Downing joined the Anfield outfit last summer for £20million from Aston Villa and was expected to provide the width Liverpool have lacked for years.
Yet along with the other high-profile signings at the club - Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson - the Kop is still waiting to see their best displays.
Liverpool face Everton on Tuesday in what will be a combustible derby clash and the England wide man insists he and his fellow new signings will come good for the Carling Cup winners.
"Some people look at it and say, 'They are all internationals or they paid this fee for that player they should just come in and do a job'," he told the Daily Star.
Reality
"In reality it doesn't happen like that. There are many examples from the past of a lot of foreign players coming in and struggling at first.
"Then all of a sudden, they have set the world alight and become top players. A few of the players have been getting used to Anfield, the lads around them and to Liverpool itself."
Liverpool claimed the Carling Cup last month with a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Cardfiff. They are still in the FA Cup and have an outside chance of finishing in the top-four.
If they achieve these targets, the former Middlesbrough starlet will view the campaign as a success.
He added: "If we get to another final and manage to finish in the top four it will have been a very good season for the club considering the additions we had in the summer."
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/7586590/Downing-hits-back-at-critics
I think he needs to wise up and realise that his output this season has been nowhere near good enough - he is nowhere near good enough.
His excuses are flimsy at best, and by comparing himself to foreign players that come in shows how desperate he is to cover up his inadequacies. Luis Suarez hasn't struggled to settle into our side - and that is because he is a much better player than the drab, ineffective Downing.
And the constant nonsense about allowing time for the new players to settle in is getting beyond boring as well. Craig Bellamy used to play for the club and has had no issues in his return, Doni never plays, Coates rarely plays while Henderson, Adam and Downing are the only regulars of the Summer signings. So that is nonsense and needs to be packed it as an excuse.
And if he thinks for a second that he is going to "set the world alight", then he's more of a fantasist than anyone who thinks he's good enough for this club.
EddieCTue 20/03/12 at 12:33 no one in the team has many assists as we've scored sod all. Adam has still managed to clock up 9 - despite most fans feeling he's not good enough for the starting XI.
OlivavuThu 22/03/12 at 10:49 Exactly. Adam has provided plenty of assists which just go to show how poor Downing is. Also, he has had over fifty shots in the league and is yet to score. It isn't bad luck, he just isn't very good.
IT may not have been the world’s most entertaining match. But Liverpool did what they had to do to gain an FA Cup win over Stoke. Cup games are all about winning and it doesn’t matter how good the game is. The punters aren’t bothered. The league, though, is different as that’s more about consistency. Liverpool will hope that Stewart Downing has now gained a taste for the adulation you get from scoring and can grasp the nettle. Some players take a while to settle at a new club, while others such as Jose Enrique and Craig Bellamy don’t have much bother at all. Jordan Henderson is taking his time, but he is only young and was still learning the game at Sunderland when Liverpool took a punt on him. He is athletic and intelligent and may turn out to be a good player but, apart from maybe recently against Arsenal, he hasn’t had an outstanding match yet. Downing is different in that he is older, an England international and shouldn’t have taken so long to get to grips with it. I have a theory that if he starts a game well, then he plays well. And if he doesn’t start well, he won’t play well. Very much like Emile Heskey, Downing is a confidence player. That said, wide players will always drive a manager mad. If they aren’t creating chances or scoring goals, people will wonder what they are doing. That’s the way it has always been. Luis Suarez took the plaudits and Downing scored the winner, but for me the most impressive aspect of Liverpool’s march to the FA Cup semi-finals was the performance of Jay Spearing. Like many people, I have been impressed with the diminutive midfielder this year. He has really kicked on. Kenny Dalglish threw him in quite early after returning as manager in last season’s Anfield derby, and he got a real reaction from him. Dalglish discovered there and then that he can rely on Spearing. In the central midfield areas, he gets around the pitch better than anyone else available right now for Liverpool. He moves around the park very quickly and loves a tackle and he speeds the game up with his hurrying and harassing. And it’s had a knock-on effect with the other players. It’s no coincidence that Steven Gerrard has been more influential going forward with Spearing patrolling the pitch behind him. Spearing gives Gerrard the security to bomb on, and that in turn has brought more out of Luis Suarez now that he has someone on the same wavelength playing a lot closer to him. Charlie Adam is the one to miss out, but that’s just the way it is. Spearing is in on merit and as a consequence is bringing more out of Gerrard and Suarez, and Adam knows he will have to roll his sleeves up to get back into the team. The obvious comparison to make is between Spearing and Sammy Lee. Both are small and busy, but while Sammy isn’t as good a tackler he is a better passer. He made the engine work properly without being spectacular, and Spearing is similar in that he knows what he can do and doesn’t try anything he can’t. http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/sport/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2012/03/22/mark-lawrenson-it-s-time-for-stewart-downing-to-grasp-the-nettle-realise-his-liverpool-fc-potential-99623-30593133/?Downing really should have hit the ground running given his age, experience and pricetag - and he can have no excuses for his poor output other than a lack of quality in his play. Henderson is younger and at least can improve. He is being played out of position and is clearly suffering for it. I suspect he was signed with that right wing position in mind though, which is curious.
OlivavuThu 07/06/12 at 19:26 Liverpool FC winger Stewart Downing is adamant he will be stronger because of the criticism he has endured during an "up and down" debut campaign with the Reds. Stewart Downing has been identified as one of the negatives from a tumultuous campaign for Liverpool FC. The 27-year-old left Aston Villa for £20million last summer, yet failed to contribute either an assist or a goal to Liverpool’s Premier League campaign, which ended with them finishing eighth. Evidently, Liverpool FC owner John Henry was unimpressed and promptly dispensed with manager Kenny Dalglish’s services, bringing in Brendan Rodgers as the Scot’s replacement. Yet Stewart Downing has remained a regular member of the England squad and has been tipped to start their Euro 2012 opener against France in Donetsk on Monday as Wayne Rooney serves the first match of his two-game ban. "Criticism makes you stronger," said Downing. "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." As Liverpool FC’s troubles continued, so the mirth at Dalglish’s repeated insistence his side was doing nothing wrong grew louder. Yet Stewart Downing is adamant there was some truth in his old boss’s assertions, even if the eventual outcome tells a different story. "A lot has been said about Liverpool and the fact we didn’t perform but we battered teams at Anfield at times," he said. "I can think of one or two bad performances. Most of the time we were very unlucky. "We just didn’t have that killer instinct. The manager said there wasn’t much you could say and that was probably right. "But a lot of new players signed, we played in two cup finals and came away with a medal so there were a lot of positives to come out of it as well." It does seem strange that, thanks to the late call-ups for Jordan Henderson and Martin Kelly, there are now six Liverpool FC players in the squad, more than any other team. Four have a realistic chance of starting too, with Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson virtual certainties, whilst Downing and Andy Carroll are in the reckoning as well. http://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport-news/liverpool-fc/2012/06/07/55578-31137172/?Back this up by actually providing an assist or score a goal then Stewart 
BadmoonSun 10/06/12 at 10:15 Just makes himself come across like a tool. Especially when talking about being there for the younger players, like you'd ask him 
jarhead113Sun 10/06/12 at 11:01 If he wants to shy away from the criticism and improve then he'll have to show up for the full 90 minutes in games. I think he tends to do well in spurts and if there's no end product he goes missing. I'd love to see him improve a heck of a lot next season
OlivavuSun 10/06/12 at 12:00 I found it quite ridiculous that Downing was trying to pass himself as one of the senior players. He is deluded if he thinks he should be anywhere near that squad. His constant defence of his shite performances are also quite galling.
BadmoonSun 10/06/12 at 12:30 I found it quite ridiculous that Downing was trying to pass himself as one of the senior players.
He is deluded if he thinks he should be anywhere near that squad.
His constant defence of his shite performances are also quite galling.
i literally couldn't believe it, not sure if the media led him into it but i thought to be honest if I had a left foot i'd be disappointed not to get in ahead of him, i'm sure most of the country are astounded he has made another major tournament and has no assists or goals in the league. I doubt hell get any of either in the tourny either but i hope i'm wrong, might kick start him for us. I live in hope
OlivavuSun 10/06/12 at 12:32 Everyone that I speak to who support England are bemused as to how he is in there ahead of Johnson and Lennon. And Sinclair.
BadmoonSun 10/06/12 at 12:40 Everyone that I speak to who support England are bemused as to how he is in there ahead of Johnson and Lennon.
And Sinclair.
Totally agree although Lennon is with Pennant getting down with Corrie stars in some island or other so it's not all bad for him, Pennant was a much better winger for us as well and he cost very little and got a liverpool motm in a champions league final!
OlivavuSun 10/06/12 at 12:41 Pennant was never up to it, but he was better than Downing.
OlivavuTue 12/06/12 at 12:55 Stewart Downing is adamant he will be stronger because of the criticism he has endured during an "up and down" debut campaign for Liverpool. Downing has been identified as one of the negatives from a tumultuous campaign for the Merseyside giants. The 27-year-old left Aston Villa for £20million last summer, yet failed to contribute either an assist or a goal to Liverpool's Premier League campaign, which ended with them finishing eighth. Evidently, owner John Henry was unimpressed and promptly dispensed with manager Kenny Dalglish's services, bringing in Brendan Rodgers as the Scot's replacement. Yet Downing has remained a regular member of the England squad and has been tipped to start their Euro 2012 opener against France in Donetsk on Monday as Wayne Rooney serves the first match of his two-game ban. "Criticism makes you stronger," said the winger. "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." As Liverpool's troubles continued, so the mirth at Dalglish's repeated insistence his side was doing nothing wrong grew louder. Yet Downing is adamant there was some truth in his old boss's assertions, even if the eventual outcome tells a different story. "A lot has been said about Liverpool and the fact we didn't perform but we battered teams at Anfield at times," he said. "I can think of one or two bad performances. Most of the time we were very unlucky. We just didn't have that killer instinct. The manager said there wasn't much you could say and that was probably right. "But a lot of new players signed, we played in two cup finals and came away with a medal so there were a lot of positives to come out of it as well." http://www.sportinglife.com/football/premiership/liverpool/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=football/12/06/07/SOCCER_England_Nightlead.htmlYou aren't nearly good enough Stewart and no amount of talking will change that.
BadmoonTue 12/06/12 at 23:01 Pennant was never up to it, but he was better than Downing.
Come on for the money we paid, his performance in the final and general wing play - he was pants but it aint like we got a lot to choose from  Concentrate on Downing :P
OlivavuWed 13/06/12 at 08:13 I don't want to concentrate on Downing. I'll just slate him if I do.
BadmoonWed 13/06/12 at 11:05 I don't want to concentrate on Downing. I'll just slate him if I do.
Wait till Friday, i bet he starts!
OlivavuWed 13/06/12 at 11:45 Yet another undeserved cap...
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