Liverpool FC Forum

Downings contribution this season has been more than minimal.

it`s pointless going on about downing, he is staying.
he gave an interview to the echo a week or so ago and he said he recently went in to see brendan rodgers to see where he stood and the manager told downing he wasnt going anywhere.

Benny The Noon » Mon May 06, 2013 7:48 pm wrote:If Downing goes who plays in his place if he isn't needed ?

The guy has been a regular starter for the last 5 months and now he isn't needed ?

Wow. Stewart Downing is now irreplaceable, who would have thought that 

Kenny Kan » Mon May 06, 2013 3:24 pm wrote:

Benny The Noon » Mon May 06, 2013 7:48 pm wrote:If Downing goes who plays in his place if he isn't needed ?

The guy has been a regular starter for the last 5 months and now he isn't needed ?

Wow. Stewart Downing is now irreplaceable, who would have thought that 

I actually agree with Benny.  Not irreplaceable, but there's nobody to take his place currently in our squad if he were to leave.  I guess having a front three of Coutinho, Sturridge and Suarez is ideal, but Coutinho is best when he can slot into the center like he has been.  I don't think Sterling is ready to take over for Downing just yet.

ethanr » Mon May 06, 2013 11:57 pm wrote:

Kenny Kan » Mon May 06, 2013 3:24 pm wrote:

Benny The Noon » Mon May 06, 2013 7:48 pm wrote:If Downing goes who plays in his place if he isn't needed ?

The guy has been a regular starter for the last 5 months and now he isn't needed ?

Wow. Stewart Downing is now irreplaceable, who would have thought that 

I actually agree with Benny.  Not irreplaceable, but there's nobody to take his place currently in our squad if he were to leave.  I guess having a front three of Coutinho, Sturridge and Suarez is ideal, but Coutinho is best when he can slot into the center like he has been.  I don't think Sterling is ready to take over for Downing just yet.

I know you'll agree with Benny, you've been his biggest fan on this site since we bought him.

There are players in the squad who should be able to dislodge an average regular starter.

If Sturridge played up top, you'd have the choice of Suarez, Coutinho, Henderson, Sterling and Borini. So it's not as if there is nobody who can replace him.

Skertel has scored 2 goals, Countinho since he's arrived has scored 2 goals, Enrique (another defender) has scored 2 goals, Agger has scored 3 the same as Downing! 3 goals , that's it for a player who's played an advanced role as much as anyone else! Sterling's scored 2! He's played upfront for most of the season and in return he's given 5 assists and 3 goals! And you're telling me there is nobody in the squad who could be given the chance to challenge those very average stats? Well, Coutinho the young lad who's just joined our team with no PL experience has had more of an impact on our team than Downing has had ALL season.  But hey, if you and Benny think that's okay, it just reaffirms the mediocrity our fans have settled for.

For a side with aspirations of challenging for a top 4 spot, Downing is a squad player at best however if an offer of 10M+ came in, we'd be silly to reject it. And I don't believe all this 'Downing said in the echo' bollox either; when BR has stated certain players have their price. If an offer were laid on the table the club would definitely think twice about selling this player, that's for sure, especially now it seems we have a scouting system who could get much better value for money.

Downing is nothing more than an average player, but at the moment he can't by replaced by anyone from our current squad. The only players that could play in his position (considering the fact that Sturridge, Coutinho and Henderson are already starters) are two 18 year old kids and a striker that has hardly had a shot on goal since we bought him. There's also Assaidi but for some unknown reason Rodgers doesn't have faith in him.

Replacing Downing in the summer doesn't seem like it's going to happen either. He is something that we should improve on I agree, but sadly there are positions that are in more urgent need of improvement. However, Downing might be sidelined next season if the manager opts for an attacking trio consisting of Suarez, Sturridge and Coutinho.

damjan193 » Tue May 07, 2013 1:03 am wrote:Downing is nothing more than an average player, but at the moment he can't by replaced by anyone from our current squad. The only players that could play in his position (considering the fact that Sturridge, Coutinho and Henderson are already starters) are two 18 year old kids and a striker that has hardly had a shot on goal since we bought him. There's also Assaidi but for some unknown reason Rodgers doesn't have faith in him.

Replacing Downing in the summer doesn't seem like it's going to happen either. He is something that we should improve on I agree, but sadly there are positions that are in more urgent need of improvement. However, Downing might be sidelined next season if the manager opts for an attacking trio consisting of Suarez, Sturridge and Coutinho.

Agreed.

The Downing discussion is another aspect of where we can improve though it's not priority. Yet, it doesn't mean it can't be discussed.

What we need to do -

1) Keep Downing, but buy someone better if possible. At the moment, I like Downing. He's been fairly consistent, worked hard, is able to get some assists, and has been there to help out defensively as well. Someone better, more creative, would always be a plus, but they have to be ready to put in a good defensive shift as well.

2) Keep Johnson, but buy someone better if possible. Priority. For me - he often lacks concentration, makes too many defensive blunders, and when it's not his day, can't contribute in forward play either. I have a feeling his poor form may be due to lack of fitness or general tiredness as the season has worn on. If this is the case, then we definitely need someone to help out Glen.

3) I like Lucas, I think he's getting back to his old self.

4) Sell Coates, keep Skrtel, buy a good CB, with strong aerial and ball playing abilities. PRIORITY with a capital P and everything else in caps as well. Coates is useless - even a few youtube videos could convinced me before we bought him. When I did see him play for us, he was an absolute nightmare. I feel for the lad though, he is young and needs to get game time. 2 years here at Liverpool might've been a very bad decision on his part.

5) Get someone who can be backup for both Lucas and Gerrard. In principle Henderson is this sort of a player, but he needs to develop his game intelligence a lot more. We should still look for the next Gerrard. .

So, what are the conclusions? We should prioritize getting a quality CB, quality RB, and sell Coates, and perhaps getting someone to nudge Downing in a strong way.

For me we should definitely be trying to move on Assaidi, Coates, Carroll, Wilson, Spearing, and Pacheco.

Borini and Downing I wouldn't lose sleep if we kept or moved on. Neither are ideally first 11 but good for depth.

We have such a thin squad already that the only players I would be actively trying to sell would be Carrol, Coates, and Spearing.

If a really good offer comes in for Downing, Skrtel, Johnson, or Reina, we may take it. I think Assaidi hasn't played due to the combination of the ACON (Algeria, I believe) and he also had a hernia or something. He's still really young so I don't think he will be sold.

I doubt Brendan will be as knee Jerk as this thread is.
Im sure he knows what areas he wants to strengthen and has a list of targets for each of those areas.
Im sure he'll also have a few players that he will definitely want to offload and a few that he may be prepared to sacrifice in a bid for main targets. 

It will be up to the club to negotiate and communicate with Brendan were necessary.   

I doubt we'll be letting go of any players in the first team squad without having a replacement in.  Hopefully we've learned from the Carroll siuation.

killerp » Mon May 06, 2013 12:38 am wrote:We have just about wrapped another mixed season, we will finish 7th about 99% sure! I thought now would be the appropriate time to look at who can leave.

Here's my list of who & how much I'd sell for:

Carroll - 13-15 -A fallback option if we can't sign a decent striker but if we do have a good striker lined up then sell him and accept the massive financial loss.
Borini - 8 - Not good enough
Downing - 15 - Very predictable & delivers a very poor cross.
Henderson - 13-14 - Energetic but lacks vision & technique
Allen - 11-12 - Not good enough
Skrtel - 9-10 - Can be ok on his day but has consistently defended poorly this season, lacks leadership qualities, Carragher proved this point even with his age.
Johnson - 15 - For all his attacking I think he is a poor defender. He would not be top of the list but if a suitor was found for the right price i'd make the move happen.

We would be making a hefty loss if that all went through but I have seen enough to say most of these players either don't fit or are simply not good enough for us to move forward. Maybe some of them can become better over time but will they ever be good enough to go top 4, I doubt it.

Do you watch football ?

Carragher

Carroll - 17m
Spearing - 2m
Wilson - Free
Skrtel - 10m
Assaidi - part of the deal to sign an Ajax player probably
Coates (maybe) - £7m

EDIT - I forgot Pacheco but don't see him troubling the scorers from a fee perspective so it doesn't matter

There is no way that Allen, Downing or Henderson will go this summer.

There is close to £30m worth of sales there, and some hefty wages with Carroll and Skrtel.

We need -

At least 1 CB - must be able to head the ball!
A DM - must be able to protect back 4
An attacker - BR must think he is able to pass a ball and probably play across the three forward positions.

All of them must be mentally strong, have karacter and kwality.

mkingdom » Fri May 17, 2013 1:09 pm wrote:Carroll - 17m
Spearing - 2m
Wilson - Free
Skrtel - 10m
Assaidi - part of the deal to sign an Ajax player probably
Coates (maybe) - £7m

EDIT - I forgot Pacheco but don't see him troubling the scorers from a fee perspective so it doesn't matter

There is no way that Allen, Downing or Henderson will go this summer.

There is close to £30m worth of sales there, and some hefty wages with Carroll and Skrtel.

We need -

At least 1 CB - must be able to head the ball!
A DM - must be able to protect back 4
An attacker - BR must think he is able to pass a ball and probably play across the three forward positions.

All of them must be mentally strong, have karacter and kwality.

 

Do you really think we'll get anything near to them fees for Carroll and Coates?