Liverpool need width – not Mata!

With Charlie Adam signed, Liverpool ’s next high profile target is Stewart Downing . The England winger has made no secret of his desire to leave Aston Villa this summer and is expected to force a transfer by handing in a transfer request if Liverpool ’s advances continue to be knocked back. The proposed transfer has been met online by a group of whingeing Liverpool fans, many crying ’sign Mata, sign Mata’ or alternately stating that Downing is average at best, or simply not good enough. Such comments display the naïveté of some fans in terms of how they perceive the modern game.

What seems to escape the attention of these fans is that in January of this year Liverpool paid a club record £35m to sign Andy Carroll. Call me crazy but I believe this would suggest that Andy is seen as a key first team player for next season. One only need look at Liverpool’s last two games of last season, when Carroll, despite clearly not being fit, was chosen to play alongside Suarez as a striker ahead of the in-form Dirk Kuyt. Carroll is seen as first choice. As such Dalglish will be looking to construct a side to get the best from his £35m man.

To think that Kenny Dalglish gave the go-ahead on signing Carroll for £35m without realising that he needs good service borders on insulting the King’s knowledge of the game. We all know Andy’s main strengths, he has great physical presence and colossal heading ability. He gets less praise for his ability to pick a pass and he also has a decent touch, impressive attributes for such a big man. Carroll also has a ferocious shot, it is clear to see why, in this department, parallels with Alan Shearer have been drawn.

Carroll however, also has weaknesses. He could do with working on his ball retention and hold-up play, as he is often clumsy or wasteful when playing a simple pass. Also, for a man who to look at, appears at a glance to be something of a beast – Carroll could also improve on his strength.

Upon his signing I had noticed in his medical photos that his upper-body could do with a lot of work, he did not cut the figure of a toned, conditioned and muscular modern pro, but then he did have a reputation. Carroll is also not the quickest, which diminishes our ability to thread through-balls to Carroll as a viable, steady supply-source of goal-scoring chances.

This is precisely the problem in the debate over Mata that so many fans seem to miss. Liverpool need someone who can deliver a cross. This is not Mata’s style. He is a great little player but a gamble in terms of getting the best from Carroll. Mata is a typical Spanish schemer, playing in a floating role on the left, looking to playing quick one-twos, or to pick an incisive through ball. Mata plays most of his football in a more central area of the pitch, drifting in on the left side of a front three. The same people who clamour for Mata would also likely state that Liverpool need width. Mata would simply not provide the desired width we need.

Whilst the thought of Mata and Suarez linking up on the left, playing intricate, incisive football on the deck is great in theory, such a system would not suit big Andy, who thrives on good crosses (or indeed even average ones. Man City anyone?). Make no mistake – next season we will be looking to get crosses to him. Whilst Mata does not provide traditional, touchline-hugging, by-line-driving width, Downing certainly does.

It is the width offered by Stewart Downing which puts him ahead of Mata as a priority signing for Liverpool. The left-footer whipped in more crosses in open play than any player in the Premier League last season, 135 in total. According to Opta stats, this is more than any other player has accumulated in a season in the last three campaigns. Very impressive. We are all aware too that Downing is not overly elaborate and could hardly be described as a ‘flair’ player, but then the same can be said for the likes of Antonio Valencia at Man Utd, who was widely praised for his simplicity on the ball at the tail end of last season (rightly so in my opinion, he rarely loses the ball).

Downing is not a ‘one-trick pony’ as many lazily suggest – some, with dreams of comedy superstardom have described him as a ‘no-trick pony’. Again, this is lazy – if not just downright idiotic. As we can see, Downing’s main ‘trick’ is offering width and providing crosses, but he is also capable of scoring goals as well as creating them (as we found out to our detriment) – eight in total last season. Downing can also pick a pass as well as deliver crosses. Strikers with pace, such as Gabriel Agbonlahor, and more recently Darren Bent have both benefited from Downing’s ability to split a defence over the last few years. Were it not for Bent’s famed profligacy in front of goal, and inability to stay onside, Downing may have claimed many more than the nine assists he contributed last season.

Continued on Page TWO



Downing also displayed his versatility when playing on the right-wing last year, showing that he can cut inside and create havoc in such a role. Were Kenny to employ a 4-3-3 next season. Suarez would naturally play on the left, where he creates so much trouble for club and country. As such, were Mata to sign where would he fit exactly? He is untested on the right. Downing provides better options in this regard – added to this, Downing has also shown he can still provide crosses and width when playing on the right if the system is a 4-4-2. Something Mata cannot provide from either side.

Which brings me back to Andy Carroll.

I wish we weren’t building a side around Carroll but lets face it, we are. His price tag makes him almost undroppable. It is for this reason I feel that, barring injury to Carroll we will employ a 4-4-2 next year. In every game Carroll played last season, we utilised this formation. That Downing is a desired signing theoretically re-enforces this view.

Parallels with Dalglish’s signing of Alan Shearer can be drawn here. Dalglish recognised that Jason Wilcox and Stuart Ripley could provide ammo for Shearer in what turned out to be a masterstroke. Neither player was flash or full of tricks, but without these two it is hard to see how Shearer would have scored such an alarming amount of goals. Width was a crucial factor in getting the best out of Big Shearer – the same goes for Carroll.

What Blackburn under Dalglish did not have was creativity from the centre. Their title-winning side contained David Batty and Tim Sherwood in central midfield. Whilst both were good players, neither possessed great vision, or the ability to deliver a defence-splitting pass. This was not essential however, as neither Shearer or Sutton possessed great pace. Their title win was largely based on a strategy of bombarding the opposition with crosses, they played to their strengths.

But Blackburn did not have a Luis Suarez.

In Gerrard and Adam, Liverpool have players capable of releasing Suarez with quality through balls – both can pick a telling, defence-splitting pass. Liverpool have the quality to be creative in the central areas, many would argue that Aquilani or Meireles could also provide such options. I agree. We are not lacking in creativity in central areas, which is what Mata would provide us with more of.

Mata can pick a pass, but then so can Downing. Mata can score goals, but then again so can Downing. Mata can drift into central areas, but then isn’t this the type of narrow football we have been looking to get away from? Creativity in central areas is not what we are looking for – it is what we already have. It is the predictability of this style which has led to the clamour for width in the fist place.

Width is where we have been lacking. As such, Downing can give us the added option of natural width which we so desire. Mata cannot.

Downing would give us the ability to drag and pull defences apart, to keep them guessing where the next threat is coming from – making as dangerous from wide areas as we are from central midfield. As all Liverpool fans know, this is something we have lacked badly for years. Dalglish is looking for a player that provide such width, a player who can get the best from both Carroll and Suarez.

This is why Mata, however talented, is simply not what we are looking for..… Perhaps in some alternate reality where we have Suarez and Sergio Aguero up front it makes perfect sense. But not in this reality.

In this reality it’s £35m worth of 6ft 3” of Geordie bruiser we’ve got, and Dalglish isn‘t afraid to use what he has.

In addition to chasing Downing, the signing of Charlie Adam further demonstrates the importance that Dalglish has placed on getting good service to Carroll. In Adam’s case – particularly in regard to set-pieces. Carroll in particular is going to be salivating over those patented Charlie Adam ‘corners from hell’.

Even the greatest sceptic must admit that the thought of Downing providing the ammo for Carroll from the flanks next season, in addition to Adam’s delivery from set-pieces – is a very juicy thought indeed!

Read more Barry Henderson’s articles at Live4Liverpool