I might be alone here but for me he's turning into a very reliable option on the right and seems to be performing a decent role in the team.
Your not alone. This thread is full of posters who only come out and mention Downing's performance when the team loses and he has a quiet game (irespective of the performance of others in the side). They say nothing when he does well, in fact no one ever says anything or so it seems. He very rarely tears it up and gives you a 9 out of 10 BUT I'd argue he's put in a decent 7 out of 10 performance in 4 out of 5 games (on average) ever since Rodgers told him he could start looking for another club. He's not the sort of player to beat 4 or 5 defenders and score a worldy but (for me) he works hard, he does a good job travelling with the ball, he generally keeps it, if he doesn't see much of the ball from wide areas he can come inside and get involved in the midfield build-up, he's not afraid to get a few shots away and he's shown a willingness to shift onto his right foot and put in some decent crosses the past couple of months. Addded to which, we have a very natural balance on the right at the moment with Dowing and Jonno. His limitations are highlighted for me WHEN Sturridge is missing and defences can gang up on Luis, it's in these games where you are looking for more from your wide-players and Downing doesn't quite have it in his locker.
But I can still see why the manager has picked him so regularly for the past few months. Everyone liked to bang on about his lack of assists and goals last season but he's certainly picked up a few here and there this season.
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