[Albion] The undropable Dale Stephens

[portlock seagull]

There’s worse cover! Shows what a squad we have now. UTA!

 

[dazzer6666]

At this moment Stephens is a far more consistent performer than Bissouma. So Stephens should be brought back in.

......or, the more Bissouma plays, the more consistent he is likely to get.................

I love the dynamism we've seen (albeit patchy) with combos of Mooy, Propper, Bissouma and Alzate in midfield and happy to accept more frequent mistakes if we gain more overall. Looks so promising. Stephens absolutely still has a place though when tactics dictate

 

[Swansman]

He will get back in the line-up but in the long run he is nowhere near undroppable. He is tactically clever, a very decent passer but also generally an alibi player - if you want to be a top 10 team you need something else. That said his stability is very important in this transitional season and I'm fairly sure he will start most games. Bissouma is the better footballer but he lack the tactical understanding Stephens got.

Key player this year, part time next year and gone in two seems like a healthy development to me.

 

[Weststander]

He will get back in the line-up but in the long run he is nowhere near undroppable. He is tactically clever, a very decent passer but also generally an alibi player - if you want to be a top 10 team you need something else. That said his stability is very important in this transitional season and I'm fairly sure he will start most games. Bissouma is the better footballer but he lack the tactical understanding Stephens got.

Key player this year, part time next year and gone in two seems like a healthy development to me.

A top 10 team, would mean being in the company of spendaholics Leicester and Everton in the medium term.

In that case, I’d also argue that the following are NOT top 10 PL players, in that “healthy development”:

Gross
Montoya
Propper
Webster
Burn

Stephens was a key part of almost all our great 90 minute performances and results this season. I don’t see him being squeezed out of starting line ups anytime soon.

 

[Swansman]

A top 10 team, would mean being in the company of spendaholics Leicester and Everton in the medium term.

In that case, I’d also argue that the following are NOT top 10 PL players, in that “healthy development”:

Gross
Montoya
Propper
Webster
Burn

Stephens was a key part of almost all our great 90 minute performances and results this season. I don’t see him being squeezed out of starting line ups anytime soon.

I think Webster could develop into a great player but other than that I agree with that list and I think most of them will be gone after the summer.

 

[Justice]

Both Bissouma and Alzate had a poor game against Chelsea and the only reason I think for taking Mooy off instead of one of those was possible tiredness but why, he now has 10 days off if GP wants,.

Alzate is technically becoming one of our best players, the skill he has in tight areas is outstanding, often looks like he’s been a PL player for years.

 

[Weststander]

I think Webster could develop into a great player but other than that I agree with that list and I think most of them will be gone after the summer.

My guess would be over the next 4 transfer windows.

Subject obviously to staying up, and if TB really wants to go for it.

I know it’s good to aim high, but I’d be perfectly happy with comfortable mid-table with easy on the eye football.

 

[vagabond]

In almost all the matches that have put us in a great position to retain our PL status, our highly effective sitting CM was Dale Stephens:

Watford 0 - 3 Brighton
Newcastle 0 - 0 Brighton
Brighton 3 - 0 Spuds
Brighton 3 - 2 Everton
Arsenal 1 - 2 Brighton
Brighton 2 - 0 Norwich

A quality centre midfielder.

That seems to be looking at things the wrong way round.

What about the other 32 games?

 

[vagabond]

I like Dale, he’s a great pro. But he is not close to being elite enough to be ‘undroppable’. In fact our best away performance of the season was Palace where he wasn’t playing.

Getting a replacement for Dale is hopefully a long term focus for the club.

 

[Weststander]

That seems to be looking at things the wrong way round.

What about the other 32 games?

Let’s look back on those in May when they’ve all happened.

 

[Weststander]

I like Dale, he’s a great pro. But he is not close to being elite enough to be ‘undroppable’. In fact our best away performance of the season was Palace where he wasn’t playing.

Getting a replacement for Dale is hopefully a long term focus for the club.

Most NSC’ers believe there’s no need for that. Propper and Bissouma are our perfect CM for seasons to come.

 

[dazzer6666]

My guess would be over the next 4 transfer windows.

Subject obviously to staying up, and if TB really wants to go for it.

I know it’s good to aim high, but I’d be perfectly happy with comfortable mid-table with easy on the eye football.

Agree - that'd be way too radical for one window. Progressive improvement these days - 1/2 positions upgraded each window on average perhaps. Will be fascinating to see the starting line up in, say, 2 years time and see how many of the current squad (and current U23s) are in it.

 

[Weststander]

Agree - that'd be way too radical for one window. Progressive improvement these days - 1/2 positions upgraded each window on average perhaps. Will be fascinating to see the starting line up in, say, 2 years time and see how many of the current squad (and current U23s) are in it.

Meant genuinely - exciting times to be an Albion fan.

With the usual proviso, we must stay up this season first.

 

[dazzer6666]

Meant genuinely - exciting times to be an Albion fan.

With the usual proviso, we must stay up this season first.

I'm (perhaps unrealistically) confident about that. I think Potter is learning and adapting to the PL at a rapid rate (from a good starting position) and the players are equally getting increasingly confident about his systems and tactics. He's even turned Ali into something resembling a footballer FFS I think we'll get more points in the second half of the season than the first.

 

[Icy Gull]

I hold my hand up to thinking losing Stephens would be a bad thing, as it turns out it hasn’t been so far

 

[Nixonator]

Some people on here really don't understand how our team works. We generally play some variation on 4-2-2-2 or 3-4-3 where we have a holding midfielder (or two) in front of the defence.

Stephens is a holding midfielder who is generally comfortable on the ball and links the defence to the rest of the midfield and attack. When he is not playing, we always seem to find it harder to break the press being put on the defense from goal kicks etc. He also provides defensive cover as shown in the recent stats that he has more interceptions than anyone else in the team.

Last season especially, the problem was he had nobody to pass to ahead of him so often had to go back - this season, he now has options and his passing is now more forward than not.

Bissouma is a more attacking player but not really suited to the defensive role. Likewise, although listed as a midfielder, Mooy has been playing more in an attacking role so again is not really a Stephens replacement. Propper can play this role and has done so quite well but is better further forward.

At the moment, I still believe Stephens is key to how we play but he isn't getting any younger and we need to find a longer term replacement for that role. Molumby could well be the long term option from what I have seen of him in the u23s - Mac Allister seems to be more of a Gross replacement if he ever gets here.

Sadly, there are always a number of our fans who need someone to moan about and Stephens is one of the current scapegoats along with Montoya.

Unfortunately your well balanced post will be lost on most of the Stephens critics, I'd be surprised if they got through your first sentence. I've tried to make similar arguments in the past but you'll always get some numpty insisting that x player is just as good in his role, I even had Gross suggested to me in the past who has never played a single minute of football there

That said, he is most definitely not averse to the odd stinker and has rightly been dropped now we can afford to, with a better squad and a more dynamic manager. In the past he would have kept his place regardless of form. Many are criticising him for his Shef United performance, personally I was most angry with him in the Cardiff home game last year.

Propper is decent in that role but he lacks the graft and discipline that Dale brings. Propper takes risks, for better or worse, after which we have to hope and pray the opposition don't capitalise. In addition, as you quite rightly said, Propper is a better and more useful player deployed further forward.

I'd be surprised if Bissouma will be cut out for a holding role long term. He does ok against lesser opposition but was woeful in the recent game against Chelsea. I'm confident the Stephens replacement (whenever it will be) will be sourced from the market and will be in a similar mould.

As has been mentioned on this thread, it's not gone unnoticed how the 'Stephens replacement' topic seems a lot more comfortable for (some) people to talk about than any of our other players, who would also need to be replaced if we are aiming to be more comfortable in this division. So there is still an exasperating impartiality when talking about one of our most consistent performers during the best albion years of many lifetimes, with 200+ appearances, who has captain'd us on the field and instrumental in our upturn of fortunes.

 

[Weststander]

I hold my hand up to thinking losing Stephens would be a bad thing, as it turns out it hasn’t been so far

Out of a sample of 2:

Bmuff - Bissouma & Propper excellent.
Chelsea - Bissouma & Propper hopeless.

 

[Milano]

Out of a sample of 2:

Bmuff - Bissouma & Propper excellent.
Chelsea - Bissouma & Propper hopeless.

Palace - Bissouma & Propper excellent.

 

[Weststander]

Palace - Bissouma & Propper excellent.

And the 8 matches where Stephens was brilliant in his role. Sssshhh, let’s sweep those under the carpet