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When players get transferred to different clubs, they usually want to join a club which is competing in a bigger league which has more well-known stars and into a league which is considered to be more competitive but this doesn’t happen in all cases, there are some occasions when players join a lesser known team and this is what happened with Stewart Downing as the English midfielder made a move from the Premier League side West Ham United to the Championship club Middlesbrough.

Stewart Downing is more than happy to have made a move from West Ham United to Middlesbrough and this is due to a number of reasons which he pointed out during a recent interview.

Stewart Downing believes it would not be easy for Everton to get past his team Middlesbrough in the Round of 4 in League Cup.

Middlesbrough, bubbling with confidence at the moment having eliminated the mighty Red Devils in the quarters, will face Everton at the Riverside Stadium.

Despite the fact that it would be their home game, Boro would not be the favourites going into it.

However, according to Downing, the opposition should be concerned of them considering their performances of late.
The 31-year old winger, who had struck successfully for Middlesbrough in the penalty shootouts against Manchester United the other day at Old Trafford, said, “Everton is a strong team, but, it would take them their best game if they are to emerge victorious on Tuesday.”

A theme that is starting to appear this season is that teams from the lower half of the table are getting good results against the top teams.

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes believes that this is partly because both teams no longer have the fear of travelling away to big teams like Chelsea and Manchester United. This aspect has also been contributed by the demise of top clubs like Liverpool and United in recent seasons. Manchester City, on the other hand, have grown much stronger. Home teams have been struggling with time in this campaign. This fact was reiterated by the home losses suffered by Chelsea and Liverpool just before the international break.

Stewart Downing has spoken about the poor form suffered by West Ham in the second half of last season.

This was largely responsible for the exit of Sam Allardyce, which became apparent for several weeks. The manager was not sacked, but he rather let his contract expire and left the club on a mutual consent. Allardyce had been at the club for the last four years and was responsible for getting them back from the Championship into a position of stability in the top flight. He was also the manager who brought Downing to Upton Park and gave him a new lease of life.

The 60 year old English coach of West Ham United, Sam Allardyce took charge of the Premier League club back in June of 2011 but his time might be reaching it’s end as rumors are linking him with a move away from the Premier League club.

West Ham United was knocked out from the League Cup after losing against Sheffield United and in the FA Cup things weren’t so satisfying either after having sustained a 4-0 defeat against West Bromwich Albion.

Sam Allardyce has a contract with West Ham United that runs until the summer but he is not expected to be offered with a contract extension unless the club finish the season on a high note and Stewart Downing is hoping that this happens as the English midfielder wants to see Sam Allardyce remain as the coach of the Premier League club.

In a bid to retain their form, West Ham United have utilised the small break in the Premier League to schedule a mid-season training camp in Dubai. The club has had only one win in 2015 and it came in the 3-0 success over Hull City back in January.

The constant run of draws and defeats has led to West Ham slipping into the bottom half of the table. Even though there is no immediate danger of relegation, West Ham would ideally want to recover form and possibly challenge for the European squads. This is also the ambition of winger Stewart Downing.

Gabriel Obertan would be able to play his next game for Newcastle United in March 2015 only.

The winger went through thigh operation yesterday and the doctors say that it’s not going to take him any lesser than 4 months to be back to competitive football.

Last weekend, Obertan had pulled his thigh muscles in the initial periods of the game versus Liverpool FC.

The Newcastle medical staff gave him the treatment on the pitch itself, but, he did not manage to stand back on his feet. After that, the stretcher was brought on and he was taken off.

At that very moment, it was evident that something was serious there in the Frenchman’s thigh and it did turn out to be serious as the scan reports showed that the muscles were torn and the operation was needed.

West Ham winger Stewart Downing has been one of the surprise players this season.

Apart from Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea, the England international has been the best creator of chances in the Premier League. This represents a significant shift in the career of the 30-year-old, who joined West Ham for around £ 6 million in 2013. Downing was one of the big-money signings for Liverpool in 2011 after he moved from Aston Villa for a reported £ 20 million. The arrival of Brendan Rodgers, though, immediately put him out of favour.

Stewart Downing spent 2 seasons at Anfield performing for Liverpool but after making over 60 appearances for the club, he was sold to West Ham United on August of 2013. The English player has now unveiled details concerning why he decided to make his move and leave Liverpool as Downing said that he was did not like the way that Brendan Rodgers treated him.

Stewart Downing believes that having Andy Carroll sidelined again is not good news for his club West Ham United at all.

Carroll had to sit out for more than half of the previous season as well because of his fitness issues.

This summer, he was expected to be playing a big role in the front line of West Ham, but, unfortunately, he got his ankle injured while on the pre-season tour of Australia and there is no chance of him returning to action for at least 3-4 weeks.