Stewart Downing (West Ham/Newcastle)

Sold: Torres £50m + Meireles £12m + Babel £6m + N'gog £4m = £72m

Sorry to pick just this bit out mate but we actually offloaded 19 players in the summer of 2011 making our total net spend over the 2 windows £30m.  Hardly the massive spend some would have us believe.

We've actually got rid of around 70 players since summer 2010 if you include some from the reserves.

Good luck to the lad

Well i have to say i'm gutted. Not in the way people are thinking, i'm gutted that when Downing had his chance to step up to the next level he choked.

He came to Liverpool Football Club and he froze. No longer the big man at a small Club, he was now among some of the best footballers in the League and he sh*t himself. All his confidence went and he retreated into his shell. He showed glimpses of that blistering pace and powerful left peg but that was it.

He wilted and in all honesty the enormity of playing for us overwhelmed him and he crumbled. No malice from me though, good luck at West Ham Stewart, you'll probably flourish there without the pressure of playing for the biggest Club in the world.

Just a shame you never built your confidence up enough to kick on with us.

Sorry to pick just this bit out mate but we actually offloaded 19 players in the summer of 2011

Being the lazy git that I am; I wasn't ever going to try to tally up all the 'minor deals'. 

Freethinkers will get the gist and that's all that matters.

Well, first off... some folk tend to, rather conveniently, forget that Kenny Dalglish was not in control of either negotiations or finances. To even hint that he was is misleading at best and black propaganda (propagated by people wanting to justify Kenny's sacking) at worst.

The facts are:

* John Henry's DoF [Comolli] was in charge of 1# statistics based scouting and #2 contract negotiations.

* John Henry/FSG sanctioned and even praised each and every one of those [Comolli] deals.

Now whilst Kenny Dalglish had the final say whether he wanted the players or not and some of those players "flopped": he had no control over their cost.

That being clear let's look at how much money was "wasted" in the FSG, so-called, "spend big route"...

Bought: Carroll £35m + Suarez £22m + Downing £20m + Henderson £16 + Adam £7m + Enrique £6m + Coates £7m = £113m
Sold: Torres £50m + Meireles £12m + Babel £6m + N'gog £4m = £72m

"Big spend route": £113m - £72m = Total £41m.

Now let's look at how much of that £41m "big spend" was lost or "wasted" (if it suits better):

Carroll; sold for £15.5m + Adam; sold for £4m + Downing sold(?) for £5m(?) = £24.5m. Money lost ("wasted") in the "big spend" is now down to £16.5m. * n.b. none of this includes amortisation or wage cuts by the way.

Surely I don't need to factor in how much we could get for Suarez, Enrique, Henderson & Coates (if we sold them tomorrow) for everyone to see that the myth about money "wasted" by Comolli/Kenny Dalglish is just that... a f**king myth.

A myth peddled by FSG's PR Dept. and bought by mugs. Some mugs are simply too daft to think for themselves but others buy it, knowingly, because it somehow makes them feel justified in their anti-Dalglish stance.

Think for yourselves Redmen and women... don't buy into the myth(s). 

On topic: Stewart Downing - another few million quid saved, a figure of ridicule gone and a nice distraction... what's not to like; eh?   

so basically,  Liverpool have not had a massive cash injection. We've just been replacing players every year. We need to spend revenue to bolster the squad. Is our revenue actually funding other things such as the purchase of Boston globe? I hope not.

Good luck Downing.

I actually think he has the quality to make it here at Liverpool but lacks the winning mentality. If he had a good coach at a young age. I'm sure we would have seen a different player. First match of the previous season against WBA. Delivered a cracking cross to Suarez very early then went missing the whole game. That sums up the mentality he has.

Gives up way too early.

Well to quote the Liverpool Echo:

"But as he heads to the capital  to link up once again with  Carroll and Cole the trio have  plenty in common. They all  promised much, delivered little  and cost the Reds a fortune."

When I take a look back to our former transfers, i realize that we made a lot of horrible deals: (transfer fee is in Euro according to transfermarkt.de)

(Stewart Downing:   cost:  22.800.000 €       avail:      7.000.000 €                                     loss: 15.800.000€)
Andy Carrol:          cost:  41.000.000 €       avail:     17.500.000 € (+1.250.000 € loan fee)     loss: 23.500.000 €
Charlie Adam:        cost:   8.400.000 €        avail:      6.200.000 €                                      loss:   2.200.000 €
Christian Poulsen:  cost:    5.475.000 €       avail:     free transfer                                       loss:   5.475.000 €
Paul Konchesky:    cost:    4.000.000 €       avail:      1.700.000 €                                       loss:   2.300.000 €
Alberto Aquilani:    cost:  20.000.000 €       avail:      2.000.000 €                                       loss:   18.000.000 €
Robbie Keane:       cost:  24.000.000 €       avail:     16.700.000 €                                      loss:     7.300.000 €
________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ _
                         =       61.875.000€            =      27.850.000 €                                       =    34.025.000 €

We payed approximately 61.000.000€ (£52.000.000) and made a total loss of 34.000.000 € (£29.000.000).
What went wrong that we made so many terrible tranfers?
I know that some players performed promising at their former clubs, but somehow they failed to deliver at our football club. Except two players in the list above, all of them played in the Premier League before, so there is no excuse that the player needs to settle down in the league. 


So Stewart Downing ist just another name who fills this list. I guess in the next couple of years there will be more names on the list named "bad transfers made by Liverpool Football Club)

Fernando Torres cost 26m. Sold for 50m. Profit, 24 million,  funny that your article only shows bad signings. Not the players still here or that we profited from. Some of those players date back to different accounting eras to, 2 chairman ago.... why don't you add Milan Baros and  Morientes ffs.

Fernando Torres cost 26m. Sold for 50m. Profit, 24 million,  funny that your article only shows bad signings. Not the players still here or that we profited from. Some of those players date back to different accounting eras to, 2 chairman ago.... why don't you add Milan Baros and  Morientes ffs.

Because he was talking about bad signings and Torres doesn 't fit in that category.

Because he was talking about bad signings and Torres doesn 't fit in that category.

if you look at our good v bad over the year it's about normal.

Fernando Torres cost 26m. Sold for 50m. Profit, 24 million,  funny that your article only shows bad signings. Not the players still here or that we profited from. Some of those players date back to different accounting eras to, 2 chairman ago.... why don't you add Milan Baros and  Morientes ffs.

Except Keane, all of this signings were made between 09/10 (last time we played in the CL) and 11/12.

So in this "short" period we manged to get so many bad signings? In my opion this is just one reason why we haven't qualified for the CL since then!
However to take a look at the other side:

Luis Suarez, Glen Johnson, Maxi Rodríguez and José Enrique

Transfers who aren't listed in both posts are not terrible signings but also no great signings either.

Genuine question guys...who will we play wide right now Downing is going?
Alberto?  I cant say he is an improvement on Downing, cause the little he has played hasnt impressed me.
Sterling? Not ready yet.
Borini? Sorry, my attempt at humour.
Assaidi? Sorry, humour again.


I suppose Luis in the middle, Coutinho right and Sturridge left?

Genuine question guys...who will we play wide right now Downing is going?

I'd imagine thoughts will go to Sterling, given that's who started there last season, (before Downing kept him out) but I've a feeling Aspas will turn out to be the better option.

Sterling is better on RW

Confirmed on Twitter by the offal.

Liverpool FC ‏@LFC 3m
#LFC have confirmed Stewart Downing has joined West Ham United on a permanent transfer pic.twitter.com/WLzoHd3Gkb

               Mig
Johnson Toure Agger Enrique
       Lucas     Gerrard
              Allen
Suarez   Sturridge  Borini

Subs: Jones, Kelly, Skrtel, Coates, Henderson, Assaidi, Aspas

That folks is currently all the players we have when you take out U21 players.

18 players out of a possible 25.
Smallest squad in the league.
Behind only Aston Villa as the youngest squad.

Well i have to say i'm gutted. Not in the way people are thinking, i'm gutted that when Downing had his chance to step up to the next level he choked.

He came to Liverpool Football Club and he froze. No longer the big man at a small Club, he was now among some of the best footballers in the League and he sh*t himself. All his confidence went and he retreated into his shell. He showed glimpses of that blistering pace and powerful left peg but that was it.

He wilted and in all honesty the enormity of playing for us overwhelmed him and he crumbled. No malice from me though, good luck at West Ham Stewart, you'll probably flourish there without the pressure of playing for the biggest Club in the world.

Just a shame you never built your confidence up enough to kick on with us.

That's a great summary and can't argue with a lot of it but for all his attributes, Iv come to the conclusion with Downing that he just isn't a good enough player for a top team, sure he's got good pace and a nice left foot but he's not really a skilful winger, if he can't beat the full back for pace he comes unstuck most the time.

Done
Waiting for confirmation from LFC site  , but seems deal done as it is confirmed on the WH official

West Ham complete the signing of Liverpool's Stewart Downing
 
http://www.whufc.com/articles/20130813/hammers-capture-downing_2236884_3347140

 at this pace  WH will be called the ex LFC FC
 Good Luck Stewart , Pity it did not work  with LIVERPOOL

Done
Waiting for confirmation from LFC site  , but seems deal done as it is confirmed on the WH official

West Ham complete the signing of Liverpool's Stewart Downing
 
http://www.whufc.com/articles/20130813/hammers-capture-downing_2236884_3347140


 at this pace  WH will be called the ex LFC FC
 Good Luck Stewart , Pity it did not work  with LIVERPOOL

It's going along the LFCTV info bar that he has signed officially for the Whammers. Goodbye and good luck, Stewart.

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/142460-downing-seals-west-ham-switch

All the best lad.

Well that's that. One of the most overpriced and disappointing signings in our history leaves for pastures new.

A great shame. Good luck Stewart.

Sold.



Transfer Topic Locked.

Stewart Downing's player topic has been moved in to the General Football board
http://www.lfcreds.com/reds/index.php/topic,39317.0.html