I think it’s fair to say that the jury is still out on Liverpool newbie Stewart Downing. He joined the club during the summer in a big money move and has yet to set the Premier League alight in any meaningful way. Not everyone has been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and he’s been on the receiving end of some pretty nasty criticism from Liverpool fans and neutral fans alike.
When questioned recently about Downing progression, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish had these kind words to say:
“Stewart is a fantastic footballer, an England international, who made a big move in the summer to come here, for me, he’s better than I thought he was going to be. I don’t think it’s been too comfortable for him because we’ve played him in two or three different positions. Maybe we have to look at ourselves and say we have to be fair as well. But he’s better than I thought he was. He’s a better footballer – he’s also quicker than I thought.”
No doubt this will leave some fans wondering exactly how bad Kenny was expecting the former Aston Villa star to be when he joined the Reds. But does Downing’s enforced versatility excuse his lack of end product in the Premier League this season?
It strikes me that Liverpool grossly overvalued Downing this summer and ended up giving Aston Villa more than he was worth. Had Downing arrived at Liverpool with a £12m price-tag above his head expectations would have been much lower and he wouldn’t have to prove himself week-in and week-out. As it is, it looks like the weight of expectation is too much and that his performances have suffered as a result.
However you try to frame this picture, it’s quite clear that Liverpool should be expecting more return for their money than a single measly goal against Oldham in the FA Cup.
It’s not fair to expect Downing to have come in and revolutionise this Liverpool side, after all it takes all players a little time to adjust to new scenery. But with a £20m price-tag above your head, I don’t think it’s unfair to expect a little more.
Downing was brought to the club to provide ammunition to players like Andy Carroll, but has yet to register a single assist. This may partly be down to Carroll’s own poor form, but it’s clear that everything hasn’t gone to plan for Downing.
It’s a sad situation. Downing is clearly a good Premier League player, but one whose career has been damaged by overvaluation and the expectations that necessarily follow from big money moves.
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I could not believe Liverpool paid what they did 4 him he is neither young or a star and 20 mill was a rip off.
What the hell is the matter with Dalglish surely he can spend money more wisely than he has, i am confident Kenny will not be managing the boys at seasons end.
I think he is far from good enough, and he hasn’t got the time on his side, like maybe Henderson and Carroll have(though I think Carroll terrible).
But I’d like to point out that poor Downing has hit the bar 3 times. Not that it changes a lot, but it adds a little unluck to his performance.
I think Downing was brought in to supply Carroll with crosses. However with Carroll underperforming Downing’s not been getting the assists he should be and has been forced to adapt to bring something else to the team. Admitidly he’s not looked like a £16-20m aquisition however he does link up well with Enrique down the left.
The prupose of a winger is to supply balls to the forwards (and whoever else is in the box) but with Carroll out of form and Suarez being much shorter and prefering the ball to his feet crosses haven’t been working. Then there’s the midfield who don’t seem to want to get into the box leaving 1 or 2 players battling the entire defence to get on the end of a ball. If you ask me Adam is the biggest waste of money we spent in the summer given he was only what £8m he doesn’t get back to defend, when he is defending he stands right off allowing the player to just breeze past or he puts in a clumsy challenge causing a free kick and maybe a card and he rarely moves forward. He spends the majority of his time inside the centre circle.
Agree entirely. Adam is one of the worst players I’ve seen at Liverpool in more than 40 years of watching them
When you have a spanish manager, he buys, spanish or foreign players.
When you have a french manager, he buys, french and foreign players.
When you have a british manager, he buys, british CR*P) or foreign players.
It is a fact that,everyone knows that british players are sadly lacking in technique and tactical awarness, and KD has only himself to blame, going the british way, while costing LFC massive funds!!!
so annoyed with kenny etc for wasting the money the club has waited so long for. any liverpool fan could’ve told you that downing, carroll, henderson and adam wouldnt be good enough, suprise suprise they arent and never will be. i would quite happily see them all shipped out, but we’d never get what we paid for them and its obvious someones pride is at stake, so they will be played again and again until someone at a high level gets the boot from the owners.
I don’t know why Downing isn’t doing the business. He started off brightly, but as with many high priced players coming to Liverpool over the last 20 years or so, they under perform once they arrive. Maybe they think they have made it once they arrive, but it doesn’t happen for other big teams.
Of all the recent signings, apart from Enrique, have looked anywhere near the money we paid. If we didn’t have the Torres money to offset against spending, things would be looking a lot worse.
Why Henderson keeps getting in the team baffles me. More of a waste than any of the others imho. And that includes Carroll, as he has had much more playing time to under perform and play cr*p. 🙁
Jury still out ?? Are you bonkers – he has been pathetic – in fact consistantly pathetic – would not get in the Malta squad.