manchester United ceded the initiative in the title race. Most of the time United have defended well this season. It has not been comparable to the post-Stam shambles of 2001-02, when they haemorrhaged goals. This season they have kept more clean sheets than any other side in the Premier League – six of them in seven matches before they met Everton. Most of the time Jonny Evans and Rio Ferdinand have combined splendidly. Most of the time United have hidden the absence of Nemanja Vidic, the best defender in Britain and maybe the world. Most of the time.
Everton are an admirable side who played excellently, yet to concede four against them is indefensible. They do not score four away goals in many calendar months; the last time they did so in a league game was over a decade ago, at Derby in David Moyes's first away match as manager.
United's defence has had the strangest season, mixing clean sheets and filthy shockers. Even weirder, the worst performances – save a sound thrashing at Newcastle – have come at home. Basel, Manchester City, Benfica, Blackburn, Bilbao and now Everton have all had the run of Old Trafford. Vidic missed all six games. United have conceded 19 league goals at home, the most since 1978-79. They have conceded 31 in all competitions at Old Trafford; the last time they let in more than that was in 1962-63.
In Vidic's nine matches home and away this season United have let in a goal every 351 minutes; without him a goal every 75 minutes – mainly because of those sporadic shockers. He is something of an Everton specialist, able to cope almost single-handedly (or single-headedly) with the more rudimentary elements of their impressively varied game plan. He was magnificent at Goodison Park in November and had another splendid game there in 2007-08, when he scored the winner for good measure.
Everton know that, without Vidic, United can be bullied. Evans is especially vulnerable; Bobby Zamora and Carlton Cole are among those who have successfully worked him over in the past. Yesterday it was the outstanding Marouane Fellaini. Evans was far from the only culprit; Rafael da Silva had an even worse game and Ferdinand applied none of the balm that a player of his stature should. Vidic would have won header after header, organised the defence and radiated certainty. With him on the pitch there is no chance this would have happened. RS
Newcastle need Champions League football more than you think
There are many reasons to hate modern football which are not worth going over again. But chief among them is the knowledge that whenever a club outstrips expectations and has a run at shaking up the big-money hegemony in the Premier League, the players who have made it possible will be bought up by the wealthy clubs that are threatened. Aston Villa fans know this only too well, having seen their club get this close to the Champions League twice before losing half the team that got them there.
So this is why for Newcastle, making it into the Champions League is more important than any of the teams for whom it would be deemed a disaster if they did not. Arsenal, Chelsea and, to a lesser extent, Spurs have the resources and infrastructure to survive a season without top-four football. Arsenal may have sold some of their best players but the club does not have an owner who you think would be only too happy to quit while he is ahead and cash in his chips. In Mike Ashley the suspicion is that Newcastle have such a figure and, despite the success so far this season, he is still viewed warily by many fans.
Watching Newcastle was a delight against Stoke. Their passing was crisp and their movement in all areas was exquisite. Their midfield is as strong as any around. Yohan Cabaye (whose pass to create the first goal was better than his strike for his second – and that was sublime), Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheik Tioté have an average age of just over 25. Danny Guthrie, a very good central midfielder himself, cannot get a look in. In Demba Ba and Papiss Cissé they have an attack that delivers as often as it excites. Unfortunately they are all at an age that makes them extremely saleable. Which is why there will be a glut of offers in the summer unless they earn the right to enter Europe's exclusive club themselves and then shut and bolt the door behind them. GR Read More
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