[Albion] Stephens to Burnley (deal now confirmed)

zefarelly · Sep 25, 2020

Trevor said:
Haven't read through much of this. Guessing several people have already made a crack about it being a sideways move

It's kind of up, down and sideways all in one . . . . maybe the bottom line was he's closer to his home roots ? Burnley are a smaller club but are currently shooting higher, although that may change . . . also we're developing and he could probably see limited opportunity, as opposed to being higher in the pecking order @ Burnley. Good luck Dale, you've been a good servant to the club, especially the cross field ( slightly forward) pass to AK @ Palace

The Large One · Sep 25, 2020

https://albionroar.wordpress.com/2020/09/24/thank-you-dale/

When asked about it shortly after he retired, Eric Cantona said of all the personal and team accolades he won during his career in France and England, the one that meant most to him was winning the PFA Player of the Year Award.

His reasoning was that it’s one thing for a public vote to award him an accolade, or for sports writers to gather in a huddle and determine that best player, but it was receiving an award from his peers that meant most. His fellow professionals, he mused, knew what it took to make it to the top, and the work involved. To be recognised by his peers was the pinnacle of professional pride.

Dale Stephens, en route to Burnley after six years at Brighton, is another player recognised by his peers. And yet it was at his own club where he was mercilessly, relentlessly and misguidedly unappreciated by a sizeable - maybe even the majority - proportion of supporters.

“He only ever goes backwards or sideways” was the constant, and provably mistaken grumble. “He doesn’t add anything to the game…” “He always gives the ball away…”

So little was he appreciated that he never once made it onto the shortlist for Player of the Season at Brighton, and yet twice he made it into the Top 15 for PFA Championship Player of the Season. This includes the season his midfield partner, Beram Kayal won Brighton Player of the Season in 2016. While we as fans voted for the Israeli, Stephens was considered the sixth best player in the division (and Brighton’s best) by fellow professionals. His peers knew and understood.

Not every voice in the Brighton crowd was a dissenting one, of course not. Many could see his worth, and those who didn’t soon realised it when he was dropped or suspended. A Dale Stephens-shaped hole in the middle of midfield is a difficult one to fill. And so back he came, filled the space, and the grumbles would fire up again.

There were those who, when newly-promoted Burnley wanted to take Dale Stephens off our hands for £8m, who’d have driven him up there. I mean, seriously? ‘Surely this bid was too good for Brighton to turn down?’ There were even those who assumed that, because of this bid, Stephens wanted to go. Words fail me.

Wiser and calmer heads prevailed. If Tony Bloom doesn’t want to sell, he won’t sell. Burnley had put £8m on the table. But what is £8m ‘now’ compared to ‘£150m a year’ later? Tony knew that by rejecting the bid, and keeping Stephens, he would vastly increase his chances of achieving the dream of promotion to the Premier League. More importantly, his absence would have severely scuppered it. One thing anyone learns is playing a game of bluff against The Lizard King rarely pays off.

While that £8m looks a pitiful bid now, if anyone wants to debate the merits of £1.5m in 2020, versus £8m in 2016 - I’ll point you to the massive part he played in securing hundreds of millions for the Albion, by being a huge part in a major success on the pitch for the club. His exit in 2016 would almost certainly have been seen as poor a decision as Glenn Murray’s exit in 2011. Yeah, that bad.

And so it proved. Dale Stephens - through both the promotion years (under old promotion rules, Brighton would have been promoted a year earlier), was in the middle of everything good. The formidable midfield partnerships ‘Stephens / Kayal’, ‘Stephens / Sidwell’, and later ‘Stephens / Propper’ were all so much weaker if you’d have taken ‘Stephens’ out of the equation.

He put in some stellar performances in the Premier League too - the most notable being the home win over Arsenal in 2018/19.

He leaves the Brighton midfield in a far better shape than he found it, and that is in no small part to his style of play, his leadership and his tenacity in the stripes. He was, on more than one occasion, also asked to captain the team - a role he fulfilled as though he was born to it. He would have played this role more often - if Bruno and Dunk hadn’t been ahead of him in the queue.

In his place is a younger, more agile, differently-versed midfield - one with guile and speed, as well as that same energy, skill and bite. And it is a midfield which Stephens has done more than his bit to help craft. So much has he raised the bar of understanding what’s required that, in those six years, I’d be inclined to consider him alongside Brian Horton, Danny Wilson and Jimmy Case as our best leader-midfielders ever.

It’s quite right that people should feel a sense of nostalgia for something incredible that happened to our club just three and a half years ago, and that that ‘incredible something’ has all but been dispersed - though thankfully for something better in its place. Knockaert’s loan, then sale to Fulham; Bruno’s retirement; Duffy to Celtic; Murphy and Goldson to Rangers and so on.

But for me, Stephens’ exit is the sad one, albeit probably the right one. It’s not that it’s only March and Dunk left. It’s that, in Dale Stephens, we had one of the best midfielders in one of the best Brighton teams in this time or any other. And I mean that whether going forwards, backwards or sideways. But mostly - upwards.

Thank you for everything Dale. We wish you a tiny amount of success at Burnley.

Oh, and you’re still f*cking wrong, The Complete And Utter Shyster…

Is it PotG? · Sep 25, 2020

The Large One said:
https://albionroar.wordpress.com/2020/09/24/thank-you-dale/

When asked about it shortly after he retired, Eric Cantona said of all the personal and team accolades he won during his career in France and England, the one that meant most to him was winning the PFA Player of the Year Award.

His reasoning was that it’s one thing for a public vote to award him an accolade, or for sports writers to gather in a huddle and determine that best player, but it was receiving an award from his peers that meant most. His fellow professionals, he mused, knew what it took to make it to the top, and the work involved. To be recognised by his peers was the pinnacle of professional pride.

Dale Stephens, en route to Burnley after six years at Brighton, is another player recognised by his peers. And yet it was at his own club where he was mercilessly, relentlessly and misguidedly unappreciated by a sizeable - maybe even the majority - proportion of supporters.

“He only ever goes backwards or sideways” was the constant, and provably mistaken grumble. “He doesn’t add anything to the game…” “He always gives the ball away…”

So little was he appreciated that he never once made it onto the shortlist for Player of the Season at Brighton, and yet twice he made it into the Top 15 for PFA Championship Player of the Season. This includes the season his midfield partner, Beram Kayal won Brighton Player of the Season in 2016. While we as fans voted for the Israeli, Stephens was considered the sixth best player in the division (and Brighton’s best) by fellow professionals. His peers knew and understood.

Not every voice in the Brighton crowd was a dissenting one, of course not. Many could see his worth, and those who didn’t soon realised it when he was dropped or suspended. A Dale Stephens-shaped hole in the middle of midfield is a difficult one to fill. And so back he came, filled the space, and the grumbles would fire up again.

There were those who, when newly-promoted Burnley wanted to take Dale Stephens off our hands for £8m, who’d have driven him up there. I mean, seriously? ‘Surely this bid was too good for Brighton to turn down?’ There were even those who assumed that, because of this bid, Stephens wanted to go. Words fail me.

Wiser and calmer heads prevailed. If Tony Bloom doesn’t want to sell, he won’t sell. Burnley had put £8m on the table. But what is £8m ‘now’ compared to ‘£150m a year’ later? Tony knew that by rejecting the bid, and keeping Stephens, he would vastly increase his chances of achieving the dream of promotion to the Premier League. More importantly, his absence would have severely scuppered it. One thing anyone learns is playing a game of bluff against The Lizard King rarely pays off.

While that £8m looks a pitiful bid now, if anyone wants to debate the merits of £1.5m in 2020, versus £8m in 2016 - I’ll point you to the massive part he played in securing hundreds of millions for the Albion, by being a huge part in a major success on the pitch for the club. His exit in 2016 would almost certainly have been seen as poor a decision as Glenn Murray’s exit in 2011. Yeah, that bad.

And so it proved. Dale Stephens - through both the promotion years (under old promotion rules, Brighton would have been promoted a year earlier), Dale Stephens was in the middle of everything good. The formidable midfield partnerships ‘Stephens / Kayal’, ‘Stephens / Sidwell’, and later ‘Stephens / Propper’ were all so much weaker if you’d have taken ‘Stephens’ out of the equation.

He put in some stellar performances in the Premier League too - the most notable being the home win over Arsenal in 2018/19.

He leaves the Brighton midfield in a far better shape than he found it, and that is in no small part to his style of play, his leadership and his tenacity in the stripes. He was, on more than one occasion, also asked to captain the team - a role he fulfilled as though he was born to it. He would have played this role more often - if Bruno and Dunk hadn’t been ahead of him in the queue.

In his place is a younger, more agile, differently-versed midfield - one with guile and speed, as well as that same energy, skill and bite. And it is a midfield which Stephens has done more than his bit to help craft. So much has he raised the bar of understanding what’s required that, in those six years, I’d be inclined to consider him alongside Brian Horton, Danny Wilson and Jimmy Case as our best leader-midfielders ever.

It’s quite right that people should feel a sense of nostalgia for something incredible that happened to our club just three and a half years ago, and that that ‘incredible something’ has all but been dispersed - though thankfully for something better in its place. Knockaert’s loan, then sale to Fulham; Bruno’s retirement; Duffy to Celtic; Murphy and Goldson to Rangers and so on.

But for me, Stephens’ exit is the sad one, albeit probably the right one. It’s not that it’s only March and Dunk left. It’s that, in Dale Stephens, we had one of the best midfielders in one of the best Brighton teams in this time or any other. And I mean that whether going forwards, backwards or sideways. But mostly - upwards.

Thank you for everything Dale. We wish you a tiny amount of success at Burnley.

Oh, and you’re still f*cking wrong, The Complete And Utter Shyster…

100% spot on.

Thunder Bolt · Sep 25, 2020

The Large One said:
https://albionroar.wordpress.com/2020/09/24/thank-you-dale/

When asked about it shortly after he retired, Eric Cantona said of all the personal and team accolades he won during his career in France and England, the one that meant most to him was winning the PFA Player of the Year Award.

His reasoning was that it’s one thing for a public vote to award him an accolade, or for sports writers to gather in a huddle and determine that best player, but it was receiving an award from his peers that meant most. His fellow professionals, he mused, knew what it took to make it to the top, and the work involved. To be recognised by his peers was the pinnacle of professional pride.

Dale Stephens, en route to Burnley after six years at Brighton, is another player recognised by his peers. And yet it was at his own club where he was mercilessly, relentlessly and misguidedly unappreciated by a sizeable - maybe even the majority - proportion of supporters.

“He only ever goes backwards or sideways” was the constant, and provably mistaken grumble. “He doesn’t add anything to the game…” “He always gives the ball away…”

So little was he appreciated that he never once made it onto the shortlist for Player of the Season at Brighton, and yet twice he made it into the Top 15 for PFA Championship Player of the Season. This includes the season his midfield partner, Beram Kayal won Brighton Player of the Season in 2016. While we as fans voted for the Israeli, Stephens was considered the sixth best player in the division (and Brighton’s best) by fellow professionals. His peers knew and understood.

Not every voice in the Brighton crowd was a dissenting one, of course not. Many could see his worth, and those who didn’t soon realised it when he was dropped or suspended. A Dale Stephens-shaped hole in the middle of midfield is a difficult one to fill. And so back he came, filled the space, and the grumbles would fire up again.

There were those who, when newly-promoted Burnley wanted to take Dale Stephens off our hands for £8m, who’d have driven him up there. I mean, seriously? ‘Surely this bid was too good for Brighton to turn down?’ There were even those who assumed that, because of this bid, Stephens wanted to go. Words fail me.

Wiser and calmer heads prevailed. If Tony Bloom doesn’t want to sell, he won’t sell. Burnley had put £8m on the table. But what is £8m ‘now’ compared to ‘£150m a year’ later? Tony knew that by rejecting the bid, and keeping Stephens, he would vastly increase his chances of achieving the dream of promotion to the Premier League. More importantly, his absence would have severely scuppered it. One thing anyone learns is playing a game of bluff against The Lizard King rarely pays off.

While that £8m looks a pitiful bid now, if anyone wants to debate the merits of £1.5m in 2020, versus £8m in 2016 - I’ll point you to the massive part he played in securing hundreds of millions for the Albion, by being a huge part in a major success on the pitch for the club. His exit in 2016 would almost certainly have been seen as poor a decision as Glenn Murray’s exit in 2011. Yeah, that bad.

And so it proved. Dale Stephens - through both the promotion years (under old promotion rules, Brighton would have been promoted a year earlier), was in the middle of everything good. The formidable midfield partnerships ‘Stephens / Kayal’, ‘Stephens / Sidwell’, and later ‘Stephens / Propper’ were all so much weaker if you’d have taken ‘Stephens’ out of the equation.

He put in some stellar performances in the Premier League too - the most notable being the home win over Arsenal in 2018/19.

He leaves the Brighton midfield in a far better shape than he found it, and that is in no small part to his style of play, his leadership and his tenacity in the stripes. He was, on more than one occasion, also asked to captain the team - a role he fulfilled as though he was born to it. He would have played this role more often - if Bruno and Dunk hadn’t been ahead of him in the queue.

In his place is a younger, more agile, differently-versed midfield - one with guile and speed, as well as that same energy, skill and bite. And it is a midfield which Stephens has done more than his bit to help craft. So much has he raised the bar of understanding what’s required that, in those six years, I’d be inclined to consider him alongside Brian Horton, Danny Wilson and Jimmy Case as our best leader-midfielders ever.

It’s quite right that people should feel a sense of nostalgia for something incredible that happened to our club just three and a half years ago, and that that ‘incredible something’ has all but been dispersed - though thankfully for something better in its place. Knockaert’s loan, then sale to Fulham; Bruno’s retirement; Duffy to Celtic; Murphy and Goldson to Rangers and so on.

But for me, Stephens’ exit is the sad one, albeit probably the right one. It’s not that it’s only March and Dunk left. It’s that, in Dale Stephens, we had one of the best midfielders in one of the best Brighton teams in this time or any other. And I mean that whether going forwards, backwards or sideways. But mostly - upwards.

Thank you for everything Dale. We wish you a tiny amount of success at Burnley.

Oh, and you’re still f*cking wrong, The Complete And Utter Shyster…

Well said.
I heard Calde say, Dale Stephens was the best player in the club, at the time.

Grombleton · Sep 25, 2020

The Large One said:
https://albionroar.wordpress.com/2020/09/24/thank-you-dale/

When asked about it shortly after he retired, Eric Cantona said of all the personal and team accolades he won during his career in France and England, the one that meant most to him was winning the PFA Player of the Year Award.

His reasoning was that it’s one thing for a public vote to award him an accolade, or for sports writers to gather in a huddle and determine that best player, but it was receiving an award from his peers that meant most. His fellow professionals, he mused, knew what it took to make it to the top, and the work involved. To be recognised by his peers was the pinnacle of professional pride.

Dale Stephens, en route to Burnley after six years at Brighton, is another player recognised by his peers. And yet it was at his own club where he was mercilessly, relentlessly and misguidedly unappreciated by a sizeable - maybe even the majority - proportion of supporters.

“He only ever goes backwards or sideways” was the constant, and provably mistaken grumble. “He doesn’t add anything to the game…” “He always gives the ball away…”

So little was he appreciated that he never once made it onto the shortlist for Player of the Season at Brighton, and yet twice he made it into the Top 15 for PFA Championship Player of the Season. This includes the season his midfield partner, Beram Kayal won Brighton Player of the Season in 2016. While we as fans voted for the Israeli, Stephens was considered the sixth best player in the division (and Brighton’s best) by fellow professionals. His peers knew and understood.

Not every voice in the Brighton crowd was a dissenting one, of course not. Many could see his worth, and those who didn’t soon realised it when he was dropped or suspended. A Dale Stephens-shaped hole in the middle of midfield is a difficult one to fill. And so back he came, filled the space, and the grumbles would fire up again.

There were those who, when newly-promoted Burnley wanted to take Dale Stephens off our hands for £8m, who’d have driven him up there. I mean, seriously? ‘Surely this bid was too good for Brighton to turn down?’ There were even those who assumed that, because of this bid, Stephens wanted to go. Words fail me.

Wiser and calmer heads prevailed. If Tony Bloom doesn’t want to sell, he won’t sell. Burnley had put £8m on the table. But what is £8m ‘now’ compared to ‘£150m a year’ later? Tony knew that by rejecting the bid, and keeping Stephens, he would vastly increase his chances of achieving the dream of promotion to the Premier League. More importantly, his absence would have severely scuppered it. One thing anyone learns is playing a game of bluff against The Lizard King rarely pays off.

While that £8m looks a pitiful bid now, if anyone wants to debate the merits of £1.5m in 2020, versus £8m in 2016 - I’ll point you to the massive part he played in securing hundreds of millions for the Albion, by being a huge part in a major success on the pitch for the club. His exit in 2016 would almost certainly have been seen as poor a decision as Glenn Murray’s exit in 2011. Yeah, that bad.

And so it proved. Dale Stephens - through both the promotion years (under old promotion rules, Brighton would have been promoted a year earlier), was in the middle of everything good. The formidable midfield partnerships ‘Stephens / Kayal’, ‘Stephens / Sidwell’, and later ‘Stephens / Propper’ were all so much weaker if you’d have taken ‘Stephens’ out of the equation.

He put in some stellar performances in the Premier League too - the most notable being the home win over Arsenal in 2018/19.

He leaves the Brighton midfield in a far better shape than he found it, and that is in no small part to his style of play, his leadership and his tenacity in the stripes. He was, on more than one occasion, also asked to captain the team - a role he fulfilled as though he was born to it. He would have played this role more often - if Bruno and Dunk hadn’t been ahead of him in the queue.

In his place is a younger, more agile, differently-versed midfield - one with guile and speed, as well as that same energy, skill and bite. And it is a midfield which Stephens has done more than his bit to help craft. So much has he raised the bar of understanding what’s required that, in those six years, I’d be inclined to consider him alongside Brian Horton, Danny Wilson and Jimmy Case as our best leader-midfielders ever.

It’s quite right that people should feel a sense of nostalgia for something incredible that happened to our club just three and a half years ago, and that that ‘incredible something’ has all but been dispersed - though thankfully for something better in its place. Knockaert’s loan, then sale to Fulham; Bruno’s retirement; Duffy to Celtic; Murphy and Goldson to Rangers and so on.

But for me, Stephens’ exit is the sad one, albeit probably the right one. It’s not that it’s only March and Dunk left. It’s that, in Dale Stephens, we had one of the best midfielders in one of the best Brighton teams in this time or any other. And I mean that whether going forwards, backwards or sideways. But mostly - upwards.

Thank you for everything Dale. We wish you a tiny amount of success at Burnley.

Oh, and you’re still f*cking wrong, The Complete And Utter Shyster…

Nail. Head.

I was never Dale's biggest fan (not he was a terrible player by a long shot) but he was never the 'star' player - but he wasn't there to be that player. He was almost the metronome for us; kept things ticking over and moved the ball (cue sideways jokes...) on to the flair players to scare the defenders. I don't remember him having many 10/10 games but as well, I don't remember too many 1/10 games.
It's the right time for him to move on, but I like to think he'll be remembered well by us fans and we'll give him a good reception when we can attend matches and he returns to the Amex again.

darkwolf666 · Sep 25, 2020

Dick Swiveller said:
You had all the right words for a joke. But not necessarily in the right order. I'll give you that.

Yoda, am I...

Dick Swiveller · Sep 25, 2020

darkwolf666 said:
Yoda, am I...

I was actually going with

darkwolf666 · Sep 25, 2020

Dick Swiveller said:
I was actually going with

View attachment 128741

Doh, missed the Andrew Preview connection...!

PersianNYer15 · Sep 26, 2020

Icy Gull said:
Are you using Google translate for Albion midfielders names

You may not rate Stephens but you probably wouldn’t be watching Albion in the Premier League if he hadn’t been here

As what I presume is an Ali J fan, you will know that plenty haven’t rated him, and they were wrong, as are you about Stephens

It’s the damn autocorrect on my phone - apologies. Guess we’ll have to just agree to disagree

Mo Gosfield · Sep 26, 2020

The Large One said:
https://albionroar.wordpress.com/2020/09/24/thank-you-dale/

When asked about it shortly after he retired, Eric Cantona said of all the personal and team accolades he won during his career in France and England, the one that meant most to him was winning the PFA Player of the Year Award.

His reasoning was that it’s one thing for a public vote to award him an accolade, or for sports writers to gather in a huddle and determine that best player, but it was receiving an award from his peers that meant most. His fellow professionals, he mused, knew what it took to make it to the top, and the work involved. To be recognised by his peers was the pinnacle of professional pride.

Dale Stephens, en route to Burnley after six years at Brighton, is another player recognised by his peers. And yet it was at his own club where he was mercilessly, relentlessly and misguidedly unappreciated by a sizeable - maybe even the majority - proportion of supporters.

“He only ever goes backwards or sideways” was the constant, and provably mistaken grumble. “He doesn’t add anything to the game…” “He always gives the ball away…”

So little was he appreciated that he never once made it onto the shortlist for Player of the Season at Brighton, and yet twice he made it into the Top 15 for PFA Championship Player of the Season. This includes the season his midfield partner, Beram Kayal won Brighton Player of the Season in 2016. While we as fans voted for the Israeli, Stephens was considered the sixth best player in the division (and Brighton’s best) by fellow professionals. His peers knew and understood.

Not every voice in the Brighton crowd was a dissenting one, of course not. Many could see his worth, and those who didn’t soon realised it when he was dropped or suspended. A Dale Stephens-shaped hole in the middle of midfield is a difficult one to fill. And so back he came, filled the space, and the grumbles would fire up again.

There were those who, when newly-promoted Burnley wanted to take Dale Stephens off our hands for £8m, who’d have driven him up there. I mean, seriously? ‘Surely this bid was too good for Brighton to turn down?’ There were even those who assumed that, because of this bid, Stephens wanted to go. Words fail me.

Wiser and calmer heads prevailed. If Tony Bloom doesn’t want to sell, he won’t sell. Burnley had put £8m on the table. But what is £8m ‘now’ compared to ‘£150m a year’ later? Tony knew that by rejecting the bid, and keeping Stephens, he would vastly increase his chances of achieving the dream of promotion to the Premier League. More importantly, his absence would have severely scuppered it. One thing anyone learns is playing a game of bluff against The Lizard King rarely pays off.

While that £8m looks a pitiful bid now, if anyone wants to debate the merits of £1.5m in 2020, versus £8m in 2016 - I’ll point you to the massive part he played in securing hundreds of millions for the Albion, by being a huge part in a major success on the pitch for the club. His exit in 2016 would almost certainly have been seen as poor a decision as Glenn Murray’s exit in 2011. Yeah, that bad.

And so it proved. Dale Stephens - through both the promotion years (under old promotion rules, Brighton would have been promoted a year earlier), was in the middle of everything good. The formidable midfield partnerships ‘Stephens / Kayal’, ‘Stephens / Sidwell’, and later ‘Stephens / Propper’ were all so much weaker if you’d have taken ‘Stephens’ out of the equation.

He put in some stellar performances in the Premier League too - the most notable being the home win over Arsenal in 2018/19.

He leaves the Brighton midfield in a far better shape than he found it, and that is in no small part to his style of play, his leadership and his tenacity in the stripes. He was, on more than one occasion, also asked to captain the team - a role he fulfilled as though he was born to it. He would have played this role more often - if Bruno and Dunk hadn’t been ahead of him in the queue.

In his place is a younger, more agile, differently-versed midfield - one with guile and speed, as well as that same energy, skill and bite. And it is a midfield which Stephens has done more than his bit to help craft. So much has he raised the bar of understanding what’s required that, in those six years, I’d be inclined to consider him alongside Brian Horton, Danny Wilson and Jimmy Case as our best leader-midfielders ever.

It’s quite right that people should feel a sense of nostalgia for something incredible that happened to our club just three and a half years ago, and that that ‘incredible something’ has all but been dispersed - though thankfully for something better in its place. Knockaert’s loan, then sale to Fulham; Bruno’s retirement; Duffy to Celtic; Murphy and Goldson to Rangers and so on.

But for me, Stephens’ exit is the sad one, albeit probably the right one. It’s not that it’s only March and Dunk left. It’s that, in Dale Stephens, we had one of the best midfielders in one of the best Brighton teams in this time or any other. And I mean that whether going forwards, backwards or sideways. But mostly - upwards.

Thank you for everything Dale. We wish you a tiny amount of success at Burnley.

Oh, and you’re still f*cking wrong, The Complete And Utter Shyster…

Excellent post. An accurate and worthy critique.
Dale Stephens was a ' muck and bullets ' player in the engine room of our side. Never shirked a challenge, physically strong, mentally strong. He kept the side moving, ticking over. He was a fulcrum, a balancing point and a lot of play when through him. Good link man who knew what was going on around him.
I have to say his departure leaves me with a slightly heavy heart. Not that I didn't expect it at some stage. The squad is evolving and taking a new and different shape. We are looking more at pace, at mobility and at youth. That doesn't detract from Dale's qualities though and he leaves with my thanks for all he helped us to achieve. Amongst all those that have left for pastures new and were part of the journey getting out of the Championship and into the PL, Dale Stephens was right at the forefront. A solid and dependable leader. He is a good fit for Burnley and I wish him well.

amexer · Sep 26, 2020

good player over many seasons. Didnt have ability to turn games but very rarl y let us down. 7/10 most games but hardly ever a 4/5 or 8/9

peterward · Sep 26, 2020

amexer said:
good player over many seasons. Didnt have ability to turn games but very rarl y let us down. 7/10 most games but hardly ever a 4/5 or 8/9

Good player for us, always considered Dale for us as someone, who was more about breaking up and stopping opposition play, than as an ultra creative playmaker. ofc he was a playmaker at times, but breaking up opposing teams play and rythym was more his forte.

He was very good at it and took a lot of yellows for the team.

Questions · Sep 26, 2020

dwayne said:
I'm not having a pop at the club. It's a nice club that looks after players but it's just a shame that he's gone to bloody Burnley.

Sent from my SM-G977N using Tapatalk

The Asian writing on his shirt says.......‘ I have found my dream’

Bozza · Sep 26, 2020

He starts against Southampton tonight.

zefarelly · Sep 26, 2020

He's good enough, why not. It's only stains afterall

Really interested to see where/how he plays

Berty23 · Sep 26, 2020

I liked Stephens but it was time to go and I did see why some didn’t rate him. All that said I did raise an eye brow when the final kick of this match was Stephens playing a pass backwards when Burnley were chasing a goal. Quite amusing.

moggy · Sep 26, 2020

Love the player ratings from the Burnley fans

https://www.uptheclarets.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=50065

Rogero · Oct 31, 2020

I have just been on the Burnley forum and they do not rate Stephens at all. I did not watch todays game but apparently he was the worst player on the pitch and they got mugged for the one million pounds.

Springal · Oct 31, 2020

Rogero said:
I have just been on the Burnley forum and they do not rate Stephens at all. I did not watch todays game but apparently he was the worst player on the pitch and they got mugged for the one million pounds.

I to would be disappointed if Dale Stephens was my record signing

Farehamseagull · Oct 31, 2020

Rogero said:
I have just been on the Burnley forum and they do not rate Stephens at all. I did not watch todays game but apparently he was the worst player on the pitch and they got mugged for the one million pounds.

Least surprising post of the day.

It was always bizarre how many fans on here thought he was good enough the last couple of years. We should have moved him on at the end of 2017/2018.

Admirable but misplaced loyalty from club and fans.

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