The ex-Liverpool star once admitted that he knew his time at Anfield was coming to an end
Stewart Downing of Liverpool attends a press conference at Melwood Training Ground on August 3, 2011
Stewart Downing had a mixed spell at Liverpool(Image: 2011 Liverpool FC)
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Former Liverpool winger Stewart Downing previously admitted that he knew his career on Merseyside was coming to an end after ex-boss Brendan Rodgers shifted him to left-back. Downing signed for Liverpool from Aston Villa in July 2011, for around £20million.
After two inconsistent seasons at Anfield, the ex-England star left the Reds in 2013 to join West Ham United, Liverpool's Premier League opponents this weekend. Downing conceded that he was “hurt” by Rodgers’ treatment after the Northern Irishman took over as manager from Sir Kenny Dalglish in 2012.
Asked back in 2014 whether being played at full-back was a major low point, Downing, who scored seven goals in 91 appearances for Liverpool, replied: “I think so, yes. I was out of the team so for me just to play and get back in the team was a big thing.
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“At left-back it was obviously difficult, but it was a chance to get back into the team for me, so I had to go along with it. I wasn’t happy playing left-back. It is not my natural position. But I knew from then it was the time for me to move.
“I was getting signals other players were coming in, and I was getting used at left-back when I was a winger. I think you know when the writing is on the wall for you under a manager or at a club.
“The West Ham move came at a good time for me and was a chance to go out and play football regularly and play under a manager who wanted me to play every week. I wasn’t a regular in the team at Liverpool. I was in and out, I had a difficult spell there."
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish talks with Stewart Downing
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish talks with Stewart Downing in 2012
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In 2022 Downing insisted that he was happy to play under Dalglish and lamented the Liverpool legend's dismissal by club chiefs, despite the Kop Icon winning the League Cup and reaching the FA Cup final in 2012.
He told the ECHO: “He was unbelievable to play for, Kenny, and I was sad that he left after only one year because I think he should have been given at least another season.
“I played in a legends game at Anfield recently and it was the first time I’ve seen him for a while and he hasn’t changed since when I first met him. He still looks to take the p*** out of everyone, but he’s just a great fella, great to play for and I wish we could have just done better for him.
“We had a good cup run, winning one and losing in the final in the other, but I think the Premier League was the one, we should have done a lot better in that.
Stewart Downing talks with ex-manager of Liverpool Brendan Rodgers
Stewart Downing was frozen out under Brendan Rodgers(Image: 2013 Liverpool FC)
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“You feel a bit responsible. A lot of money was spent on players, but the league just wasn’t good enough. American owners aren’t soft. But you think with Kenny, he’s a legend of the club, and you thought they might have given him a bit more time."
Discussing the vibe shift he felt after Rodgers took charge, he added: “I played the first game of the season and a couple of the Europa League games, but he [Rodgers] just pushed me aside and brought [Fabio] Borini and people like that. I know how it works when a manager wants to bring his own players in, and some of them played in my position.
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“But I got a bit p****d off with it. I was sick with all the messing around and I decided to leave, but looking back I should have given it another year."
After representing West Ham for two seasons, Downing, now 41, returned to Middlesbrough, where he began his career. He then signed for Blackburn Rovers in 2019 before retiring in August 2021.