Downing on the right??

[Glen C]

Can someone please tell me why Kenny keeps putting downing on the right? We finally buy a genuine left sided player and he seems to spend more time on the right. He looks so much better on the left.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

I think he looks fine on the right.

[Lee909]

According to the knobs on sly sports he goes both ways.

[Scousa Tomo]

We have full backs to overlap and cross so i think he wants the wingers to cut in and shoot etc. Downing has a very strong right foot aswell and can put in a half decent cross with it.

[Jairzinho]

If the front three was - Downing Kuyt Suarez - I'd prefer him on the right. When we play Carroll he'd probably be more effective on the left.

[zigackly]

Three words: looking for goals.

[Magic Sponge]

Forgetting he nearly scored a rasper coming in from the right against Sunderland?

 

Also, nearly scored again last night doing the exact same thing.

[Jairzinho]

Three words: looking for goals.

 

He looks a real threat everytime he cuts inside. Its the fact that for a left footer, he can deliver a reasonable cross with his right foot. Defenders aren't sure how to deal with him.

[BenR_]

I think he's better and far less predictable on the right. He cuts inside very well.

 

Why? Because we don't want to be predictable. Thank god Kenny doesn't display the same narrow-minded British cliched "Natural wide men putting in crosses for the big man" mentality that so many of our fans displayed throughout the summer in their efforts to convince us why Downing would be such a great signing.

 

He'll turn out to be a fine signing, but for very different reasons.

I wouldn't want us to use him as a left-sided crossing machine because he has more in his locker and that kind of football is utterly predictable and fairly simple for the physical park the bus teams to defend against.

[zigackly]

I think he'll have the freedom to play on both sides in the same game a lot of the time.

[kalasoma]

His crosses from the left are excellent. On the right, he cuts inside a lot more to take a shot. He looks versatile with both feet, but stronger left. Intelligent and keeps the opposition guessing as to what he'll do next. We saw a lot of our front men switching last season to the point where it didn't look like we had a designated striker. I think Downing works well in a system like ours.

[Guest TK-421]

Has anyone mentioned it's because he can cut inside to good effect? I think it's because he can cut inside and twat it really hard towards the goal.

[The_Goat]

Seems to a modern trend to play wide players on the opposite flank so they can cut in.

 

Personally much prefer to see Downing out on the left all the time.

[BenR_]

It's a modern trend because it works and makes players like Downing who also have a decent right foot far less predictable.

 

For me it's definitely welcome over the old British 'classic wide men' system.

[stringvest]

I like to see him swapping. Him and Maxi could operate well together.

[king7]

Someone mentioned to me that last year at Villa he scored most of his goals from the left, but got most assist from the right. A bit strange I thought since he's left footed.

[etho]

He doesn't play on the right, in our 4-2-3-1/4-1-2-3 he starts left, and we interchange our left and right of the 3 throughout the game. Lovely to see and makes us so unpredictable to play against.

 

In my opinion works better when that becomes a fluid 3 and Suarez, Kuyt/Meireles/Bellamy? Downing all interchange. Lovely pass and move stuff.

Add Gerrard pushing on, Adam playing the ball from deep and Lucas keeping it simple at the base of the midfield, i've almost got a boner.

[BenR_]

He doesn't play on the right, in our 4-2-3-1/4-1-2-3 he starts left, and we interchange our left and right of the 3 throughout the game. Lovely to see and makes us so unpredictable to play against.

 

In my opinion works better when that becomes a fluid 3 and Suarez, Kuyt/Meireles/Bellamy? Downing all interchange. Lovely pass and move stuff.

Add Gerrard pushing on, Adam playing the ball from deep and Lucas keeping it simple at the base of the midfield, i've almost got a boner.

 

And then there's Carroll.

And the boner is gone.

[Rick Sanchez C-137]

And then there's Carroll.

And the boner is gone.

 

Are you clinically depressed?

[BenR_]

I don't think so.

Are you?