Stewart Downing has started to hit form for West Ham recently and is hopeful of earning himself an England call up in the near future.

The winger has not been a regular in the international set-up in recent years because he hasn’t exactly been in the sort of form that is deserving of senior caps. There is no denying the player has a lot of talent and ability which is clear for everyone to see when he is on top of his game, but he has failed to play at his best for a few seasons now.

When he was playing at Aston Villa he was fast becoming one of the most promising wingers in the country, and a potential solution to step in to the wing role left behind by David Beckham when he retired from international football. There has not been anyone since who has come into that role and excelled.

Downing’s ability on the flanks earned him a lot of admirers as a youngster and saw him have a very successful eight year career at Middlesbrough before making the switch to Aston Villa where he continued to impress with his defence-dazling runs and crossing ability. He was exciting to watch and showed a lot of promise. It looked like he would be a regular in the England set-up for sure, and had a great career mapped out in-front of him, especially when Liverpool came calling and ended up completing a £20 million move for him.

His career at Anfield didn’t quite go to plan however, with the promise and excitement soon fizzling out into a big, boring anti-climax. It is unclear to this day whether he just couldn’t handle the big money price tag on his head, or whether he just didn’t fit in at the club.

We do see a lot of this these days where a player looks to be one of the best in the country at one club and totally flops at the next side he joins. Was it a gulf in quality between Villa and Liverpool that exposed him as average? Did he look too good for Villa and not good enough for Liverpool? Look at Marouane Fellani, a footballing god during his time at Everton and a laughing stock at Manchester United. These players do not change overnight, they do not suddenly become poor players. They just don’t always fit in to the style of play at a different club, or maybe the way they are utilized does not fit in with how they like to play.

It can sometimes happen the other way around too; Mo Diame suffered at West Ham because he was played out of position and since his move to Hull he has excelled and started scoring and playing well again.

Whatever the reasons, Downing simply did not have a good time of it at Liverpool and looked a below average player. He made his move to West Ham in 2013 during quite a hopeless transfer window for the Hammers which saw them blow the majority of their budget on a crocked Andy Carroll. Short of options up front, they then opted to bring the out of favour Stewart Downing to Upton Park from Liverpool as well.

He didn’t really overwhelm supporters at his new club either in his first season. He was often seen too afraid to skin the defender and opted to get rid of the ball too early in an attacking phase of play. His crosses left a lot to be desired as well. I get the feeling that perhaps we are looking at a chap who’s confidence was low and faith in his own ability was severely lacking.

This season however, West Ham manager, Sam Allardyce has utilised the winger in a slightly different position which sees Downing play more of a free role in the centre of the diamond, behind the strikers. Suddenly we are looking at a completely different player altogether. He has shown a range of passing both long and short that is exquisite, his strength and pace were very evident in the games he played deployed in this new position. He has been working his socks off up and down the wing, drifting back into the middle, when appropriate he has crossed the ball and when needed he has fed a lovely through ball through the defence or even cut in and had a long range shot from the edge of the box – which saw him score a delightful goal against Crystal Palace.

He looks a totally different player at the moment, and if he carries on this current form, it would surely be hard for Roy Hodgson to ignore him for much longer. He has not deserved an England call up in recent seasons, and a couple of games playing well does not go a long way to changing that but nevertheless, at the moment, he looks like the solution to many a problem that the international side are facing.

The England side need someone who can change the game, who’s work rate can be very high throughout the full 90 minutes and who can carve open a defence with a lovely through ball or chipped cross to provide assists for his colleagues. In the game against Liverpool for West Ham, he was involved in all three goals. England need a player like this for sure, and Downing needs to carry on playing like he has been so far this season for the sake of his career and reputation.

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