Paul Downing (footballer)

**Paul Michael Downing** (born 26 October 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Portsmouth.

## Club career

### West Bromwich Albion

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

Downing went on a one-month loan deal to Hereford United on 25 January 2010, along with West Brom teammate Lateef Elford-Alliyu. 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. He was sent off on his final appearance, a 5–0 loss to eventual league winners Notts County on 27 February. He made six appearances during his loan spell.

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

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

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. He made his debut on 1 September in a 2–2 draw against Brentford.

### 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. Downing made his league debut for the club on 6 August 2016, in a 0–1 away win against Shrewsbury Town.

### Blackburn Rovers

On 31 August 2017, Downing initially joined fellow League One club Blackburn Rovers on a season-long loan. On 8 January 2018, Downing joined the club permanently on a one-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee. On 15 May 2019 it was announced that Downing will leave at the end of his contract.
Downing was seen by many of his Rovers teammates to be something of a mentor figure, leading him to be known among the squad as Uncle Paul.

### 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.

### 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.

## 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.

## Career statistics

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3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Appearances in the EFL Trophy
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## Honours

**Blackburn Rovers**

* EFL League One runner-up: 2017–18

## References

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1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Hugman2010-11`
2. ↑ "West Bromwich Albion Team Profiles: Paul Downing" West Bromwich Albion F.C. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
3. ↑ "Blackburn 0–0 West Brom" West Bromwich Albion F.C. 24 May 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
4. ↑ "Hereford sign West Brom's Downing and Elford Alliyu" BBC Sport. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
5. ↑ "Hereford 2–0 Lincoln" BBC Sport. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
6. ↑ "Notts County 5–0 Hereford" BBC Sport. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Template:Soccerbase season
8. ↑ "Rotherham sign Will Atkinson & Paul Downing" BBC Sport. 25 November 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
9. ↑ "Shrewsbury sign Davis, Nicholls and Downing" BBC Sport. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
10. ↑ Template:Soccerbase season
11. ↑ "Barnet sign defenders Paul Downing and Michael Hector" BBC Sport. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
12. ↑ "Cheltenham 0–2 Barnet" BBC Sport. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
13. ↑ "Barnet extend Paul Downing loan deal from West Brom" BBC Sport. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
14. ↑ "Barnet extend deals of Alassane N'Diaye & Paul Downing" BBC Sport. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
15. ↑ "Downing extends loan deal" Yahoo! Eurosport. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
16. ↑ "Barnet 1–1 Rotherham" BBC Sport. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
17. ↑ "Paul Downing & Connor Taylor sign one-year deals for Walsall" BBC Sport. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
18. ↑ "Walsall 2–2 Brentford" BBC Sport. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
19. ↑ Downing is a Don. Milton Keyes Dons Official Site (27 June 2016).
20. ↑ Report: Shrewsbury Town 0–1 Dons. Milton Keynes Dons Official Site (6 August 2016).
21. ↑ Blackburn Rovers sign Sam Hart, Rekeem Harper and Paul Downing. BBC Sport (31 August 2017).
22. ↑ Paul Downing: MK Dons defender completes permanent Blackburn Rovers move. ITV News (8 January 2018).
23. ↑ Rovers confirm retain list. Blackburn Rovers (15 May 2019).
24. ↑ Downing joins Rovers on loan. Doncaster Rovers Official Site (24 January 2019).
25. ↑ Ellis Harrison and Paul Downing: Portsmouth sign Ipswich Town striker and Blackburn defender. BBC Sport (21 June 2019).
26. ↑ "Assistant head coach" West Bromwich Albion F.C. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
27. ↑ Paul Downing. Soccerbase.
28. ↑ Template:Soccerbase season
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Template:Soccerbase season
30. ↑ Template:Soccerbase season
31. ↑ Template:Soccerbase season
32. ↑ Template:Soccerbase season
33. ↑ Template:Soccerbase season
34. ↑ Template:Soccerbase season
35. ↑ Template:Soccerbase season
36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 36.4 Template:Soccerbase season
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## External links

* Template:Soccerbase

Template:Portsmouth F.C. squad