Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: pooligan on November 16, 2012, 10:10:09 AM
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Hearing the news that Downing has been told he can leave Liverpool in January ,i just wondered if anyone thinks we should have him back .
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No.
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Never
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At £8m yes, no more than that - in his last season was creative and produced good delivery, he left under a cloud but if we could get him back to his best form he would be useful.
I fully understand why most would say no though.
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Never in a million fucking years.
Let the weasel bastard, wanker disappear into the obscurity of the championship.
He won't be missed.
Fucker !!
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I'd certainly go for him at his true footballing value. So if Liverpool want to give us another £20 million to have him, that's fine by me.
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Against the general consensus I would say yes. He did well when he played for us, he even had a great season under Houllier.
I hear that Keane may be interested in joining us again. However, this time around, I'm not sure we need him.
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No.
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NO
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From a football point of view definitely yes.
From a mans point of view no.
He is a class footballer, but a bit of a cock.
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Yes, and we should re-sign Steve Hodge at the same time.
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No fucking way.
If he's available at £8m, i'd rather look abroad for that price.
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No.
Sadly as he has class but no fight. And he ain't no Villa man, is he?
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I bet O'Nearly is raiding his piggy bank as we speak.
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Not a chance...did well for us and now not the same player....much like Young, Milner, Barry.
What a waste of talent on all 4 counts. IMO only Cahill has gone on to play better football.
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Eating broken glass was the first thing that came to mind.
Absolutely NO.
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I am delighted with this turn of events for him at the Dippers. Although I can't stand him I think we could do with a proven player with his experience in the team. He needs to prove a point to everyone that he's not as shite as he's been at 'The Mighty Reds YNWA' and I reckon he'll do well wherever he ends up. Can't see him ever coming back here though.
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No way. I wouldn't have him back ever. I detest him more than any other player who I have seen leave villa.
I'd take Milner, Young or Barry back but never Dirty D.
Good enough for him. He fucked us about and he got his karma.
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I reckon if Boro get promoted, he'll end up back there at the end of the season.
Can't see anybody coming in for the weedy little shit in January.
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Nope midfield has enough lightweights without another one
We need people who are up for a fight as it will be this season, not pussy footing want-a-way twunts like Downing
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No, he wouldn't fit with how we are trying to play, would want obsene wages, there are better players out there and he's a tossbag.
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In the name of god no!
Think of the children.
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If he comes back on a free, that would be fine with me. Cant stand the man, but the "player" was pretty good. And he can cross the ball into the danger zone, something our "wide men" currently seem to struggle to do (Nzog and Albrighton). And id love it if he came back and was back to his best after nothing at Liverpool with all that lovely money they gave us too
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No.
He's not a midfield player and not a wide left striker so he wouldn't fit into our 4-3-3/4-2-1-2-1 whatever it is. If he can't fit into Liverpool's system, which is similar to ours, he won't fit in at Villa.
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I wouldn't use him to mop the floor with.
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yes, I'd have him back despite him being a massive cock. He'd instantly be an upgrade to N'Zogbia and Albrighton and his set pieces are far better than Bannan. I think Liverpool still owe us for him too. I don't have to love the man for him to be playing in our shirt. He's not Joey Barton or Marlon King. He's just a selfish tosser, but a talented footballer. If he helps make us better then that's all I'm after. We're not so flush with talent that we can be so fussy.
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One of those moments I'd be prepared to 'cut off my nose to spite my face'. Never.
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My heart says "he can go fuck himself", my head says he might be useful
If he did come back, it'd have to be at a snip
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yes, I'd have him back despite him being a massive cock. He'd instantly be an upgrade to N'Zogbia and Albrighton and his set pieces are far better than Bannan. I think Liverpool still owe us for him too. I don't have to love the man for him to be playing in our shirt. He's not Joey Barton or Marlon King. He's just a selfish tosser, but a talented footballer. If he helps make us better then that's all I'm after. We're not so flush with talent that we can be so fussy.
He's got the talent, he just hasn't got the balls to use it.
We can do better.
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If he comes back on a free, that would be fine with me. Cant stand the man, but the "player" was pretty good. And he can cross the ball into the danger zone, something our "wide men" currently seem to struggle to do (Nzog and Albrighton). And id love it if he came back and was back to his best after nothing at Liverpool with all that lovely money they gave us too
I agree with that and we pay him no more than £30K per week.
He can cross a ball, that's for sure.
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Foegetting his past with us for a moment, would he fit in?
He's a traditional winger, which Lambert does not like to play with. And we've got a decent forward line now using the 4-3-3 with Gabby, Benteke & Weimann, so bringing him in would disrupt that.
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Never . First class wank*r.
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Don't need him, don't like him, don't want him.
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His last season for us he was good. However he showed him self to lack moral fibre and more importantly his performance levels have dropped massively since then, so no thanks.
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Foegetting his past with us for a moment, would he fit in?
He's a traditional winger, which Lambert does not like to play with. And we've got a decent forward line now using the 4-3-3 with Gabby, Benteke & Weimann, so bringing him in would disrupt that.
I think you've hit on the reason he won't be coming back, John. Lambert has said numerous times that he doesn't see a role for the traditional winger in the modern game.
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To see the reaction from fans in the first home game if he'd come back to us would be almost worth it.
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Yes, and yes to Keane too please.
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yes, I'd have him back despite him being a massive cock. He'd instantly be an upgrade to N'Zogbia and Albrighton and his set pieces are far better than Bannan. I think Liverpool still owe us for him too. I don't have to love the man for him to be playing in our shirt. He's not Joey Barton or Marlon King. He's just a selfish tosser, but a talented footballer. If he helps make us better then that's all I'm after. We're not so flush with talent that we can be so fussy.
He's got the talent, he just hasn't got the balls to use it.
We can do better.
skill players don't need to be hard men. If he can beat the full back and plant the ball on Benteke's head then that's where he'd be useful. Other players can win the ball for him.
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Absolutely not
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yes, I'd have him back despite him being a massive cock. He'd instantly be an upgrade to N'Zogbia and Albrighton and his set pieces are far better than Bannan. I think Liverpool still owe us for him too. I don't have to love the man for him to be playing in our shirt. He's not Joey Barton or Marlon King. He's just a selfish tosser, but a talented footballer. If he helps make us better then that's all I'm after. We're not so flush with talent that we can be so fussy.
He's got the talent, he just hasn't got the balls to use it.
We can do better.
skill players don't need to be hard men. If he can beat the full back and plant the ball on Benteke's head then that's where he'd be useful. Other players can win the ball for him.
I think all of this is irrelevant I really do. If we were at the bottom of League 2 and they were going to pay us £10 million we should still tell them to fuck off. Some things mean more than "oh he can get a ball into the danger area" and the way that spineless, two faced shitbag behaved is one of them.
Never in a billion trillion years. Until the Earth falls into the sun that arsehole can stay away.
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Not a chance.
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yes, I'd have him back despite him being a massive cock. He'd instantly be an upgrade to N'Zogbia and Albrighton and his set pieces are far better than Bannan. I think Liverpool still owe us for him too. I don't have to love the man for him to be playing in our shirt. He's not Joey Barton or Marlon King. He's just a selfish tosser, but a talented footballer. If he helps make us better then that's all I'm after. We're not so flush with talent that we can be so fussy.
He's got the talent, he just hasn't got the balls to use it.
We can do better.
skill players don't need to be hard men. If he can beat the full back and plant the ball on Benteke's head then that's where he'd be useful. Other players can win the ball for him.
Agreed TV. On both points.
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No he did play well in his last season at the villa but we where that bad most average players would look good
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yes, I'd have him back despite him being a massive cock. He'd instantly be an upgrade to N'Zogbia and Albrighton and his set pieces are far better than Bannan. I think Liverpool still owe us for him too. I don't have to love the man for him to be playing in our shirt. He's not Joey Barton or Marlon King. He's just a selfish tosser, but a talented footballer. If he helps make us better then that's all I'm after. We're not so flush with talent that we can be so fussy.
He's got the talent, he just hasn't got the balls to use it.
We can do better.
skill players don't need to be hard men. If he can beat the full back and plant the ball on Benteke's head then that's where he'd be useful. Other players can win the ball for him.
I'd tend to agree with that, he didn't exactly throw himself into tackles in his last season here but still was the player of the season - his delivery was excellent and if the price was right and lambert felt he could get the best from him I wouldn't have a problem.
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Not in a million years.
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Also no to Keane for a completely different reason. He had a great little spell with us which was very important, but he's another year older and we've moved on.
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I suppose we could try him on loan.
Stick him on the right wing and immediately he's not a traditional winger, but a wide striker. Lambert likes them.
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Aren`t we still owed money by Liverpool on the original deal?
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Aren`t we still owed money by Liverpool on the original deal?
Probably, so they may try to offer him to us, but we're not obliged to agree to it.
And most importantly, selling him on to someone else does not nullify what they are contractually obliged to still pay us.
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No. Not good enough. And he's a twat.
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no, we have outgrown the snidey wanker!
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It would be better for everybody if Middlesborough had him back.
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There no doubt his a good player so for 2m yes.
But he will fuck off to QPR or some other club stupid enough to pay 100k a week
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No. We need full-blooded players for the battles ahead, not maggots.
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Definitely not, over rated and if he can't make it in the depleted Scouser team, that says it all really.
Given the circumstances when he left B6, I wouldn't want to see him back.
Let him sink back into North East obscurity at Middlesboro' in the Championship.
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No way would Lambert waste £8m on that prick. He'll know far better options on the continent at half the price.
Let Mad Martin sign him up, providing he's still got a job after Christmas.
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No effing way. We were lucky to get a good year out of him,even luckier to get 20 million for him. Give it a few months and he'll be at Stoke.
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We could take Downing and Carroll for Bent, straight swap. ;D
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No
and
No
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yes, I'd have him back despite him being a massive cock. He'd instantly be an upgrade to N'Zogbia and Albrighton and his set pieces are far better than Bannan. I think Liverpool still owe us for him too. I don't have to love the man for him to be playing in our shirt. He's not Joey Barton or Marlon King. He's just a selfish tosser, but a talented footballer. If he helps make us better then that's all I'm after. We're not so flush with talent that we can be so fussy.
He's got the talent, he just hasn't got the balls to use it.
We can do better.
skill players don't need to be hard men. If he can beat the full back and plant the ball on Benteke's head then that's where he'd be useful. Other players can win the ball for him.
Agreed TV. On both points.
You've both totally missed my point.
I'm not talking about bravery in the tackle, I'm talking about him taking the easy option in possession.
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Downing? not in a million years. Jumped ship last time at the first opportunity.
Weasel!!
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How much do Liverpool still owe us from the original transfer?
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It's a tough one, in my opinion.
We do need a player who can deliver a good cross, and, if we're honest, Downing can.
As I mentioned above it's been said that Liverpool still owe us a wedge from the original transfer, if it's around £8m have him back and call it quits.
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whoa. id take him back, but not for 8million. We know he can play to this level, but we havent seen any evidence for 18 months. 4million and a pittance a week until he starts delivering
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I can console myself with the fact that he used us as a stepping stone on the way from the championship to a club where he felt he would win things, play in the Champions League and cement his England place due to the fact we made a tidy profit on someone who bottles out of tackles and he has been a flop. I don't see why we would want to be a stepping stone on the way back down again. Sunderland for 8 million then Boro for 4 million then Hartlepool on a free. Who are we to disrupt his natural caeer path?
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Let me think...
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He would never be accepted back would he?
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Yes, definitely. See if he can recapture his firm from his last season here.
It won't happen though.
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Actually I think he could do a job for us by giving Benteke and Weimann something to get on the end of. Problem is I don't think he is Lambert's type of player so it's a moot point.
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No way. I wouldn't have him back ever. I detest him more than any other player who I have seen leave villa.
What - worse than Steve Hodge? Or are you too young for that there era?
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He will be nailed on for Sunderland. It's MO'N's plan b, have another person to deliver to the big man.
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If he doesn't fit into the Rodgers playing system why would he fit into Lambert's?
I don't think it'd work for anyone.
He'll end up at Sunderland.
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The fact that he fucked off at the first sign of a big move makes it a no for me.
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whoa. id take him back, but not for 8million. We know he can play to this level, but we havent seen any evidence for 18 months. 4million and a pittance a week until he starts delivering
Well this is what you and I would do but in the parallel universe that is footy, he will have his contract paid up and then sold for a modest fee of around £8m to someone like Fulham. He will be earning a little bit less than he currently is per week. The whole 'Downing experience' will have cost 3 premier league clubs in the end the thick end of probably £70. -80 mill a massive chunk of which will have ended up in his sky rocket.
Do you think he gives a flying fish when we boo him ? I wouldn't.
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Let the weasel bastard, wanker disappear into the obscurity of the championship.
He won't be missed.
Fucker !!
I cannot better this description, tbf
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yes, I'd have him back despite him being a massive cock. He'd instantly be an upgrade to N'Zogbia and Albrighton and his set pieces are far better than Bannan. I think Liverpool still owe us for him too. I don't have to love the man for him to be playing in our shirt. He's not Joey Barton or Marlon King. He's just a selfish tosser, but a talented footballer. If he helps make us better then that's all I'm after. We're not so flush with talent that we can be so fussy.
He's got the talent, he just hasn't got the balls to use it.
We can do better.
skill players don't need to be hard men. If he can beat the full back and plant the ball on Benteke's head then that's where he'd be useful. Other players can win the ball for him.
Thing is though, for £8m i'd want better than Downing.
If we can get Benteke for £7m, there must be other gems in Europe in that price range.
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No. Not in ten years! No, make it fifteen.
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No, not a chance in hell. Let him rot in Liverpool's reserves.
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I think we should pretend to be interested, get him down here, get the press involved, have him looking round for a house.
Then get him to Villa Park for the signing, have Paul Lambert walk in and look him up and down, then go 'NAHHHHHHHH.'
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No. He is crap and a c#nt.
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Never
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Wedon't play with wingers under Lambert so no point.
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er only as a ball boy and i think we can find better lads more capable to do that job
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Downing left to maintain his international status as he said at the time . Hope that is going well for you DJ Stewie . C**T
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Yes. He can cross a ball.
But as was said Benteke only cost 7 million so there's better value beyond these shores.
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Play him where, instead of who?
Lambert likes to play one up front with 3 players behind.At the moment they are Ireland, Gabby and Weimann, and for me they all play that position better than SD, plus he is a tart.
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Never !!!!!
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I'd rather bring back Peter Whittingham.
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No thanks Stewie. I'd trust Lambert to bring back a lot better than you for £8million.
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No
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No no way ------
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i would rather stewie Griffin
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NO **** NO. He is a **** and he can go **** himself with a chainsaw dipped in sulphuric acid!
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It seems Lambert wants players that will work hard to win the ball back, so that's a no. Won't get a team any where paying him the kind of money the dippers are paying him. Can see him continuing his easy life, content with being second choice to 17 year olds and picking up his fat pay cheque.
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Fuck no. Sorry I didn't notice who started the thread before I thought "fuck no", but whoever it was...fuck no.
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It really is laughable what Liverpool did last season. Carroll, Downing, Adams, Henderson £100m worth of junk bought to start with plus about £20m wages. Hopefully they will not recover from this fir a few years.
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Ta to Villa Mole by the way.
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Hopefully the conversation Rodgers will have with him come january is along the lines of;
" Grab a seat Stewey babe, i've some good news for you. Two offers , yes two offers . Both are the same so the choice is yours. Blackpool or Blackburn.Now i don't want to rush you but which one can i palm you off to ".
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Ta to Villa Mole by the way.
sorry is that your name
:)
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Hopefully the conversation Rodgers will have with him come january is along the lines of;
" Grab a seat Stewey babe, i've some good news for you. Two offers , yes two offers . Both are the same so the choice is yours. Blackpool or Blackburn.Now i don't want to rush you but which one can i palm you off to ".
look forward to that on Channel 5
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Hate him, but yes. Get him back to the player he was and he would be a brilliant signing for 7 ish million.
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No thanks .
Stewie can f***k right off.
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No. Let him go to QPR.
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It really is laughable what Liverpool did last season. Carroll, Downing, Adams, Henderson £100m worth of junk bought to start with plus about £20m wages. Hopefully they will not recover from this fir a few years.
None of which was "King" Kenny's fault according to their fans. I've heard them on phone-ins blaming everyone but Dalglish for those signings.
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I never thought he was that effective anyway - for me, it was always a case of better players making him look better than he was. Young and Milner did the real creating in the seasons they were together and Downing's slightly above-average talent was caught in the slipstream of it.
So, like, no.
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Fuck no. Sorry I didn't notice who started the thread before I thought "fuck no", but whoever it was...fuck no.
My thoughts exactly, Ian.
I have always referred to Downing as "COC" since he deserted - some wag here on the site referred to him as "Stewart 'Came On Crutches' Downing' some time ago, and, for me, it stuck.
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So a straw poll says no then?
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I vote "nope". He shit in his bed and he can lie in it.
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there is a guy over here
a politician, ian paisley, he used to say
never!never!never!
if Downings next shite was a hedgehog, it would be too good for him
file under grass being greener
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I think it is safe to say that the general direction of traffic of Prima Donnas, nancies and fanny danglers under PL's leadership is outwards rather than inwards.
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considering the manner in which he left, dont think there is any chance of him coming back. The season under Houllier he played well but I never really took to him even at that time. Remember him beating Wes Brown up a stick one day which was his best game for the club but generally he would never try and beat the full back and was very passive in his play. Good crosser of the ball and had plenty of ability but he frustrated me a lot. Not a lad to rely on when under pressure, no surprise he failed at Anfield and at international level when under the spotlight. The season Boro went down he was dreadful too when he needed to step up. When we were floating around going nowhere that season under Houllier he was decent.
Still a player in there if he recaptures that form and is only 28. West Ham, Sunderland, QPR, Stoke - one of them will spend 10m on him in Jan.
If we spend money on a Liverpool misfit Id prefer it to be Henderson. Has had a nightmare at Anfield but at 22 has more scope to recover his form and kick on. Would suit the diamond type formation Lambert is employing too.
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We can do far better with the money, and why bail Liverpool out of a financial hole? Let them both rot.
Wherever he goes, I suspect Liverpool will have to subsidise some of his wages. They will be paying two clubs for him not to play for them.
Fkin result.
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Not a chance, I don't want that little weasel anywhere near our club again.
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No way. He's not the sort of signing we should be making regardless of his history with us.
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Under no circumstances. He can fuck right off.
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What a very cathartic thread. Finally something we can all agree on!
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No, we should not. He should never play for a big club again.
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Not at all......lets move on.....kharma comes around doesn't it..would be nice if he joined West Ham though
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Nope - average footballer who had one decent season with us and got too big for his fancy boots so decided to move to a 'bigger club'. The fool.
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Yes.
If they pay us £10m,pay his wages and take him back on loan for 18 months.
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Yes. He's a talented player and I'd love to see him in a Villa shirt again.
Actually, I'm thinking of Young. Downing can stay where he is and rot, the weasel-faced, yellow-bellied scrote.
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Under no circumstances. He can fuck right off.
is the right answer
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The only reason we should ever consider bringing Downing back is to boo the fucker every week.
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Yes without question, he was quality for us and exactly the sort of proven quality type of player we need.
I know he bottles every tackle that comes his way but going forward he has the quality to supply benteke and Bent etc.
Just need to get rid of CNZ first though.
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He'd be one of our best players, so yeah. Especially if we could get him on loan.
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No fucking way fuckin weasel
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He was one of our best players when we had a far better team than we do now - it's not as if you have to go back into the dark recesses of time to recall when he was any good, either.
The move to Liverpool hasn't worked out for him, but I'd be happy to see him back at VP.
He won't necessarily dominate games (he rarely did when he was with us). But he can provide those moments of quality that turn a game, be that a quick change of pace and attacking from deep, an incisive pass or a cross. For a side as short of quality as we now are, we need all the assistance we can get in the final third.
Probably all moot though. Wage bill wage bill wage bill et.c
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You can cut of your nose or be realistic,Downing would be a couple of classes above what we have at the moment.
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Not for me. If he came back he'd been under a lot more pressure to deliver than the last time he was here, what with Young, Milner and the rest scoring and creating. And Downing isn't noted for his reliability under pressure.
On top of that, a flakey left-winger isn't top of our needs list.
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Our designated flake position is currently taken up by Stephen Ireland.
If Downing wants to come back I suggest he and Stephen should fight it out for the position.
That should be hilarious.
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I'd have him back in a heart beat. Better than anything we've got in midfield at the moment.
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I choose to have principals.
That may see us in the Championship but I'd rather us go down than welcome that weasel back in the hope that he would keep us up.
No to Stewie.
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I choose to have principals.
That may see us in the Championship but I'd rather us go down than welcome that weasel back in the hope that he would keep us up.
No to Stewie.
Principles, my arse. We need top players to keep us up. Downing is better than anything at the club. Couldn't care less what happened before or since he left.
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Principles, my arse. We need top players to keep us up. Downing is better than anything at the club. Couldn't care less what happened before or since he left.
[/quote]
This 100%
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I'd take anyone who would improve us regardless of history but I don't think Downing would in our current plight.
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No because he is not very good.
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Downing never said what Bentekke has been quoted as saying, he would probably go on strike if Liverpool came knocking. Modern footballers...
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I choose to have principals.
That may see us in the Championship but I'd rather us go down than welcome that weasel back in the hope that he would keep us up.
No to Stewie.
Principles, my arse. We need top players to keep us up. Downing is better than anything at the club. Couldn't care less what happened before or since he left.
Unprincipled arse.
*winky*
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absolutely no chance.
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I choose to have principals.
That may see us in the Championship but I'd rather us go down than welcome that weasel back in the hope that he would keep us up.
No to Stewie.
You would rather go down than see downing return? Incredible- if downing returned he would add vital creativity and experience as well as quality delivery- at the right price I'd like to him in back as we can't afford to hold grudges.
He has lost his way but I think lambert could get the best from him .
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Fuck off.
Downing is a wank bottler, just about the last thing we need to add to our current mob.
And remind me, how many goals did this creative wizard score or make last season again?
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only if he plays one match only, a pre-season friendly against a Chelsea Old Boys XI and is marked by Doug Rougvie
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No. Never. Over my dead body. Etc.
Leaving everything else aside, he already has a failed relegation battle on his CV. We need hungry battlers over the coming months.
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rather have gary neville than that fud downing
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Can you imagine that spineless tosser in a Villa shirt with the winter we're about to endure? And what was wrong with Gary Neville exactly?
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What, and get stabbed in the back again, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO thanks.
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Has anyone said 'no' yet?
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Beggars cannot be choosers. He did well for us for a season and a bit, we have no experienced attacking players at all and Liverpool would have to pay most of his wages. Where else can we find experienced midfielders to save our ass?
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Hell no. He's average. Always flattered to decieve. Even in his good season here, he was nothing more than a 7/10. Just the best of an average bunch in truth.
He's a worse player now than when he left. Offers very little at either end of the pitch. Average on the ball, average pace and he's nearing the 30 mark so will get slower.
Despite all that though, he's better than anything we have in midfield, which is a very depressing statement indeed. N'Zogbia on talent could wipe the floor with Downarse, but we just never ever see it and he seems to care little about the Villa cause. Less than Downing did.
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A big no from me. If we've money to spend in Jan on fees and wages I can think of lots of better ways to spend it than on that spineless tosser
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Downing is a wank bottler,
A wank bottler eh?
Each to their own but that's a strange hobby.
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Downing is a wank bottler,
A wank bottler eh?
Each to their own but that's a strange hobby.
I never knew it was something you could bottle.
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Perhaps a funnel would help...
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Looks like he's heading back to Middlesbrough.
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Never. One good season and then we ripped off Dalgleish. Let him look elsewhere
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Looks like he's heading back to Middlesbrough.
On loan?
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Would he improve the team? IMO yes, so i'd have him back. We, the fans are the only ones who are loyal to the club. As long as they do the business while they wear the shirt then I don't care.
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Looks like he's heading back to Middlesbrough.
On loan?
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1233048?cc=5739
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Looks like he's heading back to Middlesbrough.
On loan?
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1233048?cc=5739
Something of a come-down, Stewy, you ******.
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Indeed ..I'd have him back on loan though..better than Nzog
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I think we could do with him on loan for the second half of the season. I know PL doesn't like wingers but he would be much better on the right or left of a 3 playing behind a lone striker (which seems to be Lambert's preference) than Gabby, Albrighton, Holman or N'Zpgbia. He can take it wide and whip in crosses or cut inside and shoot. We'd lose something defensively maybe as he's a total wuss, but beggar's can't be choosers.
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Just to play devil's advocate, what did people think when they learned Steve Staunton was coming back to Villa all those years ago? As I recall, Staunton couldn't wait to get back to Liverpool when his contract here ran out, even though we'd pretty much rescued his career the first time round.
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Just to play devil's advocate, what did people think when they learned Steve Staunton was coming back to Villa all those years ago? As I recall, Staunton couldn't wait to get back to Liverpool when his contract here ran out, even though we'd pretty much rescued his career the first time round.
I was really pleased and had called for us to sign him before we did. We only really had Alpay and Mellberg at centre half so he brought much needed quality and experience. Stan was a firm favourite of mine too. I'd have had Yorkie back from Man Utd to a few years later too.
The difference between Staunton and Downing is huge though. Stan gave us 7 years good service before leaving the first time. Downing gave not even two years and over 14 months playing regular after we rehabilitated him!