Gone: Downing shows real loyalty to us

[VillaEire]

I think it's embarassing that if we lose Downing the only players we've got to fall on is Bent, the kids, troublesome players such as Warnock, Ireland, Beye, Collins, Dunne etc.

Levy is making it clear he doesn't want Modric gone. This is the true test to see how good our board really is keeping players because we full well know that Modric is way superior than Downing and if we can't keep Downing, we need a new board who knows how to persuade keeping players better because losing 4 best players in 3 seasons is unacceptable. A piss poor job.

How is what Levy said any different to what AM said? Both said they won't sell.

[Nigel]

Villa are adamant they have no desire to sell Downing who cost £10 million, rising to £12 million, when he arrived on crutches with a fractured foot two years ago.

“He had a magnificent season last year and really came to full maturity as a top player,” said McLeish.

“I understand why there’s teams interested in him and that is what happens when you play well consistently.

“His performances last season were top draw.

“That’s why he’s not for sale. The club don’t want to sell him. I spoke to him briefly last week and I intend speaking to him again when all the lads are back in for training.”

Good enough for you?

Probably not.

im pretty sure AM was quoted as saying something such as if we get a crazy bid we will sell?

so either he is not for sale or he is?

both are quotes coming from villa so someone is lying

One is a quote from Alex McLeish and the other is what MM informed was said, by McLeish, at a fans meeting.

He's not for sale. But if a crazy offer comes in then we'd be mad to turn it down. I understand that completely.

Exactly, there is no player in the world that would not be sold if crazy money was involved!

Good to hear that they wont be bullied into selling for now!

[LockStockVilla]

My view on Downing is I am not too bothered if we keep him for at least one more year. If we can seriously line up some great signings into the squad to reinvest with and we get crazy money then fine. In a case like that I would like us to take a punt on some younger talent to come good like we did with A. Young (possibly people like Chamberlain, Canales, Shaqiri, some under 21 Spanish Youth). Otherwise if we keep him then all we really need to do is buy possibly another midfielder or two, fullback, gk, and we would be looking like a very decent side.

[Ralphy]

I hope we play hard ball with SD. He deserves it. He either hands in a transfer request or signs a new contract, one or the other. If he doesnt let him rot in the reserves next season, like we did with Warnock and Beye. It will ruin his biggest chance of going to a major championship with England. Thats how i would spell it out to him. Its time the club got some control back from the players and their agents. We have been a soft touch for quite some time now and if we are to progress we need to put the foot down. Players would think twice about f**kin us over if we set this example.

[LockStockVilla]

I hope we play hard ball with SD. He deserves it. He either hands in a transfer request or signs a new contract, one or the other. If he doesnt let him rot in the reserves next season, like we did with Warnock and Beye. It will ruin his biggest chance of going to a major championship with England. Thats how i would spell it out to him. Its time the club got some control back from the players and their agents. We have been a soft touch for quite some time now and if we are to progress we need to put the foot down. Players would think twice about f**kin us over if we set this example.

I definitely would not throw him in reserves, certainly do not do that to a decent player! However, I agree we play tough with him. What I do not get is why players will not go ahead and at least sign larger contracts so that their club can at least get better money for them. Like with Ashley, I had no problem with him leaving, he was very loyal for some time but it would have been nice if he would have extended just to get us a bigger fee. For example, Modric did it, and now his club will get at least 30 mill if he is signed. Baffles me a bit, but I suppose players are scared of getting stuck in a place they dont want to stay??

[JulieB]

I presume that they're all singing from the same hymn sheet at Villa and therefore McLeish's position would be completely undermined if he were to be sold now after what he's said. Having said that there's a price for everything and turning down 25m wouldn't be good business in my book.

Downing isn't coming out of this very well and looks to have been poorly advised like Gareth Barry.

MM said that McCleish said at meeting Downing wasn't for sale unless a really stupid offer came in like £50M...... OK it wouldn't have to be that much to tempt a sale....but the same statement is made with quotes from McCleish in article by Mat Kendrick. Gist: Not for sale LFC...End of! No one's lying... it's how it is.

Now this is on the back of McCleish speaking, according to said article with Downing last week, presumably BEFORE the new improved offer of reportedly £15M came in from LFC.

If Downing had told McCleish last week that he wasn't happy at Villa & wanted to leave & was considering putting in a transfer request - I'm presuming McCleish wouldn't have given the quotes to Kendrick that Downing wasn't for sale. And that further talks were planned tomorrow with the same player. Liverpool would have been set a price in much the same way MON said to the same club over Barry.

Villa made no secret of Barry hard ball V Anfield HQ- they told FSW straight pay £XXM or we're not selling him to you. Arguably as a consequence he didn't leave and Villa had the best out of Barry that season until he left for Man City the following summer. He's not looked half as good neither IMO subsequently. He's lost fitness.

Could be wrong of course & things can change quickly in football with mercenary agents and players however I actually think Mr Downing may just have engineered himself a big fat payrise.

[R.Bear]

Same old shite. If he wants to leave then so be it.

Yes it sucks, yes he's a prick, yes he's selfish but he's no use to us if he wants out.

This summer gets better and better.

[Super-Villan]

He is quite within his rights not to sign a new contract, and chucking him in the reserves for that would be daft (not to mention giving him a pretty good case for breach of contract against us in law if he wanted to go down that route. Putting Warnock and Beye in the reserves is one thing, your player of the season is quite another.)

If a player plays well for you that's great. If they attract the interest of bigger clubs because of that and have their heads turned...well that's just football. I'd be sad to see a good player leave, but as long as the club let him go for what they consider the right price then I really don't think anyone is to blame for any of it.

[Stu_The_Villan]

He is quite within his rights not to sign a new contract, and chucking him in the reserves for that would be daft (not to mention giving him a pretty good case for breach of contract against us in law if he wanted to go down that route. Putting Warnock and Beye in the reserves is one thing, your player of the season is quite another.)

Im not advocating putting him in the reserves, but how would doing so be a breach of contract on our part?

[JulieB]

Well whatever Downing said to McCleish last week.. it doesn't sound like Villa are prepared to give LFC any encouragement at all in their

public pursuit, which lends me to thinking that possibly we're judging the player a little too harshly in assuming he wants to leave.

I know that Stewart Downing was highly thought of at Smoggies as a person as well as a player. He was an absolute model professional & gave 110% to the cause till the day he left so I'm told. Boro had loads of problems at the time with other players some of whom were sold because of what had been going on.

Friedel left for Spurs intimating that he'd been shocked at some of the behaviour of the players last season not the actions of the manager

or staff. GMac alluded to a problem with some of the players under Houllier. AM will sort that out ..no messing.

If Downing stays then I think you'll find he will be as committed as anyone in the squad.

[Stu_The_Villan]

Friedel left for Spurs intimating that he'd been shocked at some of the behaviour of the players last season not the actions of the manager

or staff. GMac alluded to a problem with some of the players under Houllier. AM will sort that out ..no messing.

Well, theres a good number of people here who still maintain that Downing wanted to stay whilst Houllier was here, and it was only when it was looking like he was going to leave that Downing wanted to go.

2 sides of the coin. Truth is nobody knows 100% what went on.

Personally, i think always had it in his head he wanted to go this summer, especially after seeing Milner and then Ash leave.

[Richard]

Play hardball and throw him in the reserves, let him see his contract out etc. Sorry but it wont work like that in the game today. He is an ssset worth approx 19M by all accounts. Not sure the club, or any club really apart from Citeh, is in a position to lose 19M or a significant portion of it.

It is a pity we could not show him we can achieve what he wants and so keep him here but that's what a club in our position faces I'm afraid

[Folski]

I'll say it again, anybody for £18mil and Jonjo Shelvey? I think he's the kind of player we need to be looking at, at this stage we are only a feeder club and we need to either get in players who cant get in to the starting XIs of the top teams, or do what the top teams do to us to the likes of Bolton, Stoke, Sunderland, Wigan etc. Looking at McLeish's history at Blues (actually just off the top of my head) I reckon he could be fairly short sighted when looking overseas for players. I honestly think Delph & Shelvey could do a job over the next 5 years till United sign them both for £20mil each!

[AndyM3000]

I don't want any of their shite players but for 20m Ill take him there myself. Hes not that good at all, plays simple football. After watching a video of his best bits it just made me miss Ashley Young!

Sell him now and use half of that money on Nzogbia and the other half on Walker. Job done.

[JulieB]

2 sides of the coin. Truth is nobody knows 100% what went on.

No we don't but I'm just saying if Downing had intimated at all that he wanted out in his conversation to McCleish last week then I think the guy would not have been as bold as to give quotes to Kendrick that the player wasn't for sale.

In fact I would have thought that McCleish would have backtracked somewhat from the statement he gave the fans according to MM some weeks ago, instead of reiterating - SD is not for sale.

Anyhow SD could engineer a move. All he has to do is put in a transfer request and then I think Villa will sell but at the right price. He hasn't as yet, so the hate fest is I think a little unwarranted.

[Folski]

I don't want any of their shite players but for 20m Ill take him there myself. Hes not that good at all, plays simple football. After watching a video of his best bits it just made me miss Ashley Young!

Sell him now and use half of that money on Nzogbia and the other half on Walker. Job done.

Walkers signed a new deal Andy. The only thing I dont understand is the figure itself. What did we pay £15mil? That was when he was at relegated Middlesbrough and with a broken leg. Yet Liverpool will only pay what 3-5mil more. That season he also played 37 games for Boro scoring a mindblowing zero goals! Yet after his second most successful season he's only worth a couple of odd million more than his worst!

[Stu_The_Villan]

No we don't but I'm just saying if Downing had intimated at all that he wanted out in his conversation to McCleish last week then I think the guy would not have been as bold as to give quotes to Kendrick that the player wasn't for sale.

Downing saying he wants to go and us saying hes not for sale are 2 totally different things though. Just because he might have intimated to McLeish that he would like to leave, that doesnt stop us from coming out and saying hes not for sale.

McLeish could have just said 'you want to leave? fine, but unless a stupid offer comes in you're going nowhere son. Now stop being such a little gobshite'

[Stu_The_Villan]

The only thing I dont understand is the figure itself. What did we pay £15mil? That was when he was at relegated Middlesbrough and with a broken leg. Yet Liverpool will only pay what 3-5mil more. That season he also played 37 games for Boro scoring a mindblowing zero goals! Yet after his second most successful season he's only worth a couple of odd million more than his worst!

Ive said this on more than one occasion. To me, it stinks of Liverpool trying to unsettle the player to such a degree that it would be in our best interests to sell.

[Super-Villan]

Im not advocating putting him in the reserves, but how would doing so be a breach of contract on our part?

You're basically denying him the right to do his job. I forget the actual legal term. With a Warnock or Beye that would be trickier to prove, but with Downing I think the club would need to be careful.

I can't remember whether the law has ever really been tested in football in this way. But then I can't think of a case of a club's player of the season being thrown in the reserves out of spite for a whole season, ruining their chance of representing their country at a major tournament.

[AndyM3000]

I don't want any of their shite players but for 20m Ill take him there myself. Hes not that good at all, plays simple football. After watching a video of his best bits it just made me miss Ashley Young!

Sell him now and use half of that money on Nzogbia and the other half on Walker. Job done.

Walkers signed a new deal Andy. The only thing I dont understand is the figure itself. What did we pay £15mil? That was when he was at relegated Middlesbrough and with a broken leg. Yet Liverpool will only pay what 3-5mil more. That season he also played 37 games for Boro scoring a mindblowing zero goals! Yet after his second most successful season he's only worth a couple of odd million more than his worst!

Has he? Ouch. Didn't know that, pretty gutted. We paid £10m for him rising to £12m and I think its safe to say we overpaid for him, like most of MON's signings were.

I just dont rate him that much. Id happily replace him with Nzogbia and have cash left over, if we can do that then its good business IMO.