Downing Completes Liverpool Transfer

[Risso]

£20m might be good business, but two things:

Repaying debt doesn't really help us as a team, and

I bet we don't replace Young and Downing with anybody anywhere near as good.

[Clampy]

good riddance to Downing the little worm,aslong as we get Nzogbia ill be happy!

I wouldn't bet on N'Zogbia joining - I've zero faith in this board now. Lerner has banked £36M from these two sales plus getting rid of others off the wage bill.

Before we sold Ashley, Lerner's net spend since being here was 80m over five years. It is, now we've sold downing, 44m over that period.

What will tell us what kind of owner we've got is how he reacts now. That's 36m pounds recouped in the last two weeks. If he spends a good deal on that - and, let's be honest, he needs to - then some faith will be restored.

if he thinks he can hold most of it back, then he's playing a very dangerous game, as well as making us less attractive to potential signings, as we look like a selling club, and just making it harder for us to hold on to Darren Bent in 6 or 12 months time.

We need to put down a definite marker very, very quickly to show that we are something other than a club on the slide, because the last 12 months have had us look like a club going one way and one way only.

Agree with all that, it's possibly Randy's biggest test so far. He's already disgruntled a lot of fans with Eck's appointment. I can't see him making himself anymore unpopular by not giving him a fair chunk to spend and with the ST sales already down, he can't afford to do that really.

It's going to be an interesting few days.

[jembob]

I wouldn't bet on N'Zogbia joining - I've zero faith in this board now. Lerner has banked £36M from these two sales plus getting rid of others off the wage bill.

This is like January all over again. The board get's a load of stick before they make a great signing and then it's a love in! Downing won't be missed as much as Ashley Young and it's amusing that we actually seem to have got more money from him. I'm not too bothered that he's gone and after last year's fiasco I could understand why he would have been unsettled.
Once we get a couple of good players in we can forget about him until we play Lplop at VP and then we can just laugh at him as he avoids any sort of challenge and reminds us what an uncommitted wuss he was.

[villadom]

Relegation beckons

[pauliewalnuts]

Assess the squad over the season?

This squad spent most of last season flirting with relegation - we weren't mathematically safe until the last but one game of the season. Take out two of the three best players in it, and you're way, way back on where you need to be to stand still, let alone push on.

I understand Randy arriving at this point, but it is pretty hard to avoid the conclusion that we've given up even pretending we're going to try.

[Pete3206]

Relegation beckons

That's the spirit.

[Villafirst]

good riddance to Downing the little worm,aslong as we get Nzogbia ill be happy!

I wouldn't bet on N'Zogbia joining - I've zero faith in this board now. Lerner has banked £36M from these two sales plus getting rid of others off the wage bill.

Before we sold Ashley, Lerner's net spend since being here was 80m over five years. It is, now we've sold downing, 44m over that period.

What will tell us what kind of owner we've got is how he reacts now. That's 36m pounds recouped in the last two weeks. If he spends a good deal on that - and, let's be honest, he needs to - then some faith will be restored.

if he thinks he can hold most of it back, then he's playing a very dangerous game, as well as making us less attractive to potential signings, as we look like a selling club, and just making it harder for us to hold on to Darren Bent in 6 or 12 months time.

We need to put down a definite marker very, very quickly to show that we are something other than a club on the slide, because the last 12 months have had us look like a club going one way and one way only.

This sad excuse for a board have pissed the majority of fans off big-time this summer. They've given no grounds for optimism at all. Just negative news and actions all the time - sell, sell, sell with no strategy whatsoever. They can't be arsed to make any statement to put us in the picture.
Completely shit PR!!

[littlevillain]

yes once a player wants to go fuck him.
having said that i'm one of the few on here who thought he was our most consistent last season and quite liked him. Tough on  bent when you sell the two players that supply him most.
Hoping this gives allbrighton more chances, we will see what develops.

[Villa'Zawg]

No offence intended to anyone on here but I was with some complete c***s tonight and they thought selling Downing to Liverpool was a good deal.

Hello, c**t here. What a good deal for Downing.

Is that you Tom?

[Ian.]

I liked him, he did very well this season. I thought he might show us some loyalty though after us gambling a huge some of money on him when he was broken. Fecking twat can join the Liverpool revolution of paying over the odds for English men. They might just reach the lofty heights of 6th like we did with the rich brits on board.

[ozzjim]

We HAVE to have 30 million to spend now though. 10 of the Ash money, and 20 for Downing. 2 wide players, a truly good passer through the middle, and a top quality holding player for me after Given.

Although Reo Coker coming back would save a lot of money on the last one.

[Risso]

Assess the squad over the season?

I don't think the rag tag collection of players we have left could realistically be described as a squad anymore.

[noodles_]

My mate is redscouse and he's distraught they've signed him. We should make a triple bid at Wigan for N'zogbia, McCarthy and Rodallega. 

[Villa'Zawg]

Well thanks again Mr Lerner - happy now with the £20M in your pocket? Thats it, sell off all of the best players - who's next? Darren Bent? Disgrace the way the squad - sorry ''small'' squad has been ravaged. Is this the start of the new 5 year plan, I wonder?

Bit harsh when the player asked for a transfer. The test is if he allows McLeish to spend it.

Are you happy with a recycling or sell-to-buy strategy? Don't you think there should be any further investment in the squad?

[Toronto Villa]

Disappointed. I'm glad it's being settled quickly rather than dragging out, but from being Player of the Year to all of a sudden wanting out. It's quite shit really.

It's over to you Alex to get the players with the coin hopefully burning a hole in your pocket.

Break a leg Stew. I mean that sincerely.