It seems as if Downing doesn't want to beat his man because he's to lazy too, he knows he can beat his man he just can't be bothered to put the effort in.
Or maybe he prefers to pick his chances and keep us in possession I certainly saw him beat his man a couple of times today.
Well tbf I haven't seen our game today, I was at work till 4:30, but going to watch it at 10:00. But even still, how many times have you actually seen him beat his man in the year and a half he's been here?
I think it is probably more a case of 'whats the point' since we never have anyone in the box. Of course, that has changed slightly with Sturridge on the pitch but then, that is still only one guy who isn't particularly great in the air
I've seen it much more frequently over the past few months as his game has improved and he has grown in confidence. Maybe he isn't the greatest winger to grace Anfield but he's in the team and doing a good job for us. Always thought we had the sort of fans who appreciated hard work and commitment to the cause, while he wears a Liverpool shirt and keeps putting in 100% we shouldn't keep berating him Just enjoy the fact that we had a comprehensive victory today and everyone was superb.
I hate missing a game but I also hate watching a game knowing the outcome! Hence me occasionally avoiding the scores and not being around.
It's still not acceptable of a £20m winger though, and even though the price tag wasn't his fault, it still had to take Rodgers to tell him he can leave to give him a kick up the arse for him even to try and push on.
Careless having a mod avoid being on here during a match day. Especially after a poor result. #SacktheMod
no i'd loan suso back into spain whwere his technical ability can flourish. I'd not put the kid into a relegation dog fight to be put on a bench. on downing.. he plays cos rodgers rewards diggers and mouth pieces. and nobody else is much good are they? sterling is raw and played a lot without delivering end product but thats ok.. downing is 28 and needs to be sold to get anyhting back on him..... for me we did play 442 with coutinho starting left and downing right. I'd hope hendo was rested not dropped today.. we'll see soon enough. I think our first 11 should pick itself right now... its is entirely obvious... the only actual question is continue with carra reina johnson skertl agger enrique gerrard lucas henderson countinho sturridge suarez wisdom, kelly, sterling, suso and allen are the onylreserves worth bothering with.. borini just doesn't look a goal scorer, allen is 22 so can't be villified totally as he's a trier. Shevely, downing and the rest.... sell sell sell. take a look at that 11 and improve it to top 4 level..... its obvious that we'd need a vincent kompany, a Felliani and a hernandez type added to improve us. It's amazing how seasons can be transformed by one or two signings. in 1998/1999 we finished SEVENTH... were crap in the cups as well.... just look back at it. we tried and failed with the dual manager experiment and ended up having houlliers first year i ncharge. our team was James Heggem Babb staunton Carra Mcmanaman ince redknapp berger Owen fowler. just take a look at that... bar staunton playing CB we had a team on paper there that was pretty impressive yeah? I think personally we don't need a total transformation like houllier tried. we just need the key players like hyppia, hamann and henchoz.... they got 4th after losing mcmanaman and ince and redknapp to name but a few. and gerrard came in of course. Lets be honest, if we look hard at our team now its got quality but a neutral would probably look funny at us if we said player like agger who regulalry has just let guys score are world class... the other thing houllier brought was defensive discipline and i think sides who are hard to scroe against finish far higher in this league..
Last two big transfer windows were we've needed to kick on we've failed massively to improve the squad. 2002 and 2009. 2002 we bring in Diouf, Diao etc and we went from title challengers to out of the top 4. 2009 we get rid of Alonso & Arbeloa bring in Aquilani, Johnson but fail to bring in players in other numerous positions (e.g. a back up striker for Torres) and end up going from title challengers to scraping through to the Europa league due to Portsmouth not being allowed in because of their finances. Lets hope we can do the opposite this time and go from scraping into the Europa league to title challengers
"Kuyt-inho" looks pretty good. Thing he definitely has potential to eclipse big-daddy Kuyt. Can't say they look much alike though... hair maybe a little. Please do not try dissuading me of my fantasy. He is Kuyt's son and its going to stay that way... bastards!
I know I'm supposed to bask in the win and be happy for the team, but how many times have we felt like this this season? There was a time not too long ago where we looked like pushing on and taking 4th. We had won 5 of 7 if i recall and people here were creaming themselves at Downing's "performances". Then we crashed back to reality and once again our season is practically over in February. I'm a realist. I love being positive and I'll give years of chances to young players, even young players so far down the pecking order they've gone on loan to a Spanish B side. But being content with where we are is dangerous. Saying "Downing's not the best but he's ok, and he can play but doesn't choose to most of the time" scares me. I'd rather not have him guaranteed a place, no matter how meaningless or big a win this was. Because if we don't pick at the little details, we'll never improve. At Liverpool, 28 year old Downing fails to assist or score, but looks dangerous twice and keeps possession (a split second too long every time). He's patted on the back because he's not bad and we shouldn't scapegoat him because of his effort. Result? We crash out of the cups, our youngsters aren't given a look in and our season ends in February. It's alright though, there's always next season when our talented youngsters are supposed to shine despite not getting playing time. Over at the Camp Nou, 20 year old Tello fails to assist or score, but looks dangerous twice and keeps possession (a split second too long every time). He's given dirty looks by teammates and the manager, and dropped until his effort improves. Barcelona continue to win La Liga, fight for the Champions League, and Spanish Cup places. Their football is magical to watch, Tello improves his attitude and becomes more clinical and selfless. Next season he can really shine. That difference is the reason I like to pick apart good performances. It's easy to spot mistakes when the whole team makes them and loses, but it's the sign of champions to spot them while winning.
Good post Danilo! I agree with the sentiment of your post; we really have to be ruthless if we want to get back to the top. Whilst I have been the biggest critic to those who feel the need to have scapegoats, there is a difference in identifying the weakest links and replacing them. Whilst Downing has obviously improved (he couldn't not to be honest), you do have to question his mentality since he joined the club. He actually started pretty well, but lost confidence/belief alarmingly, then he went missing for the best part of 12 months and only improved once the fear of the chop hit home. For me thats not the sort of mentality we need to build from and is an indication that he is not cut out for the highest levels of football. With that said there is also an element of realism; how much will he fetch if we were to sell him, and is that fee enough to get rid of an attacking option with at least some experience? Get 5mil for him and its probably best to keep him, that unfortunately is the paradox of some of our players, we cannot afford to bring in quality replacements for the members who are not good enough. The value of the squad is actually very low, barring Suarez. I have to say you really have to say its not an easy job Rodgers has got right now. He probably would like to get rid of Downing, Hendo (perhaps) but the likely transfer fees mean its not really worth doing. Tough gig!! It all feels eerily similar to spells under Rafa; or fantasypremierleague as I like to call it! The only way to bring in funds is perhaps to get rid of some players we would really want to keep(Suarez, Agger, Reina etc...)
