Stewart Downing - West Hahahaham player

[peekay]

The Adebayor situation will be interesting for Spurs

Did they get him on loan with a view to a permanent deal??

If not I cant see City making that sort of mistake (loaning to a close competitor) again

So Spurs will have to go into the market and get a forward, be interesting to see how that goes for them

I dont think it is loan with a view to a permanent deal.

Harry has already fired the first salvo by stating that Adebayor will have to significantly reduce his wage demands.

[Lecter]

I dont think it is loan with a view to a permanent deal.

Harry has already fired the first salvo by stating that Adebayor will have to significantly reduce his wage demands.

I dont reckon City will sell him to them

[~LFCHistory~]

I dont reckon City will sell him to them

It's a possiblity. Balotelli is such a headcase that City may ship him out at the end of the season, that would leave them with Dzeko and Aguero as their strikers, bringing back Adebayor would give them a good striker and would cost nothing in terms of a transfer fee.

[Mattshark]

I'm not sure that it is a simple as you make out. Spurs got a lot better because Parker has proved to be an excellent foil for Modric in midfield (also sacking off European football has reduced the strain on a sometimes fragile squad).

Progress has can be measured in a variety of ways. At times this season we have shown that we are capable of playing very attractive football and appeared to have a philosophy of play that creates chances. We need to show that more often and to turn chances into goals. If by the end of the season we have an established style of play with a settled spine of the team that could be here for 3 or so seasons then that is progress for me.

Not that the patter would be acceptable long term but I think many people are being pretty impatient.

We play nice neat football in midfield, but I think our chance creation is massively overrated in terms of its quality. I don't think we are as good to watch as we were at the tail end of last season. We are certainly worse around the box.

[Mostar]

From what I've of that Swansea player Dyer, he would be a fantastic addition.

To me he'd be a better player to sign than Hoilett. He is one of 2 players I really pay attention to when watcing Swansea play this year and to me he's been their best and most consistant performer after Allen and Vorm.

We need better.

We do but he's imo better winger than any other we have been linked this transfer window.

[Norbs]

It's a possiblity. Balotelli is such a headcase that City may ship him out at the end of the season, that would leave them with Dzeko and Aguero as their strikers, bringing back Adebayor would give them a good striker and would cost nothing in terms of a transfer fee.

Don't forget what Adebayor wants in this. He seems more comfortable in London

[Lecter]

It's a possiblity. Balotelli is such a headcase that City may ship him out at the end of the season, that would leave them with Dzeko and Aguero as their strikers, bringing back Adebayor would give them a good striker and would cost nothing in terms of a transfer fee.

Regardless of the Balotelli situation I dont see them selling Adebayor to Spuds

They will sell him elsewhere

[saj]

To me he'd be a better player to sign than Hoilett. He is one of 2 players I really pay attention to when watcing Swansea play this year and to me he's been their best and most consistant performer after Allen and Vorm.
.

I've not been too impressed with him but admittedly I don't keep my eye on him a great deal. Vorm has been tremendous though

[dww]

We play nice neat football in midfield, but I think our chance creation is massively overrated in terms of its quality. I don't think we are as good to watch as we were at the tail end of last season. We are certainly worse around the box.

I don't disagree with that. I think we have advanced in some areas and regressed in others this season. We are now more in control of games and have a better defence but it has come at the expense of speed of transition and space creation around the box.

I think tweaks to the system and personnel we have could result in a better balance.

I can see Lecters point about needing to better last years points tally or position. I'm not in total agreement but I guess you need some yardstick independent of personal judgement of whether we frequently just fail because of systemic failings or ill fortune. Currently I think it is a little from column A, a little for column B.

[BubbaZanetti]

Liverpool's Kenny Dalglish: Stewart Downing is better than I thought

• Kenny Dalglish admits position changes have made not helped
• Stewart Downing still searching for first Liverpool goal or assist



Andy Hunter
guardian.co.uk, Friday 20 January 2012 22.30 GMT

Stewart Downing needs to be given time to settle at Liverpool, his manager, Kenny Dalglish, said. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

Kenny Dalglish has defended Stewart Downing, describing him as a better player than he envisaged when paying £20m to sign the England international from Aston Villa, despite the winger's subdued start to his Liverpool career.

Downing has yet to score or create one league goal for Liverpool since his big money move from the Midlands, although he did register his first goal for the club in the FA Cup third-round win over Oldham Athletic, and growing criticism of the 27-year-old's performances has prompted Dalglish to defend his summer signing. The Liverpool manager, who has been offered the Serbian striker Milos Krasic by Juventus, believes Downing is still adjusting to life at a higher-profile club and that it has been unfair to play the former Middlesbrough winger in several positions during his debut season at Anfield.

"Stewart is a better player than I thought he was going to be," the Liverpool manager claimed. "I don't think it has been too comfortable for him either because we have played him in three or four positions, so maybe we need to look at ourselves and say we have to be fair to him as well. He is better than what I thought he was. He is quicker than what I thought he was and he is quicker than Carra [Jamie Carragher] thought he was as well."

Downing was replaced by Andy Carroll during Liverpool's dour goalless draw against Stoke City last weekend as Dalglish persisted with three central defenders against Peter Crouch and withdrew a supply line to the £35m forward. The pair have started only 11 games together for Liverpool this season. Dalglish added: "You have to be patient with every new player who comes in. You have to be patient with the older ones at times as well, like we did with Stevie [Gerrard] coming back. Patience is important but the most important thing is having the ability to play and everyone in our squad has the ability to play."

The woodwork has denied Downing a first league goal for Liverpool on four occasions this season while poor finishing from team-mates also accounts for his lack of assists. Dalglish does admit the £20m midfielder has still to adapt to the transition from Villa Park to Anfield.

"Stewart is a fantastic footballer," he added. "He is an England international, he made a big move in the summer to come here, as a few of them did, and with all due respect to the other clubs that he's been at, it is a massive club. He is going to need a little bit of time to get used to his new surroundings, which is only natural. He's put more crosses in than anybody else according to the stats and it is part of his job to put crosses in. It is another part of his job to put them in somewhere where we are going to score goals and it is another job for the team to get in there and put them in the back of the net."

Liverpool face Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok on Saturday evening and Dalglish has questioned the wisdom of Bolton's decision to sell Gary Cahill for £7m to Chelsea as they fight to stay in the Premier League. The Liverpool manager said: "It has been difficult for Owen Coyle and Bolton this year but I am sure they will buckle down and get themselves out of the mire. Although financially it might have been a good deal for Gary Cahill, I don't know whether it was the best one as a football decision for Owen, unless he has got someone lined up to replace him."

By the same token Dalglish does accept that Cahill's contractual position, with only six months remaining on his deal at the Reebok before he moved to Stamford Bridge, left Bolton in an unenviable situation. He added: "It is pretty obvious that the players are the ones with the strength nowadays, far more so than the clubs, but then there was a long time when the clubs had all the strength. I think it would be better for everyone if it was shared out more evenly.

"Everybody knows what the position is though if a player is running out of contract and if you cannot afford to keep them, you cannot afford to keep them. I think you would be more in the wrong if you tried to keep a player who you couldn't afford. A football club does not belong to any one individual, it is for the people and the community and no one wants to see it go to the wall. If you dig your heels in and don't allow a player to leave until his contract is up then, for me, I don't think that's the right approach."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...ing?CMP=twt_gu

[Imy]

Richard Buxton @Richard_Buxton_ 2m
Bold statement from #LFC manager Kenny Dalglish about Stewart Downing: "Stewart is a better player than I thought he was going to be..."

[Chris]

Christ, are people going to start complaining about the manager publically backing a player who's getting ripped to shreds?!

[Red_Polo]

Start?

[Craig_H]

Well in fairness, he didnt say Stewart Downing has performed better than he expected, only that he's a better player than what was expected

[Mostar]

Did he not say something similar about Maxi and then not featured him in next available game?