Yet I’ve seen Soucek struggle against the less competent opposition, whilst Downes has looked a cut above them on more than one occasion.Ironing Board wrote: ↑Sun Nov 13, 2022 7:55 pm You said it - he looked good against less competent opposition. At this stage he is just a development player. Ideally we would have someone with Soucek’s skill set and with good passing ability, but they cost a hell of a lot of money.
The reality is Moyes hasn’t given Downes the chance to prove whether the team would be better with him over Soucek. To say it would be foolish to give him the chance is a rather bold statement given Soucek’s general form. I’d expect such a statement won’t age well.
Downes has over 150 senior appearances and often been the best player on the pitch in ECL, he’s not an inexperienced youngster, he’s not Coventry. If a new manager comes in it wouldn’t surprise me to see Downes oust Soucek from the starting XI before long.