portlock seagull
Why? Why us?
- Jul 28, 2003
- 17,163
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[Albion] The undropable Dale Stephens
- Thread starter Couldn't Be Hyypia
- Start date
......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
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.
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.
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
Dangerous Idiot
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.
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.
That seems to be looking at things the wrong way round.
What about the other 32 games?
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.
Getting a replacement for Dale is hopefully a long term focus for the club.
Let’s look back on those in May when they’ve all happened.
Most NSC’ers believe there’s no need for that. Propper and Bissouma are our perfect CM for seasons to come.
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.
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.
Nixonator
Well-known member
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.
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
Well-known member
Palace - Bissouma & Propper excellent.
And the 8 matches where Stephens was brilliant in his role. Sssshhh, let’s sweep those under the carpet