[Albion] Dale Stephens. Discuss...

[Ernest]

I wonder what the stat is for us conceding after losing the ball cheaply in the middle of the park

 

[Bwian]

Have said he's shit for a while but was told I didn't understand his role in the team. Hmmmmm

Same here. So many experts on here telling me/us that he does so much more than we give him credit for? Like what?

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Sorry but the fella is utterly useless. Has been for months. Infact he has now become a real liability to the team

 

[Napper]

It's been over the top some of the criticism against him but last night inexcusable.

Piss poor performance in a game of that magnitude

Him and Proper needed to boss that last night for us to get anything. Both went missing. Up there with the worst midfield combo performances for a good few years

 

[Tubby-McFat-Fuc]

We keep being told that we do not see what Stephens brings to the team blah blah blah, and I am fully aware you can have players doing more than most, yet don't stand out, but please, one of Dale's fans, tell me what he brought to the side last night.

From what I saw he was out of position, didn't sprint back for the first goal, lost his man for the first game. couldn't pass a ball 5 years, couldn't pass a ball 20 years, control was poor, yet I would imagine hughton was happy with him as he didn't once interact with him throughout the game.

Someone please enlighten me!!

 

[Scoffers]

Lets be honest, although he was dire last night, Propper and Jahanbakhsh were not much better. They simply cannot handle the pressure of going behind, their distribution was as bad as I've seen in a long long time.

The thing that annoys me about Stephens though, is that he seems to need an age to make his passes, if he tries to pass quickly, it tends to go wrong, but of course it is the quickness of pass that opens up the defense, by the time he has made his pass, the opportunity to break is gone, which is why he tends to pass sideways or back so much

 

[Marshy]

Simply put when Stephens and Propper got the ball last night the front 4 were so far away it was impossible for them to find a forward pass of any note.

The shape of the side is awful when we are expected to go forward.

Even with effectively 4 up front there was still a 50 yard gap between the back 6 and front 4.

We cant chase a game is the crux of it, we have no pattern of attacking play.

When we have to sit in and counter occasionally we have a shape.

 

[Scoffers]

Simply put when Stephens and Propper got the ball last night the front 4 were so far away it was impossible for them to find a forward pass of any note.

The shape of the side is awful when we are expected to go forward.

Even with effectively 4 up front there was still a 50 yard gap between the back 6 and front 4.

We cant chase a game is the crux of it, we have no pattern of attacking play.

When we have to sit in and counter occasionally we have a shape.

Yeah, so true.

Why can't the coaching team see that this isn't gonna work?

 

[Is it PotG?]

His passing options are less than #### all.

Movement around him is shite, no runners with any pace whatsoever.

 

[Bwian]

Yeah, so true.

Why can't the coaching team see that this isn't gonna work?

Probably because they are shit too? Hughton Out's choice of coaches.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[Luke93]

All the CMs have looked poor recently.

Yes, Stephens is ponderous and produced mistakes. He’s slow at making a decision when passing forward, but this isn’t down to just him. The team is set up with just an isolated Murray up front and out of form wingers either side. There is no movement. What is he supposed to do? He passes sideways to retain possession and everyone moans. He attempts to pass to the static spuds up field but the opposition can easily defend that.

Bissouma has the ability to produce something special. But have we seen this enough? No. Does he lose possession as much as Stephens in terms of loose passing and wild shots? Yes. He fails to track back too and leaves gaps in midfield, exposing the CBs. He is not a regular starter for me, yet.

Propper is our best midfielder, but horribly out of form. He’s not a fighter. Scared to tackle, reluctant to take it to the opposition and is awful at heading the ball. His form has made Stephens job harder. He had his worse game in an Albion shirt yesterday.

Kayal is a fighter. He never stops trying and will do his absolute best. Issue is, he’s not that good I’m afraid. It is time to start him though as everyone ahead of him have failed on too many occasions. He won’t shy away from challenging for the ball like Propper and will run into space unlike Stephens. He works well with Stephens as he drops back when he pushes into space. I won’t trust the other CMs to do that.

Groß can play CM. He can switch play and find teammates consistently with passes. Issue is, his best position is higher up the pitch without being shackled with protecting the defence. He isn’t quick and isn’t great in the air.

Pick your CM poison. They’re all out of form or not good enough for consistent Premier League performances. I’m adamant that if ANY of our CMs play the deeper CM position Dale Stephens plays, they’d actually do an inferior job.

 

[Springal]

Let's go back to the very first game we played in the Premier League - Stephens dallies on the ball, gets it whipped off his feet by a City player and he hasn't got any better since. He's too slow - but this is a criticism that can be levelled at most of the players.

But the last match at the Amex in the Championship the whole stadium sang sign him up, sign him up. I'm confused

 

[Simster]

He was pure gash last night but I don't understand why people are constantly on his back. I thought he was outstanding against City and was far from our worst performer against Bournemouth.

That said, Kayal needs to be given a chance for sure.

 

[the right footed denilson]

That's the crux of it. We're desperately short of quality in CM.

 

[Is it PotG?]

All the CMs have looked poor recently.

Yes, Stephens is ponderous and produced mistakes. He’s slow at making a decision when passing forward, but this isn’t down to just him. The team is set up with just an isolated Murray up front and out of form wingers either side. There is no movement. What is he supposed to do? He passes sideways to retain possession and everyone moans. He attempts to pass to the static spuds up field but the opposition can easily defend that.

Bissouma has the ability to produce something special. But have we seen this enough? No. Does he lose possession as much as Stephens in terms of loose passing and wild shots? Yes. He fails to track back too and leaves gaps in midfield, exposing the CBs. He is not a regular starter for me, yet.

Propper is our best midfielder, but horribly out of form. He’s not a fighter. Scared to tackle, reluctant to take it to the opposition and is awful at heading the ball. His form has made Stephens job harder. He had his worse game in an Albion shirt yesterday.

Kayal is a fighter. He never stops trying and will do his absolute best. Issue is, he’s not that good I’m afraid. It is time to start him though as everyone ahead of him have failed on too many occasions. He won’t shy away from challenging for the ball like Propper and will run into space unlike Stephens. He works well with Stephens as he drops back when he pushes into space. I won’t trust the other CMs to do that.

Groß can play CM. He can switch play and find teammates consistently with passes. Issue is, his best position is higher up the pitch without being shackled with protecting the defence. He isn’t quick and isn’t great in the air.

Pick your CM poison. They’re all out of form or not good enough for consistent Premier League performances. I’m adamant that if ANY of our CMs play the deeper CM position Dale Stephens plays, they’d actually do an inferior job.

Top post

 

[Bold Seagull]

He was pure gash last night but I don't understand why people are constantly on his back. I thought he was outstanding against City and was far from our worst performer against Bournemouth.

That said, Kayal needs to be given a chance for sure.

I feel for him. He's being forced into playing a game that isn't natural to him. The crowd is on his back for giving it simple, but that is his role in the team. He isn't there to drive us forward, making incisive passes, he's there to give it to the players that can, only they aren't either. Much of the crowd can take some responsibility for how he played last night. Moaning and groaning, even booing has never helped a player EVER.

 

[A1X]

Stephens has had an abysmal season, it seems many have still been watching him through the lens of his performances in the Championship (including Chris Hughton). He's too slow, lacks ideas, unable to pick out a pass, gets charged down too easily and gives the ball away too often in unchallenged situations at Premier League level. He got away with it for a lot of the season but now as the rest of the team has faltered it's exposed his weaknesses.

If we stay up, we have to improve on him, either by moving him on (probably to a Championship club) or bumping him way down the pecking order. If we go down we should still consider giving him a rocket up his backside somehow.

 

[Gilliver's Travels]

Contemplate for a moment the indisputable truth that Dale Stephens fails regularly - and often spectacularly - at that most basic of skills required of a professional footballer: namely, to be reliably capable of propelling the football to a colleague standing just a few metres away. Not to a player dressed in a different coloured shirt, nor to an advertising hoarding located behind the touchline.

Next, contemplate the likelihood that this person receives a sum exceeding 30 thousand pounds every WEEK for his 'services'.

Conclusion? The game has gone mad. Completely and utterly.

 

[samtheseagull]

Worse game I have seen Stephens play but Propper was just as bad. At least Stepehns didn't hide from the ball and actually put in tackles. Thing is the last couple of months Propper has been much worse and needs dropping for Kayal but as Stephens is the scapegoat he gets the abuse.

 

[Is it PotG?]

Still a split on here it seems, some saying he has bugger all quality of any note around him, others saying it's down to him. I'm still the former but shows it's all about opinions.