KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Downing for 16mil or we turn to Mata

yes maxi, bellamy has played predominantly as a left forward/winger for some years now. It is a myth that he is still a striker first.

Can't find any reference to it but I'm positive that it caused a big fuss on more than one occasion. It was debated on the LFC forums just before he signed for us and came up again after an international from what I remember. Either way, as long as the little tw@ isn't on our radar I'll be happy.

i was surfing the rumour sea and saw a few villains stating that they had seen him but one of ours was at Liverpool airport and posted on Sky Fan Rumours that he saw Mata arriving.

Has anyone else seen any links of Jovanivich going the other way with Downing? Saw this posted on a Villa site on Sunday.

no i havent seen it but it sounds like [oops]. but if true i wouldnt mind jova being swapped in a deal.

There were so many rumours that Doni was gonna have a medical today, a lot of them, yet nothing has materialised. I know they are only rumoours but things looked like they were gonna happen today. leaves me wondering...

Me too, i'm expecting a call anytime.

Here is an excerpt from quite an interesting article I read today. thought you guys might be interested and it might help raise more support for the Downing move. Enjoy.

To think that Kenny Dalglish gave the go-ahead on signing Carroll for £35m without realising that he needs good service borders on insulting the King’s knowledge of the game. We all know Andy’s main strengths, he has great physical presence and colossal heading ability. He gets less praise for his ability to pick a pass and he also has a decent touch, impressive attributes for such a big man. Carroll also has a ferocious shot, it is clear to see why, in this department, parallels with Alan Shearer have been drawn.

Carroll however, also has weaknesses. He could do with working on his ball retention and hold-up play, as he is often clumsy or wasteful when playing a simple pass. Also, for a man who to look at, appears at a glance to be something of a beast – Carroll could also improve on his strength.

Upon his signing I had noticed in his medical photos that his upper-body could do with a lot of work, he did not cut the figure of a toned, conditioned and muscular modern pro, but then he did have a reputation. Carroll is also not the quickest, which diminishes our ability to thread through-balls to Carroll as a viable, steady supply-source of goal-scoring chances.

This is precisely the problem in the debate over Mata that so many fans seem to miss. Liverpool need someone who can deliver a cross. This is not Mata’s style. He is a great little player but a gamble in terms of getting the best from Carroll. Mata is a typical Spanish schemer, playing in a floating role on the left, looking to playing quick one-twos, or to pick an incisive through ball. Mata plays most of his football in a more central area of the pitch, drifting in on the left side of a front three. The same people who clamour for Mata would also likely state that Liverpool need width. Mata would simply not provide the desired width we need.

Whilst the thought of Mata and Suarez linking up on the left, playing intricate, incisive football on the deck is great in theory, such a system would not suit big Andy, who thrives on good crosses (or indeed even average ones. Man City anyone?). Make no mistake – next season we will be looking to get crosses to him. Whilst Mata does not provide traditional, touchline-hugging, by-line-driving width, Downing certainly does.

It is the width offered by Stewart Downing which puts him ahead of Mata as a priority signing for Liverpool. The left-footer whipped in more crosses in open play than any player in the Premier League last season, 135 in total. According to Opta stats, this is more than any other player has accumulated in a season in the last three campaigns. Very impressive. We are all aware too that Downing is not overly elaborate and could hardly be described as a ‘flair’ player, but then the same can be said for the likes of Antonio Valencia at Man Utd, who was widely praised for his simplicity on the ball at the tail end of last season (rightly so in my opinion, he rarely loses the ball).

Downing is not a ‘one-trick pony’ as many lazily suggest – some, with dreams of comedy superstardom have described him as a ‘no-trick pony’. Again, this is lazy – if not just downright idiotic. As we can see, Downing’s main ‘trick’ is offering width and providing crosses, but he is also capable of scoring goals as well as creating them (as we found out to our detriment) – eight in total last season. Downing can also pick a pass as well as deliver crosses. Strikers with pace, such as Gabriel Agbonlahor, and more recently Darren Bent have both benefited from Downing’s ability to split a defence over the last few years. Were it not for Bent’s famed profligacy in front of goal, and inability to stay onside, Downing may have claimed many more than the nine assists he contributed last season.

When I said pretty much the same thing you said I was talking sh1t!

marko do you work for news of the world

Wait a minute there Carheex,since you are claiming that I said you were talking sh1t, I would like you to find that post and quote me. I can guarantee that you won't be able to do that because I never tell anyone on here that they are talking sh1t. I might have written that I disagree, I don't deny that, and I still feel the same, however, I found that article to be interesting and I am not afraid to put my hands up and say "hey, I made a mistake". I definately did not tell you you were talking sh1t though buddy. Armi, as humorous as your comment is, the answer is NO!

Anyways, I also always stated, that no matter who we sign, once they put on that red shirt, they will have my full support! So i don't really see what the prolem is with the article I posted. there are some very valid points that didn't come to my attention before I read that article and I just wanted to share them with fellow supporters. It seems to me like a lot of the people on here are more worried about who was right or wrong, and less worried about actually sharing their knowledge and views. Anyways, I am happy to share my views with you guys, some of you will appreciate it and others won't but hey, that's how it is. Anyways, let me know what you guys think about what is said in the article.Do you agree with it?