Sam Allardyce continued to strengthen his squad for the season ahead with the capture of Stewart Downing from Liverpool. The 29-year-old arrives on a four-year deal for a fee believed to be in the region of £6m and is the Hammers fifth signing of the summer, following Andy Carroll, Razvan Rat, Adrian and Danny Whitehead to the club:
The move looks a smart one for all parties involved. Downing’s game time at Liverpool was clearly under threat this term, with the arrival of Iago Aspas looking certain to demote him to bench-warming duties. Despite cementing a role as a regular on the right in the latter part of the previous campaign, Downing struggled to convince Brendan Rodgers of his worth – the winger hinted he was looking to draw a line under his unsuccessful stint on Merseyside:
“I’m very excited. It’s a great opportunity for me being here, it’s a great Club, a good manager to play for and I’m really excited to get going. I’m ready and I’m fit [for Cardiff City]. I’ve played a decent few games for Liverpool in pre-season, so there will be no problems on that front. I met the players and the manager on Monday. He’s a really good, straightforward manager. I like him, I like the way he wants to work and I’m excited by what his plans are for the team as well. With the strengths of the forward players, crossing will obviously be a strength of the team. My aim is just getting back to playing regularly and playing well, like I did at Aston Villa, get a few goals and hopefully we’ll have a good season.”
The History
A product of the Middlesbrough youth academy, Downing’s career kicked off back in 2001/02. The winger failed to make an impact during his first couple of years at the club, though – after just five league appearances, he was farmed out on loan to neighbours Sunderland at the start of the 2003/04 season, where he produced three goals and an assist over seven appearances. Returning to his parent club midway through the campaign, Downing managed 20 appearances (with 13 off the bench) and providing one assist, as he began to slowly stake a claim for a regular role.
The next five seasons saw Downing become an integral part of the Boro first XI, with only a knee injury in 2005/06 curtailing his game time. The wide man produced 17 goals and 17 assists from 156 matches over that period before Martin O’Neill snapped him up for Aston Villa in the summer of 2009. His first season for the midlands outfit produced just a couple of goals and an assist from 25 league matches but Downing stepped up considerably the following year. Playing every match of the 2010/11 campaign, he racked up seven goals and nine assists and delivered 163 points in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game and made his way to Liverpool in a £20m deal.
His first year at Anfield was notoriously poor. Purchased for his “Moneyball” statistics, Downing’s crosses and key passes were expected to be the ideal fodder for the Reds’ attack – instead, he managed a mere two assists in 36 matches in 2011/12 before improving with three goals and five assists from 29 matches last time out. On the international stage, he has turned out for England on 35 occasions and supplied seven assists.
The Prospects
As shown by his final season at Villa, Downing is still a capable Fantasy asset providing he is fielded in a system that is suitable to his style of play. With former Liverpool team-mate Carroll to aim for in the middle, his delivery from the flank looks to be key for the Hammers over the season ahead – as mentioned by Allardyce upon completion of the deal:
“Stewart is a great player with a very good pedigree. If you look at his technical and physical stats, it puts him right up there among the top players we have at the Club. He’s a talented boy with good energy, and will improve the team quality, particularly in possession. He doesn’t give the ball away, he can hold it if he needs to and he can dribble as well. Stewart will be able to produce the kind of ball we need, and will have the opportunity to cross the ball, just as he did at Aston Villa.”
The Hammers 4-5-1 formation is likely to see Downing and Matthew Jarvis take up the right and left flanks respectively, providing plenty delivery for Carroll to thrive on, with Kevin Nolan buzzing around the centre-forward and feeding off knock-downs from aerial balls in and around the box. While Allardyce also has players such as Joe Cole and Ricardo Vaz Te as options out wide, Downing – like Jarvis – is a traditional winger and is far more likely to provide greater width, with less inclination to roam inside and attempt to dictate play from central positions. Allardyce may, in turn, consider Cole as part of his central midfield three – certainly, the competition for places is heating up and perhaps places question marks against the security of starts for cut-price Fantasy option Ravel Morrison, in spite of his six-goal haul over the summer period.
Favourably priced across the Fantasy games after an average final year at Anfield, Downing will set you back 6.0 in FPL; less than Nolan (7.0), though a touch more expensive that Jarvis’ 5.5. Carroll, though, could be the real beneficiary from his arrival – after a slow start under Allardyce, the 7.5 priced forward stepped up in performance towards the end of last season, with four goals and three season in his final seven appearances highlighting his potential.
Bearing in mind the big centre-forward looks likely to miss out with a heel problem as we head into the weekend, though, Fantasy managers may be eyeing up alternatives ahead of a kind opening run of matches. Home matches against Cardiff, Stoke and Everton in the first six Gameweeks, allied with trips to Newcastle, Southampton and Hull bode well as Allardyce looks to get his side quick out the blocks. Ironically, it may well be that Downing’s true potential will come to the fore only when Carroll is leading the line but with the big Geordie and Nolan offering far greater goal threat, Fantasy managers are likely to steer clear of the winger and assess his impact before contemplating any possible transfer in.
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