While the Luis Suarez racism case has enveloped the club for the past couple of months, intense scrutiny on the performances of certain individuals on the pitch has become somewhat slacker. Summer signing Stewart Downing, who arrived from Aston Villa for the staggering amount of £20m, appears to be a player going through a serious crisis of confidence. The disparity between his performances on the pitch and his value off it are so great at the moment that it beggars belief that he ever cost that much in the first place. Is he Dalglish’s worst signing since returning back to the club?
The gigantic white elephant in the room is, of course, Andy Carroll. The £35m frontman does himself no favours, though. Arriving at the club as the ‘big man’ to Luis Suarez’s ‘little man’, the two have played very few games together. Carroll has either been in the process of returning to full fitness or has been out injured. It has been a never-ending cycle of disappointment.
The galling thing about Carroll is the misconception that Liverpool are not playing to his strengths. The club’s summer purchases of the likes of Downing, Henderson and Enrique were all geared towards getting the best out of Carroll and getting balls into the box. Liverpool, out of all the teams plying their trade in the top flight this term have had the most crosses.
Carroll has varied between lazy and disinterested. His work-rate is at times non-existent and he simply doesn’t look as strong as the bulldozing number nine of yesteryear at Newcastle. His hold up play resembles a man trying to control a balloon and more often than not, balls played up to him come straight back.
He’s not difficult to defend against for ninety per cent of the time, yet on that rare occasion when he does threaten, he can look a real handful. Carroll has been abysmal so far, let’s make no bones about it, but his one saving grace is that there is at least something to work with there. He has the potential to be a great number nine in the future, but only if he starts to believe in that himself and focus less on the price tag hanging around his neck and more on improving his performances on the pitch.
This brings us to Stewart Downing; a player whose reputation has always proved greater than the sum of his parts. Downing should be a byword for underperformance. The creeping suspicion is that he has always struggled when there has been any pressure placed upon him. Poor England performances against the likes of Andorra and Macedonia have become a hallmark of his international career.
Downing has never been blessed with pace and his strength is supposed to lay in his delivery from wide areas. In 20 Premier League games this season, Downing is without an assist. That is not to say, of course, that he has been complete and utter pony for the entire time, but more often than not his delivery leaves a lot to be desired. Frequently unable to beat the first man, too slow to take on a full back and with a worrying propensity to come in off the flank and narrow a midfield devoid of width in the first place even further – Downing has been a huge disappointment.
A lot of the disappointment originates due to the nature of his hefty price tag. Downing always performs well when he’s a big fish in a small pond. His final season at Villa, in a side little was expected of, Downing at times outshone Ashley Young – a player who himself started brightly at Man Utd but has since gone off the boil and faded terribly.
The relative size of the Downing fee appears to derive from two consequences. Firstly, the fact that Villa themselves appeared to have overpaid for him back in 2009 when he signed for £12m, which meant that even a modicum of success at Villa Park was bound to increase upon an already sizeable valuation due to the nature of his nationality, with English talent still acquiring a baffling premium.
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wrong – have you heard of Henderson or Carroll
Downing could have had 5-6 assists if it wasn’t for the woodwork or Carroll’s inability to score
Funny you say that! Hendo is still under 21 (but still a waste of 16 mill as Jonjo is 10 times better and only cost 1.5 mill!!!) Carroll is 22 years old trying to fulfill expectations of the greats! He will come good, but 20 million for Downing (27 yrs old and no resale value) made me sick when I heard it! The other funny thing is that his performances still make me sick and I blame Daglish for it! I’d rather have Kuyt on the left (as he plays it with Holland) and I’m definately sure he would’ve done a better job! I was screaming for Adam Johnson, Boudebouz, Gamst, Keisuke, N’Zogbia instead! If Rafa was here we’d have Mata and an inform Torres (without all the nonsense the previous “owners” promised. Torres offered his thoughts on bringing Mata/Silva and they dismissed it)! Downing is a waste! Period! We all may love Kenny for who and what he’s done, but I guarantee we would’ve been better off with Rafa at the helm! Aqua would’ve done well! and look at the players he brought here! (Pepe, Nando, Arbeloa, Alonso, Kuyt, Lucas, Agger, Skrtel, Glen, Sterling, Jonjo, Silva, LuisG, Babel etc!) plus he guided Stevie G and Carra to their greatest moments as a Red! Plus as an outsider, he lives and breathes LFC; just look at the Hillsborough ceromony when hes thanked for his support! In Rafa we miss! Kenny’s got it all wrong with his ridiculous spending on crap!
I totally agree with this comments, dalglish is OLD SCHOOL ,he has lost touch with modern foot-ball tactics & he is wasteful in his transfer dealings.He is respected for what he achieved in the past for liverpool & i think that’s the reason fans are not calling for his sack yet. He defintely can’t give the club champions league football next season.
Thanks for the understanding. Daglish is releasing his “leashes” allowing mediocrity to set in! Kuyt is defo unhappy, and this is a major concern why we are not winning games! I understand he’s trying to justify his stupid buy in Henderson (young and has upside..BUT, he has no right to playing in the first team week after week with lacklustre performances!), but its at the cost of Kuyt’s leadership and prowess on the pitch! I, to be honest think Carroll will come good! A 30 goal a season type scorer..hmmm. may be not, but he’ll justify “some” of his price tag! The sad thing is he’s not getting breaks (hit post and unbelievable saves from keepers) and as well, not as fleet footed as the quick Torres was! Agreed with ya mate: No CL Football again is really getting my blood boiling! Another thing, when I heard that Chelsea offered Sturridge and 40 mill for Torres, I was jumping for joy! He declined it for the extra money to sign Carroll! :s Idiocricy at its best Daglish and Co.! Sturridge is just like Defoe! They type of player we needed for years on this team! *can’t stop shaking my head* Good luck to the lads and lets hope for a turn around!
Bunch of mugs! Shows Kenny’s genius that as crap as Downing, he’s got serious competition for the title of Dalglish’s worst signing. Seriously, if u lot don’t get champions league by the end of the season ur all f***ed. Villa r in a bad way but Im glad we’re not in Liverpool’s shoes. Expect to be a club in crisis this time next yr. Cheers for the £20mill!
Well VillaTillIDie it was only fair after all the junk we sold off to your lot over the years
AKA. Nothing.
With Downing what we’ve seen is all we’re going to get. I always believed his stock has been talked up big time by pundits and the media. He’s a good player, but I doubt whether he can consistently deliver what is required by LFC. £20 million was far too much to pay for a 27 year old that will have no resale value at the end of his contract. Mata is a much better player and was a better option, and was available to LFC even without CL football. £20 million buy out clause at the start of the summer for a 23 year old WC winner with a much better resale value than Downing could ever command.
Have u ever heard of ‘AUNTY CAROLL’.
Thats wat happens when u dont buy players based on quality. Imagine demba ba ans bellamy’s contribution as free transfee then u will understand what a flop aunty caroll is.
ANDY Carroll’s stats has a better reading than Downing’s.
Carroll :: Played – 31 , Scored – 4 , Assits -2, Woodwork – 3.
Downing :: Played – 24, Scored – 1 , Assits – 0, Woodwork – 3.
NOTE:: Downing was bought to put cross in for Carroll.
Carroll and Hendo has time to learn but Downing at 27 is at his peck.
Agreed Jacko! FULLY AGREED!
i would say hez the worst signing of kenny.just runs,nothing comes out.reminds me of riera
Best signing you ever made as far as we are concerned. 20 million thank you so very much!
I think we should give a few of our young players a run out after all they are supposed to be. Lfc,s. Future. And they can’t be any worse than what’s on show at the moment and they would show alot. More hunger than most of our big buys so why not give them a try