By now Manchester United may well feel that they picked the right Aston Villa winger in the summer, when they opted to bring Ashley Young to Old Trafford. At the time however, it was Liverpool fans who felt they had pulled of the real coup. They went after Aston Villa’s player of the season, Stewart Downing, a man renowned for being able to get up and down the wings with ease and flash in excellent crosses effortlessly.
Six months on and we have a better prospective on both deals. Ashley Young has spent a lot of time sidelined, but has still managed to win over United fans with a series of good performances. As for Downing, the jury remains out. He’s registered only 1 goal (against Oldham) and has yet to grab an assist. At this early stage in the proceedings, United seem to have got one over on their old rivals.
Whilst fans continue to bemoan the signing of Andy Carroll, it’s Stewart Downing who has disappointed me most. Liverpool have failed to play to Carroll’s strengths, but Downing has failed to play to Liverpool’s needs. He’s obsessed with trying to beat his man, something he doesn’t manage to do enough and on the odd occasion he gets to the by-line, his delivery isn’t half as good as last year.
The sad truth is that Downing has looked a little one-dimensional since arriving at Liverpool. His £20m price-tag has made a mockery of Liverpool’s transfer dealings and though the fans will remain behind him, he’ll have to up his game before the fans really start to rate him.
The fact that Liverpool are still getting linked to new wingers is a sad indictment of the clubs summer spending. That shouldn’t mean, however, that Liverpool should seek to right these wrongs in the January transfer window. I’d rather see the Reds try to get the most out of the players they already have on their books.
Even United fans can’t deny that Downing was great last season and always looks good when he plays for England. It’s important that Liverpool fans keep this in mind and remain patient. If he’s not performing at the level he was last year then the question needs to be asked: ‘why’?
Is he working hard enough? Does the Liverpool system suit him? The answer to both questions, I fear, may be ‘no’. I can’t help but wonder what instructions Downing is receiving – he should be out there isolating the full-back, creating space for himself and whipping in crosses, but we don’t see this enough. If Liverpool don’t utilise Downing properly, it’s not surprising they’re not getting the most out of him.
Whilst United may be winning this transfer battle, there’s no reason why Downing can’t fight back and prove his worth to the Reds. If the situation is assessed adequately, then there’s every chance that Downing can come good.
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seriously what was the point of this article?
downing will come good soon. There are glimses of his skills and crosses. We didnt hv the strikers there to “kill” the ball.
downing, adam, henderson and carroll = poor signings
enrique and suarez = good signings
Downing handerson carrot adam and sauracist are all no need to explain the rest suarez does not score 5 goals for the season that suck
Downing handerson carrot adam and sauracist are all shit no need to explain the rest suarez does not score 5 goals for the season that suck other top teams has an attacker in the ten goals bracket
Downing looks good every time he plays for England, really? Christ on a bike he looks like a fish out of water every time he puts an England shirt on! He found his level at Villa and is totally out of his depth at Liverpool and on the international stage, not a bad player but not a great one either and never will be because he is too one dimensional.