Oh dear, we are actually paying Stewpot to leave. 'West Ham have made a shock £6million move to sign Liverpool winger Stewart Downing. Former Middlesbrough wideman turned down a switch down south to Upton Park earlier this summer. But the Hammers have come back in and the 29-year-old - a £20m capture from Aston Villa just two years ago - is set to cut his losses after failing to establish himself at the Anfield giants. The transfer fee, which could rise to £6m based his on appearances for the Londoners, would represent a massive loss for Liverpool who have also written off £20m in selling Andy Carroll to West Ham this summer. But Reds boss Brendan Rodgers is staging a clear-out of players deemed to have no future at the club as he reshapes the squad for a tilt at a Champions League place over the coming campaign. Talks between West Ham and Downing are at an advanced stage over terms, with one of the stumbling blocks being the player's wages of around £80,000 a week. But Liverpool are prepared to pay up some of his remaining contract to facilitate the deal, and it could be finalised as early as next week. Rodgers meanwhile, has moved to end the speculation over the future of Daniel Agger, by naming him as the new vice-captain of the club. Barcelona have long been rumoured to be interested in the Danish defender, but Liverpool insisted this week that they had received no bids or any contact from the Catalan club. The Reds boss stated bluntly the centre-half was going nowhere: "Daniel's loyalty and his passion for Liverpool is second to none. And if you add that on to his footballing qualities, then I think it's a good choice for everybody." One player who is leaving Liverpool is midfielder Jay Spearing, who has joined Championship side Bolton on a four-year contract after an extended spell there on loan last season. In terms of incoming players, Rodgers has apparently moved closer to landing completing a move for Valencia defender Aly Cissokho. The player claims he has agreed terms with the English club, though the clubs have yet to settle on a fee.' Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footb...rs-stewart-downing-west-2145965#ixzz2bXTfeD5y Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook
Really annoys me when players won't leave because of wage issues. Yeah the old argument about why would we move to get paid less, but 80k a week to 60k a week isn't as big a difference as a 20% cut for us. Why should they accept it? Because apparently they play for the love of the game and not for money - you're not gonna get a game here. Move on, take 60k because thousands others would kill for that much money and try get in the England squad. Greedy twats.
I still remember his 2/3rd game for Liverpool when he put one on a plate for Carroll on the six yard line in front of an open goal - and Carroll hit the bar! All that said, I've always felt his technique is suspect when he's under pressure - fine at chipping balls into dustbins in the carpark, slices his shots, crosses with alarming frequency during crucial games. Good luck Stewie - it certainly wasn't for lack of effort.
It is with great sadness that I announce that after 2 epic years at Liverpool Stewart Downing is leavinng the club to join Andy Carroll and Joe Cole at West Ham. Downing will be playing on the ground of the Olympians from now on. In Downing's first season at the club he wrapped up an impressive 0 goals and 0 assists in the league, and he almost match that impressive record in the cups to, ending the season just 2 goals away from 0. Good bye Stewart. If only you'd loooked like this whilst playing more often: please log in to view this image
All the best for the future Stuey. Im glad you are going to get regular game time at a team that will appreciate your crosses and ainability to make runs. I am even more Glad that you wil no longer be affecting the development of our young players such as Jordan Ibe and Raheem Sterling. I acknowledge that you ARE NOW GUARANTEED TO SCORE AGAINST US THISSEASON, but im happy to take that risk
So glad that this has gone through, he is a bloody terrible player, best bit of transfer business we've done this season.
I don't see Downing/Carroll linking up at West Ham any better than they did here. Problem is, Downing likes to get to the by line and whip in crosses, but Carroll doesn't have the movement to anticipate and get on the end of it. He prefers it just being hung up from wide which allows him to run in onto it.
