Good bye, or good buy for Liverpool in the end?

SO the ghost of Kenny Dalglish has been all but exorcised.

With the departure of Downing, Brendan Rogers has shed the last of the major players that were subject to so much derision from Liverpool fans; they were also directly responsible for King Kenny’s ignominious fall from grace.

I still believe that Kenny’s poor showing was largely a result of bad fortune, but some of his choices were hard to understand, especially at the price that the club paid (for a while we seemed to be Leeds). But Stewart Downing was not a mistake and definitely not deserving of the harsh words he has received from many ‘committed’ fans.

Considering that Kenny bought Downing for some £ 18m after the player had had a sparkling season with Villa (who had bought him for £ 12m from Middlesbrough two years earlier), the pundits at the time felt that it was a good deal for both sides.

The fact that he has been sold for £ 6m is as much a reflection on the poor performance of the club in the past few years as it is of Downing’s play. He had the misfortune to be part of a massive influx of players at the top of their game, some of whom had had career seasons and couldn’t adjust quickly enough to their new team and new systems.

Never have so many transfers so underperformed in their first seasons at the ‘Pool. I’m sure that Kenny felt the way that a lot of us felt at the time – optimism at the acquisition of so many fine players that were coveted throughout England. Downing was a coup who played on a team that couldn’t capitalize on his strengths – accurate crosses and pace/skill down the sideline.

Another coup was my own favourite new signing, Joe Cole, a player who had been underutilized at Chelsea but carried all the credentials of an impact player. When he received a questionable red card in his first game, a shadow crept into my mind and I hoped, for a moment, that this wasn’t a sign of things to come. It was.
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Downing had trouble breaking his duck, highlighted by his missed penalty against Chelsea. His confidence seemed to be draining away with each missed attempt at a goal or assist.

At the same time, Charlie Adam seemed lost as just another player on a legendary side like Liverpool. His vaunted pinpoint placement of the ball was more ‘no point’ than pinpoint. And through it all, Stewart Downing patrolled the left side and hoisted ball after ball into the box. And as likely as not, either Andy Carroll would head it over the bar or Suarez would head it into the woodwork.

When Brendan Rodgers took the reins, Carroll was sidelined by either injuries or the manager’s relegating him to the bench. Without Carroll to pick out, Downing was left with the luckless Smurfs and their fondness for woodwork. Needless to say, his stats were not setting the Premiership alight or even making it warm around the edges. With a total of 7 goals and 11 assists in 79 games, Stewart Downing had a frustrating time.

Rodgers called him into his office last January, dangled him into the transfer market, and very publicly questioned the winger’s desire to fight for his shirt. Stewart responded by doing a stalwart job at replacing Jose Enrique and did an adequate job when Raheem Sterling ran out of gas. More than this, in the last part of the past season Downing was arguably our best player, especially after Luis had chewed his way to the cheap seats and Coutinho moved some of the focus to the left wing.

As with all players who have worn the shirt and worked their arses off for the Reds, I wish Downing a successful future. His time at Liverpool was characterized by a litany of insults and derision in fan comments.

I hope he finds a better reception at West Ham and that Big Sam can get more out of him than Kenny and Brendan ever did. He has shown that he has the skills and heart to play at the top level and I hope he does so against every team in the Premier League – except us, of course.
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