Liverpool FC Forum

[Thommo's perm]

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 .

People are always looking for the big name multi million pound supposed"world class " signings .

Maybe it's time now to build a team - the sum of all parts as opposed to talented individuals .

Adam , Henderson and Downing may not be on the level off the Messi's and Tevez's etc but if they all contribute to the team then that's all we can ask .

Is out squad better than the day Kenny took over ?

Yes massively better - look at what Kenny did with that squad - only two teams got more points than us . Imagine what he will do next season .

We also have to look at how players see us - we can't offer European football , massive wages and that puts us on the back foot straight away .

Downing , Adam and Henderson are signings which improve our team and squad and we help us get back into the top 4 .

When you drop the negativity and the silliness you can actually make a good point
KK was in a team which had few, if any "superstars". What they had was good, solid, dependable, passionate players who did their job and supported each other. Through this team spirit they became virtually invincible. So much so that scotch hole actually copied our methods and philosophy and the skanks became the new LFC.
When KK became manager he set out to emulate the team he played in and again we had British players who were all good, but not necessarily regarded as "world class", who had a fantastic team spirit, and only for Hillsborough they would have went on to dominate the PL and the CL in my opinion. I believe he is doing this again and blending the foreign and the British players to get that team spirit back. It is this that will bring us success rather than individuals.
So well done you for noticing

[Sean]

Jason Wilcox was an average left winger before playing for Dalglish at Blackburn.  The king got the best out of him and Wilcox was critical to their '95 premiership win supplying the bullets for the SOS partnership of Shearer and Sutton.  When Kenny left, Wilcox was part of the Blackburn side that got relegated.  My point is Dalglish has proven he can get the best out of players, as no doubt we are about to see with Stewart Downing.

[lakes10]

I am loving the look of this new team kenny is building, With Bristish players holding some very big places in it it think it will give us more guts than all the other teams.

I have been asking for years for our manager to buy British and not its time to see if i was way off in doing so.
yes they can cost more but i think they are worth it.
unlike the big none english players they dont mind playing the first round of the fa cup at some 3div team on a very cold and wet day at a ground they think looks like a car park.

[mramo]

this is mental, midfield is definitely crowded now surely someone has to go?

We really need to address this defence, I'm still praying on Mata btw

and lets get this out of the way now because I've made this mistake

Its S-T-E-W-A-R-T 

Certainly crowded midfield for sure, unless KK feels a little ambitious and play a 3-6-1 formation? 

[jacdaniel]

Im loving this summer so far!  First one in awhile now were we aren't dealing with star players looking to leave, we arent shopping in the bargain basement and we aren't on the verge of administration. Not to mention the growing number of youngsters competing for places in the squad.

We are trying to build a great squad... not spunk millions and millions on star players like Chelsea and City do, without having much of idea of how they'll use them.

I think we're finally getting closer to the golden sky!

[ICE-MAN]

Stewart Downing is a better signing than Juan Mata............. FACT!!!!

I watched a lot of Valencia last season and the Spanish u21's and Juan Mata is a talent, but hes small and lightweight and prefers to play 'in between the lines' (to quote rafa)!!

We badly need width! Downing offers us established Width, he can hit the ground running as he knows our club, the players and the other teams in the premier league!! Had some great stats last season and can contribute more to a better team such as ours as he will be getting quality passes more often from the likes of Gerrard and Adam!

Juan Mata is not a winger, he doesnt get to the byline to get crosses in! He drifts in from the wing too often thereby crowding an already congested area!

Stewart Downing will be a great signing for us! Bit steep with the price but its not coming out of our pocket, its the owners and we can afford it now based on all these sponsorship deals etc!

Kenny wanted him, Kenny got him!  If hes wrong Kenny will fall on his sword but i believe Downing will be a success!! 

[stmichael]

Stewart Downing is a better signing than Juan Mata............. FACT!!!!

I watched a lot of Valencia last season and the Spanish u21's and Juan Mata is a talent, but hes small and lightweight and prefers to play 'in between the lines' (to quote rafa)!!

We badly need width! Downing offers us established Width, he can hit the ground running as he knows our club, the players and the other teams in the premier league!! Had some great stats last season and can contribute more to a better team such as ours as he will be getting quality passes more often from the likes of Gerrard and Adam!

Juan Mata is not a winger, he doesnt get to the byline to get crosses in! He drifts in from the wing too often thereby crowding an already congested area!

Stewart Downing will be a great signing for us! Bit steep with the price but its not coming out of our pocket, its the owners and we can afford it now based on all these sponsorship deals etc!

Kenny wanted him, Kenny got him!  If hes wrong Kenny will fall on his sword but i believe Downing will be a success!! 

Excellent post.

I despair at some of our fanbase sometimes I really do. Heard a load of idiot "fans" on the radio this morning slagging this signing off before the guy's even kicked a ball. Fans who thought we would realistically get a player like Mata when we can't even offer European football were living in cloud cuckoo land.

He was a better player than Young for Villa last season. One has moved for £20m with 2 years left on his contract. The other has moved for £17m with only a year left. At the end of the day he'll improve the side and that's what matters the most.

Oh and look at this stat, in terms of the supposed "overpriced average" players many fans think we have signed this summer. It relates to last season and chances created.

[Redman in wales]

^  interesting to see that Baines is the only defender in that table.

[metalhead]

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...

I'm not only talking about how many assists he created or goals he scored in so games, I took the whole picture, looking at his pass completion rate (average) his dribbling, his chance created, his cross completion (which is very impressive) etc...

I know stats don't tell the whole story, but it does give you a big idea on how a player performed, kind of like when you apply for your MBA and you have to do a standardized test (stats) its part of the application.

[stmichael]

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...

Exactly. He'll improve the side and that's all that matters. It's not always about the best players in the world. Benayoun was a better footballer than Riera imo, but Riera was much more important to the team in the context of the other players being able to flourish around him.

Even though I loved Benayoun when he was here, we missed Riera in certain games due to an inability to stretch defenses and get behind them in wide areas. All our width had to come from the fullbacks because we were too narrow further up the field.

[Ben Patrick]

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...

Exactly. He'll improve the side and that's all that matters. It's not always about the best players in the world. Benayoun was a better footballer than Riera imo, but Riera was much more important to the team in the context of the other players being able to flourish around him.

Even though I loved Benayoun when he was here, we missed Riera in certain games due to an inability to stretch defenses and get behind them in wide areas. All our width had to come from the fullbacks because we were too narrow further up the field.

i think this is the point.
Stretching the opposition and balance is something that a player like Downing will offer.
Its something that we havent had since Riera went and the fact that he can deliver a decent cross is going to be something Carroll will relish.

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

Delighted our well publicised chase for Downing is actually coming to a successful conclusion .It makes a welcome change landing our first choice targets, rather than having to settle for a second or third choice option .The best part is listening to disgruntled opposing fans moaning about the exorbitant prices Liverpool are now paying. Jealousy is an ugly emotion but if its other fans who are experiencing it ,then you know the owners and the manager  are doing something right .   

[Homebooby]

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 .

I agree, I miss the angst and hassle of reading about the club every single morning and the rumours of all of our top players about to be poached from us. I miss the grey hairs and the lack of finger nails and the general positivity that was around the club last summer. These were good times and they will never be repeated.

Damn the owners and damn Kenny plus all of his signings. How dare he steady the ship. How dare he control the press. How dare he take us right out of the spotlight and focus on the business in hand rather than senstionalist global bank managing and cash grabbing. How dare he sell off our prized asset who was unsettling the ship and clearing undermining the whole regime at the club and make not just a profit, but one of the biggest financial coups every seen. I LIKE MY BOTTOM SPOTTY

[tonyeh]

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.

Um, I'm in the can't believe it gang too. 20 mil for Stewart Downing? Bloody hell.   

[ICE-MAN]

Ok, so who do we get for 20m that will take us to the 'next level' when we cant offer any of the fancy european so called stars any european football or the promise of challenging for titles?

Kenny is building a team, Downing will be a major asset to that team, the Team will take us to the next level!!!