23 Dec 2012

Good news? BR reveals details of 'honest' transfer chat with 'outstanding' £20m star...

Liverpool winger Stewart Downing revealed last week that he is 'free to leave' Anfield during the January transfer window, but after his man of the match performance last night during the Reds 4-0 victory over Fulham, Brendan Rodgers hinted that the much-maligned £20m signing could end up staying at the club.

Downing grabbed his first Premier League goal/assist for 19 months against Fulham, and when asked about his future after the game, he said:

"I’m just trying to work hard, and take the opportunity when given it.

"It’s out of my hands, and it’s up to the club what happens in January. I’m here to play, and when I get the opportunity I’ll try my best".


In his post-match interview, Rodgers was also asked about Downing's future, and he suggested that the 'brilliant' 28-year old could still have a future at the club. He noted:

"He and I had an honest conversation. I want him to be part of the group, but at his age, we talked about him playing regularly, and obviously, if the opportunity had come for him to go, then he and I would look at it.

"His reaction from that conversation 6 or 7 weeks ago has been outstanding. If he keeps playing like that, he’ll be in the team, so there will be no need for him to leave to get games"
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Whether Rodgers is being totally honest is debatable; privately, he would probably bite the hand off any club that offered a decent amount of money for Downing, but he'd never admit that in public.

I personally still want Downing to leave. Yes, he had a good game, but the fact remains that prior to yesterday's game, he hadn't scored/created a goal in the league for almost 19 months.

One game does not define a player, and when assessing Downing's worth to the club, his whole time at Liverpool must be considered, and the brutal truth is that he just hasn't made a consistent creative impact on the team.

Hopefully, Downing's good performance will alert other managers, who may then move for him in the January transfer window.

Jaimie Kanwar


65 comments:

  1. As long as he,s replaced i,d still let him go, one swallow dont make a summer as the saying goes, would hang on to him if no direct & immediate replacement though. Cant forget all the games he,s been rank in just because of yesterday, if we want to seriously improve we need better, more consistent players

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  2. Off topic, but being an Indian it was nice gesture from LFC to pay a tribute to Sachin Tendulkar retirement from ODI cricket. @IndiaLFC tweet...!! Massive fan of both.

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  3. Maybe with Sturridge in the box instead of AC he will make more assists. And Sturidge will be our central striker.

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  4. I`m all for players playing well, so although I don`t like Downing, I still want him to do well, as that only benefits us. If he can carry on playing like he did yest, then I would be happy for him to stay. There is a few games between now and the end of jan, so I would wait for a few more to see if he can keep up his good work, if in the next two games he doesn`t then sell.

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  5. Yea I thought that was a nice touch too

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  6. Sturridge is meant to be having his medical today, so I know most people don`t want him, but im really looking forward to him. 60k a week wages is the rumour too, which just goes to show to all those people who were saying he is demanding stuff, clearly if true he wasn`t. Suaraz and Sturridge can both play wide or central so I would guess they might switch mid game a lot, keeps defenders guessing, and makes tracking them much harder

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  7. If we can't get a replacement, it might not turn out to be a bad thing. BR seems to be having a positive effect on the Dalglish flops (Henderson and Downing have put in some positive performances recently). Even though Downing's stats for last season are abysmal, I hope he is given a few more matches before we decide to sell him or not, and personally, I hope we keep Henderson as he is showing signs of progress and hopefully he can replicate the form he showed for his former club.

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  8. Same, I`m one of the few who actually like him I think lol. He is a goal scocer who really craves scoring, to me that is perfect. Also He looks to be BR`s first choice, and I know a lot of people prefer Kevin Gamerio over him, but if Kev was his second choice, to me that shows the manager see`s something he prefers in Sturridge, and I`m willing to trust him. First choice means playing as he wants, second choice means comprimise, which is never as good.

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  9. I agree Henderson has got a lot better, I think the price tag killed him. If he was signed for £6mil, no one would have any worries about using him as a sub, bringing him in slowely and getting him up too speed. For £16mil it`s come in and be the best ever right NOW. It weren`t the lads fault how much KK paid for him.

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  10. I hope Downing stays and gets a run of games. It seems that Rodgers has a way of getting the best out of players with low confidence.

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  11. It was only one game, and could be Shop Window stuff, like actually trying so another club comes in, if thats the case its shocking that he hasn`t been bothered for the last 18months!

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  12. I think he(Sturridge) is a good player that can develop to a great one if... Lots of 'ifs' actually, but we can do it. Switching positions off course, but knowing that in most cases Daniel is ahead of Luis.

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  13. am i the only one who still thinks we need a 3rd proven goal scorer to give us a scary front three ....Suarez , Sturridge and Baaaaaaaaaaa.... suarez 20 +sturridge 15 + Ba 20 + 20 from mid and defence thats aba 75 goals ...top 4 ei

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  14. I dont know about these comments brilliant and outstanding next to Downings name but it is good to see him do a bit for a change.
    One positive is that a couple more decent games may create some interest and up his selling price which i gather is around 5 million pounds.

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  15. It has been more than one game, he was the best player in last weeks defeat to villa. Plus he hasn't done a bad job playing LB. There could be a glimmer of chance that he comes good in the end. Look at Lucas or Bale at spurs, stranger things have happened.

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  16. I`m not sure he will be, Luis has done well in the main role, and did say he prefers that roll. I know on the face of it Sturridge looks like he would be the man for the central role, but in BR fans interview last week, he stated how he wants someone who will cut in from the side to fill the space created by the Central guy. When I say cut in, I mean act like a centeral striker, and get super close to goal, just from out wide not straight. I think its a hard one to guess.

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  17. True, but both Lucas and Bale were young, it is not often a leopard changes its spots. I do see your point, that he is filling a role, and maybe while we are still short on numbers he could be useful at least until the end of the season. He can cover LB, so if injuries come up etc he could be of use.

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  18. Luis said he likes the role of Free central striker, so I see it as striker, shadow striker and a natural winger on the other flank. Luis being the shadow one...

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  19. Seen the game already? Impressions?

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  20. No lol. My reasons are yes I agree we could do with say Walcott, someone who can play wide or central, but the front three, isnt just three strikers who play central, I think BA would be a waste unless played central. So I guess you could put Luis and Sturridge out wide, and that would work.

    I do agree we need another, just not BA. If we could get Walcott as well as Sturridge, then that would be amazing. A front three who can all switch.

    Also remember Ince looks on his way.

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  21. I think your over confident on how many goals people will score too. However plays central may score 20 goals in a good year, but the wide ones would more likely only get 10 goals, again in a good year.

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  22. Would it be fair to say that if Downing did not arrive with a big price tag then we would not really be making such a big fuss and there would have been less pressure on him?

    Rodgers did tell him he could leave a week or so ago but that could be the kick up the butt he needed as Downing has made it clear that he wants to stay so now he has his chance to show what he really is capable of.

    He has not exactly covered himself in glory since arriving but last night he did show what he was capable of and he was one of our best performers. If he can do this on a regular basis then there would be no reason to let him go so what I am thinking is that Rodgers is giving him till the end of the season to show more of what we saw last night. If he does not produce more shows like he did against Fulham before the end of the season then he will be sold off.

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  23. Rodgers hinted to supporters at a fans meeting on Friday that Luis Suarez‘s future lies as a creative wide or number 10 player – meaning Sturridge could be used in the central role he has yearned for at Chelsea but never been given.

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  24. i think last season he made some decent crosses but as usual our strikers couldn't put it away .so if we get some decent strikers it could up his assist ratio.

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  25. yeah I saw the interview, you could be right, lets wait and see. I think though it is a massive improvment on what we have right now. if it happens

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  26. Agreed there would be less pressure, but no goals in 18months from a winger is still not good enough!

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  27. i would keep him till the end of the season hes playing alright and the money we would get now would not amount to much .but if he carrys on playing well then we will get more money for him or he could prove his worth and keep his place,sturridge is going to be another waste of 12 million another player none of the other big teams have shown the slightest bit of interest in a bit like allen

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  28. Yesterday's game illustrated how well Suarez creates space for others to run into with his own movement. Doesn't even have to have the ball, he just moves defenders around with his drifting around. I think Sturridge could work with that pretty well. Suso and Shelvey ran into quite a few pockets of space created by Suarez's movement, which also had a positive knock-on effect on Enrique's attacking into space. But I find Suso lacks the cutting edge when he is running into space and seems a bit 'lost' in that regard. He needs to work on that but he is a youngster. He is at his best when he has the ball to his feet but there will be moments when you have to run onto the ball when attacking a space (especially in this league), which is what Suso needs to work on. Shelvey isn't polished at that either but he has got that natural eagerness to shoot for a attacking midfielder as well as the directness, which makes it a little bit easier for him. Sturridge isn't polished either but he has a good finish on him and attacks 'inside' space from wide positions reasonably well at least. I think that is what he could bring to the side over the others. I'm not a fan of him but he has his strengths and if honed right, could be beneficial for us.

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  29. you quoting from another site lol

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  30. No, just goals. Need to see a complete game, may be next week when they telecast LFC TV in India. I think Downing's goal was GK mistake too. Taking nothing away from Downing but it could have been saved.

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  31. completely agree, and im glad a few others are seeing it too. I think his style will suit what we have. Like you said Suaraz main skill is creating space. Sturridge is great and ruinning in and nicking the goal from space created.

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  32. why all the hate for Sturridge, 8 goals in 12 games for Bolton, 24 goals in 49 starts for Chelsea, that is just what we need. Granted his chelsea stats get lower when including subs, but there still not bad. For a young lad who doesn`t get a run of games, he has done well.

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  33. If he was spanish, people would be raving about him

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  34. Forgot to put quotation marks, but it it obvious...

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  35. Downing has always took time to settle in, I would keep him for squad depth.

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  36. Agreed on the goal- but it was pretty close, and the keeper expected it to the other end. And it was very, very fast ball...

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  37. I agree with you on that one. He needs to get stuck in now. he has a chance to turn things around.

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  38. Yip, change his nationality and people wil be screaming for LFC to sign Sturridge.

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  39. The problem with Downing has been the lack of belief in his self to be a top LFC player. I think Rodgers has played mind games with Downing,Enrique and Henderson be telling them that are free to leave to the club. By doing maybe that has takesn the weight of their price tags which for Downing and Henderson it has been a heavy burden for them to carry. That changes their focus from justifying their transfer fees to saving their careers at LFC which all three have responded well to. Plus over the past few weeks Rodgers has appointed sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters, one of the key figures behind the success of the British Cycling team. I find this events interesting because if Rodgers is tapping into this area of the development of the footballer then I see some great things to come from our younger players like Sterling and Suso.

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  40. If it needed to threaten him with being move out of Anfield to finally start performing, we should have threatened a lot earlier. I have nothing against keeping Downing, if he keeps performing at a high enough level.

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  41. While Downing hasn't performed that good for us overall, it has to be said that he created quite a high number of goal-scoring opportunities which our forwards declined to put away.

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  42. i actually think sturridge is a threat up front...its just the baggage he comes with that concerns me...i like the idea of sterling sturidge and suarez all interchanging keeping the opposition guessing and his stats are pretty impressive for a striker and he could well prove a bargain.As for downing you never no ....if he keeps playing well great ..i know it was a poor fulham team ...but he really was outstanding perhaps this is a turning point for the guy and he will go from strength to strength....i genuinely dont think a lot of players know just what the expectation is at Liverpool and it takes them a while to bed in....Henderson is the same i genuinely think hes a better bigger and faster version than Allen and will grow...

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  43. Last time I've had a look at the comment section of the Liverpool Echo, there weren't too many people against Sturridge to be honest. Those against something are often the most noisy ones. Doesn't mean they are the majority.

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  44. Almost every transfer has a lot of 'if's' attached.

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  45. Yes, Luis should have some kind of free role up front. The other two forward players then have to switch their brains on and look for the spaces.

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  46. Don't agree with the logic at all. Past performances are history, they have no bearing on how Downing will perform in the future. His current form is in fact the ONLY thing you should consider. It's only fans who can't let go of past performances or some kind of vague impression they've formed of a player in their minds. Managers thankfully have more sense and evaluate a player based on actual attributes. A player's worth to a club is not about what he's done in the past. It might factor if you were doing a retrospective analysis and giving him a career performance evaluation but that's got nothing to do with planning for the next game. Downing is worth to LFC what he can offer in the next game, nothing more and nothing less. Rodgers needs only to make a decision on if he thinks Downing can continue to play this well. If Downing has a turned a corner and re-discovered his confidence and attacking focus then there is absolutely no reason for anyone to spend more time thinking about how he has or hasn't performed in past games. It's just totally pointless.

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  47. where the hell was the tribute to ricky ponting...

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  48. Peter from Perth WA3:47 pm, December 23, 2012

    Your articles never cease to amaze me Jaimie, you denigrate most Liverpool players while advocating the buying of all and sundry and on top of that you laud every player that has a distinctly African appearance while continually castigating Suarez. I would suggest that before you condemn Suarez again for being racist you look to your own motives because although I am thousands of miles away I often wonder whether you are a latent Man U supporter or God forbid a reverse borderline racist.

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  49. didnt't really mean the three in that formation per say we could play Ba upfront with sturidge n suarez behind him free roles(since they can do the switching) ..and to have Ba in the team(most importantly) will give us a very very good bench cos if it just happens that sturidge and suarez are not banging in ,there should be a henandez or dzeko to change the game and remember Ince and walcott are like.

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  50. I guess SRT is a bigger name in terms of generating fans with a billion Indians following SRT. Agree?

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  51. and i don't also see Ba missing the crosses of SG or the New Downing.

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  52. its not hate i just do not want to see the lazy sod in a lfc shirt

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  53. Didnt want sturridge buy now it looks like he,s on his way i,ll hope he,s a revelation & wish him well

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  54. Yes and no.. it's a point well made and has some merit..

    But you have to say that on the other hand if you had a prolific striker over an 18 month period and he loses form, goes 5 or 6 games without a goal that you would hold the same dogmatic opinion that it's ONLY current form that should be taken into consideration.

    We all look at players performance levels over many seasons to judge a player, and that surely includes managers , especially if they're thinking of investing in or selling a player.

    Has Downing turned the corner ? Who knows ? I agree a player can be saddled with past performances, good or bad, It's not necessarily right but it's certainly not wrong either..

    The truth is somewhere in between.

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  55. I think Downing has earned the right to be a Liverpool regular, while I feel that some of the critique of the past was unjustified. We overpaid but that does not make him a bad player - and I suspect that he could be a key player for LFC this season.

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  56. Liverpool for Ever7:37 pm, December 23, 2012

    Brendon Rodgers I believe is overrated.
    He never gave Carrol a chance . Even if you dont want a player in your squad , a good manager would never make it obvious . That serves to lower the price of any player . Rodgers should be doing his best to recoup as much as possible of the transfer fee for Carrol . By saying the player is not wanted he devalues any players transfer value .

    Secondly he is rather arrogant by simply saying Carrol wont fit in . Try him out . Any manager worth his salt will do that . Inaddition Carrol gives Liverpool a different option . Under Rodgers Liverpool have just not made the cut . He cost Liverpool Season dearly by leaving us with only one striker [Saurez , as brilliant as Saurez is he cannot be expected to carry the whole team . I would say its time for Rodgers to go . He paid ridiculous fees for Paul Allen and Borini too.

    His claims of it takes time is really wearing thin . He Took a side that were starting to perform to a midtable one who just cannot score.

    Liverpool main transfer should be to get Rodgers out of Anfield

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  57. The fee would be awful if it was paul allen we bought, he hung his boots up years ago, lol, ( its joe allen mate). And didnt BR take a good look at AC in pre season & just obviously didnt rate him

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  58. Liverpool for Ever8:04 pm, December 23, 2012

    Well he rated Allen very highly as well as Borini and look at them . Pre season training and games just aint the Premier league . You try that and than make a decision . Besides you talk up a player that you want to sell .not the other way around .

    Brendon Rodgers just aint the mustard. Instead of bringing out the best in the existing squad he is not . Gerrard is a shadow of himself under Brendons tactics .

    New players Allen , Borini , Suso and Sahin , now possibly Sturridge . Cmon . Roddgers should join them but not at Anfield

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  59. Carroll is terrible. What's that? 1 goal in 13 hours of football? Carlton Cole is proving to be more effective than that lump. Andy Carroll is not a striker, he's a lummox.

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  60. If BR left Downing on the bench next match, I believe Downing would leave. It's not wise leaving player on the bench after 1 assist and 1 goal.

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  61. Baring some miraculous form reversal, I have little doubt Stuart Downing will be sold if a buyer comes in.

    I congratulate him on a fine performance against Fulham, but I have grave doubts he can carry that kind of form regularly.

    It basically took Rodgers telling him he can 'leave' to extract the level we require.

    What if he was then told he could stay?
    Would that level be maintained, or would he go back into his shell?

    Downing seems like a nice guy, but...
    I fear he's just not mentally strong enough or confident to consistently play at the highest level.

    Personally, I would prefer that 'motivating' Downing was someone else's problem.

    Though having said that, I think he might well be kept till the summer as our squad is so small.

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  62. At times we forget the "wonderful" games Allen started with.....but it looks as if the Liverpool team is an 11 cylinder car that burns on maximum 4 at a time and it looks as if it's the same 4cylinders the car keeps using.....certainly the engine will blow up and all the cylinders will not work look how many times henadez and dzeko have changed games .dzeko has single handled won 3games as a supper sub. .....we need a good bench tooooo .

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  63. The worst thing is that, if you read what Downing has to say on the club's site, he thinks he's actually vindicated himself. That's the whole issue. The guy has done sfa and he thinks one game makes up for all of that. It's his attitude that is the problem, not his skills. I'd rather see a 16-year-old from the academy mess things up but feeling bad about it and fighting than this guy take the field for us.

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  64. A question mark at the start of a headline? This Christmas Special will put off regulars. Agree ...?

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