The footballer formerly known as Stewart “no goals and no assists” Downing may have finally broken his Anfield curse, but the English winger is still yet to justify his outrageous £20million price-tag, and in many ways he is the physical embodiment of the mismanagement and poorly run business side of things at Liverpool over the past few seasons.
Downing seems to have made a career out of being the only Englishman with a left foot, his appearances on the left flank for the Reds have been so bad that Brendan Rodgers has preferred to use him at full-back or on the right.
There’s no denying that the 28-year-old has had a recent resurgence of form, but Downing is a player who should never be at a club like Liverpool, and clearly doesn’t have the Champions League quality that is so desired at Anfield.
The fact that he’s been linked with a move back to Championship club Middlesbrough highlights just how useless he’s been in a Liverpool jersey.
