it's all just talk to build up his price in any way possible. sooner his negative ass is out the door the better... by negative i mean back passing ad infinitum which cost us the fa cup last may for example.
Like mentioned it took him what 18 months to start thinking of playing the way he know he can and start earning the 90.000£ a week Nah a little to late but if he is still here the end of Jan then he really has to pull his finger out and proper repay us for giving him this much time not to mention the wages But 1 person i would defo want to go is J.Cole now he is a waste of a place and money
No footballer should need motivation beyond the fact that it is his job and he's being paid a fortune to do it. If you don't give your all, you don't play- simple as that, imo. If he needed a kick up the arse ( did he actually use that word in a press interview?) then clearly his attitude and commitment are suspect. However, if he were to continue to play well and be a game winner for us, then we would be mad to let him go just because he's got on our collective tits. Let's see where he goes from here in the next three or four games.
Like everyone's said, playing for Liverpool should be enough motivation for anyone, let alone someone who is on 90k per week. If he had actually come good then fine, maybe we can open the debate about him staying (though it still tips in favour of him leaving like a big fat black girl on a seesaw opposite a dwarf). But he hasn't... One good game does not a player make. As for good, I wasn't even impressed with him last week. Despite scoring (fluke) and assisting (he was trying to pick out Johnson and missed him horribly, watch the replays) he wasn't a threat at all. He'd get the ball in an advanced position, run to the corner, **** himself and pass back. He's 28, not 18. So many chances I'd afford a teenager, not a player supposedly in his prime. He's not getting any better. Watch. If he plays tomorrow, he'll be his usual self. And if he isn't, he's still taking up the spot of players who have been motivated since the minute they got here, for less money and less support. I've had enough of his mini-revivals, his occasional assist in the Europa, and a CONSTANT place in the starting 11. That's the root of our misery for the past few seasons. Players who aren't fit to wear the shirt wear it every week, because we keep coming up with excuses for them. I'd take 6m for him. With that money we can plunder any European club for a better, younger winger.
I forget he's on 90k. Everyone moans about Cole but Downing is on a third more and is far worse. Wouldn't pay him more than 20.
Is he? I thought it was 60 for some reason. Either way shocked we were paying 90k for Downing. Its not just the transfer fee now, its the millions we've spent on his wages too.
The problem with selling Downing is not just the selling fee which could be we'll down on what you paid for him: you may hve to accept £5 million. It is also his wages. Why would downing go to another club which will pay him 'only' £45k for example? No top club will want him, and a mid table club will not be able to match his current wages. I'm afraid you are stuck with him to the end of his contract ( unless you are prepared to subsidise his wages as well as accepting a massive loss on his price).
You are spot on. Just got to hope he progresses from here, he is a decent enough footballer that is the truth of it so rather than try to pick faults on a fine performance on Saturday why not back him and see if he can do a job for us? And he isn't constantly in the starting 11 by the way
I don't think it was picking holes, I think everyone was fine with the way he performed.......................... but to be told you can leave is what motivated you? Doesn't sit well with many, certainly not me. You should be motivated by a lot more and a lot sooner than this.
The only reason why he has put in a performance is that he is now in the shop window. If he is told he can stay, he will no longer be in it and there will be no reason for him to put in a shift. He is massively overpriced and even on a free transfer now, his wages will be a problem for any other club willing to take him. The solution is to beg him to work hard or pray
When he scored he put his fingers to his lips in a "be quiet" gesture, now he may be frustrated at the stick he's been getting from the media and fans but imo it was deserved so his gesture annoyed me. I would have more respect if he just got on with it and scored again in the next game other than feeling all hard done by.
I saw that, almost made me vomit, someone who hasnt scored or assisted in the league for over a year telling his critics to shhh ! you couldnt make it up really. Another thing I do take exception to are the fans saying "Playing for Liverpool is all the motivation player X should need & he's on £90k a week that should be all the motvation he needs" this is naiveity on a huge scale, football as we know it has finished years ago, players are not motivated easily these days unless they are playing to keep in the premiership and keep their premiership wages or they have an exceptionally good manager that can keep them motivated. Liverpool has recently been seen as a gravy train, once they come to us (the best of the rest essentially) they have made it, you have see players like Joe cole, Downing, Charlie Adam no passion just picking up the ridicuous wages we pay. What do they have to play out of their skins for ? No title, not gonna get relegated, small chance of getting in the champions league. Easy to coast it as long as they pick up 1 win in 3. Hopefully Rodgers is slowly starting to buck the trend by signing young hungry players but i'm of the thought that the youth today are bridging the gap of delusion between experienced negotiaters/footballers such as Cole. Not sure exactley what contract Sterling negotiated but if rumours are true, sounds like he was calling the shots ! Hope he turns out more Shelvey (grafter) than Downing or Cole (shirkers of responsibility)
Unless, of course, Downing wants to play football. Crazy I know but I believe he was told he could leave after questioning Rodgers about the amount of games he was getting! If Downing is on the 'wanting to leave' boat then wages won't as big an issue because he will know other clubs won't pay it. It becomes wages v football.
Coming out and saying something like this is just another way to try and justify his mediocre performances in the last two years. Like trying to say all he needed was the right motivation and then he'd play well.
