The former Aston Villa and Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing has said that he expects to come back strongly after a disappointing first season with Liverpool. The midfielder arrived from Aston Villa in a deal worth up to £ 20 million with high hopes and expectations.
However, it has been a very disappointing season for the England international after he failed to scoring a goal and create any worthy assist during the entire season. The former Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was also blamed for not getting the best out of Stewart Downing, as he was largely played out of position in the right-wing.
The 27-year-old has acknowledged that it has been a very disappointing first season for him at Liverpool, but has vowed to comeback stronger this season. Even though he has been extremely disappointing for the Liverpool team, he was called by the England manager for the Euro 2012. He was, however, not part of the starting line-up in the opening match against France at the Euro 2012. He has said that criticism he received after his first season at Liverpool is one of the main factors that will make him a much better player this season.
“Criticism makes you stronger. You are always going to get criticised at a big club like Liverpool but it is a great club to play for. I thoroughly enjoyed my first season and I am sure we will be better next year. A lot has been said about Liverpool and the fact we didn’t perform but we battered teams at Anfield at times. I can think of one or two bad performances. Most of the time we were very unlucky,” said the winger. The club appointed Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers as a replacement for Kenny Dalglish, who paid the price for the eighth place finish last season.