Enrique

Downing started the season very well and seemed to want to carry the ball and get passed defenders more. Have not seen enough of that throughout the rest of the season. has he been told to get it in early as he seemed more dangerous when he was getting into the box with the ball at his feet.

They'll be a reason other than that for why he was dropped. Maybe had a little strain or something. I dunno as I was not present at training that week.

I know robbing can't see this but if Enrique wasn't fit to play then he shouldn't be on the bench!

Downing has shown his worth, early on in the season, when he would keep to the bye line then cross. The opposition have got wise to that, they force him infield thus negating his attacking strength, I.e. to get crosses in, hopefully to Luis or AndyC. Keep trying Stewart. jimmyTheRed

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I cannot see that Downing would have any influence regarding team selection on a personal or professional level, but perhaps the idea behind Enrique not playing is the same. Or he picked up a strain against Blackburn or in training and was not entirely match fit, but would have done if Agger/Skrtel/Carra got injured during the game. Other than him we have Fabio 'made of glass' Aurellio who has been injured most of the season or Jack Robinson who has also been out most of the season. So if he was not match fit he is a better option to have then either of the alternatives.

Although he has done very well and has been one of the best signings we made in the last few years, he is not as good as many people make out. He can be very greedy in his runs forward and he sometimes does not release the ball as early has he should or see the pass he could make. That said he is the best LB we have had since Riise (before he went off the boil) and bar a few errors that all players make been very solid defensively. He certainly is better than most LB in the league and I would only put Cole, Baines and Evra (although not been great recently) ahead of him.

I saw an interesting video on YouTube the other day with Damien Comolli in which he said that Enrique was not the first choice LB we went for in the summer and in fact hinted that he was very much a last min buy because the owners said we need a LB so go and get one. He said that we looked at him but he did not tick all the boxes but when we lost out on the 1st choice LB we went back and had another look and it has worked out well. I can only guess that player he hinted at that we went for was Fabio Coentrao, only for him to choose Real (hardly surprising really). Or Gael Clichy who chose City.

Interview with Comolli if anyone is interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QUeYHtAIBQ

Anfield RAP, Coates. End of. The God, spot on. JimmyTheRed

Is it his JSA interview?

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comment by Robbing_Hoody (U6374)

posted 7 seconds ago

Is it his JSA interview?
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It is from the Leaders in Performance 2011 conference. He is sat with Frank Arnesen who comes across so much better than Comolli does.