Simon Andrew Sturridge is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 former professional footballer who played as a striker

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

. He made more than 250 appearances in the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

.

Career

Sturridge was born in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

. He joined home-town club Birmingham City

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 as a trainee in 1985 and turned professional in 1988. He played 186 games in all competitions for the club and scored the first goal of the 1991 Leyland DAF Cup

Football League Trophy

The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...

 final in which Birmingham beat Tranmere Rovers

Tranmere Rovers F.C.

Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...

 3–2. He spent six years with Stoke

Stoke City F.C.

Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

 where he made nearly 100 appearances and scored 15 goals. His most successful period at Stoke came as part of the prolific "S.A.S." partnership with fellow striker Mike Sheron

Mike Sheron

Michael "Mike" Sheron is an English former footballer, born in Liverpool, who made nearly 500 appearances in the Premier League and the Football League playing as a striker for Manchester City, Bury, Norwich City, Stoke City, Queens Park Rangers, Barnsley, Blackpool, Macclesfield Town and...

 where Sturridge was mainly the provider for Sheron. He then had brief spells with Blackpool

Blackpool F.C.

Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

 (on loan

Loan (football)

In sports, a loan involves a particular player being allowed to temporarily play for a club other than the one he is currently contracted to. Loan deals may last from a few weeks to all season-long....

), Northampton Town

Northampton Town F.C.

Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...

 and Shrewsbury Town

Shrewsbury Town F.C.

Shrewsbury Town Football Club is an English Association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1886 and has played in all the bottom three divisions in various guises since being elected into the Football...

 (also on loan).

He is the brother of footballer Dean Sturridge

Dean Sturridge

Dean Constantine Sturridge is an English former footballer who played as a striker.-Derby County:Sturridge began his career as a trainee at Derby County, and worked his way through the ranks to make his first team debut on 11 January 1992 in a 1-0 defeat at Southend United.He gained more first...

 and the uncle of footballer Daniel Sturridge

Daniel Sturridge

Daniel Andre Sturridge is an English footballer who plays for Chelsea and the England national team. He is primarily a forward, but has been used on the right flank as a winger for Chelsea...

.