Downing: Better than Riera. then again, who isn’t?
We ask the people who really matter – the fans – about their club’s propects for the season ahead. Here Matthew John tells us about the schoolboy who terrorises Germans and how pass and move is returning to the Anfield turf.
Are you happy with the signings made so far this summer?
So far, yes. Especially Downing and Adam. Downing will give us width which we haven’t had since Riera left, and the ex-Villa man is a better player. Adam is a dead ball specialist, which means we might actually be a threat from corners now! I can’t give an honest opinion of Henderson, as I haven’t fully analysed his play, but he seems to be a Dalglish player, so let’s hope it works out.
Realistically who else would you like to see brought in?
A decent left back. Enrique or Periera (Porto and Uruguay). Plus ideally a centre back. Not sure who though.
Any player you’d like to be shown the exit door?
El Zhar, Poulson, Cole, and Jovanovic
Happy with the gaffer?
Couldn’t be any happier. Dalglish and Liverpool is like bread and butter, Ebony and Ivory etc. A natural match.
What one change would you like to see made on the pitch from last term?
Less punting from the centre backs and no more Stevie Gerrard corner-kicks. The pass and move we started playing under Dalglish was great, but still needs working on.
What would you consider to be a successful season?
Top four.
Any promising youngsters we should look out for?
Plenty. Most saw Kelly, Flanagan and Robinson appear for us in the first team last season, and all played well beyond their years. We have other youngsters with great potential too, Andre Wisdom (CB) has all the attributes to become a world class defender, but will he make the cut? The other pick of the bunch (and its a big bunch) would be Raheem Sterling, who has made Man Utd and Germany already stick 3+ players on him as soon as he gets the ball. Not bad for a 16 year old.
Can Gerrard and Carragher continue to hold such prominence and importance or (sacrilege perhaps to suggest so) are their influences on the wane?
In my opinion, Carragher should slowly be taking a squad role rather than first choice. His distribution is poor for a pass and move side. As for Gerrard, he has been out for quite a while, so don’t know how he will be. He may return to his best or be a shadow of his former self, so we need to wait till October/November to see.
Are there any misconceptions about your club from the media/other fans that you’d like to put right?
Well it’s quite ironic when Manc fans and Brummies shout ‘thieves’ and ‘sign on, sign on’, when both their cities has higher crime rates and more jobless than Liverpool. Ignorance hey? People should also check out http://www.contrast.org/hillsborough/ to learn more about the tragedy that they don’t know the full details of and instead choose to believe the Sun’s pack of lies.
