10 Former Aston Villa Players They Could Do With Now

5. Stewart Downing

Two years ago Villa supporters might have been clutching their sides and rolling in the aisles with tears of joy streaming down their faces, as they watched Stewart Downing so miserably toil at Anfield while they counted every pound note of the £20 million they received for his signature. It€™s November 2014 and nobody is laughing anymore. Downing never settled at Liverpool and was rightly deemed a failure, having taken him nearly 18 months to register his first league assist and goal for the club. So far this campaign, the 30 year old midfielder has scored two goals and provided four assists for West Ham. He looks to have recaptured the spark that endeared him to both Middlesbrough and Aston Villa supporters during his earlier years.

€œI was more Stewart Downing Aston Villa than I was Stewart Downing Liverpool. That€™s more of what I€™m looking for. That€™s no reflection on what Stewart did at Liverpool because he was asked to play a different way than he was at Aston Villa. Stewart is a quality player, value for money, somebody who sits at the top of our performance stats. As well as a nice guy.€ - Sam Allardyce, August 2013.

At Villa Park, he was named Player of the Season in 2011, and scored 11 goals in 79 appearances for the club during his two years with the Midlands-based outfit. How they could do with his impetus, creativity and guile from midfield nowadays.