downing?

[olly27]

who thinks he will be a spurs player by 31st August? if so how much? 8 million

[hastingsyid]

think he will be with us but 8m too much,im not anti-downing but i just dont rate him that much.yes hes british but i would prefer petrov.but if we end up with downing id be reasonbly happy

[Spur]

I'd be happy, he is a good player. Don't know why so many are proper anti-Downing, he's a good player and will do a good job.

[olly27]

pretty much agree, as long as its not over 8 million...i have watched him play a lot..i agree i dont think he will set the lane a light but would be a good addition. I think we would be better with him than without him..if petrov doesn't sign that is!

[SSS]

Remember guys, he set up Crouch for England in his last game, and for boro v Chelsea did he not put in the crosses for both goals??

[olly27]

yeah he did..has looked good recently..i think he was recovering from an injury last season so wasn't at his best...i think he would provide a lot for berbie and would bring balance to our side..i hope we do get him just not for stupid money..like 12 million

[Houdini logic]

Don't let Welshie see this thread!
He hates Downing!

But I would like him here, just no more than £8 million

[Spur]

He's still young, he can still improve, 8mil I would expect to be the least we bid. What is a good idea would be to bid 8-10mil for Downing and 1-2mil for Adam Johnson, give them a choice of who they will keep and get rid of.

After our last bid for Downing we bid 1mil for Johnson that's why i'm suggesting it again. Now they have a new manager and both players I think would gladly leave.

[olly27]

yeah me too..why does he hate downing so much..he's not a bad player like..he's good..has done well for middlesboruough and is in the england squad...it's all opinions but i think most pofessionals would rate him!

[Houdini logic]

But would they really leave Middlesborough?

I mean, Boro beat Chelsea, Chelsea = Champions

To Boro fans that means they are the best team in the League!

[Chinaman]

I just don't see him adding too much too our team. Would prefer we keep the money until we can sign someone who can really help lift us to another level.

[hodgy]

agree with chinaman. should not buy for the sake of it. rather wait til someone with pace becomes available with a good delivery

[Keanoldinho]

Downing is quality and would really help us get to the next level. His crossing ability is top notch and Berbatov would really benefit from it and he's not afraid to defend either. The guy might not be as quick as Lennon but he's about the same pace as super Keano.

[JJ]

There's no doubting his delivery. He set up many chances against Chelsea with his crossing. He would certainly do a job, i just don't want to get fleeced for him as he's English.

[Keanoldinho]

In all honesty I think to get a quality EPL LWer we are going to have to pay over the odds because teams know that it's the final piece of the puzzle regarding our starting line-up. Downing, MGP, or someone of there pedigree will cost us 10-15mil I believe if we stay in England and don't go abroad.

Yes it's alot of money but there's no doubting they're both quality and we would then be really strong contenders for a top 4 finish and the Uefa and FA Cup.

[olly27]

agree with keanoldinho...i think we should get him...great addition to our team

[Spur]

Great delivery and decent pace, he's a quality player, last season he was still recovering perhaps, but he's very intelligent on the pitch.

[olly27]

its not buying for the sake of it! he's been a target for ages, its just a question of negiotating a deal that works for all parties...i agree over 12 million would be a bit much though...

[nuttyhotspurs]

i thought we were told downing was not for sale at any price during pre season??? i aint complaining about the news tho. i think he would be an awesome signing for us. i hear a lot of critisism of downing saying he just puts his head down and runs in a straight line up the pitch, well to be honest thats exacly what we need, the more positive players we have that want to to get forward and whip in those crosses the better we will be

[Welsh Spur]

If I'm wrong about him, then it means we'll be doing better than I expect. And then I'll agree that his price tag is justified.

[olly27]

yeah like the success of a whole team, never mind squad, depends on wholly on one players performance! i dont think so!....

[sundancer]

Like most I think 12 million is a lot, but if thats what we have to pay to buy a L.w. who at 22 is the best crosser from that side in the prem, has got international experiance and under M.J. will get better then so be it. I can not understand people who say he can not beat players, he more often then not gets his crosses in which is what we need.

[laspur]

I just don't see him adding too much too our team. Would prefer we keep the money until we can sign someone who can really help lift us to another level.
Do you have someone in mind? All I know is if we wait even until January, we could be out of the top 5. The l-mid is a concern if you ask me, until we get someone, we will struggle.

[Spur]

Well like I say that's not strictly true. We went a whole season without one and nearly got 4th. So no, we won't struggle. It just might be easier if we had one.

[laspur]

I have yet to see David's and Ekotto string a pass among themselves. I see a lot of lost balls on the left, and no real penetration on the left.

[Indianspur]

Why dont we look in the dutch league for a left winger...someone like Babel wud be a lot cheaper than someone in our leagues and with the same amount of talent! With the well respected Davids and JOl at the club there wud be some attraction for a dutch footballer!

[Thfc4Life]

I have yet to see David's and Ekotto string a pass among themselves. I see a lot of lost balls on the left, and no real penetration on the left.

A word of advice, never criticise davids on this forum you wont hear the end of it ;)

[Keanoldinho]

This season Davids has been class even against Bolton his chip from the left into the box were Berbatov brought it down and rolled it to Defoe for his one shot was our best move of the game along with Keanos through ball to Berbatov at the end were he should've probably scored.

[Welsh Spur]

I have yet to see David's and Ekotto string a pass among themselves. I see a lot of lost balls on the left, and no real penetration on the left.
Ekotto has impressed me in the first two games. The linkage (is that a word?) between him and Davids is non-existent because Davids is being played out of position.

[Spur]

It's not that though. Davids got alot of the ball in the first game but for me didn't do much with it. That could have been because everyone else played shite, and I can accept that. Benny has been decent so far, was blindin' pre-season though, and I expect that to come soon, after all he will have to settle, and we could see he might be struggling with that when Davids had to tell him what the ref said in on of the matches.

It could well be argued that we were as good as we wwere down the left last season because of Davids being there to cover Lee, that's what I saw anyway. Now we have a proper left back who gets forward and back and maybe there is not as much need for Davids on that side, maybe thats why some of you are starting to attack him and his place in the side.

[laspur]

A word of advice, never criticise davids on this forum you wont hear the end of it ;)
Who says i'm criticising David's, i'm pointing out he is not a l-winger. Do you guys think he is the one to fill the spot?

[laspur]

It's not that though. Davids got alot of the ball in the first game but for me didn't do much with it. That could have been because everyone else played shite, and I can accept that. Benny has been decent so far, was blindin' pre-season though, and I expect that to come soon, after all he will have to settle, and we could see he might be struggling with that when Davids had to tell him what the ref said in on of the matches.

It could well be argued that we were as good as we wwere down the left last season because of Davids being there to cover Lee, that's what I saw anyway. Now we have a proper left back who gets forward and back and maybe there is not as much need for Davids on that side, maybe thats why some of you are starting to attack him and his place in the side.
My words are not to attack David's, the dude has the biggest sack outta the lot. My point is if we leave David's in the l-mid all season, we won't do dick this season. If you all think the left isn't a concern, shit I must be a blind ****.

[choda]

I would only play him on the left if we played a creative player in the middle. That way you can have him defend the left and the centre when appropriate, and have a central playmaker who when we have the ball would move forward into the hole position (that sounds funny).

This can be described as a fluid diamond and it still allows you to have one out and out winger who won't be dragged in as he would if you played a normal diamond. This is exactly the system Argentina used in the world cup. And it could suit us because we don't have a natural top left winger and we want to keep Lennon out wide where he causes so much damage and not in the engine room.

And by the way I don't describe Jenas as creative. I'm am concerned with the midfield because to me there is one player too many towards physicality and not creativity.

[Spur]

I'm not saying it's not a concern, all i'm saying is it was a concern last season too, and we nearly finished 4th. Surely therefore it's not as bad as people, like yourself and others, are making out. We did it once we can do it again - this time with stronger players elsewhere.

[laspur]

Spur, I hope your right. I just think to beat the best and to be a serious threat to everyone, we need the 11 playing their natural positions. Why settle for average play on the left. We all want the same outcome, victory. Don't confuse knocking David's with the will to win.

[choda]

Yes but we didn't finish fourth did we? We are still a very good side but we need to continue to progress. We are lacking creativity in midfield and it held us back last year and will again this year if it is not sorted.

We have improved three positions and we are stronger again but don't forget our rivals in theory at least have strengthened aswell.

We probably need to push the boat out to make sure we right up there in the mix and guaranteed a top four. Either way we still need another top attacking midfielder to really progress.

I would expect Ben Arfa, Petrov, Rigger Morte, or Downing to sign before the window, maybe even two of those. In fairness to Downing he played a blinder against Chelsea and he does seem to play well in the prem. He's a good crosser and he's not that slow but he does seem to have trouble getting past his man or even getting a yard to cross it.

His wc displays would still concern me, I see them as a bit of a how good are you really test. I hope we don't pay crazy money, no more than 9 mil.

If he comes I hope he improves... and he could well do that... he does seem to be a good footballer... just how good is the question though.

[laspur]

100% agree Choda, do you work the graveyard shift?

[choda]

100% agree Choda, do you work the graveyard shift?

At the moment yeah. In a few days I'll be back to normal.