Stewart Downing: Comparing Him with 10 Liverpool Wingers from the Past 10 Years

Stewart Downing moved to Liverpool for about $35 million last summer. Since his move, he has come under increased scrutiny by the media and supporters for a lack of output, despite creating numerous chances that have gone wasted due to poor finishing throughout the season. 

Downing has only one goal and one assist this year, both coming in cup competitions. The England international has played 24 of the Reds’ 25 Premier League games. Although he has been scrutinized, Downing has been automatic on Kenny Dalglish's team sheet. 

Despite not getting on the score sheet regularly, Downing has contributed in other ways. In the Carling Cup final, Downing’s pace exploited the Cardiff defenders as he ran at them all game, though an end product was never produced on the day—but was threatened.

In the penalty shootout Downing buried his kick, and was named man of the match for his tireless performance over the course of 120 minutes.

Downing’s performances in a Liverpool shirt have improved since the beginning of 2012, and perhaps he can live up to the high expectations. Compared with Liverpool’s wingers over the past 10 years, it’s no surprise the club splashed out cash to bring in a proven Premier League player.

Downing’s goal-to-assist ratio maybe low this season, but he has contributed more to the team than several of the men who came before him.

With Downing’s Liverpool career picking up steam, Bleacher Report looks at 10 Liverpool wingers in the last 10 years whose careers failed to take off in the famous red shirt. 

Luis Garcia, 2004-2007

Luis Garcia actually succeeded, to some degree, at Liverpool, and will be remembered for two fantastic goals from the 2004-05 Champions League. The first was a brilliant 25-yard volley that beat Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in the quarterfinals. 

The second goal came against Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in the tournament’s semifinal. The “Ghost Goal” came four minutes into the contest, and was the only goal over the two legs. It was enough for Liverpool to advance to the Champions League final to play AC Milan in one of the greatest finals of all time.

Meanwhile, the goal has become a sore spot for many Chelsea supporters.

Despite scoring important goals over the next two seasons, Garcia did not have the same impact as in his first year. Garcia played his last game for Liverpool in January 2007, when he ruptured his ACL. He finished his time at Liverpool with 30 goals. Definitely the best productivity of anyone on this list.

The next summer, Garcia was sold to Atletico Madrid, a deal that helped bring Fernando Torres to Liverpool. Unlike the players that follow, Garcia had a major impact on the club—at least for one season—and will be remembered for his part in Liverpool hoisting the European Cup.

Albert Riera, 2008-2010

Albert Riera was Liverpool’s answer to their left wing problem. Riera was described as a player that loved to hug the touchline, and could challenge defenders. Both statements were true.

Upon his arrival at Liverpool, he helped the Reds to their best Premier League finish, and it looked likely they would win their first Premier League title. Though, it wasn’t to be. 

Riera signed on transfer deadline day, and made his debut against Manchester United in a famous Liverpool win at Old Trafford. Riera played an important part in Liverpool’s 2008-09 season, playing 28 matches and adding three goals and three assists. Like Garcia, his debut season would be his best. 

Riera would tally three assists again in 2009-10, but only featured in 12 Premier League games as his relationship with manager Rafael Benitez deteriorated. In March 2010, he was suspended following a fallout with Benitez.

Riera described Liverpool as "a sinking ship." He said of Benitez, "He’s never sorted out a situation with a player by talking with him. He thinks he’s in charge and everything else falls on deaf ears. His dialogue with players is practically nil."

Riera was sold to Greek side Olympiacos in the summer of 2010. After a successful season in Greece—in which Olympiacos won the Greek championship—he moved to Turkish-side Galatasaray. 

Sebastian Leto, 2007-2009

In the summer of 2007, Rafael Benitez signed two South Americans most Liverpool supporters had little knowledge of at the time. The first was midfielder Lucas Leiva, while the second was Argentinean winger Sebastian Leto.

Lucas has had a love-hate relationship with many football fans, but has been an integral part of Liverpool’s midfield since his arrival. However, Liverpool supporters were never able to fully see Leto‘s abilities in a Reds‘ shirt, as his stop in English football was brief. 

Leto was signed from Argentine side Lanus, and was brought in to play on the left wing. Unfortunately for Benitez and Liverpool supporters, Leto only featured in four matches for the Reds due to work permit issues. Leto never played a Premier League match, and his four appearances came in Champions League and League Cup matches. 

Due to his work permit issues, Leto was forced to play in the Reds’ reserve team for much of his time. He was loaned to Greek side Olympiacos in the summer of 2008 when the club was still unable to secure a work permit.

Since leaving Liverpool, Leto has won the Greek double on two occasions. First with Olympiacos in 2008-09, and a year later with Panathinaikos in 2009-10. He remains with Panathinaikos, where he has tallied 23 goals as a winger and striker.

Nabil El Zhar, 2006-2011

In 2006, Rafael Benitez signed Moroccan international Nabil El Zhar from French side Saint-Etienne. In the first two seasons of his Liverpool career, El Zhar spent most of his time in the reserve team.

However, in 2008-09 he made his most appearances for the club with 15. He also tallied his only Liverpool goal and assist during that season. El Zhar spent one more season with the Reds playing in four matches for the club.  

In 2010, he was sent on loan to Greek side PAOK. Upon return to Liverpool at the end of the season, he was released from his contract.

El Zhar signed with Levante prior to the 2011-12 season.

Jermaine Pennant, 2006-2009

Jermaine Pennant, statistically, was one of Liverpool’s best wide players in recent time. The former Arsenal player signed with Liverpool from Birmingham City in 2006, and contributed 10 assists in all competitions. 

The next season, Pennant put in a similar contribution, seven assists and two goals, playing in nearly half the games of the previous season. However, Pennant has had difficult with managers in nearly all the places he has found himself for various reasons. 

After leaving Liverpool, he told The Guardian, “I don’t see how a player can play at an average team and be great and go to Liverpool and not be as great. It should be a lot easier.”

Pennant’s Liverpool career came to an end in January 2009, when he was loaned to Portsmouth. Following his spell on the south coast, Pennant signed for Spanish side Real Zaragoza—a time spent more on holiday than playing football. 

Seven months after signing with the club, the honeymoon was over. After being late for training for a third time in two weeks, he was sent home—he never played for the club again. 

He currently plays for Stoke City in the Premier League. In his two seasons with the club, he has contributed 17 assists and three goals. However, an alleged rift between Pennant and manager Tony Pulis has generated rumors of another move in the next transfer window.

Mark Gonzalez, 2006-2007

Chilean winger Mark Gonzalez signed for Liverpool in the summer of 2006. Rafael Benitez had attempted to sign him a year earlier. However, Liverpool couldn’t get the winger a work permit, and he spent 2005-06 at Real Sociedad. 

Gonzalez played in 36 matches in all competitions, notching three goals in 2006-2007. His most important moment came in Liverpool’s Champions League third-round qualifier as he scored the winner against Maccabi Haifa. That match was the catalyst to Liverpool's march to the final that year. 

Despite Benitez’s persistence in signing Gonzalez, he was offloaded after only one season. 

After leaving Merseyside, Gonzalez spent two seasons in Spain with Real Betis. Since 2009, the Chilean has played for Russian side CSKA Moscow. 

Ryan Babel, 2007-2011

After a highly successful UEFA U-21 Championship in 2007, Babel was on the radar of several clubs, and Liverpool beat everyone to the Dutchman’s signature. Babel signed for Liverpool at 21, but he had already spent three season with Dutch giants Ajax.

While at Ajax, he won the league title, two Dutch Cups and two Dutch Super Cups. and he was expected to drastically improve a Liverpool side that had just finished runner up in the Champions League. 

However, Babel would become an enigma to most Liverpool fans, turning in an excellent performance, only to follow it with poor displays. His play wasn't helped by Rafael Benitez’s desire to turn the Dutchman into a left winger, rather than his preferred striker role.

During his time with the club, Babel scored 11 Premier League goals and added seven assists. He continually failed to live up to the expectations that followed him from Amsterdam to Anfield. 

In January 2011, Babel was sold to German club Hoffenheim for around $12 million. Since moving, he has been a regular in the team’s starting 11. 

El Hadji Diouf, 2002-2005

El Hadji Diouf is remembered more for on- and off-the-field incidents than his ability to play football. Diouf was signed by former manager Gerard Houllier as the direct replacement for Nicolas Anelka, rather than signing Anelka to a permanent deal after a successful loan spell at the club.

Houllier’s decision looked acute as Diouf performed well at the 2002 World Cup for Senegal, and was voted Best African player the same year. 

In August 2002, Houllier’s decision to sign Diouf looked even more impressive as the Senegalese scored a brace on his Anfield debut. That would be as good as it would get for Diouf, who would be switched to the right wing for most his 80 appearances for the club, rather than his preferred position as a central striker. 

Diouf only managed six goals in his tumultuous two years with the club, and was constantly—he still is—making headlines for all the wrong reasons. On two separate occasions, he was accused of spitting on opposing players. No evidence was found in the first instance, but he was found guilty in the second. 

After leaving Liverpool, Diouf was charged by police for spitting on an 11-year-old fan at Middlesbrough, and he was questioned by police in 2009 for allegedly racially abusing a ball boy.

Most recently, Diouf was accused of taunting Queens Park Rangers player Jamie Mack as he lay on the ground with a broken leg. Former QPR manager Niel Warnock referred to Diouf as “lower than a sewer rat” following the incident. 

Diouf currently plays for Doncaster Rovers in the English Championship.

Harry Kewell, 2003-2008

Harry Kewell spent five seasons at Anfield, however, much of that time was spent on the treatment as Kewell suffered injury after injury. 

Kewell’s career looked like it was about to take off when he signed for Liverpool in 2003. He had spent eight seasons with Leeds United, and won the 2000 PFA Young Player Award.

Kewell turned down the likes of Manchester United and Inter Milan to sign for the Reds, and kicked off his Liverpool career with a fine first season. The Aussie played in 49 games that season, the most he would tally in a single season, and notched 11 goals. 

An injury plagued 2004-05 season saw Kewell score only once as the Reds marched to the Champions League final. Though coming back from injury a few weeks prior to the final, Benitez controversially selected Kewell to start.

The move failed dramatically as Kewell was replaced in the first half after suffering a torn adductor injury. Famously, Liverpool supporters booed the Aussie as he limped off, and many believed he was faking the injury at the time. 

Kewell rebounded in 2005-06, and showed supporters what he could achieve when he was fully fit. Unfortunately, Kewell would return to the treatment table after tearing a groin muscle in the FA Cup Final against West Ham United. He spent nearly a year out of the first team as he rehabilitated his torn groin muscle.

A year later the Aussie was again selected for the 2007 Champions League Final, this time as a sub, and came on in the second half. 

Despite being offered a new contract in the spring of 2008, Kewell opted to leave Merseyside, and later signed for Galatasaray. 

He will forever be remembered as a player who never fulfilled his wealth of talent and potential while with Liverpool. Since leaving England, Kewell’s agent Bernie Mandic has slammed the medical treatment his client received.

In February 2010 Mandic told the Daily Mail, “He lost three and a half years of his career at Liverpool, because the guys over there in England had, quite literally, no idea what they were talking about.”

Kewell has returned to Australia, where he's currently playing for Melbourne Victory, following three years in Turkey, where he managed to stay fit for much of the time.

Milan Jovanovic, 2010-2011

Milan Jovanovic was Benitez’s last signing as Liverpool manager. Jovanovic had signed a pre-contract prior to Rafael Benitez’s resignation from Anfield. Despite the possibility of the Serbian backing out of the deal, he officially signed in July 2010. 

Jovanovic’s striker rate at previous club Standard Liege was excellent—52 goals in 116 games—and was named Belgian Footballer of the Year in 2007-08. However, Jovanovic was never able to make the step up to the Premier League. 

He did impress in his debut against Arsenal as Roy Hodgson played him on the left wing, rather than his usual position as a central striker. Jovanovic played in Liverpool’s opening five matches, but was soon relegated to the bench as a substitute. 

Jovanovic made only two appearances under Kenny Dalglish, and didn’t play for the club again after February 2011. The Serbian moved back to Belgium in August of last year to Standard Liege’s arch rivals, Anderlecht.