Stewart Downing eager to prove Roy Hodgson right after England recall

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/nov/12/stewart-downing-england-roy-hodgson

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Mid-afternoon amid the hubbub of a busy conference room at the national football centre and the fifth most capped member in the current England squad is wandering around like a little boy lost. Stewart Downing is one of four 30-somethings in the party, a player who made his debut at this level nine years ago during Sven-Goran Eriksson’s tenure and who has twice travelled to major tournaments with his country. And yet all this is alien, unfamiliar and, as a result, rather unsettling.

“I’d only ever been to St George’s Park with West Ham, and never with the England set-up,” he says, shrugging off the after-effects of his first training session with the national team in over two years. “When I was picked before we’d always be at the Grove in Watford or the Lowry in Manchester. I’m still finding my way around this place. I probably feel more nervous turning up for this than I did coming in for my debut, given it’s a new set-up and I’ve been out for so long. My time looked as if it had gone. But you’ve just got to keep playing well and knocking on the door and this proves why. I’m over the moon to be here.”

Downing’s recall to the squad for Saturday’s qualifier against Slovenia and Tuesday’s friendly in Scotland is evidence that a burst of form can demand involvement, even for players who have flitted in and out at this level under a succession of regimes.

The 30-year-old has played for his country during spells at three clubs – West Ham would be a fourth – and under a quartet of permanent managers, his 34 caps encompassing only 668 minutes of competitive football and all played from a starting position on the flank. He returns with his club form revived in a free berth behind a pair of energetic strikers, a No10 role he had enjoyed once or twice for Gareth Southgate at Middlesbrough but in which he is revelling under Sam Allardyce.

The only confusion is that England are well stocked in that area, with Raheem Sterling, Wayne Rooney and Ross Barkley all vying to be a central playmaker. Two of those represent the long-term future, young players the like of whom even Downing had considered the management’s clear priority, and the other is Roy Hodgson’s captain and so, effectively, untouchable. For a player whose last game for his country was the current head coach’s first, in Norway just before Euro 2012 when he was an £18m Liverpool midfielder struggling to justify that weighty fee, his time appeared to be up.

“I’d played in that first game, then gone to the Euros and not featured and after that I wasn’t picked at all,” says Downing. “I thought he’d go in a new direction and with a new type of player, maybe the younger guys you’ve seen coming into the squad. I had no problem with that. My form at the time probably wasn’t good enough to be in, to be honest. It hurts but I had bigger things to deal with back then. I wasn’t in the team at Liverpool, I was in and out and having a difficult spell there and that was the biggest challenge for me at the time.

“I even had a few games at left-back, not somewhere I was happy and not my natural position. I knew from then it was 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. You know when the writing is on the wall for you under a manager. Liverpool is a great club and not many people walk out of there easily but I had discussions [with Brendan Rodgers] and got the message it was going to be difficult for me to play every week. At my age I needed to go out and play.

“Sam came calling, they agreed a fee pretty quickly and it was all done and dusted. The manager [Rodgers] said he didn’t want me to leave but, if a fee’s agreed, I’m sure everyone had agreed I should go. Sam made an effort, the way he spoke to me and how he saw me playing in his team. He’s a good man to play for and he’s been true to his word since I’ve been there. It was a chance to go out and play football regularly under a manager who wanted me.”

His recall should actually be considered a triumph of reinvention. While last year was arguably one of adjustment in a West Ham team that struggled for consistency, his displays to date this season in a side reinvigorated by shrewd business in the summer have demanded attention, from the well-taken goals at Crystal Palace and Stoke to the creativity, pace and movement he has offered from the middle.

Hodgson had twice ventured to see Allardyce after recent games and spoke to Downing on each occasion, little reminders his impact was being noted. “Wingers tend to move inside as they get older,” he says. “Ryan Giggs did it. [Allardyce] has seen something in my game and thought I could play there. He wants me to get on the ball more and counterattack teams.” Given his impact to date, being cast once more to the flank with the England set-up would actually seem a retrograde step.

That is where Kenny Dalglish and, initially, Allardyce had seen his role, given the lumbering presence of Andy Carroll as the focal point of their respective teams’ frontline. The plan was simple: Downing was supposed to cross for the 6ft 4in forward to convert. He was the supply line. These days his re-emergence may prove an inspiration for a club-mate whose own career has been so badly affected by injury.

“Roy is a big admirer of Andy’s and, when he’s been fit, he’s picked him,” Downing says. “For Andy the most important thing is getting through the next seven weeks’ training and games. He came back last time and broke down but he’s itching to play. We need him back fit as we need that competition for goals. He’s a different option for us – on Saturday he came on [against Aston Villa in stoppage time] and flattened someone straight away, then had two efforts saved by [Brad] Guzan.

“I know he loves playing for his country. As do I. The atmosphere feels very relaxed. These lads have played at their clubs together and you can see they’re all in with each other. They’re building a team with young lads who are all willing to learn. Give them a couple of years and, by 2016, the manager will know what they’re all about. That’s the time to judge this side.”

Whether or not Downing is involved in France, he is pinching himself for now just to be back in contention.