Handshake Conspiracies, Downing Stats, and Other Wednesday Notes

By: Noel | February 14th, 2012

We promise, there’s actually some news today that isn’t about Luis Suarez, Patrice Evra, handshakes, racism, the London press, the English FA, or Manchester United. I think. Maybe…

* But first off, we’ve got one more thread to tie up when it comes to Luis Suarez, Patrice Evra, handshakes, the English FA, and Manchester United. This thread in particular involves the handshake itself, and specifically questions of why Luis Suarez and the Liverpool players moved past United when usually it would have been the Liverpool players standing in place while United walked past them.

That it happened the other way around on Saturday was exceptionally odd, as over the five seasons Premier League sides have shaken hands before games as a show of sportsmanship that might or might not—depending on the week and who’s asking—put an end to racism, Saturday’s match against United was only the second time the away side has done the walking. The first and only other occasion was when Wayne Bridge and Manchester City visited Chelsea and John Terry soon after news broke that the Chelsea and former England skipper had gotten his former teammate’s girlfriend pregnant.

Though some Liverpool fans have since tried to find some kind of conspiracy in the alteration, it turns out it was a last minute decision by referee Phil Dowd, who as Mike Dean before him had felt it best to keep the centre of attention—in this case Saurez—from presenting a stationary target for anybody on United or in the crowd looking to make a statement.

* And meanwhile, while this time it’s not specifically about the Suarez case or the handshake-that-wasn’t, in recent weeks we’ve found ourselves pointing people towards John Barnes when all of the Suarezgate issues become impossible to avoid talking about. Mostly this is because in recent weeks Barnes has come across as the most intelligent former athlete we’ve ever heard talk about any issue ever. It’s also a little because when discussing racism in English professional football, this is a man with first hand experience on the receiving end of the abuse.

In any case, Barnes recently penned a piece for the Times wherein he tried to shift the at times sensational story that has dominated discussion recently in a more positive and meaningful direction, and as with just about everything Barnes has said in recent weeks it’s something that needs to be seen by everyone:

The Football Association ticks all the right boxes with its policies and campaigns, the Government passes legislation, the Prime Minister gets involved because someone didn’t shake someone’s hand, people queue up to say ignorance is no excuse. But they are wrong. Ignorance is the excuse. To stop it, we have to start talking seriously about race.

The idea that race is about colour is relatively modern. When Aristotle spoke about races he was differentiating between uncivilised barbarians and civilised Greeks. But it was introduced by governments, backed by the Church, to validate slavery and colonialism, to justify treating some people as less equal than others. Just as Linnaeus classified plants, so people were classified by the colour of their skin. Academics tried to prove differences in skull formation to give scientific support to the idea that black people were morally and intellectually inferior.

But race is not a scientific reality…

Now go read the rest.

* Moving away from Luis Suarez, Patrice Evra, handshakes, racism, the London press, the English FA, and Manchester United for a moment (finally) with the first news regarding former Liverpool assistant Sammy Lee since he left the club shortly (Note: As Alex Snow points out in the comments, “shortly” in this case was, like, four months) after the return of Kenny Dalglish last January. After nearly a year on the proverbial sidelines, Lee will be returning to the literal sidelines with Bolton, the club he both ended his playing career and started his coaching career at—including a brief spell in 2007 as manager. This time around it won’t be a job as manager or assistant manager that he undertakes, but rather the role of head coach for the Wanderers academy. We wish him the best of luck.

* Lastly, following what for many was a crushingly disappointing performance by Stewart Downing against Manchester United on the weekend, EPL Index looks at his numbers throughout the season to try and determine whether Downing deserves the abuse he’s received from a fanbase largely convinced he isn’t good enough to take the club where it needs to go. And the numbers at least suggest that aside from interceptions being way down on a per minute basis and the player passing backwards more often—perhaps as a result of being i n a side the plays a more possession based game than his former club—his contributions for Liverpool are nearly identical in both attack and defence, including most importantly the chances created for both himself and others.

Some will recall that we undertook a similar investigation in October—and reached similar conclusions. But as much as we like statistics and try to use them to inform how we view players and performances, despite concluding in October that there was little wrong with Downing as far as the stats were concerned it’s been impossible to ignore that his performances simply haven’t been convincing. Saturday against United when he looked sheepish on the ball and left Enrique largely exposed against Valencia was simply the latest—and perhaps least excusable—example of a player who appears anything but effective even if his statistics suggest that, in general, he’s at least close to the player he was last season.

Though perhaps that’s the real problem. Perhaps, even ignoring the struggles with chance conversion, Downing not doing all that much worse a job for Liverpool than he was for Aston Villa last season simply means that the player he was for Aston Villa last season wasn’t anywhere near good enough to justify a £20M price-tag and near lock on the starting eleven. At least not for a club that, based on last season’s finishing standing and sumer expenditures, could have reasonably considered a top four finish to be the minimum league goal at the start of the season.

We’ll be back with any breaking news as the day moves along, but in the meantime, remember, Suarezgate is never actually going to end…

Some Related Liverpool Posts:

Category: Miscellaneous, Premier League, Team News

« Video: Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel’s Season So Far | Home | The Race For Fourth »

alex_snow2

Sammy Lee left in the summer when we brought in Kevin Keen, not when Dalglish first arrived.
Ed

Oh man you busted Noel so good.
jpr

Noel had me convinced Kenny was just being ruthless
tony

It is all management's fault if they paid for players who couldn't deliver to their price tags. Nobody put a gun on the negotiation table for 20M for Downing. It seems that we lacked both vision & financial prudence. Since we don't have a Roman or Shiek wallet, why don't we learn from some cheapskate operator aka Tottenham Hotspur whose record signing is 16.5M for Luka Modric? Last summer, for 5M they got Parker whose inspirational play is why Spurs is so consistent this season, while we got...er mmm, Adam.

How did they get VDV for 8M? Adebayor on loan and Saha for free with 2 goals already. Lennon/Parker/Modric/Bale cost a total of 29.5M. Being cheap can be highly successful too with a good pair of eyes. Damn. Damn.
Mekusdagama

That's a well run club period.
Waiting for Sterling

I'm glad Barnes can finally make a point to a more mainstream media about the idea of racism (in terms of difference in humans, it doesn't exist. We are all the same race.)
Suarez from the car park...

and actually moving the debate along.

Shows how much the media is completely disinterested in doing progressing the debate. For them, racism is something to sensationalise and sell with a bit of lip service.

It's a shame that most people just don't get it when it comes to the problem with the way media takes on issues.

In an age when that is the channel for 99% of what people know and understand, that should be very worrying.
Fasttrack_sam

Play Auerlio along with suarez and carroll upfront so his delivery will more helpful for carroll and pass & move with help suarez
Mekusdagama

Just play all the South Americans and Spanish i.e latin players and we will be fine. Ooops! that's racist!
lfc80uk

It is a very depressing thought that Downing is as consistent this season as he was for Villa last season. It seems this is as good as he will get. It just seems such a waste of £20 million, considering the wingers that were available on the market at the time. Premiership quality is one thing, but if and hopefully when LFC get back within the CL places, Downing is nowhere near European pedigree. Of all the signings we have made, Downing has been the biggest disappointment. It seems big club syndrome has reared its ugly head and Downing has spectacularly flopped. Zero goals and zero assists in the league tells its own story. The Downing argument can not even be salvaged with 'a one for the future' label. This is it, this is supposedly when players are in their prime, at their best. If this is that so called 'prime' I hope LFC have kept the receipt because this is a bad a transfer as 'nice guy' El Hadj Diouf..... Okay not as bad as that, but its up there!

I hope Downing does eventually find his feet at LFC, but time is not a luxury that is afforded to players that don't perform. And at LFC, like he did against Man Utd at the weekend, there is no place to hide.
Luis Suarez Dentist

Stewart Downing. Quite possibly the worse player I have seen in a Liverpool shirt.

I knew he would be poor. But even I have been suprised by just how utterly inept he has been. We have spent £20 million on a winger who can't beat a a man, can't score, can't tackle, rubbish in the air, no positional sense, never plays a good through ball, hides in the big games, poor defensively.

I ask you? What is it that Downing is supposed to be good at?

I've always thought that if he was right footed he would be a championship player. Before he joined Liverpool did anyone ever see Downing on a opposition teamsheet and was worried?

Has anyone ever seen Downing have a real impact in a big game?

There has been many fans on here calling for John Barnes to be given a new role within the Liverpool setup. Well may I suggest we play him on the left wing instead of Downing?

Lets not forget that our £20 million winger still has not contributed 1 goal or assist in the league this season. It is beyond a joke. His sole contribution was the 5th goal in time added on against Oldham at home in the cup. I think that just about sums Downing up.

Watching Downing play is a bit like watching a one legged man try to kick himself in the arse. There is a dark humour to it but you just wish someone would put him out of his misery.

We have to bite the bullet on this one and hope that some mid to lower league table team will take him off our hands in the summer.
markuh

Worst player, i never saw Voronin do wat Stuart does with the ball, if he's half in form.
FalloniusMaximus

Djimi Traore, Jan Kronkamp, Christian Poulsen, Mauricio Pelligrino, Antonio Nunez, Paul Konchesky....shall I go on? Downing doesn't even scratch the surface, transfer fee not included.
Very_Angry_Brand

Who Bought Him ??
Luis Suarez Dentist

That is a good question....... Looks like Comolli was very keen on him.
PDubz18

Worst player in a Liverpool shirt? Jesus I would play Downing in front of the defense before I let Christian Poulsen near a Liverpool shirt.
Suarez from the car park...

Don't forget he's made it into the England squad and acquitted himself pretty well there. Capello saw him as a squad member for the euros without a doubt.
And was Henderson any better on Saturday? The guy simply is not a danger to the opposition.The wing position has to be one of the most difficult to fill. Talk about an extensive skill set required. We've got Bellamy, arguably as good as any in the league below the top 3 clubs in that position.

I think there's something we haven't got right this season. We haven't been able to score, lost our consistency when we lost our defensive midfielder(s) and haven't been able to score.
Did I mention we haven't been able to score?

The problem is we haven't found a way to put it all together. Everyone's had decent games but not all at the same time. Same goes for Chelsea and Arsenal.

For us these are growing pains. We know Downing can do more, but so can the whole team.

Maybe buying a whole load of foreign players would have cost less and been far better (Newcastle). But management clearly made a decision that they could get a better team spirit from a British core.

Spurs did it, though it wasn't all smooth and they only did so well in the CL and couldn't score enough to stay in the CL. Right now, they're heavily reliant on an aging Parker, glass Saha and loan players.

If the buying British decision becomes an almighty cock up, then those responsible will lose their jobs. A Cup, a good FA cup run, and a good league run-in will contradict that.

Dalglish and probably Comolli will be fired at Xmas if things simply don't improve - possibly in the summer if the run in goes badly, and say Norwich over take us.

On the other hand, if we get a system going that gives us some success then players can use that to get themselves into form then everyone will belatedly talk about settling in, a team needs a season or two and other such well worn cliche's.
We certainly haven't looked outclassed most of the time but just haven't finished the job.

For me, it's more about the danger of bringing in too many players at once (and in Carroll's case an injured player) and playing all of them all the time.

I believe the club want them settled in so that older players can be let go this summer, lowers the wage bill and reduces the chance of Aurelio Syndrome and importantly opens the door for more signings.

The worry is that Bellamy becomes a flame that flickered for a while but nothing followed.

Like it or not, we have to see the season out, hopefully positively, and look for improvements next season from maturity.
Andy

Maxi got picked for Argentina this week and Downing will still start ahead of him for the rest of the season.
Luis Suarez Dentist

That is depressing, but true!
Suarez from the car park...

Maxi is likely to be released this summer. In theory everyone over 30 bar Gerrard and Bellars will be.

that's why all the newbies get played all the time, to see if they're up to it.
Luis Suarez Dentist

Well I see your point, but not sure I like the idea of bringing in lesser quality just because they are younger.
oracle

Downing has been a disaster - worse buy ever - Spurs are going to get Eden Hazard. NOTE THIS Both Merseyside clube will be knocked out of F A Cup this weekend
Suarez from the car park...

Hazard is going to Spain. The Spurs comment was just for a bidding war.
jpr

Hazard is hitching his star to Arry and Rosie.

But seriously. La Liga league games are a waste of time. It's either Real or Barca. Who cares which one? CL should be interesting this year with Barca just about out of the league race and their only hope of "real" silverware being CL. They should kill each other if they meet in CL. Real is very close to Barca in quality now. And they should be with the money they have spent.
Luis Suarez Dentist

Well off topic but if you look at the Premier League it has either been Chelski or the Scum for quite a while now!
Latortillablanca

we paid wayyyyyy too much for downing, but worst signing ever? kewell, voronin, antonio nunez, he's nowhere near those depths.

i am forgetting who posted this, but it was a great point - carroll, downing, kuyt, hendo would be perfect as squad players. but no one can argue that we're still short of starter quality out wide and up front even after laying out 80-odd million on 3 of those players...

lets not forget; however, that short term returns are not comolli's specialty. he's wicked at identifying youngsters. all the spurs players that are lighting the league up right now, not to mention the kevin-prince boateng, taraabt and chris gunter signings, came good after a couple seasons.

so, considering all that, jury is still out on these guys. unfortunately, as johnny's been saying, now would be a great time for them to figure out...
PDubz18

Speaking of Kevin Prince-Boateng, I can't wait to see the look of despair on Wenger face this afternoon. Hopefully it puts Arsenal in such a state of disrepair that we will beat them 10-0.
Latortillablanca

jeez, id almost forgotten arsenal was next... then everton is that right?
McrRed

Everton postponed cos we're busy somewhere else...
jpr

That was lucky. They won't have Donovan then. He seems to come over each year and give them a spark.
Luis Suarez Dentist

I stick by it Downing is our worse signing ever.

Voronin was a free transfer and Nunez was an add on in the Owen transfer. There was low expectations for these two and they were both inexpensive Rafa gambles that didn't work out.

I'm not going to argue about Kewell. When I called Downing our worse ever signing Kewell did spring to mind as a contender! Arguing who is the worse out of these two is a bit like arguing whether you would prefer a poke in the eye or a kick in the bollocks!

Stewart Downing cost £20 million. When you are paying £20 million for a player in his mid twenties you expect to be buying a proven top class player, who will add quality to your team. What we purchased was a consistently mediocre player who has never really stood out anywhere he has been. Now some people argue 'he was Villa's player of the year last season'. Well my response to that is look at Villa's players of the year for the last 5 seasons, look at other clubs who have finished in around Villa's league position and their players of the year and let me know how many of them you would want at Liverpool. Let alone play £20 million for!

The thing is that we could have kept Jovanovic and save the money wasted on Downing. Don't get me wrong Jovanovic was poor but can anyone argue that Downing has been any better?
Latortillablanca

yes, downing has been better than jovanovic.
Luis Suarez Dentist

Are you sure? The fans looked from Downing to Jovanovic and the from Jovanovic to Downing. Already it was impossible to tell the difference.....
Latortillablanca

haha. im not throwing in the towel on 19 yet, bud. simple as that.
Luis Suarez Dentist

Where is that line where optimism meets insanity? lol

Lets hope you are right!
Very_Angry_Brand

ya..better than jovanovic, but still not many differences between them...both are unable to contribute...
Andy

Kewell had talent but he was almost as perpetually injured as Aurelio
Andy

But yeah, Downing's not great but not worse signing ever.
McrRed

Andy, its like you were arguing with yourself there...

Degen (or poulsen)
Luis Suarez Dentist

Degen and Poulson (crap that they were) were purchased for peanuts compared to Downing.
Andy

Now that I remembered how much Downing cost he's definitely the worst. Although, we were all saying for £35 million Carroll was the worst a few months ago. But he hit a bit of form recently. He could still take that title though.
tony

I just can't read this handshake stuff no more......We have 2 wins (TWO FUCKING WINS) lined up for the next 2 weeks and I just wanna feel good!
Latortillablanca

does barnes hold any sort of official role for liverpool? How this guy is utilized for nothing more than occasional punditry (he did a fantastic job for the south african SuperSport's coverage of the cup) is ridiculous. Henry, Henry, sign him up, ffs...
Luis Suarez Dentist

I could be wrong, but I think John Barnes is chairman of the disabled Liverpool supporters club (or something like that!). I agree with you (first time for everything!) an ambassador role should be offered to Barnsey ASAP.
Latortillablanca

ya, what did kenny do in that position? i thought it had something to do with the academy as well... thatd be just fine for barnesy...
jpr

Is Stewie a member?
Luis Suarez Dentist

Ha ha that made me chuckle!