[Albion] Dale Stephens. Discuss...

[Weststander]

No debate necessary
Just replace him with Kayal for the last 5 games

And leave Propper in the team

 

[BrianWade4]

And leave Propper in the team

No mate.....

4-4-2
Kayal and Bissouma in the middle

Propper and Stephens on car parking duty

 

[Weststander]

No mate.....

4-4-2
Kayal and Bissouma in the middle

Propper and Stephens on car parking duty

Phew. Time for something different.

 

[Sue1983]

I think you've summed up a number of Stephens's detractors thinking there. And it's really frustrating.

People have an idea of what they think he should be, disregarding what he actually is and is in the team for. They then notice when he doesn't match those false expectations and use it as proof that he's no good.

Judge him on what his role in the team is and how he performs it. If he does it badly, fair enough, criticise him but don't criticise him for not doing what he's not supposed to do.

Who says that Schindler's List is a shit film because it's not very funny?

I think most of his detractors do judge him on his role and how he performs it. I know I do!

I don't rate him, never have, in the Championship he was average but in the Premier League he is totally out of his depth and the last two games he has gone missing in action.

I feel he always is one tackle away from a red card, his decision making and movement on the ball is slow so he often gets dispossessed. When he loses the ball, he gets frustrated and tackles rashly to try and redeem himself, often resulting in a booking and it has been know a red card. The resulting free kick away is often in a dangerous position which puts undue pressure on our defenders.

 

[father_and_son]

Bet you didn’t say that as we beat ManU, CP, and regularly beat the rest of the Championship August 2015 to April 2017.

Generally, I have.

DS has, in the past, been excellent a long cross field passes, but utter dross at passing the ball 5 yards. It has always been something that has annoyed me.
I generally liked/defended him up to [supposedly] being off to Burnley. He has steadily gone down in my estimation since that point. Of all the players he seems to care the least about Brighton the club and Brighton the city. At the moment he is at an all time low in my estimation. He causes more problems than he solves IMO. Burnley dodged a bullet.

When he has played well (it's rare but it does happen), I have always been happy to acknowledge it, but when making sweeping statements about players I will always go with:
Dale is shit at everything, except long cross field passes which he can hit with pinpoint accuracy but only when he has time and space.
Glenn never breaks into a run and lives offside.
Solly is a really good player but his crosses are always too high and too far. When he broke his leg is also shattered his confidence... it took too long for it to come back. He is sh*t as a No.10.
Anthony cannot get a corner/free kick past the first man/wall.
CMS's first touch was so bad his second was always a tackle.
Rohan Ince looked like Bambi on Ice.
Elvis Manu had no concept of the Offside Rule.
I always groan when I see Bong is on the teamsheet.
Jahanbakhsh is always crap in his first season with a club.
AEA was always just looking to wind up the opposition.
Jurgen is sh*t with his head, admits he is sh*t with his head, so why did we recruit him.
Leo was a really nice guy and genuinely humble.
Bruno likewise is a really nice guy and great with kids/coaching.
Calderon is who God prays to at bedtime.
Leon Knight was a tosser.

Want more?

 

[seagull 1979]

Good squad player, but on current form should not be in the first team. Slow and ponderous. This is the problem of the entire midfield and it is due to coaching. There was an occasion last night when we broke and propper and Stephens slowly jogged to the halfway line. This is hughton’s cautious approach, there was an occasion last season when Stephens was more forward looking for a few games, when he started giving the ball away, he reverted back to type, I assume under hughtons instructions. The problem is that this leaves a gap between midfield and the attack, and we still give the ball away at some point. Most teams in the premier will give the ball away then work hard to get it back, but no adventure means no goals. The players are crap at the moment, they should shoulder some of the blame, but the man in charge is most at fault.

100% this

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Generally, I have.

DS has, in the past, been excellent a long cross field passes, but utter dross at passing the ball 5 yards. It has always been something that has annoyed me.
I generally liked/defended him up to [supposedly] being off to Burnley. He has steadily gone down in my estimation since that point. Of all the players he seems to care the least about Brighton the club and Brighton the city. At the moment he is at an all time low in my estimation. He causes more problems than he solves IMO. Burnley dodged a bullet.

When he has played well (it's rare but it does happen), I have always been happy to acknowledge it, but when making sweeping statements about players I will always go with:
Dale is shit at everything, except long cross field passes which he can hit with pinpoint accuracy but only when he has time and space.
Glenn never breaks into a run and lives offside.
Solly is a really good player but his crosses are always too high and too far. When he broke his leg is also shattered his confidence... it took too long for it to come back. He is sh*t as a No.10.
Anthony cannot get a corner/free kick past the first man/wall.
CMS's first touch was so bad his second was always a tackle.
Rohan Ince looked like Bambi on Ice.
Elvis Manu had no concept of the Offside Rule.
I always groan when I see Bong is on the teamsheet.
Jahanbakhsh is always crap in his first season with a club.
AEA was always just looking to wind up the opposition.
Jurgen is sh*t with his head, admits he is sh*t with his head, so why did we recruit him.
Leo was a really nice guy and genuinely humble.
Bruno likewise is a really nice guy and great with kids/coaching.
Calderon is who God prays to at bedtime.
Leon Knight was a tosser.

Want more?

Colin Kazim Richards?

 

[DJ NOBO]

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.

Great summary. I think I’m right saying gross played a more defensive role for his last club and likewise Propper more advanced . Maybe worth trying that with kayal as the go-between?
I don’t want to batter Stephens as he’s a trier and has played well at times. For his own good he needs to not play the next game though.

 

[Weststander]

Great summary. I think I’m right saying gross played a more defensive role for his last club and likewise Propper more advanced . Maybe worth trying that with kayal as the go-between?
I don’t want to batter Stephens as he’s a trier and has played well at times. For his own good he needs to not play the next game though.

Propper left advanced will lead to cricket scores against us.

Kayal, Dunk and Duffy left alone to mark entire CM’s and strikers in counter attacks. Gross is slow.

Nuno, Poch, Rafa and Guardiola would love it.

Pace and mobility is everything in the PL.

 

[DJ NOBO]

Propper left advanced will lead to cricket scores against us.

Kayal, Dunk and Duffy left alone to mark entire CM’s and strikers in counter attacks. Gross is slow.

Nuno, Poch, Rafa and Guardiola would love it.

Pace and mobility is everything in the PL.

Some wise sages on nsc say Propper is a bit special if only he was moved a little further forward by killjoy hughton .
Yep, I don’t buy it either.
He’s gash.
But we have what we have . And we don’t have.......pace

 

[BensGrandad]

Both Propper and Stephens do their job usually very well and yes they have had off days recently but this is a witch hunt against them with no foundation. Our Problems is the defence is not performing as they did and as a result we are all held back which means they strike force effectiveness is reduced. It all stems from the back 4.

 

[SIMMO SAYS]

Both Propper and Stephens do their job usually very well and yes they have had off days recently but this is a witch hunt against them with no foundation. Our Problems is the defence is not performing as they did and as a result we are all held back which means they strike force effectiveness is reduced. It all stems from the back 4.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

I think most of his detractors do judge him on his role and how he performs it. I know I do!

I don't rate him, never have, in the Championship he was average but in the Premier League he is totally out of his depth and the last two games he has gone missing in action.

I feel he always is one tackle away from a red card, his decision making and movement on the ball is slow so he often gets dispossessed. When he loses the ball, he gets frustrated and tackles rashly to try and redeem himself, often resulting in a booking and it has been know a red card. The resulting free kick away is often in a dangerous position which puts undue pressure on our defenders.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on the first point. I've read loads of comments criticising him for not doing things he's not in the team to do,

If you do judge him on his actual role in the team and still don't rate him, fair enough. I think you're wrong, I think the stats (for what they're worth) back me up, but ultimately the difference is just our opinions.

 

[heathgate]

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.

You have to play shite first to attract moans and groans ...

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[Bold Seagull]

You have to play shite first to attract moans and groans ...

That really isn't true. There are some people who get it into their heads that a player isn't good enough, and that's it, they've made that decision for life. People boo'd Ashley Barnes FFS, and most of us saw what he brought to the side, hell he's gone onto to be bloody effective in the Premier League and there were the boo brigade who didn't think he was good enough for League One!

 

[Stat Brother]

That really isn't true. There are some people who get it into their heads that a player isn't good enough, and that's it, they've made that decision for life. People boo'd Ashley Barnes FFS, and most of us saw what he brought to the side, hell he's gone onto to be bloody effective in the Premier League and there were the boo brigade who didn't think he was good enough for League One!

Seemingly players can be playing shite as the referee takes the whistle from his mouth.

 

[Commander]

I get why we need a player like Stephens. I get what he does for the team. Every team needs a player of that sort. We just need a much better one.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I get why we need a player like Stephens. I get what he does for the team. Every team needs a player of that sort. We just need a much better one.

You could say that for every position right now to be fair.

 

[FIVESTEPS]

Is his poor form down to a change in family circumstances?

 

[Commander]

You could say that for every position right now to be fair.

True. But I'd start with him.