WINGERS

I must confess to not knowing bucketloads about Riera.
From the clips I've seen, he seems to be a lad with a good burst of pace, nice close control, a very nice left foot, and plenty of (too many?!) step overs.
I've heard people say that his crosses aren't always on the money.
His big plus is that he's a genuine, hugging the touchline winger, who would stretch defences at a time when back lines are easily snuffing out our all-too-narrow attacks.
He didn't create any headlines when he was out on loan to Man City, which is worrying, and the suspicion is he may turn out to be another Bojinov, Bianchi or Giovanni. The list of foreign flops at Man City is endless.

If we can snap him up for no more than £10m, he might be worth a go, but when Liverpool come calling, clubs start quoting silly money.
£16m will apparently trigger a release clause for Riera. £16m? For a 26-year-old who's only played for his country five times. Scored one goal.
Those alarm bells are ringing for me. Shows that he's perhaps an international squad player at best. Let's think of an English equivalent whose got five caps for our country.
Someone like Hunt from Reading? Milner from Newcastle? Or a more accurate comparison - Richardson from Sunderland?
Saying that, a brilliant Spanish midfielder like Arteta, also 26, has only got seven appearances for his country. So, it's all relative.

With regard to Downing, I've got a bit more time for him.
He's proven in the Premiership, and seems to bale Middlesborough out on a regular basis. Scores a lot of goals, puts decent balls in.
Downing's not world class, and he seems to struggle to make the grade when playing for England, but you can have a player who's a real force in the Premiership, but who just doesn't cut it when playing internationals.
Look at Carragher. Ok, his supporters will probably argue he was never given a fair crack of the whip. But when he did play, it never seemed like the same Reds Carra, did it?
Steve Mcmahon was another one.
The Anfield Rap rightly clamoured for his inclusion in the early 90s (If anyone can, Macca can, Macca can, MACCA CAN....), but he never shone on the international stage. For God's sake, Kevin Sheedy had him off in Euro 1988!
For me, some players can torment at club level, but never have that something extra to become world beaters.
It doesn't mean they can't do a great job for us.
Again with Downing, if we make a serious bid, we can't be quoted silly money, and anything over £12m would be sheer crazy talk.
He's still young, however, just 24.

The sudden emphasis on wide men also blows my theory out the water that Rafa wants to play a wingerless formation.
After the apparent tension between Rafa, Parry and the Yanks, it will interesting to see if the head honchos remain similarly stubborn to the manager's demands, particularly if they place these two in the same 'overpriced' bracket.
In some ways I admire the Parry/Hicks/Gillett stance on Barry. They feel it's far too much money for a 27-year-old England squad player. It's their money, so they've put their foot down.
It's not as if Rafa's had no cash to spend over the summer. £20m for Keane, £6/7m for Dossena. And I'm sure there's more money besides if and when it's needed.
And after cash from the potential sales of Voronin, maybe Kuyt, and perhaps Finnan, there could be some change to play with.
This confusion is frustrating, as there's a genuine feeling that if we buy a real quality winger, we could be equipped in all areas to push Man Utd and Chelski all the way.