Flynn Downes

[Saint86]

On 18/02/2025 at 12:25, Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd said:

He's not the problem, the manager is. Do some homework. Juric has a reputation for poor relationships with his players. 

When Juric has gone I think you'll find most of the current squad will open up about how unliked he really was.

No, he has a reputation for ruffling the feathers / upsetting mentally soft players fair enough, but this is all about a Flynn Downes attitude problem. He was reluctant to joint Saints as part of the JWP deal in the first place, he dragged his feet about joining after the play off win and over the summer, he's been a sicknote multiple times since he's been here, and now he's having a sulk... most likely because his best mate russ is gone and we turned down a move to Ipswich... And trying to dress that last point up as being on the manager is pretty silly as well - Players don't typically down tools and refuse to play because of a short term personality clash - it would damage their reputation in the game horrendously and be incredibly unprofessional to both the club as a whole as well as his team mates. And if indeed there is a serious personality clash and Juric doesn't like Downes, he'd have been out the door in January given the interest.

"Jurić is a very “say it how it is” character within the changing room which has led to fallouts in the past with players who don’t respond well to this message, but it’s also the same characteristics that have developed players and really got the best out of them". The simple reality is a Downes is an uncommitted soft player who needs his ol mate Russ giving him a foot massage and whispering sweet nothings in his ear to feel like playing. If he can't sort this attitude out then we need to get rid ASAP this summer. And as above, i would imagine his standing in the dressing room is in a pretty terminal state right now regardless.

Edited February 21 by Saint86

[OldNick]

Having a strong manager who ruffles feathers is not a bad thing, not sure there has ever been a top manager who hasn't had steel and weeded out the flowers.

Pampered multi millionaire kids ae hard to get through to I suspect these days 

[CSA96]

Ivan Juric says that the Flynn Downes situation has now resolved itself and he is available for selection this weekend

"We had a really good chat, I think he understood the mistakes. Even after everything that has happened, I think what I thought when he came here. He is a good guy, good player and is fit and training well."

Edited February 20 by CSA96

[Pamplemousse]

Juric presumably saw Smallbone's performance on Saturday and relented

[Gloucester Saint]

2 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

Ivan Juric says that the Flynn Downes situation has now resolved itself and he is available for selection this weekend

Only because his nearest supermarket ran out of Kleenex (other brands of tissue are available, except at Flynn’s local stores). Whether it was tears or missing Russell Martin in other ways I couldn’t say.

Edited February 20 by Gloucester Saint

[Whitey Grandad]

7 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Only because his nearest supermarket ran out of Kleenex (other brands of tissue are available, except at Flynn’s local stores). Whether it was tears or missing Russell Martin in other ways I couldn’t say.

So, just a jilted lover’s tiff then.

[Chez]

Excellent. Hope he has a great game on Saturday.  

 

[OldNick]

Im going to accept him back in te fold and not boo him. We need him and want him to do well, it for all our benefit 

Edited February 20 by OldNick

[USaintA]

So now everything's okay again. Wonderful.

Since he's been at Saints, Flynn has certainly experienced some ups and some.... what's the word I'm looking for? Troughs! Some ups and some troughs.

[OldNick]

10 minutes ago, USaintA said:

So now everything's okay again. Wonderful.

Since he's been at Saints, Flynn has certainly experienced some ups and some.... what's the word I'm looking for? Troughs! Some ups and some troughs.

Im of the mind that we can cut off our nose, or not worship but let him contribute which is good for us all

[Farmer Saint]

45 minutes ago, USaintA said:

So now everything's okay again. Wonderful.

Since he's been at Saints, Flynn has certainly experienced some ups and some.... what's the word I'm looking for? Troughs! Some ups and some troughs.

More Ups and Downs than Robin Askwith.

 

(Just realised I got the wrong bawdy 70's film, but I'm not changing it)

Edited February 20 by Farmer Saint

[Whitey Grandad]

11 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

More Ups and Downs than Robin Askwith.

 

(Just realised I got the wrong bawdy 70's film, but I'm not changing it)

Confessions of a Football Supporter 

[davefizzy14]

Great news that Flynn is back 😊

[Lord Duckhunter]

“Great” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. 
 

I’d put it more like this “news that Flynn is back”. 

[chivvy]

Now play him and Les in the middle to shore it up a bit hopefully

 

 

[CSA96]

In theory, there’s now no reason for IJ to not pick his best XI. I’m still thinking there’s a chance he plays Aribo as the left sided defender after Wood had a bad outing last time 

Maybe we see this?

Ramsdale; Bree, Bednarek, Wood; Walker-Peters, Ugochukwu, Aribo, Welington; Dibling, Fernandes; Sulemana 

[saintant]

He's proved himself a bad apple so he needs to show that he is a team player but I'm not convinced. The last thing we need is a disruptive influence. Hasn't shown much effort since his big mate Russ left so, if he's picked, needs to contribute a lot more than strolling around picking up niggly yellow cards. Man up and put a shift in for the team - it's what he's paid for.

[notnowcato]

12 hours ago, Saint86 said:

No, he has a reputation for ruffling the feathers / upsetting mentally soft players fair enough, but this is all about a Flynn Downes attitude problem. He was reluctant to joint Saints as part of the JWP deal in the first place, he dragged his feet about joining after the play off win and over the summer, he's been a sicknote multiple times since he's been here, and now he's having a sulk... most likely because his best mate russ is gone and we turned down a move to Ipswich... And trying to dress that last point up as being on the manager is pretty silly as well - Players don't typically down tools and refuse to play because of a short term personality clash - it would damage their reputation in the game horrendously and be incredibly unprofessional to both the club as a whole as well as his team mates. And if indeed there is a serious personality clash and Juric doesn't like Downes, he'd have been out the door in January given the interest.

"Jurić is a very “say it how it is” character within the changing room which has led to fallouts in the past with players who don’t respond well to this message, but it’s also the same characteristics that have developed players and really got the best out of them". The simple reality is a Downes is an uncommitted soft player who needs his ol mate Russ giving him a foot massage and whispering sweet nothings in his ear to feel like playing. Need to get rid ASAP this summer. And as above, i would imagine his standing in the dressing room is in a pretty terminal state right now regardless.

For future reference…. it’s down and across for reverse gear. 

[St. Ciervo]

I have zero patience for this roster right now. If you don't want to be here, lets find you a place far from here. Turkey sounds great. Bye Felicia.

[Saint86]

10 hours ago, notnowcato said:

For future reference…. it’s down and across for reverse gear. 

That sounds like a great way to damage your gears... Normally you go across (left or right) and then down (or up) to get into reverse 😬.

Love and light 😘

 

[Oldandtired]

11 hours ago, notnowcato said:

For future reference…. it’s down and across for reverse gear. 

Nah, two clicks down on the left hand paddle…

 

[Saint Fan CaM]

12 hours ago, saintant said:

He's proved himself a bad apple so he needs to show that he is a team player but I'm not convinced. The last thing we need is a disruptive influence. Hasn't shown much effort since his big mate Russ left so, if he's picked, needs to contribute a lot more than strolling around picking up niggly yellow cards. Man up and put a shift in for the team - it's what he's paid for.

I think there’s a little more to it than that. Downes is a limited player, however he appears better when he’s in a team that is under instruction to play possession football and therefore has licence to offload the ball backwards when under pressure. He is less skilled at turning an opponent and finding a decent pass to a teammate. I suspect he doesn’t like the expectations of Juric as it makes him look and feel like a worse player, which is why he felt he needed to press for a move. Hopefully Juric has identified how he can make a difference in his system.

[Chez]

2 hours ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

I think there’s a little more to it than that. Downes is a limited player, however he appears better when he’s in a team that is under instruction to play possession football and therefore has licence to offload the ball backwards when under pressure. He is less skilled at turning an opponent and finding a decent pass to a teammate. I suspect he doesn’t like the expectations of Juric as it makes him look and feel like a worse player, which is why he felt he needed to press for a move. Hopefully Juric has identified how he can make a difference in his system.

The different style and expectations may well be a factor, but lets not ginore the obvious, he was dropped by Juric. I'm pretty sure that will have contributed a lot to his thoughts of leaving. What player is happy to sit on the bench when they have another side keen to sign them?

Perhaps us not wanting to sell is a strong signal that we value him and hopefully he responds accordingly in the remaining games this season.

 

[Teamsaint1]

3 hours ago, Saint86 said:

That sounds like a great way to damage your gears... Normally you go across (left or right) and then down (or up) to get into reverse 😬.

Love and light 😘

 

The annoying ones are where it is left and up, right next to first. Very unsound positioning. Much like our defence much of the time this season. 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

Sorry, what do I do to get into reverse?

[Zorba]

39 minutes ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

Sorry, what do I do to get into reverse?

Get Russell Martin in the driving seat. That twat couldn’t get it going Forward if it only had one gear and was facing downhill.

[saintoaks]

Heard he was arguing with supporters yesterday when warming up, anyone witness it ?

[Divergent]

4 hours ago, saintoaks said:

Heard he was arguing with supporters yesterday when warming up, anyone witness it ?

No - all the bell ends near me were clapping him. 

[Badger]

38 minutes ago, Divergent said:

No - all the bell ends near me were clapping him. 

No one throw any uncooked chicken at him ? 

[Gloucester Saint]

3 hours ago, Divergent said:

No - all the bell ends near me were clapping him. 

As another poster would say, noddy behaviour.

[Saint_clark]

On 20/02/2025 at 22:18, saintant said:

He's proved himself a bad apple so he needs to show that he is a team player but I'm not convinced. The last thing we need is a disruptive influence. Hasn't shown much effort since his big mate Russ left so, if he's picked, needs to contribute a lot more than strolling around picking up niggly yellow cards. Man up and put a shift in for the team - it's what he's paid for.

The environment of a bunch of lads all giving each other banter, having every Sunday and Monday off and getting along as best mates will always lead to a few bad apples for the next manager to deal with when he comes in with an expectation of proper hard graft and professionalism. 

[Toussaint]

How was he last night? 

[saintant]

1 hour ago, Toussaint said:

How was he last night? 

Coasted through the game, gave away a goal and didn't appear to give a scooby.

[Andy Hill]

That is an insult to “coasting”. He was predictably out of his depth - in line with 7 others in the team.

[Chez]

2 hours ago, Toussaint said:

How was he last night? 

The pass that gave the goal away was really poor. It was a bad decision and poor execution. It typified the many terrible `shoot yourself in the foot' moments we have witnessed this season, especially under RM, where players are trying to retain posession, play through the lines but fuck it up. 

He wont have made any new friends on here after that, but to his credit he did do everything he could to recover the situation, to no avail though. However, I read this week that `trying to recover personal errors seems to be the only time Saints players bust a gut'. And there might be something in that. The urgency when trying to regain posession is missing from the whole side. There is no hussle, not enough physicality and too many players that are nowhere near their opposite number.

I didn't think Downes went through the motions, I just think he played like he has done all season - a failure to dominate or impact the game.   

[Eric The Red]

I agree that he was definitely trying and before his mistake for the goal I would say he (with ABK) was our most effective defensive player. Sloppy passing and not getting back to cover right up there with lack of goals typifies our season.        Basically we're SH1T

[Football Special]

[Gloucester Saint]

14 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

What planet are you on that Rangers are spending £40m on any player, let alone Jack Grealish.

Rangers highest ever fee of all time is £12m. And that was 20 odd years ago.

Alan Nixon so probably wrong, and given we paid £18m, he’d be going for more than £10m. Aribo is far more likely IMHO.

 

 

[CB Fry]

7 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Alan Nixon so probably wrong, and given we paid £18m, he’d be going for more than £10m. Aribo is far more likely IMHO.

 

 

We won't be taking a loss on Downes, who with a year of Premier League experience behind him, should be going up in value not down. Unless Still really wants rid of him I think Downes is stuck with us and we are stuck with him. His contract will mean he has a transfer fee that would put off anyone that might want him  (other champ Clubs). And any club that can afford him (ie Prem clubs) are not that likely to want him. 

Rangers haven't got that kind of money anyway. The whole thing is by-numbers shit journalism.

 

[RedArmy]

1 hour ago, CB Fry said:

We won't be taking a loss on Downes, who with a year of Premier League experience behind him, should be going up in value not down. 

 

He already had a years prem experience before he came to us. 

[Midfield_General]

2 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Alan Nixon so probably wrong, and given we paid £18m, he’d be going for more than £10m. Aribo is far more likely IMHO.

 

 

Well with that whopping £20m cash injection from their new owners who can stop them, we might as well just hand him over. 

£10m buys you Eli Junior Kroupi or Lewis Dobbin. Not an English 26 year-old first team regular with two seasons of Premier League experience. That's embarrassing, even for Nixon. 

On the Rangers boards they're saying that even at £10m he'd be well out of their range. Downes as a realistic target for them is a laughable suggestion. They might as well say they 'want to raid' Arsenal for Declan Rice, because it's about as likely to happen. 

Edited June 8 by Midfield_General

[BarberSaint]

2 hours ago, CB Fry said:

We won't be taking a loss on Downes, who with a year of Premier League experience behind him, should be going up in value not down. Unless Still really wants rid of him I think Downes is stuck with us and we are stuck with him. His contract will mean he has a transfer fee that would put off anyone that might want him  (other champ Clubs). And any club that can afford him (ie Prem clubs) are not that likely to want him. 

Rangers haven't got that kind of money anyway. The whole thing is by-numbers shit journalism.

 

 

They might get on: both WHU fans.

[CB Fry]

1 hour ago, RedArmy said:

He already had a years prem experience before he came to us. 

Not really. Seven starts in the league.

If he was such an established Premier League player anyway, why the fuck did he get flogged to a Championship team?

[Farmer Saint]

12 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

Not really. Seven starts in the league.

If he was such an established Premier League player anyway, why the fuck did he get flogged to a Championship team?

Don't think you'd call him an established PL player now TBF. All he proved this season was that he was not good enough for the PL, and that he also has a bad attitude. He did prove however, that he only seems to be able to play in a Russell Martin system.

[RedArmy]

13 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

Not really. Seven starts in the league.

If he was such an established Premier League player anyway, why the fuck did he get flogged to a Championship team?

Because he’s not good enough for the prem, obviously. 

[CB Fry]

7 minutes ago, RedArmy said:

Because he’s not good enough for the prem, obviously. 

Well, obviously.

But his value has not gone down from what we paid for him is my point, especially with the contract he's signed. His first ever year as a front line first choice Premier League player has not reduced his value.

Rangers (or anyone) is not getting him for  £10m.

Edited June 8 by CB Fry

[Matthew Le God]

39 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

why the fuck did he get flogged to a Championship team

We weren't a Championship team when we signed him (in quality, we were 😁)