Liverpool FC Forum

[killerp]

Average & overpriced signing. He is worth no more than 15 Mil. Downing is better than what we have but I would have higher ambitions if we seriously want to break back into the top 4 & anything beyond that.

Welcome anyway, I hope that Downing can unlock the potential of Carroll.

[ethanr]

Kenny, Comoli and FSG know we need a CB and a LB, so I'm not worried. There are only so many CB's and LB's we've been linked with and us brining in these midfield players won't affect who we go after in those positions because, let's face it, they are valued within £6 million of eachother anyway, so we will go after who we were going to go after regardless of who else we signed.  The CB's we're probably looking at are Cahill and Dann and the LB's we are probably looking at are Cissokho, Enrique and Baines.

As to the question of our lineup next season...  Considering for whatever reason I expect us to sign Cissokho and Dann:

Reina

Johnson  Carra  Dann  Cissokho

Gerrard  Adam  Downing

Kuyt  Carroll  Suarez



That seems the obvious lineup to me with a 4-3-3.  Of course we will have disagreements with people claiming Meireles in the center instead of Adam, but I really think that will probably be our lineup, tho obviously I have no clue about LB and CB, I just think we're more likely to sign those than any others.

[Octsky]

We have a 35 million striker who thrives on balls into the box so we have purchased the guy who has completed the most successful amount of crosses in the prem .

i think John Henry being a commodities and futures trader like to bring a systematic approach to the game.

i read somewhere that this approach worked v well in baseball, in which they compare hitting rates, catches etc etc. and buy players with the best stats.

Our new players may not be household names but they do have some of the best pass completion rates, crossing rate, etc etc.

it will be an eye opener if someone can provide the statistics of Downing, Adam, Carroll and Hendo.

[aCe']

Im not saying Downing is a bad player or a disappointing signing... Hes a decent player -very good on his day- and in my books walks into the starting 11 because of the width and balance he would bring to the side... Still, having signed Adam AND Henderson, I would have thought our last attacking signing (and I dont think anyone here expects any more attacking signings now) would have been a more talented and better overall player than Downing is...

I've always liked Riera, and before that I was a fan of Pennant... Downing isnt very different from either and will probably have a similar impact.. That said, with the funds we had, there was a chance of going out there and signing a top talent who can help transform the side to a title challenging side.. A Mata, Navas, Hazard..etc type of player who would give us that added advantage over our competitors...

Regardless, out of our 3 signings, I think Downing is by far the pick of the bunch... Hopefully he goes on to have his best years with Liverpool because he'll certainly need to perform to the best of his abilities consistently to keep the likes of Kuyt and Maxi on the bench...

[aCe']

Kenny, Comoli and FSG know we need a CB and a LB, so I'm not worried. There are only so many CB's and LB's we've been linked with and us brining in these midfield players won't affect who we go after in those positions because, let's face it, they are valued within £6 million of eachother anyway, so we will go after who we were going to go after regardless of who else we signed.  The CB's we're probably looking at are Cahill and Dann and the LB's we are probably looking at are Cissokho, Enrique and Baines.

As to the question of our lineup next season...  Considering for whatever reason I expect us to sign Cissokho and Dann:

Reina

Johnson  Carra  Dann  Cissokho

Gerrard  Adam  Downing

Kuyt  Carroll  Suarez



That seems the obvious lineup to me with a 4-3-3.  Of course we will have disagreements with people claiming Meireles in the center instead of Adam, but I really think that will probably be our lineup, tho obviously I have no clue about LB and CB, I just think we're more likely to sign those than any others.

Lucas will probably be one of the first names on the teamsheet week in week out... The only other option is having Spearing in there instead of him...

[Zidane]

Underrated player, bit steep on the price but not too much. Fee was 18.5 from what I've heard. Better than Young, 1 more year on contract. Adds up imo, our 3 new signings are going to be class, trust me.  Henderson might be the slow starter but I fully expect Adam and Downing to hit the ground running.  Aquilani back, Carroll hopefully finally fit and we are gonna be a hell of a team.  Unfortnately still expect Aqua or Raul to be sold before its all said and done.  There will be at least 1 if not more quality players sold.

[Emerald Red]

Downing ?

If the signings of this summer arent a sign that we are accepting our position as an upper mid-table side then I dont know what is....

Kenny being the manager aside, I think most if not all all fans would have been disappointed to learn that the year where we have more money than ever, we decide to go out and spend it on Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, and Stewart Downing...

Decent players ? Probably... Good enough to take us to the next level ? not in a million years ...

Gotta agree with this, i also cant beleive the amount were spendind on these players since Commoli & Dalglish have come in, IMO only Adam & Suarez look value for money, we have been masively ripped off for Carroll, Henderson and now Downing, absolute joke prices.

Its Ridiculous... What pi$ses me off the most is that we seemed to have a pretty good foundation to build on after last season...

- With Gerrard returning, we'd have a midfield three of Gerrard, Meireles and Lucas.. The most likely to be improved on from the three was always going to be Lucas (who has Spearing as backup, while the other 2 have Aquilani) .. What do we do about that ?

We go out and spend 20mill on Henderson and 10mill on Adam...

- With Kuyt, Maxi, Suarez and Carroll, we have 2 top options and 2 decent ones for the 3 forward positions.. Theres only way way to go from there in my books and thats to add another top option for the 3rd forward spot.. What do we do ?

We go out and spend close to 20mill on another decent option who does little to improve on what we had in our starting 11.

- Meanwhile, our most problematic positions are at the back... The back4 situation is a shambles imo... The CenterBacks arent good enough, the Leftback position is crying out for a new signing, and too much pressure is being put on youngsters to step up their game early on in their careers. What do we do about that ?

- Nothing... Well, we signed our 47th backup keeper if its any consolation

TBH, we would have rather spent the 50 or so million signing top defensive players without touching the midfield and forward positions rather than what we went out and did so far...

I know the transfer window is nowhere near over, but its not realistic to expect us to go out and spend 30 or so more million on improving our backline

These two joke posts epitomise just why I don't bother posting on this forum anymore. These fellas haven't even kicked a ball together in a red shirt for us yet, yet they are getting panned and written off already. Don't worry. I think Kenny and Comolli have killed off more football knowledge squeezing out a rough one on the bog than what you two will ever know in both your lifetimes combined.

[Emerald Red]

I get it now: they don't have tans and can do a fancy step over. Oh, and their names don't have a fancy foreign sounding 'O' or 'S' at the end of them, therefor they aren't worth that 18 million that we all had to stick our hands in our pockets for to chip in for the asking fee. Hmmm.

[metalhead]

Mixed feelings about this signing, however I think he will come good. Been digging up some stats on him and they are actually impressive, his crossing will definetly add another dimension and he will bring some balance into our team. Let's hope he keeps the same sort of consistency he had at Aston Villa and if he does then  I don't think  Ace would complain about it! I don't think we will go for Mata now though, our midfield is sorted we just need another striker, left back and center back and we will be in business.

Welcome to the club Downing!

[aCe']

I get it now: they don't have tans and can do a fancy step over. Oh, and their names don't have a fancy foreign sounding 'O' or 'S' at the end of them, therefor they aren't worth that 18 million that we all had to stick our hands in our pockets for to chip in for the asking fee. Hmmm.

Its a fcking forum where people express opinions.. If everyone sat here like sheep and praised whatever signing we make or whatever decision Kenny makes then we might as well all call it a day like you did...

The whole 'havent kicked a ball' stuff doesnt even make sense... Both Downing and Adam have been in the game for a long time now, for anyone to think that they will suddenly become top class players now that they have signed for us is clueless...

[aCe']

His stats are ordinary... 78 games for Villa - 11 goals and 13 assists

Compared to other wide players in the league for the same time period:

Malouda:  103 games for Chelsea - 30 goals and 19 assists

Ashley Young: 87 games for Villa - 18 goals and 26 assists

Needless to say the likes of Arshavin, Nasri, Nani, Giggs al have better stats..

Some of the smaller names who surprisingly also have better stats include:

Adam Johnson: 59 games - 20 goals and 17 assists

Etherington: 78 games - 13 goals and 20 assists


Point is, it ultimately boils down to whether he offers the balance expected of him or not... Riera was an effective signing imo despite not being the most technically gifted player out there... If Downing can come in and help stretch sides in the final third then that would allows players like Gerrard and Suarez more space and time on the ball in the more dangerous areas...

[RedSi35]

Why do so many have issues with British players?

The myth that foreign lads are cheaper and better is utter bollox IMO.

Downing will provide the width we so desperately need, he is coming into his prime, he is going to be playing around better players than he did at villa.

He is a proven premeireship performer. Job done

[Johnny Boy]

Great news, like the player, slightly overpriced but that's the market at the moment.

[Benny The Noon]

Im not saying Downing is a bad player or a disappointing signing... Hes a decent player -very good on his day- and in my books walks into the starting 11 because of the width and balance he would bring to the side... Still, having signed Adam AND Henderson, I would have thought our last attacking signing (and I dont think anyone here expects any more attacking signings now) would have been a more talented and better overall player than Downing is...

I've always liked Riera, and before that I was a fan of Pennant... Downing isnt very different from either and will probably have a similar impact.. That said, with the funds we had, there was a chance of going out there and signing a top talent who can help transform the side to a title challenging side.. A Mata, Navas, Hazard..etc type of player who would give us that added advantage over our competitors...

Regardless, out of our 3 signings, I think Downing is by far the pick of the bunch... Hopefully he goes on to have his best years with Liverpool because he'll certainly need to perform to the best of his abilities consistently to keep the likes of Kuyt and Maxi on the bench...

Players like , Mata , Hazard and Navas are very highly thought off , very good things said about them , hyped up a lot and have performed well in their respective leagues - But there is no guarentee they would work out in the prem .

We also don't have European football to offer them - so our first task is to get back into the CL and that is where Downing comes in - he has proven himself in the prem over a consistent period

Goals and assist stats are extremely subjective where as Downing created more chances from crosses last season than anyone else and also successfully completed more crosses than anyone else . He will provide for Carroll and give us a new dimension going forward - once we get back into the CL then we look to the next step up and we would be more attractive to players like Hazard etc .

[Dundalk]

Dag nammit , wish to f.uck we could go back to this time last year when we had owners ,a sh!t manager and Joe f.uckin Cole on a free as our marquee signing . Oh yeah and facing the possibility of administration as well . Kenny has a plan and kenny is buying players that will make that plan work . can we atlaest give it half a season until we decide the signings are and not worth the money .

Well said my man...