The former Middlesbrough winger reveals that he cannot be held hostage to the fact that despite his best efforts to create goal scoring chances, the strikers at Liverpool were not able to finish their opportunities...
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Stewart-Downing-c34221 has come out and defended himself against criticism which has taken flight from the fact that the former Aston Villa winger failed to assist a single goal or even
score one himself in the recently concluded Premier League season.
The Englishman who has been blamed for his lack of incisiveness in front of goal and his inability to whip in accurate crosses has now latched out at the media and called on them to look at the other side of the equation where
strikers at Liverpool failed to capitalize on the chances created for them by Downing and others at the club.
Liverpool finished below their city rivals http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Everton-c39043 in the end and to add insult to injury their manager Kenny Dalglish was then dismissed from his role from the club. Since then Downing has faced the media barrage of criticism
in the England camp but now he has defended himself against the statistics that have been quoted again and again on the T.V and the tabloids as well.
The Liverpool winger said, “I've constantly set up chances, as I did at Aston Villa and Middlesbrough and have done at http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809, season in and season out. I can't be criticised for not creating. I'm in the team to do that and
I've done that throughout the season. I've just been unlucky that we've not finished the chances.”
He added, "The goal thing is [embarrassing], the fact that I didn't get enough goals. Stats have taken over the game: he doesn't score this, he hasn't set up that. You can read into it as you like.”
Downing’s inclusion into the England national team squad has also become a source of criticism for Roy Hodgson as it was ultimately his decision to snub other options and include the Liverpool man for the European Championships.
Nonetheless, Downing still has the opportunity to make an impact when England’s EURO 2012 campaign kicks off with their opening encounter against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899.
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