Having recently been linked with moves for Ashley Young and Sylvain Marveaux only to lose out to Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively, Liverpool are now strong favourites to land Stewart Downing from Aston Villa as the club scour the market for more creativity on the wings this close season.
Speculation is rife in the national media that the ex-Middlesboro man is on the verge of a move to Anfield and, following hard on the heels of Jordan Henderson’s £20m move from Sunderland, Downing’s arrival would give Kenny Dalglish the chance to field a natural left winger in his starting XI, this giving Liverpool a more balanced feel to their play in the upcoming campaign.
Over the course of last term, Liverpool’s lack of left-side continuity is summed up by the fact they fielded six different players in the position and with question marks allegedly hanging over the immediate futures of Maxi Rodriguez, Raul Meireles, Joe Cole and Milan Jovanovic, Downing’s proven Premier League pedigree looks set to solve the problem.
Here’s a look at his stats and the above-mentioned Liverpool players, highlighting just what Downing will offer to King Kenny’s side next season:
A look at his Shots per game (1.6) shows Downing, playing in an Aston Villa that struggled for the majority of last season, offered the same sort of goal threat as both Meireles and Maxi, who both managed 1.7. Cole and Jovanovic were given just fourteen starts between them, with little faith shown in either in their respective debut seasons by Roy Hodgson and then, subsequently, Dalglish, following his mid-season appointment, and the figures show why; Cole had 14 shots over his 20 appearances and Jovanovich a paltry 2 shots in his 10 games.
Maxi was far and away the most clinical here; he scored 10 goals from 47 shots, an average of 1 Goal every 4.7 Shots. Downing’s 7 goals for Villa came from an average of 1 every 8.68 Shots, almost identical to the finishing of Meireles (8.58), though the latter is perhaps remembered more for his goal scoring last season, due to some spectacular finishes.
When it comes to Key Passes, Steven Gerrard led the way for Liverpool last season with 2.52 per game, but the captain was plagued with injuries and made just 21 appearances in the 2010/11 campaign. In his absence, Meireles was second-best with an average of 2, indicating how much the side rely on their skipper’s ability to supply the creative spark.
Downing’s passing and delivery from the flank saw him pick up 7 Assists on his way to recording 2.24 Key Passes per match for Villa and will clearly bring an extra creative element to Dalglish’s side. Maxi’s 1.25 indicates an eye for a killer ball is perhaps not as strong as his shooting and, once again, Cole and Jovanovich fare poorly, with just 0.45 and 0.7 Key Passes per game respectively.
Cole was the best for Successful Dribbles (0.9), though with such minimal Key Passes and just 1 Assist all season, showed little end product when in possession, with his mazy runs coming to nothing. Downing’s 0.7 is again favourable when compared to the others and shows his trickery on the ball is yet another example of what he’ll bring to the club.
It’s his Crossing stats that really stand out here, though, and are critical to the likely acquisition; Downing averaged 6.4 every match, the same as Nani, with only Leighton Baines managing more (6.6) over the course of last season. This type of consistent delivery will be crucial in getting the best out of Andy Carroll- the £35m man has struggled to make much of an impact since his arrival at Anfield, finding the net in just one of his nine Liverpool appearances in all competitions to date.
The Crossing of Meireles (2.5), Cole (1.5), Maxi (0.6) and Jovanovich (1.3) per game demonstrates how Liverpool have failed to utilise the aerial prowess of the ex-Newcastle man to any great effect. At St James’ Park, Newcastle clearly played to Carroll’s strengths; he won 62% of Aerial Duels during his time there last season, but this has significantly dropped to 46% since moving to Anfield.
On this evidence, it’s clear Liverpool need a winger capable of supplying Carroll with Crosses in order to get the best out of him and a move for Downing may very well prove the key to his success at the club. With Luis Suarez already settling in so spectacularly, a rampant Carroll alongside the Uruguayan up front could be the difference between the club as a true Premier League force once again next season and another campaign of nothing more than regret and bitter disappointment.
