Paul Downing (footballer)

Paul Michael Downing (born 26 October 1991) is an English footballer who plays as a centre-back for National League North club Hereford.

Paul Downing
Downing playing for Doncaster Rovers in 2019
Personal information
Full name Paul Michael Downing[1]
Date of birth (1991-10-26) 26 October 1991[2]
Place of birth Taunton, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Hereford
Number 6
Youth career
0000–2009 West Bromwich Albion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 West Bromwich Albion 0 (0)
2010 → Hereford United (loan) 6 (0)
2010–2011 → Rotherham United (loan) 0 (0)
2011 → Shrewsbury Town loan) 0 (0)
2011–2012 → Barnet (loan) 26 (0)
2012–2016 Walsall 156 (6)
2016–2018 Milton Keynes Dons 37 (0)
2017–2018 → Blackburn Rovers (loan) 16 (1)
2018–2019 Blackburn Rovers 15 (0)
2019 → Doncaster Rovers (loan) 18 (0)
2019–2022 Portsmouth 11 (0)
2022 → Rochdale (loan) 10 (0)
2023– Hereford 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:17, 7 October 2023 (UTC)

Club career

West Bromwich Albion

Downing was born in Taunton, Somerset and came through the youth system at West Bromwich Albion.[2] He signed a professional contract lasting until June 2012, with an option of a further year in the club's favour.[3] He made the bench for a 0–0 draw against Blackburn in the Premier League on 24 May 2009.[4]

Downing went on a one-month loan deal to Hereford United on 25 January 2010, along with West Brom teammate Lateef Elford-Alliyu.[5] He was given the squad number 16, and made his debut on 2 February in a 2–0 win against Lincoln City at Edgar Street.[6] He was sent off on his final appearance, a 5–0 loss to eventual league winners Notts County on 27 February.[7] He made six appearances during his loan spell.[8]

Between November 2010 and April 2011, Downing signed on loan for two successive spells with Rotherham United[9] and Shrewsbury Town[10] but made no senior appearances for either club before returning to West Brom.[11]

On 3 November 2011 he signed on loan for League Two side Barnet, initially on a one-month deal.[12] He made his debut on 8 November in a 2–0 win in the Football League Trophy against Cheltenham Town.[13] On 17 November Barnet extended the loan deal to allow him to remain there until 2 January.[14] On 19 January 2012 the loan deal was extended again to allow him to remain at Barnet until 28 February.[15] On 29 February the loan deal was extended again, this time until the end of the season.[16] He was sent off for the second time in his career during a 1–1 draw with Rotherham on 3 March.[17]

When Downing returned to West Bromwich Albion at the end of the 2011–12 season the club announced that they were not offering him a new contract. On 24 May 2012, Downing was released after three years at the club, having never made an appearance for the first team.

Walsall

On 1 August 2012, Downing signed for League One team Walsall.[18] He made his debut on 1 September in a 2–2 draw against Brentford.[19]

Milton Keynes Dons

On 27 June 2016, after declining a new contract with Walsall, Downing joined fellow League One side Milton Keynes Dons on a free transfer, signing a two-year deal.[20] Downing made his league debut for the club on 6 August 2016, in a 0–1 away win against Shrewsbury Town.[21]

Blackburn Rovers

On 31 August 2017, Downing initially joined fellow League One club Blackburn Rovers on a season-long loan.[22] On 8 January 2018, Downing joined the club permanently on a one-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[23] On 15 May 2019 it was announced that Downing will leave at the end of his contract.[24]

Doncaster Rovers

On 24 January 2019, it was announced that Downing had been loaned to Doncaster Rovers in League One for the rest of that season.[25]

Portsmouth

On 21 June 2019, it was announced Downing had signed for League One side Portsmouth on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract after being released by Blackburn Rovers.[26] Having spent the second half of the 2021–22 season on loan away from the club, Downing was released at the end of the season.[27]

Rochdale (loan)

On 13 January 2022, Downing signed for Rochdale on loan for the rest of the season.[28]

Hereford

On 31 August 2023, Downing signed for National League North club Hereford.[29] He made his debut in a 1–0 home defeat to Southport two days later. On 17 October 2023, it was announced that Downing had signed a contract to stay at Hereford until the end of the 2023–24 season.[30]

Personal life

He is the nephew of former footballer and manager, and former assistant head coach of West Brom Keith Downing. His older brother Leigh was formerly at the West Bromwich Albion academy as a scholar.[31]

Career statistics
As of match played 14 October 2023[32]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
West Bromwich Albion 2008–09[33] Premier League 000000—00
2011–12[34] Premier League 000000—00
Total 000000—00
Hereford United (loan) 2009–10[8] League Two 6000000060
Shrewsbury Town (loan) 2010–11[35] League Two 0000000000
Barnet (loan) 2011–12[34] League Two 26020004[lower-alpha 1]0320
Total 320200040380
Walsall 2012–13[36] League One 31100001[lower-alpha 1]0321
2013–14[37] League One 44120201[lower-alpha 1]0491
2014–15[38] League One 35120206[lower-alpha 1]0451
2015–16[39] League One 46350302[lower-alpha 2]0563
Total 156690701101836
Milton Keynes Dons 2016–17[40] League One 37020103[lower-alpha 1]0430
2017–18[41] League One 0000201[lower-alpha 1]030
Total 370203040460
Blackburn Rovers (loan) 2017–18[41] League One 161200000181
Blackburn Rovers 2017–18[41] League One 120———120
2018–19[42] Championship 300011—41
Total 31 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 44 2
Doncaster Rovers (loan) 2018–19[42] League One 1802 0—2[lower-alpha 2] 000
Portsmouth 2019–20[43] League One 6010304[lower-alpha 1]0140
2020–21[44] League One 3000204[lower-alpha 1]090
2021–22[45] League One 2000002[lower-alpha 1]040
Total 1101050100270
Rochdale (loan) 2021–22[45] League Two 100000000100
Hereford 2023–24[46] National League North 5 0 3 0 — 0 0 8 0
Career total 30072101613003458
  1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  2. Appearance(s) in League One play-offs

Honours

Blackburn Rovers

References
  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Portsmouth" (PDF). English Football League. p. 55. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  2. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  3. "West Bromwich Albion Team Profiles: Paul Downing" West Bromwich Albion F.C. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  4. "Blackburn 0–0 West Brom" West Bromwich Albion F.C. 24 May 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  5. "Hereford sign West Brom's Downing and Elford Alliyu" BBC Sport. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  6. "Hereford 2–0 Lincoln" BBC Sport. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  7. "Notts County 5–0 Hereford" BBC Sport. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  8. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  9. "Rotherham sign Will Atkinson & Paul Downing" BBC Sport. 25 November 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  10. "Shrewsbury sign Davis, Nicholls and Downing" BBC Sport. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  11. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  12. "Barnet sign defenders Paul Downing and Michael Hector" BBC Sport. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  13. "Cheltenham 0–2 Barnet" BBC Sport. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  14. "Barnet extend Paul Downing loan deal from West Brom" BBC Sport. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  15. "Barnet extend deals of Alassane N'Diaye & Paul Downing" BBC Sport. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  16. "Downing extends loan deal" Yahoo! Eurosport. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  17. "Barnet 1–1 Rotherham" BBC Sport. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  18. "Paul Downing & Connor Taylor sign one-year deals for Walsall" BBC Sport. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  19. "Walsall 2–2 Brentford" BBC Sport. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  20. "Downing is a Don". Milton Keyes Dons Official Site. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  21. "Report: Shrewsbury Town 0–1 Dons". Milton Keynes Dons Official Site. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  22. "Blackburn Rovers sign Sam Hart, Rekeem Harper and Paul Downing". BBC Sport. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  23. "Paul Downing: MK Dons defender completes permanent Blackburn Rovers move". ITV News. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  24. "Rovers confirm retain list". Blackburn Rovers F.C. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  25. "Downing joins Rovers on loan". Doncaster Rovers Official Site. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  26. "Ellis Harrison and Paul Downing: Portsmouth sign Ipswich Town striker and Blackburn defender". BBC Sport. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  27. "Pompey Retained List: Summer 2022". Portsmouth F.C. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  28. "Paul Downing joins in loan". Rochdale A.F.C. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  29. "NEWS | Paul Downing Signs for Hereford | Hereford FC - The Official website of Hereford FC". www.herefordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  30. "Downing Extends Bulls Stay". Hereford FC - The Official website of Hereford FC. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  31. "Assistant head coach" West Bromwich Albion F.C. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  32. "Paul Downing". Soccerbase. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  33. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  34. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  35. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  36. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  37. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  38. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  39. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  40. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  41. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  42. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  43. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  44. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  45. "Games played by Paul Downing in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  46. "Paul Downing". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  47. Anderson, John, ed. (2018). Football Yearbook 2018–2019. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-1-4722-6106-9.
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