DANIEL Sturridge made a sensational return to youth football last night as the boy Blues booked an FA Youth Cup fifth round tie at Bristol City in fine style.
It was teenage prodigy Sturridge's first outing for the club in eight months and he helped City to a deserved 3-1 win at Reading with a superb hat-trick.
Sven-Goran Eriksson has been keen to get as much football as possible into the 18-year-old after the weather played havoc with intended outings.
And with the Blues still searching for improvement up front and Rolando Bianchi's departure it may not be long before Sturridge is being selected to play on a bigger stage.
Eriksson's assistant Hans Backe certainly sees a bright future in store for the young striker.
"Daniel will take time for him to get up to first team speed after so many months out but he is a very talented player," he praised.
"You can see his high technical skill and he has a chance of making the first team. The door is open if he continues to make progress like he has and continues impressing the manager.
Character
"Knocks are easy to pick up when you have been out for such a long while but if he can train regularly with the first team then I would not be at all surprised to see him in the Premier League playing games for us before the end of the season."
The Blues, as they were in the third round, found themselves 1-0 down before Sturridge struck with goals in the 31st, 57th, and 75th minutes.
The first arrived when he cut in and curled a left footer beyond the keeper, the second after Dedryck Boyata had hit the post and the third courtesy of some fine approach work from Vladimir Weiss.
There were outstanding contributions too from Ben Mee and Scott Kay
"The lads showed great character to come from a goal behind when they could have crumbled," commented Academy chief Jim Cassell.
"We spent a lot of time studying their system and it paid off for us.
"We were the better side after the break and created most of the chances and I don't think anyone could argue that we deserved our win."
What do you think? Have your say
Sturridge the hat-trick hero
January 24, 2008
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when is the tie with BCFC? anyone know?
The messiah is back.
Absolutely brilliant! a great result! keep up the superb work Mr Cassell & Staff.Bristol City away next - GOOD LUCK!
Play him on Sunday!!
Please do not rush him into the first team. Good strikers come at a premium because most don't cut it at the top level or as happens all too often they are too injury prone or lose confidence early on because they aren't scoring. I hope they do with him what they did with Miller and what Arsenal did with Bendtner. Send him somewhere he'll score a bag load of goals. Scoring is the hardest thing to do on a football pitch so lets not ruin him. I turst Sven and Hans will already have plans for the lad.
Lets hope Sven gives him a decent chance in the first team once he's fully fit . . . . . something Pearce never really did
Once more the impatient fans rear their heads, failing to realise that a talent such as Sturridge's requires careful nurturing rather than rushing him into the first team. This is precisely why he has not played much at the top level - as Sven knows - and even Pearce realised this.
Can some one please enlighten me about FABIANO i know nothing about this guy....is he better then BIANCHI?
well done dan yuo ve always been class you will play on the big stage very soon 20 goals a season easy
Well played danny,well worth a place on the bench for sunday
I've been saying for two years that I rate DS as the best of the lot of recent Academy graduates. Hatrick first game back...lovely jubbly!
I just hope Sven doesn't do what PEARCE did by leaving the lad out of a YOUTH CUP MATCH the way he did to Micah Richards which ultimately cost the team a FA YOUTH CUP TRIUMPH against Liverpool two seasons ago.I personally never forgive PEARCE for that!
Bristol City will be no pushover - they have a reasonable youth set up here. No date is mentioned - there's quite a few us Bristol based Blues down here so it would be good to go along.
I think he is a masive play when he is fit another i hope he is in the squad for Sunday City Have been linked with Sevilla Striker who has 13 goals this season he is brazil called Luis Fabinlio
mister blue,I've seen a lot of Dan at youth level where he showed well,but even at reserve level he looks out of his depth,I can assure you if the lad was showing at Carrington and the reserves Pearce would have played him in our struggling team,Etuhu, Evans,and Grimes are way ahead of Dan.
The people on here who want to see Sturridge in the first team clearly dont go to the youth or reserve team games. He has just come back from a bad injury, add to that he has not really proved himself at reserve team level like Ched or Kelvin, there is still a big question mark over him. Not so much his ability as he has plenty of that, but his bravery and attitude? He sometimes gives the impression that he is playing for himself and not for the team. Now whether Sven can rid this bad attribute from an otherwise talented young footballer, we can only wait and see?
IN SVEN WE TRUST
I agree with Ted Knott on Pearce and his total disregard for the FA Youth cup final two seasons ago... If Richards HAD played in the first game, then we would have won it... but Pearce, the fool didnt see any merit in WINNING a trophy.
OK spiderman, this is why my mates think i am a football style boffin,
Luis Fabiano is a very go forward midfielder, that somehow ended up as a striker, being Brazilian, he has bomb loads of skill and is very pacey, has a similar record to bianchi, and as the premier is the hardest eague in the world to settle into, (look what it did to Bianchi) he could be a huge prospect for us.
yes spiderman, this player is much better than bianch, although he has only one leg, one eye, six teeth, no left arm from the elbow down, oh! and is colour blind, has a great eye for the ball and is a wonder when it comes to overhead kicks. we should buy him.
COME ON CITY!!!!+
oh yeh, and the thing thats really odd about this chap is his mum is actually called roger!
wheres trumann gone, yes its true im back!