Stewart Downing - West Hahahaham player

[Mostar]

I think £10m would be better than watching him have another average season and watch his value slide further down.

Would many give him one more year or it would be better to sell him in summer?

[Phoenix07]

Sell him in the summer.

Add the funds to our warchest (it should be since we bid for Wickham and Jones and didn't get neither of them).

A confidence player who isn't going to get significantly better by the looks of things. Hides during games by playing too safe. Need a wide player who wants the ball, good movement, has pace and is willing to work hard.

Downing does not fit this criteria. I'm done with him for the season unless he goes through a complete renaissance.

[Craig_H]

doubtless the big fee does cloud the issue, but there is no excuse for playing a sub-standard/cant be arsed player in out team.

if he was brought in on a free transfer then we would still want to see more effort, so the fee is NOT the real issue.

the same goes for hendo and adam...

On the money mate. People bang on about fees, but the crux is whether a player is playing well enough for LFC or isnt.

Whether a player cost £20m or £200k, if he is good enough, he's good enough and if he isnt, he isnt. As you say, if Downing had been a free, his performances still wouldnt be good enough.

Focusing on fees is a bit simpleton.

[G]

I'd take a half eaten bag of meanies for him right now.

He was,is and never will be good enough for this club and having him here just reminds me of how far we've fallen since Feb 07 when Tom and George rode into town.

Depressing

[baitman]

Would many give him one more year or it would be better to sell him in summer?

sell. if you hang on to him he might end up becoming a manic depressive. better to play raheem, or the tea lady.

[el matador]

he needs another season. some players need longer to settle down and he might be in that bracket.

the lack of continuity up front hasnt helped him but then he hasnt helped himself either but you cant write off a player after half a season.

just remember lucas. he was shamefully booed by his own fans, barracked left right and centre and now he's the top defensive midfield player in england, and probably one of the finest in europe.

He turned it around and downing isnt getting anywhere near the stick that lucas got. he needs to man up though.

[saj]

he needs another season. some players need longer to settle down and he might be in that bracket.

the lack of continuity up front hasnt helped him but then he hasnt helped himself either but you cant write off a player after half a season.

just remember lucas. he was shamefully booed by his own fans, barracked left right and centre and now he's the top defensive midfield player in england, and probably one of the finest in europe.

He turned it around and downing isnt getting anywhere near the stick that lucas got. he needs to man up though.

You're forgetting one key thing - his age.

Lucas came here as a youngster. Downing has come here at his "prime". He is what 28? No winger will improve after this age and that's a fact. Wingers peak at a very early age compared to players in other positions and normally have their best years from 20-28 before they become injury prone or just become plain **** . They normally end up switching postions as they hit their 30's (Barnes, Giggs, McManaman are examples of this). I can't think of many wingers, who have stayed in this postition and done well up until retirement. Figo is one of them.

He is utterly rubbish.

A list of average wingers, a youngster and a total dud of a player (Jason Lee)

Pennant > Downing
Mark Gonzalez > Downing
Sebastian Leto > Downing
Etherington > Downing
Rory Delap > Downing
Norwich winger Pilkington? > Downing
N'Zogbia > Downing
Guttierez > Downing
Dyer > Downing
Sinclair > Downing
Jarvis > Downing
Adam Hammill > Downing
Toni Silva (**** yeah) > Downing
Walcott > Downing
Jason Lee > Downing

[lickedlollipop]

Perhaps Rafa was interested till he saw him play.

[danperkins]

over simplistic.

While we could have bought them if Rafa had cash we could have ended up with Malouda/Quaresma or countless others that have turned out ****e, we were linked with hundreds of players!!!

and he may have allready spent money before they were avaliable.

[Phoenix07]

Something from the summer.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/he-s-a-big-big-signing-for-lfc

[Shaggy]

In terms of his ability, he is a player who will really excite the fans...

Commoli: He will because he has pace, tricks, a great left foot, he can score, make assists and create a lot of things. He text me last night and said, 'Thank you very much for doing all of this and pursuing it until the end.' I said, 'It's no problem - just pay us back by scoring many goals and giving many assists!'

[danperkins]

[Fivex]

Commoli obviously doesn't have delivery receipts turned on.

[el matador]

watching arsenal and its amazing to see oxlade chamberlain for such a young lad looks a hell of a player. why the **** did we buy downing for 8m more than what arsenal paid for him.

this is where you think comolli should be earning his bread. ox will be worth twice that by the end of the season and downing will be worth all of sweet fa.

our recruitment is a joke.

[RedReet]

McClean for £350k looks quite the bargain missed too.