Growing up, my three favourite Liverpool players were Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and John Barnes. A lethal natural goalscorer, and two very gifted wingers who could provide guaranteed supply from the wide areas. Since the early to mid 90s though, and the departures of all those players from the club, we have only replaced one, the lethal natural goalscorer. Fernando Torres is the current Robbie Fowler, but where are the wingers? Have we ever bothered to replace them? No, we haven’t, and I am certain that one of King Kenny’s top priorities will be to find a player in this January transfer window who can not only provide a threat from out wide, but can also frighten the life out of defences with their sheer speed. Although there are many options that could be suggested, players such as Arda Turan, Pablo Hernandez, Juan Mata, and Balazs Dzsudzsak, the three players who are most constantly linked with us recently are Ashley Young, Stewart Downing and Charles N’Zogbia. Out of these three, which one would you buy? I have offered my opinion on all three below:
Ashley Young – My favourite out of the three for one fundamental reason: pace. At 25 years of age, the Aston Villa winger is getting into the prime of his career, and with Villa currently struggling at the bottom of the table, Young maybe looking for a new challenge, especially as his contract expires at the end of next season. According to Sky Sports, the Reds made an enquiry about the player, along with Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal, but the one thing the Reds can guarantee unlike these other clubs is first team football. Perhaps Young may believe that he would be moving to another mid-table team like Villa but with a manager like Kenny Dalglish and the top talent already at the club, he should be confident in believing that the only way is up for the Reds. He can play either on the right or even behind the striker, but his preferred position is on the left where he can cut in onto his right foot to shoot or put in a dangerous cross. He is also a very good free kick taker.
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Stewart Downing – The Reds have also said to have enquired about the availability of Downing with Villa, as well as Young, and the winger would certainly be a different option to his team-mate. He is remarkably Villa’s top goal scorer with five goals this season and his prolific start to the season in front of goal has seen the 26 year old hit a rich vein of form. For me though, the prospect of having Stewart Downing on one side, with Dirk Kuyt on the right, would not fill any opposition defence with dread, as although Downing is quicker than Kuyt, he is not lightning fast, and it would reinforce an already one paced attack. Speed kills in football in my view, and for us to be a threat at the top of the league again, we need an injection of pace into the team and Downing would not fit the bill.
Charles N’Zogbia – My second choice behind Young, the Frenchman does have great dribbling ability and an abundance of pace. He has certainly been Wigan’s best player over the last 18 months but that’s not saying an awful lot considering the performance of the Latics during that time. Saying that though, N’Zogbia is a class performer but I would like to see him perform at this level for a longer period of time before I am convinced he is good enough to play at Liverpool. He has scored some excellent solo goals at Wigan, with a cracking goal coming against Newcastle this season, and is a massive threat with his forward runs from counter attacks. He is certainly another option to consider.
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Well you come to the Villa with a price and then watch us reject it all January. We’ll see if backing a manager or short sighted reactionary sackings are what’s needed at a football club.
would rather have turan as first choice
AND HAMILL
Young or Elia.
Totally agree Dan. Go for Charles and Elhaj Diouf
They’ll fit in well
Ardan Turan is another Luca Modric………
Watch this space
Villa have signed Darren Bent for 18-24m, so let’s be honest the ambition of the club is still there and we have already signed Makoun.
———-Agbonlahor——Bent
Young—————————–Alrighton
———Downing——-Makoun————
Clark—-Dunne——-Collins——-Walker
—————Fridel———————
That is Aston Villa’s best team sheet for a very long time, we have a fully fit squad now so we will be pushing up. We haven’t had a proven goal scorer since Dwight Yorke
“He has certainly been Wigan’s best player over the last 18 months but that’s not saying an awful lot considering the performance of the Latics during that time.”
And just how many points ahead of relegation certainties Wigan are the mighty Liverfool? How many points exactly are Liverfool behind Manyoo?
Having worked it out, which team are the Anfield giants most akin to?
N’Zogbia and Adam Hammil
Affordable quality!
Turan & Young
Expensive quality!!!
lfc to play wolves
TORRES_______SUAREZ
A.YOUNG______VAN BOMMEL_____GERRARD______ELIA
WARNOCK______AGGER______________SKRTEL________KELLY
what a dreamer, you’ve got as much chance of gettin young as you did of getting barry, 22 YEARS and counting lmao
luk who’s talking…hws relegation zone treating u..??
by the way, young and downing are on their way out, just like barry and milner..
I would have replaced Skrtel with Kelly, Johnson on the right and Meireiless for Van Bommel. 🙂
Thats very good where is the goalkeeper numbnuts
I like how you mentioned Wigans Performances. Did you happen to watch Wigan v Liverpool this season where we absolutely battered you and the fact you came out of that game with a point is a miracle.
Maybe N’Zogbia would have to prove himself to get into Liverpools squad 5 years ago but he would walk into it today. I think the only thing Young has over him is a bit more pace. I think he’ll go to you in about 10 days for 9million
I see. So you absolutely battered Liverpool? What position were you playing? I don’t remember seeing you on the park. Wigan Athletic beat Liverpool that day, and deserved to. I don’t remember you being among the team that did it.
Kenny should go for either Charles N’Zogbia or Ashley Young. Both players are very exciting wingers. They’re fast, can cross, create chances and play in a number of positions. Downing should not be considered as the guy’s average at best. As a winger, he’s not particularly fast and would not improve our current squad. I would expect Young to cost as much as as 15-20 mil while N’Zogbia maybe 10 mil. Getting a winger is a priority but we need a pacy one who can take on defenders and cross as well as creating chances. Downing is mediocre and not good enough but N’Zogbia and Young are good options that are worth considering.
downing is much better than any winger we currently have(not that we have one)…
though not a priority, he wud b a pretty gud signing..
N’Zogbia is way more quality than anyone gives him credit for. Having watched them both I can say he’s better than Valencia. He could easily be the best player on this list but is for absolute certain the best value
I think we should go for Ashley Young. He will definitely improve the liverpool side and create space also for the likes of Gerrard, Kuyt, Maxi to move up and support Torres in attack. Another option in my humble opinion is to use Pacheco on the right side when results are going our way. Another very good addition would be Mata. But I don’t think he will come.
save option-n’zogbia any day than downing or young
gamble but worthy-eden hazard
if we go for power,i always convinced it is HULK…
Get Juan Mata, Ashley Young and Turan!
Well not knowing how much the club can afford i would go Santi Cazorlo as he is brilliant and can play either side.
My other choice would be Hammill just to balance the books.
Yes, Villa are struggling with relegation 4 points behind Plop and having played Spurs and Chelski twice!
The comments here show little knowledge of either Young or Downing, but maybe an avid read of the red tops and watching MOTD.
Ash Young hasn’t beaten a full back for pace in 18 months! Downing, on the other hand, has been tearing new a’holes in his full backs when allowed to play on his proper side – LW!