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Fulham will be aiming to bounce back from their defeat at Blackburn by beating Newcastle who chasing a third straight Premier League victory in 2012.

Sitting just six points above the relegation zone in 14th wasn’t the position Martin Jol envisaged the Cottagers being in when he took over in the summer. The Dutchman has presided over a stop start campaign at Craven Cottage and he will have been angry that his players failed to build on their impressive win against Arsenal a fortnight ago. Their inability to beat struggling Blackburn, who played over an hour with 10 men, was typical of their inconsistent form. Fulham have won just four of their last 14 games usually following up victories with a string of defeats, which has made it difficult for them to climb the table. Lapses in concentration, missed chances and lethargic performances are certainly starting to take their toll although the first half of the campaign was hectic. The game at Ewood Park was their 37th of the season which is just one shy of a full top-flight campaign. Despite exiting the Europa League they had to endure a hectic Christmas period straight after and have hardly had any time to put their feet up and charge the batteries. Coming up against energetic Newcastle is the last thing Jol will have wanted as he tries to steer the club away from danger.

The Magpies have roared back into life in the New Year beating Manchester United and QPR at St James’ Park to leapfrog Liverpool into sixth. A minor blip over Christmas saw the pundits predict Alan Pardew’s men to struggle in the second half of the campaign especially with leading scorer Demba Ba heading off to the African Cup of Nations. Leon Best was the man charged with leading the line against Rangers on Sunday and his expertly taken goal proved to be the difference between the two teams. The Republic of Ireland international has played second fiddle to Ba for much of the campaign but proved his worth to the club with his first goal in four months. Admittedly Best has been a consistent performer for Newcastle since coming into the side at the start of 2011 following the sale of Andy Carroll and his work rate, hold up play and aerial strength has made him a real asset in black and white. A similar thing could be said for Danny Guthrie who returned from injury at the weekend to deputise for Cheick Tiote but found himself filling in for Yohan Cabaye as well after the Frenchman was stretchered off. Both Best and Guthrie typify the hard working and tenacious Newcastle United that will go to the capital confident of making three wins on the trot in 2012.

Fulham 14th : 23 points

Last six: L W D D L W

Team news: Moussa Dembele and Dickson Etuhu are doubtful after picking up knocks whilst this game will come too soon for Mark Schwarzer

Key Player: Danny Murphy

Despite his advanced years Murphy still plays a vital playmaking role in the heart of Fulham’s midfield. His guile and quality on the ball will be useful in breaking down Newcastle’s resolute midfield and defence.

Newcastle United 6th: 36 points

Last six: W W L W L D

Team news: Yohan Cabaye could miss out after injuring his ankle on Sunday although Peter Lovenkrands could return.

Key Player: Leon Best

With his strike partner Demba Ba away at the African Cup of Nations the onus is on Best to score the goals in his absence. The former Coventry striker notched his fourth of the season on Sunday and will be keen to add more before Ba returns.

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PREDICTION

Fulham are in a rut failing to build on some impressive wins and will need to start being more consistent. They’ll face a tough test against Newcastle who will heading to the Thames with all guns blazing in their pursuit of a Europa League place.

Score: 1-1

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Blackpool manager, Ian Holloway, has insisted that he is not worried by the prospect of his captain and best player, Charlie Adam, leaving Bloomfield Road this summer, because the situation is not in his control. The club, who find themselves languishing in the relegation zone with 5 League games remaining, turned down bids from Tottenham and Liverpool for the Scottish midfielder in January, and it is thought he will leave this summer no matter which division his current team will be playing in next season.

A growing number of observers believe that speculation linking Adam with a departure from Blackpool has unsettled the club, pointing to the team’s run of two wins in 16 games since the turn of the year to support this view. In my opinion, Blackpool were right to reject the bids offered to them in January, not just because they were rightly considered by Holloway as disrespecting the club and the player’s quality, but also because without him, the Tangerines may have been further adrift at the foot of the table by now.

If he had been sold, and Blackpool embarked on a similar or worse run than they have recently endured, then his sale would have been the principal factor in the club’s demise, something Holloway would have been unable to justifiably contest. The actual reason for the team’s slide down the table is that the squad isn’t good enough. Sure they have suffered a number of injuries in each position throughout the campaign, but not significantly enough to distinguish them from any other club.

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Blackpool are not the only team in recent history to achieve promotion to the Premier League for the first time, play above themselves in the opening stages when others are still finding their feet and then get found out after January when other teams work out how to beat them with ease. Hull won promotion to the top flight for the first time in 2008 and were beaten just once in their opening nine games, which included a 2-1 defeat of Arsenal at the Emirates and a 1-0 win against Spurs at White Hart Lane. Despite this feat, the Tigers won just twice in the League after their autumn honeymoon and entered the final game of the season one precarious position above the relegation zone and with more than one keen eye on other results. They were beaten 1-0 by Manchester United but survived after Middlesbrough and Newcastle were also defeated, by West Ham and Aston Villa respectively, ensuring a second season in the Premiership.

The squad’s true ability was discovered the following season as they were relegated with 30 points, and it would be difficult for Holloway to avoid acknowledging parallels with Hull, even though Blackpool have already attained 33 points from as many games.

Without a doubt, Blackpool have provided Premier League onlookers with immeasurable entertainment and colour this season, not least because of their bright kit, goal-laden games and eccentric manager, which far succeeds the dour and uninteresting insipidness offered by Hull and Phil Brown over two terms. Unfortunately, the Tangerines joined the Premier League at the start of what has become an unusual season, where as many as eleven clubs face the prospect of relegation with just a handful of games remaining. As much as I would personally like to see them survive, it seems likely that Holloway will be once again managing in the Championship come August, but at least he can recognise that maintaining Adam’s services is the reason they still have a shout at such a late stage.

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Roque Santa Cruz hopes he will now get the chance to impress Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini after a proposed loan switch to Lazio fell through on transfer deadline day.

The former Paraguay international had been expected to leave Eastlands after Mancini told him he would not be part of his first-team plans this season.

However, Santa Cruz hopes that Robinho's permanent move to AC Milan, which was confirmed on Tuesday, will give him a chance to shine.

Lazio had wanted to sign the 29-year-old on a season's loan with a view to a £6.5million permanent move, but Santa Cruz told the Manchester Evening News:"They were there right until the end but they didn't come to an agreement with the club.

"I have heard from the manager he won't be counting on me too much. I heard that a week before the season started and I had time to see if I could arrange a move.

"But in the end the club were happy to keep me and they weren't happy with anything that came through.

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Manchester United could leapfrog rivals City and go top of the Premier League if they beat basement boys Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils are in sparkling form at the moment and go into the game off the back of two successive 5-0 wins. This is the time of year that Sir Alex Ferguson’s side usually picks up momentum as they make their charge towards top-flight glory. United have been imperious since their 6-1 drubbing at the hands of City back in October winning eight of the subsequent nine games keeping seven clean sheets in the progress. Despite having 12 players out injured including captain Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, midfield enforcer Darren Fletcher and winger Ashley Young fringe players like Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov have stepped in to fill the breach with the Bulgarian striker helping himself to six of United’s 10 goals over the last two games. He scored five in this fixture last season and is sure to be hungry for goals again as the Ferguson sets himself up for another championship assault.

Blackburn boss Steve Kean has a very different agenda as he prepares to take his side to Old Trafford knowing a defeat could cast them further adrift at the bottom. Rovers will go into the game with renewed optimism after holding Liverpool on Boxing Day gaining a vital point in their survival bid. However I doubt Kean and his players will believe they can beat United on their own patch with and last season’s 7-1 thrashing likely to be fresh in their minds. Goalkeeper Mark Bunn will be keen to avoid a similar score line this time round and should he perform like he did on Merseyside on Monday then he could be the difference for Blackburn. The club will hope their supporters once again provide positive noises from the stands after they got behind Kean and the players at Anfield as they attempt to engineer the biggest scalp of the season thus far.

Manchester United 2nd : 45 points

Team news: Sir Alex Ferguson is without 12 first team players but could have Phil Jones, Rio Ferdinand and Fabio back for the visit of Blackburn on New Years Eve.

Key Player: Wayne Rooney

Since rediscovering his knack of scoring goals at the start of December the England strikers performances have been near perfect. Rested for the game against Wigan on Boxing Day he’ll be firing on all cylinders as he looks to guide United to Premier League glory in 2012.

Blackburn Rovers 20th : 11 points

Team news: Blackburn have doubts over Paul Robinson, David Dunn and Junior Hoilett who all have knocks. Six other players are definitely out until the New Year.

Key Player: Mark Bunn

With Paul Robinson a doubt for the trip to Old Trafford it looks as if Bunn will start for the second successive game. His performance against Liverpool on Boxing Day was nothing short of spectacular with his reaction save from Andy Carroll’s header out of this world. Will be crucial to thwarting United’s goal hungry attack.

PREDICTION

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United are unstoppable at the moment scoring 10 in their last two games and looking on course to regain the Premier League top spot. At the other end of the table Blackburn are staring into the abyss and defeat at Old Trafford will see them start 2012 rock bottom. 

Scored: 4-0

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Blackburn Rovers will carry the threat of relegation and a major selection headache into their trip to Everton on Saturday.The Trotters are suffering an ill-timed slide down the English Premier League table as their form under manager Steve Kean worsens, slumping to 15th with nary a win from their past eight games.

There is just three points separating Blackburn from the drop zone and four points between them and last-placed Wigan Athletic, and with six games left – including visits from Manchester United, Manchester City and Bolton – there is little margin for error.

Making matters worse, the club is dealing with a sudden availability crisis due to a rash of injuries.

New Zealand international Ryan Nelsen limped from the field with a knee injury during Blackburn’s 1-1 draw with Birmingham City last Saturday and will not feature in the fixture.

So too is on-loan Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz, who is battling a hamstring strain, and captain Chris Samba, who is laid low with a twisted ankle.

Add to that Steven N’Zonzi’s suspension for his red card against Arsenal, Gael Givet’s ongoing contract dispute and Kean’s apparent dislike for Nikola Kalinic and the Trotters are beginning to look thin indeed.

But in some better news, Junior Hoilett is expected to play despite suffering hamstring soreness last weekend.

The Canadian starlet fired his third goal in four games against the Blues and will be sorely needed in a Blackburn outfit short on attacking options.

The Merseyside visit will pose a test to Hoilett and his team-mates and Everton will be keen to keep their six-game unbeaten run alive.

The Toffees have staked a claim for seventh on the table with 44 points from 32 games, and could find themselves one point off sixth place and a possible Europa League berth if they win and Liverpool topple Arsenal on Sunday.

That Everton have managed to keep their season ticking along while carrying their own extensive injury list is a credit to boss David Moyes.

Moyes has had to do without a number of first-team regulars, including Tim Cahill (foot), Louis Saha (ankle), Marouane Fellaini (ankle), Mikel Arteta (hamstring) and Jack Rodwell (ankle).

Republic of Ireland international Seamus Coleman, who was shortlisted for the PFA’s Young Player of the Year award earlier this week, is also in doubt to play with a recurrence of an ankle injury.

Since arriving at St James Park almost three years ago, football fans have seen it all from Joey Barton. Assaults, injury anguish, rows, suspensions and even jail but perhaps his biggest crime of all is not repaying the unconditional loyalty shown to him by Newcastle’s infamous Toon Army.

By his own frank admission he “owes Newcastle United” and what better time to reimburse the fans as they gear up for a challenging Premier League season.

Some people would suggest that football should have longed turned its back on Barton due to his mindless thuggery both off and sometimes on the pitch and whilst I do not condone his list of crimes perhaps this is the year he will rehabilitate a career we all know holds so much talent.

The growth of his comical moustache to build team spirit at Newcastle does not hide his previous sins but it shows a willingness to sacrifice his “hard man” image in order to aid Newcastle’s fight for survival next season. The midfielder sported the facial hair as he helped the Geordies to a penalty shoot-out win against Deportivo La Coruna in the Riazor Stadium and lift the ‘prestigious’ Trofeo Teresa Herrera Cup.

Bushy Barton has done his bit in pre-season and he was also a huge part of Newcastle’s promotion from the Championship last year. The free-kick against Peterborough was wonderful and his pass for Routledge to bag a memorable goal was undoubtedly Premier League class and if Chris Hughton can coax Barton back into the player he was at Man City it will be very much like a “new signing.”

The player himself will hope that in perhaps what is his last chance, the monotonous regularity of his behaviour will be clouded out by a good season on the pitch and build up a rapport with the fans.

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He recently insisted he is “as good as anybody in this country” whilst adding “If I can sustain fitness for a long period of time, I’m very confident of finding the form that got me in the England squad”.

In this case however, given his troubled past, talk, and unless spoken on the pitch is cheap. Newcastle United will hope that he has finally turned a corner that seemed so far away and that he will cast aside the demons which are scrutinised so much more in the Premier League than in the Championship.

According to The Sun on Sunday (June 10th, page 60), Wolverhampton Wanderers are being linked with a move for Leeds United goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

What’s the story?

Peacock-Farrell emerged as Leeds’ no.1 last season and made 11 appearances for the Whites at the back end of the campaign.

The Sun reports that the 21-year-old, who is valued at £90,000 on Transfermarkt, would be signed in addition to Wolves’ longstanding target Rui Patricio.

The Northern Ireland ‘keeper made his debut for his country recently, playing in the second half of a 0-0 draw against Panama.

A good signing for Wolves?

Peacock-Farrell became a fan-favourite at Leeds after taking the no.1 jersey from Felix Wiedwald.

It is clear the youngster has talent but with potential competition in Rui Patricio and the Championship Goalkeeper of the Year in John Ruddy, Peacock-Farrell would struggle for minutes for some time.

It is possible Wolves would want to send the ‘keeper back on loan, which would be sensible as he is clearly of a standard to play in the Championship, and it would be a shame for him to keep a Molineux bench warm.

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It is good to see that Wolves are looking to the future, but with such competition for places, fans will be hoping Peacock-Farrell continues to learn his trade on loan.

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In his press conference on Thursday afternoon, Jose Mourinho finally had his say on reports linking Cristiano Ronaldo with a dramatic return to Manchester United.

What’s the Story?

If Jose Mourinho’s latest comments are anything to go by, it seems that the dream return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford may remain a dream for United fans.

After a number of reports had suggested that the Portuguese star could make a romantic return to his old club, Mourinho swiftly moved to quash the rumours in his press conference ahead of United’s F.A. Cup tie with Yeovil;

“I should be the last one to add some fuel to the fire. Madrid is on fire, the results are not good and it is a club where I worked three years. I care about the club and I don’t want to add fire. To put some water on the fire I would say Cristiano is the kind of player every manager wants, every club wants. But only one manager can have and only one club can have – Zidane and Real Madrid, that’s my feeling”.

How good has Ronaldo been this season?

Like most Galactico’s, the 2017/18 season has been one to forget for Ronaldo thus far.

Incredibly, Real Madrid are 19 points behind Barcelona already, have been knocked out of the Copa del Rey by lowly Leganes and have a tricky Champions League tie against free-spending Paris Saint Germain.

While Ronaldo, who is valued at £108million by Transfermarkt, has been struggling with injuries, he is still yet to live up to expectation and is reportedly ready to leave the Bernabeu. However, it looks as if he won’t be heading back to Manchester for the time being.

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Aaron Ramsey cemented his pace in Arsenal folklore last weekend by scoring the deciding goal against Hull City in the FA Cup final, capping off a breakthrough season for the Wales international. But having finished their Premier League campaign just seven points behind eventual winners Manchester City, with the 16-goal midfielder missing almost half of the season through injury, both Ramsey and the Emirates support will have a lingering feeling of ‘what if’ when reminiscing on the 2013/14 campaign in the many years to come.

Netting the winning goal at Wembley will be a more than acceptable consolation prize for the Wales international. On a personal level, Ramsey’s stylish send-off to the campaign typified his rise from Emirates boo-boy to club talisman in the space of a single season. And for Arsenal, that low-swerving, near-post  strike in the 109th minute ended the club’s growingly burdensome nine year trophy drought. It’s arguable that no goal has been more important for the Gunners during the Arsene Wenger era.

But in the back of his mind, the 23 year-old will always wonder what could have been this season. Arsenal spent more days at the top of the Premier League table, 128, than any other side, and significantly more than champions Manchester City, with a miserly 15. That pomp march in pole position was dynamically charged by the midfielder, who started the season with 13 goals, seven assists and seven Man of the Match awards in his first 25 appearances.

In fact, there was a point before the turn of the year where Ramsey had scored more goals, provided more assists and made more tackles than any Premier League midfielder, which accordingly, must have put him pretty high up in the European rankings too. Back in November, he had made more touches (1,115), than any other top flight player and in December, he and Yaya Toure were the only Premier Leaguers to have made over 1,000 accurate passes.

For an Arsenal side infamous for its limited firepower  and lack of commitment off the ball, the Wales international’s inspiring displays and contributions at both ends of the pitch were vital to the Gunners cause. Most tellingly, he claimed four consecutive Player of the Month awards at the Emirates from August to November, in addition to the Premier League’s award in September.

Of course, the cut-off point came on Boxing Day, poignantly enough on Ramsey’s 23rd birthday, when he limped off against West Ham with a thigh injury. He would spend the next four months of the season on the sidelines.

The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time – Arsenal were in cruise control for the first half of their Premier League campaign, but late January to late March welcomed a string of unenviable fixtures in the most congested part of the season, including ties with Southampton, Liverpool twice (once in the league and once in the FA Cup), Manchester United, Everton twice, Tottenham, Chelsea, Stoke City, Manchester City and a double-legger against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

In that time period, the North Londoners claimed just five wins from 15 in all competitions, resulting in only eleven points from a possible 33 in the Premier League. Perhaps most tellingly of all, during Ramsey’s four-month absence, Arsenal’s win percentage dropped from 68% with him in the side to 55% without him.

It would be wrong to suggest that if Ramsey hadn’t missed a quarter of the calander year through a thigh complaint that Arsenal would be Premier League champions right now and not Manchester City.

Theo Walcott, who was ruled out for six months and subsequently the World Cup with an ACL injury in January, was arguably a bigger loss. The Gunners lacked his pace, penetration and firepower in the second half of the season, and without it, for all their quality in the middle of the park, Arsenal’s midfield became incredibly one-dimensional.

Likewise, Arsenal’s fatal flaw this season has been their poor results against divisional rivals. The Gunners have taken just five points off Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City this season, resulting in an aggregate score of 18-5.

Considering Ramsey featured in a 6-3 defeat to the Citizens back in December, even recording an assist and statistically finishing as Arsenal’s best performer of the afternoon, it’s logical to assume that in spite of his prominent form, even he wouldn’t have been able to stop the North London outfit’s regular capitulations against those closest to them in the table. Against Chelsea for example, the match was over after 20 minutes when Jose Mourinho’s side found themselves 3-0 up with a one-man advantage. It’s hard to envisage how the Welshman could have made a notable difference.

Furthermore, considering the impact Ramsey could have had in the second half of the season is in many ways a moot exercise. Not only because effective time travel is yet to be mastered by humankind, but because it takes away from the fact that squad depth is Arsene Wenger’s responsibility. A more pressing question the Emirates faithful should be asking is where Arsenal would have finished if the Welshman hadn’t undergone a major breakthrough in form from August to December.

That being said, what the Gunners lacked most towards the business end of the season was a natural leader. Maybe not in strength of voice, but in terms of his energy and dynamism, his application of a never-say-die-attitude, best illustrated by his combative tackling and numerous sublime, almost unimaginable finishes, Ramsey was that driving force for four months of Arsenal’s campaign.  In that regard, one can only ponder where the Welshman’s performances could have taken the Gunners – we’ve seen a paralleled effect with Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard at Liverpool this season, with their cavalier, all-or-nothing displays inspiring similar showings in those around them.

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For that reason alone, Ramsey and Arsenal fans will always wonder how differently 2013/14 could have panned out for them, as if, in some parallel universe, the Gunners clinched the crown inspired by the 23 year-old’s breakthrough season.

But the winning goal against Hull City at Wembley does offer some bitter-sweet redemption. His performance in the FA Cup final showed the character and courage Arsenal have lacked in defining moments since their last trophy in 2005. Most importantly, it expelled a macabre shadow that had been looming over the club for nine years and was on the verge of engulfing Arsene Wenger.

Considering Ramsey’s wholesale criticism from the year previous, it’s been a stunning transformation.

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It’s mid-July in the summer transfer window of 2011. England international Stewart Downing has just come off the back of a superb Barclays Premier League season, in which he played all 38 games for Aston Villa, notching up seven goals and nine assists in the process. A model of form and consistency, a £20million transfer to Liverpool beckoned in a move that seemed overpriced, but perhaps sure to pay dividends.

What a difference a year makes. Over twelve months on, the fate and fortunes of both player and club have taken several tumultuous bumps along the way. A term of bludgeoning underachievement and extraordinary mediocrity has seen Brendan Rodgers ushered in to start a new era. But while the club look to be turning the page, it is Downing that seems to be stuck in the last chapter.

But despite the woes that the ex-Middlesbrough man is enduring and the seemingly endless amount of negative press that he receives, there’s still the capacity to breathe new life into his faltering Anfield dream. It’s time for Downing to go back to basics and rediscover the kind of form that saw him build his reputation at Villa Park.

As the book was closed on the short-lived second coming of Kenny Dalglish in Merseyside, there seemed to be several defining elements that have come to serve as some kind of motif. The image of Dalglish standing with a brooding Andy Carroll after divulging £35million particularly sticks out, as does the now unsavory incident with the Luis Suarez t-shirts of support. But perhaps the one with the most longetivity, has been the enduring image of Downing himself.

Nobody should ever read too much into statistics, but with Downing, the temptations have always seemed a little too much to resist. His figures for the Premier League season 2011-12 read: played 36, scored zero, assisted zero. Even though Downing notched up a couple of goals in the FA Cup, was denied by the post and bar on more than one occasion and still grafted hard for his side, the stats tell a very damning story indeed. For some, the abysmal end product from such an overinflated acquisition represents a fitting tribute to all that’s been wrong on Anfield over the last two years.

And it’s been a hard stigma to shake. As last season rumbled on, it felt as if his lack of attributable contribution to the team became a sinister stick to hit him with and as such, both his game and his confidence seemed to go to pieces. Liverpool fans could atone for his difficult period of form, but what did become hard to accept, was his inability to even harness the bread and butter of his game. Despite anything else, supporters expected Downing to produce his trademark consistent delivery, even if other parts of his game weren’t all there. At times, he struggled even to produce that.

But as the Fenway Sports Group called time on Dalglish’s reign as manager, you could have mistaken Downing for thinking that a fresh direction of management could bring him a change of fortunes. Yet the appointment of Brendan Rodgers has looked ominous for his prospects.

The Ulsterman’s preferred style of play in his 4-3-3 set-up doesn’t particularly cater for a traditional winger in the mould of a Downing. They must have more of a cutting edge to their game – a higher level of craft, a real sense of tactical awareness and an unremitting work rate. So far this term, Rodgers has preferred the duo of Fabio Borini and the excellent Raheem Sterling as his widemen and as the side have began to forge their own identity, Downing has been left in the cold.

Worse more, after a couple of frustrating appearences against West Brom in the Capital One Cup and Young Boys in the Europa League, Downing has come in for a degree of critique from his new manager.

Speaking last week, Rodgers warned his winger that he must work harder if he wants to remain a Liverpool player:

“The big challenge for him now is that commitment to the cause to fight, because he has the qualities. He has a wonderful left foot but what is important is that it is more than talent.

“Talent alone is not enough. You have to work hard, you have to fight for the shirt. We have seen that in a number of the young players and if you don’t do that then longer-term you won’t be here. It is as simple as that really.”

Rodgers comments represent perhaps the first public wake-up call to his faltering winger. The ex-Swansea man isn’t afraid to give younger players who he feels are talented enough and hungry enough, the opportunity to play under his stewardship. The message was loud and clear and it’s now or never for Downing if he wants to give it a go.

But there is still a chance to turn his fortunes around and Rodgers seemingly offered an olive branch to Downing in his concession that he’d be willing to give him a chance at left-back. And if he does, it’s one that the ex-Boro man has to seize with both hands.

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Because the basics of the game, the talents on which his success have been built around, can still be an asset to this team. That trademark swinging delivery from the left and his cultured left foot can do damage from anywhere on the pitch and a switch to full-back wouldn’t change it. He is disciplined enough to do it, as Rodgers pointed to during his stint there in Middlesbrough’s 2006 Uefa cup run. A renewed exhibition of his talents could see him persuade Rodgers to even reinstate him higher up the pitch.

But he has to make his move now. Liverpool are metamorphosing at rate of knots now under Rodgers and he won’t have any qualms about leaving Downing behind if he has to. Life has been tough for him in his first season and the expectation has been something he’s never previously experienced. But if he gets his chance, it’s time to go back to basics and step up to the plate. If not, he could be staring at a January exit.

Does Downing have a future at Anfield? Follow @samuel_antrobus on Twitter and let me know if Rodgers is right to contemplate a move to full-back for the ex-Middlesbrough man.