Stewart Downing - West Hahahaham player

[Lecter]

maybe you're right and its a dead loss.

but it doesnt bode well for the future. we've got raheem sterling coming through who plays on the left and he's an out and out winger. ideally you need someone who will help him and play for him which again enrique wont do.

whatever problems downings having sterling will too.

theres others like suso who's a left footer and actually he might be a better bet because he's got a sweet left foot and he will play enrique in. Even adjoran's a good shout for the left because he's got a really good range of passing too.

but i think its clear that enrique cannot play with an out and out attacking wide player.

I disagree

Other players might be more proactive than Downing

For me the lad is a ****ing coward.

I dont think it has anything to do with Enrique

I think its just Downings total lack of ****ing bottle

[Lecter]

I'll will take your word for it as I have no stats to show something that I have noticed. However, that still don't detract from that fact that he has scored no goals nor provided any assist this season. He doesn't pass his markers enough and he doesn't cross the ball with enough quality. So as a winger/attacking player in the team what has been his contribution?

He scored once

Other than that I agree with your post

Its HIS job to do more he shouldnt be relying on his teammates

IMO that is Downings major problem why do something himself when he can let someone else do it for him

He frequently abdicates his responsibilities on the pitch - thats ****ing criminal imo

[Alex]

I disagree

Other players might be more proactive than Downing

For me the lad is a ****ing coward.

I dont think it has anything to do with Enrique

I think its just Downings total lack of ****ing bottle

Dan Perkins said something similar about Meireles last season and got pelters for it.

I dont think you can call him a coward. If he was he wouldn't be going out in front of 45,000 people every week and being that usless. Takes guts to be that bad, infront of that many people

[Exiled_red]

He scored once

Other than that I agree with your post

Its HIS job to do more he shouldnt be relying on his teammates

IMO that is Downings major problem why do something himself when he can let someone else do it for him

He frequently abdicates his responsibilities on the pitch - thats ****ing criminal imo

The thing I don't understand is why, surely having played for Boro and Villa he's consistently been one of their better players and one of the ones who his team mates have presumably looked to to make the difference. Throughout his career (before joining us) he should have been one of the players taking on responsibility to do stuff himself rather than passing the responsibility on to other, why change that since coming to us? Is it a confidence issue? does he believe that the other players are better than him so they should do things instead? This is the only thing I can think of, and if that's the case IMO he doesn't have the mentality to make it with us.

[Lecter]

Dan Perkins said something similar about Meireles last season and got pelters for it.

I dont think you can call him a coward. If he was he wouldn't be going out in front of 45,000 people every week and being that usless. Takes guts to be that bad, infront of that many people

You see the issue with Meireles was purely on the basis of him not putting tackles in (or bottling out of them)

However Meireles actually showed for possession and actually took brave decisions whilst in possession

Downing is a coward in and out of possession

[Exiled_red]

Dan Perkins said something similar about Meireles last season and got pelters for it.

I dont think you can call him a coward. If he was he wouldn't be going out in front of 45,000 people every week and being that usless. Takes guts to be that bad, infront of that many people

[peekay]

1) Downing: a waste of money

Manchester United and Liverpool both raised eyebrows by splashing out on wingers from Aston Villa last summer. Ashley Young started life at United promisingly enough before a loss of form and injury curtailed his progress at Old Trafford; against Chelsea last week he was probably the worst player on the pitch and there was no place for him in the squad against Liverpool on Saturday. With Antonio Valencia cementing his status as the best winger in England and Ryan Giggs still in defiance of time and logic, it is a luxury United can afford – unlike Liverpool.

Liverpool have made their fair share of baffling decisions over the past few weeks and months but spending £20m to bring Stewart Downing to Anfield must surely rank as Kenny Dalglish's biggest mistake in the transfer market. Some will point to the £35m spent on Andy Carroll, others to the £16m on Jordan Henderson, yet they are both young and, while they were almost certainly overpriced – Liverpool falling prey to the English Tax – they were bought not only for what they can do but for what they may offer the club in the future. While Carroll hardly merits being the eighth most expensive player of all time and will almost certainly never justify his price tag, the memory of the panic he spread in opposition defences when he was at Newcastle United means Liverpool cannot give up on him yet.

This argument cannot be used in Downing's favour. We have known what he can do since 2003. Plenty of leading managers have watched and passed judgment without feeling there is a Downing-shaped hole in their side, and that is why no big club bothered moving for him before last summer. He does not belong at Liverpool, he is a mid-table player and his constant presence in England squads says more about the state of them than it does about him. He has no change of pace, no tricks or swerving runs to get supporters on their feet and, this season, no goals or assists in the league: to put it bluntly, this is the sort of signing that loses a manager his job.

The biggest charge that could be made against Downing's display against United was that in a game where Liverpool could not carry any passengers he hid. When he brought down Rafael da Silva, earning himself a booking in the first half, it was a reminder he was on the pitch; similarly when Craig Bellamy, who should have started instead, replaced him after 61 minutes of ineptitude. When Rafael Benítez was in charge of Liverpool, a lack of funds frustrated his attempts to sign a top-class winger. Dalglish had the funds. He bought Downing. JS

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/feb/13/five-things-premier-league-weekend

Brutual but 100% accurate summarization.

[Muddled]

say what you want about adam but he has chipped in with goals and assists

Downing snatched at a lot of early chances as he looked to eager to break his duck, but in terms of assists, he has put some great chances on a plate, only for some woeful finishing on our part, his assist column still reads zero.

Both Adam and Downing have had their ups and downs this season, but it's the more recent performances of Downing that have grated me.

[danperkins]

Dan Perkins said something similar about Meireles last season and got pelters for it.

I dont think you can call him a coward. If he was he wouldn't be going out in front of 45,000 people every week and being that usless. Takes guts to be that bad, infront of that many people

i called him a pussy, meant the same thing so much of a muchness. And i completely agree with Lec he is a coward

[el matador]

He scored once

Other than that I agree with your post

Its HIS job to do more he shouldnt be relying on his teammates

IMO that is Downings major problem why do something himself when he can let someone else do it for him

He frequently abdicates his responsibilities on the pitch - thats ****ing criminal imo

didnt jonas gutierrez play infront of enrique at newcastle. He was a genuine winger but his role has changed recently.

I have to admit that i havent seen anywhere enough of newcastle to know what their partnership was like but im sure others know more about this.

I agree that downing should always be the dominant person in that partnership but i dont think he has the confidence to pull that off. But you've either got to be a world beater or a loud mouthed cock to play with him and downing isnt either of them.

Maybe thats why bellamy always seems to do alright with enrique.

[Roger]

to describe downing as average is an insult to average footballers.

i'm all for giving new players a chance to prove their worth but sorry this guy just isn't doing it. to make matters worse he isn't putting in the required effort.

[Mostar]

to describe downing as average is an insult to average footballers.

i'm all for giving new players a chance to prove their worth but sorry this guy just isn't doing it. to make matters worse he isn't putting in the required effort.

Welcome to est1892

[Eric Swindler]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/b...league-weekend

Brutual but 100% accurate summarization.

Except that Rafa wanted to buy Downing too.

[baitman]

Except that Rafa wanted to buy Downing too.

and Rafa never bought no dogs

[peekay]

Except that Rafa wanted to buy Downing too.

I would be stunned if Rafa would have bought Downing for 20 million.