Middlesbrough favourite Stewart Downing admits he is considering retirement

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Shame he didn’t consider it in 2015 , stole a living from mfc.
to go from West Ham’s player of the year, everything aimed and set to come from him .... to what we got ! It was like he’d lost a leg and using a prosthetic one ,
I think his stats were something like 1 in 16 in his last stint.
always liked the lad but he took the urine for 4 years on a high wage
 
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Terryterrycooper said:
Shame he didn’t consider it in 2015 , stole a living from mfc.
to go from West Ham’s player of the year, everything aimed and set to come from him .... to what we got ! It was like he’d lost a leg and using a prosthetic one ,
I think his stats were something like 1 in 16 in his last stint.
always liked the lad but he took the urine for 4 years on a high wage
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We offered him the wage, we offered him the length of contract.
If your company offered you a big wage rise when you had just been voted Employee of The Year would you knock them back.
He has been a favourite of mine and always will be. Likewise Mowbray who the masses on here slagged off last week. If Downing feels it's time to retire good luck to him in his future endeavours.
 
we will never know the real reason he left, heard Boro promised something then didnt deliver , either way he eas great 1st stint especially in the Euro pre-final games.... priceless memories which he was a major player
 
Regularly had good ratings for his stats, he didn’t set the league on fire with his goals but hardly anyone did in our setup tbh. We expect goals because goal scorers are on the pitch yet as fans we accept and contour to ask for more attacking players to be brought in and used effectively and I think this window is the first real attempt to do that (other than monk just buying any forward available)
 
Good career overall and part of some great games for us but will sadly be remembered for banging a transfer request in during our relegation season and his average performances during his second spell.
 
A genuine Middlesbrough legend signed a contract when he could have moved to Spurs for free on a very lucrative deal, came back at the peak of his career to help his local side get promoted. Was denied a premier league move when Karanka didn't fancy him. and left to rot rather than honour his contract extension. 404 games for boro and 32 goals, 35 games for England during a super cliquey toxic environment. A huge part of MFCs history, a huge part of the most successful period of the clubs history.
 
Not a popular view it would seem, but I think that Stuart Downing has done more than enough to be considered a ‘Boro favourite’.
No Boro player in my lifetime has been an England regular, certainly not one in their early 20s. And one who was Man of the Match in a game against Germany.
He was a vital part of the most successful Boro side I’ve seen, qualifying for Europe through a best ever finishing place in the Premier League. And played a key role in our progress to reaching a European final. His quality cross in the Semi Final produced the most iconic and joyous moment for many Boro fans.
And although he was not the same player when he returned, lacking some of the dynamism and pace of his youth, he did the job the his manager asked of him, and made the most outfield appearances in the only Boro team to be promoted back to the Premier League since we were relegated in 2009.
In that time players like Nicky Bailey have qualified for the role of Boro Favourite on this forum.
Stuart Downing was one of our own.
He wasn’t the Messiah, but he was a very good footballer for the Boro.
Very good!
 
alanmoodysdog said:
we will never know the real reason he left, heard Boro promised something then didnt deliver , either way he eas great 1st stint especially in the Euro pre-final games.... priceless memories which he was a major player
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my guess is he was promised a lucrative contract after digging boro out of a post Europe financial hole back in the day. good enough to build a team around, could have and should have been our star man.. Karanka didn't fancy him straight from the off.

the last promise I believe was something to do with coaching badges and being involved in the Middlesbrough coaching staff and that may very well still be the case..
 
His first stint and don’t think anyone would knock the lad , he did a fantastic job for us .

and yes on his second stint it was our daft fault for offering him a lengthy contract on high wages , but if he had anything about him he would of put 100% effort in .
he really did play like he just could not be a**** And like we had 10 men many times
 
This is going to get a lot of posts. Similar to anything with 'Bamford' in the title.

Loved him when he burst onto the scene.
Remember his debut when he came on as sub and should have earned us a penalty (Chelsesa Home IIRC)?
Had a lot of his attacking instinct coached out of him....'whatever you do don't lose possession'.
Became a 'neat' player rather than a dynamic one.
Would have protected legacy if he'd left for big money and we left it at that.

Thought it a bit odd when he was given the captaincy in our Southgate relegation year when he had allegedly asked for a transfer to Spurs?
Who gives the captaincy to a player wanting to leave!
Not happy with his second spell - long drawn out 'meh' when his high wages sapped our resources.
 
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