It has been a long road to international credibility for Stewart Downing but six years after making his debut for England he might just have found it.
Fabio Capello started with the Liverpool winger in Sofia on Friday night, promoting him ahead of the Manchester City pair of James Milner and Adam Johnson, and he could be here to stay.
This fairly abject Bulgaria team was not much opposition but Downing gave an understatedly impressive performance in the fluid attacking three behind Wayne Rooney. His corner was headed in by Rooney for the second goal and Downing himself hit a post with a header after some fine combinational counter-attacking play with Theo Walcott in the second half.
This 4-2-3-1 system demands flexibility from the attacking three and Downing and Walcott exchanged flanks frequently. His movement has improved dramatically in the last 18 months — playing in the centre for Villa helped that — and as the game drew to a close he even took up the playmaker’s role in the hole behind Rooney. He’s come a long way since his presence in the team was a perceived reflection of their impotence.
Downing was given his debut by Sven-Goran Eriksson against Holland in Feb 2005 but it was not until Steve McClaren took over that he got a regular run in the side. He played in eight of those disastrous Euro 2008 qualifiers and was tainted by association with McClaren from their time at Middlesbrough together.
He was on the pitch in Barcelona when the England support turned brutally on McClaren with the score 0-0 at half-time against Andorra. The hate poured down from the terraces and many felt Downing’s presence in the team was symptomatic of what was wrong with England.
When McClaren went, you thought Downing would go with him. Worse was to come, though, and it came back in Andorra. In Capello’s first competitive game was a surprise starter but an insipid performance meant he was booed by the fans who had made the trip. Capello, ruthlessly, replaced him at half-time with Joe Cole (who ended up scoring both England’s goals) and Downing did not start another competitive game until on Friday night.
Those three years have shown an impressive resolution to Downing’s personality. His youthful promise had plateaued when Martin O’Neill took him to Aston Villa. Boro had been relegated and Stiliyan Petrov — an opponent on Friday night — had broken his foot. Downing's his career was at a turning point. He did not look back.
His second season at Villa was outstanding — many Villa fans arguing he was superior to Ashley Young — and his move to Liverpool appears to have accelerated his grade of improvement. Capello and his coaching team have been impressed by his revived confidence and his hunger for the ball. The accuracy of his crossing - not really needed on Friday - will also be a great asset when Andy Carroll gets back to form.
It is not as premature as you might think to talk about the make-up of the England team at Euro 2012. Walcott will be desperate to retain his place in the team after missing out on the 2006 World Cup and while he did not knit easily into the make-up of the team in the first half on Friday he grew into the game and was excellent in the build-up to England’s slick third goal, sprinting towards the edge of the box before releasing Young out wide.
While Young has frustratingly fractious in his play, there were positives to draw from the way Walcott and Downing combined after the break. Rooney can often be left isolated when he plays the lone strikers role so it is important that he gets swift support on counters and Downing certainly provides that.
Walcott’s instinct is to go beyond the last striker while Downing’s is either to pull off him, into the space behind, or look to get down the touchline. It brings an attractive balance to England’s wide play.
There are only two more qualifiers and then two friendlies scheduled before the team gets into their warm-up games — assuming they qualify.
With Milner and Johnson threatened by reduced game-time and Downing likely to remain fresh without European football this season, it is wide open for him. Finally, he might take his chance.
No comments:
Post a Comment