I'd rather we sold Wagstaff or Green, and played 433 with Kermorgant, BWP and Cook/Haynes up top, and JJ, Stephens and Hollands in a midfield 3, but there you go.
Under rated player, is stronger in the tackle than many realise, and has a great pass and shot on him. His only real weakness I have seen is a lack of pace, and a slight lack of urgency in his play
Well I'm not happy but I'll be less happy if it's not reinvested on improving the team. If we lose three or four players this week and their replacements are not as good then we are seriously weakening the team. Time will tell.
Looks like his off judging by his tweets. Bad times
Could easily read that they've heard it on Sky rather than from Dale himself, and the wiki update can be done by anyone - no citation obviously. That said, doesn't look good for Stephens staying does it.
I know wiki can somehow be changed by anyone but reading his brothers/cousins tweets saying 'you will find out soon' re-tweeting a message which says he could be a premier league player this time next week. I'm guessing he knows something.
Button would be free if Sullivan goes on loan. Stephens is well worth selling for that kind of money as long as we put money back in to get some quality back.
I like the idea of bringing Jackson into CM and bringing a winger in.
Well I'm not happy but I'll be less happy if it's not reinvested on improving the team. If we lose three or four players this week and their replacements are not as good then we are seriously weakening the team. Time will tell.
This. If stephens and solly are sold then the title winning team is being broken up and the one thing we have in our favour - team spirit - will be seriously dented.
I would prefer we kept him but if he is the sacrifice needed so Chrissy can bring in other's similar to Jenkinson last season then so be it, i will start to seriously worry if the money is no where to be seen and he is followed out the dorr by Solly and maybe others.
Well I'm not happy but I'll be less happy if it's not reinvested on improving the team. If we lose three or four players this week and their replacements are not as good then we are seriously weakening the team. Time will tell.
This. If stephens and solly are sold then the title winning team is being broken up and the one thing we have in our favour - team spirit - will be seriously dented.
Although I agree I get the impression Stephens isn't as much part of the dressing room 'clique' as many others. There were also rumours that he wanted to move back up north a little while ago,
Very surprised to hear of Premiership interest in Stephens. He's got excellent technique and has a work rate and willingness to get stuck in to go with it, but Scoham is right - he is a very frustrating player. He can ping a lovely cross-field ball or through ball but can also be very prone to mis-placed passes. Has a great shot on him, but has missed some good chances and doesn't get into the box as much as an attacking midfielder should.
To be fair to him, his best position is probably as a deep lying playmaker and in a well balanced 5 man midfield he could be a good player, but he isn't Premiership standard yet and is going to be a later developer if he is going to reach that level.
I think 1m would be a reasonable price - he's nothing particularly special right now and even if he has the potential needs a lot of work to be a top player, imho.
Never nice selling players who are in your first team, but as I've stated before I think Pritch and Hollands work better as a pair. The concern would be is we're a bit thin on the ground for centre mids already and can ill afford to lose one without at least one, and idally two good, replacements coming in.
Well that's a surprise. I'm a fan of Stephens and I reckon he could be very good at this level, however Prem? No way but he could develop like Shelvey.
I would be very upset if we lost him but realistically if we get a good price for him (1 million plus at least with sell on clause etc) it won't be the end of the world and hopefully the board will re-invest the funds from the sale in the team .
If Stephens (or I suppose theoretically anyone) is replaced by someone better suited to our present needs for the right money I'm very happy. If he's not replaced by someone better then I'm not happy.
Blades forum reckon he'll be gone by deadline. They also say he plays left wing. Didn't know that. Apparently he got 14 assists last season. Maybe plan is to move JJ inside and play Quinn on left.
If stephens going equals cash and Quinn, I think I'd be happy.
No offence to Stephens but if Villa are bringing him in - even as a squad player - then they are well and truly up shit creek.
The bloke is not even proven as a Championship player - he wasn't even a confirmed starter with us last season (as Hollands was) - so what does he bring to the table for a Premiership side?
Sorry, but if that is the level of player Villa are looking at bringing in then they already have one foot in the CCC for next season.
macauley stephens @m_stephens8 Can't believe rumours saying I've said dales going I wOuldnt mind I'm on holiday and don't know anything so why so much bull?
If Stephens (or I suppose theoretically anyone) is replaced by someone better suited to our present needs for the right money I'm very happy. If he's not replaced by someone better then I'm not happy.
Exactly!
If we're going to sell our best players and not replace them (money binned by board) then i can't see anything other than a game of snakes and ladders for us. I.e dossing around the bottom or going back down to League One, maybe not this season but let's face it, even though we're unbeaten we didn't do anything against Hull and were lucky to beat Leicester.
Still need another Striker, miss far too many chances.
Button is highly rated and exactly the calibre of Goalie we need to challenge Hamer ,much better than Sully. As others have said I doubt Spurs would have put much of a fee on his head as he is their Fourth choice Keeper.
IF both Solly and Stephens go then it depends on who comes in .A Stephens out and Quinn in plus maybe a Prem loan midfielder might fit the bill as it would improve the squad .Another silver lining could be if we do owe a resale fee to Oldham then possibly that could see Leon Clarke off as well as they were interested before .
Similarly if Solly goes it would be his replacement that would dictate my view on the deal
It's always interesting the way football fans come out with nonsense like "X is better suited to the Premiership". That's actually code for "I've convinced myself this lad is brilliant but he keeps paying a bit mediocre but I don't want to admit he's not actually that special".
You never hear of a player signed from a higher division being greeted with "He's not as well suited to this level as the one above.", they're always a "quality signing with Premiership experience".
Stephens is our best player technically. His vision is second to none and apart from Pritchard, there's nobody else like him. Last season he got off to a brilliant start. He was my vote for POTY up until his injury. Then it all went downhill for him. I've not seen us yet this season due to work so I can't comment but the PL is definitely more suited to Stephens' style of play.
Is he ready? No. But he's young. I personally wouldn't take anything less than £1m for him.
Fans will want to hear an explanation as to why he he was sold (if he does end up leaving).
Dale is just as important to us as any other player. I would be very sad to see him leave.
In answer to the question above about would I rather other members of our first 11 leave then the answer is yes. definitely yes.
Firstly Stephens is still relatively young and has lots of time to get better. After a full season in the championship for us I think we'd be looking at more of a £2.5 million price tag - if not more.
Ball playing centre-mids are becoming increasingly important in the modern game. Lambert is trying to implement "good football" at Villa and sees Stephens as a cheap player capable of keeping the ball.
He's right.
I think the reason Stephens isn't as highly rated as other players amongst Charlton fans is because what he does isn't spectacular. He isn't storming down the field and flying into tackles like Parker, whipping in free kicks like Jensen or playing the killer through ball like Murphy (although he's done a few.)
Instead Stephens keeps us ticking over. And he does it very well. Just by getting the ball from defence and keeping it moving upfield, Stephens helps us dominate possession and asset sustained pressure on teams. Without Stephens in the team last year our defenders were far more prone to long balls or aimless punts.
I think his best performance in this regard, one that really convinced me of his quality was away to Huddersfield last season when he came on as a sub after Russell was sent off. Before that we hadn't created much at all in the game and had failed to put Huddersfield under any real pressure. When Stephens came on we suddenly found it much easier to keep the ball as Dale was picking up the ball from the defenders and playing accurate passes to the rest of our midfielders who could push up and find space. We absolutely dominated the last half hour and were very unlucky not to get a point.
If we're in such financial trouble that we are having to sell players why does anybody think that we will be using that money to bring in replacements ? Big mistake selling Stephens if true, a classy player & at 22 maybe not the finished article but is a good link between back 4 & rest of MF & strikers. If Villa rumours are true they're probably looking at the future rather than buying him to play in premier this season.
If we're in such financial trouble that we are having to sell players why does anybody think that we will be using that money to bring in replacements ? Big mistake selling Stephens if true, a classy player & at 22 maybe not the finished article but is a good link between back 4 & rest of MF & strikers. If Villa rumours are true they're probably looking at the future rather than buying him to play in premier this season.
If Aston Villa get relegated then they won't have much of a future.
Have a look at their squad, its full of youth products and has very few Premier League class players except for Given (36), Dunne (33), Bent and Agbonlahor with loads of fluffy fanny merchants like Ireland and Nzogbia.
If they went down they would find it very, very hard to get back because they have a huge operating expenditure and very few saleable assets apart from Bent.
If I were them I'd be buying players for NOW not the future.
If we have to sell which I believe we do then I'd much rather us sell Stephens than say Solly or Morro, of course no one wants to see any of last year's starting 11 go but if we need the money then so be it. I don't think Stephens will be that hard to replace whether it be a loan from the prem, signing player on small fee from league 1 or 2 or a free. Anthony Wordsworth, Akos Buzsaky,Stephen Gleeson or Marlon Pack would all be decent replacements imo and would surely be affordable if the £1million fee is true.
Comments
Under rated player, is stronger in the tackle than many realise, and has a great pass and shot on him. His only real weakness I have seen is a lack of pace, and a slight lack of urgency in his play
Name Appearances Average Top Three MoM
Chris Solly 44 7.39 20 10
Yann Kermorgant 34 7.35 18 7
Rhoys Wiggins 45 7.14 14 6
Michael Morrison 45 7.13 12 3
Matthew Taylor 38 7.02 6 1
Danny Hollands 43 6.98 11 2
Bradley Wright-Phillips 42 6.95 13 4
Johnnie Jackson 35 6.90 5 2
Ben Hamer 40 6.86 9 4
Dale Stephens 29 6.648 3 1
Danny Green 25 6.645 1 1
To be fair to him, his best position is probably as a deep lying playmaker and in a well balanced 5 man midfield he could be a good player, but he isn't Premiership standard yet and is going to be a later developer if he is going to reach that level.
I think 1m would be a reasonable price - he's nothing particularly special right now and even if he has the potential needs a lot of work to be a top player, imho.
Never nice selling players who are in your first team, but as I've stated before I think Pritch and Hollands work better as a pair. The concern would be is we're a bit thin on the ground for centre mids already and can ill afford to lose one without at least one, and idally two good, replacements coming in.
I would be very upset if we lost him but realistically if we get a good price for him (1 million plus at least with sell on clause etc) it won't be the end of the world and hopefully the board will re-invest the funds from the sale in the team .
Sad if one of them goes
trouble if they both go
If he's not replaced by someone better then I'm not happy.
In other news looks like Darel Russell is off to Portsmouth
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4158639/Football-Confidential-Latest-news-in-brief-from-across-English-football.html
http://m.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/sheffield-united-i-expect-stephen-quinn-to-leave-danny-wilson-1-4861130
Blades forum reckon he'll be gone by deadline.
They also say he plays left wing. Didn't know that. Apparently he got 14 assists last season. Maybe plan is to move JJ inside and play Quinn on left.
If stephens going equals cash and Quinn, I think I'd be happy.
The bloke is not even proven as a Championship player - he wasn't even a confirmed starter with us last season (as Hollands was) - so what does he bring to the table for a Premiership side?
Sorry, but if that is the level of player Villa are looking at bringing in then they already have one foot in the CCC for next season.
Can't believe rumours saying I've said dales going I wOuldnt mind I'm on holiday and don't know anything so why so much bull?
If we're going to sell our best players and not replace them (money binned by board) then i can't see anything other than a game of snakes and ladders for us.
I.e dossing around the bottom or going back down to League One, maybe not this season but let's face it, even though we're unbeaten we didn't do anything against Hull and were lucky to beat Leicester.
Still need another Striker, miss far too many chances.
So rumored a £1m bid for Dale Stephens? Pfft.
Button is highly rated and exactly the calibre of Goalie we need to challenge Hamer ,much better than Sully. As others have said I doubt Spurs would have put much of a fee on his head as he is their Fourth choice Keeper.
IF both Solly and Stephens go then it depends on who comes in .A Stephens out and Quinn in plus maybe a Prem loan midfielder might fit the bill as it would improve the squad .Another silver lining could be if we do owe a resale fee to Oldham then possibly that could see Leon Clarke off as well as they were interested before .
Similarly if Solly goes it would be his replacement that would dictate my view on the deal
You never hear of a player signed from a higher division being greeted with "He's not as well suited to this level as the one above.", they're always a "quality signing with Premiership experience".
Is he ready? No. But he's young. I personally wouldn't take anything less than £1m for him.
Fans will want to hear an explanation as to why he he was sold (if he does end up leaving).
In answer to the question above about would I rather other members of our first 11 leave then the answer is yes. definitely yes.
Firstly Stephens is still relatively young and has lots of time to get better. After a full season in the championship for us I think we'd be looking at more of a £2.5 million price tag - if not more.
Ball playing centre-mids are becoming increasingly important in the modern game. Lambert is trying to implement "good football" at Villa and sees Stephens as a cheap player capable of keeping the ball.
He's right.
I think the reason Stephens isn't as highly rated as other players amongst Charlton fans is because what he does isn't spectacular. He isn't storming down the field and flying into tackles like Parker, whipping in free kicks like Jensen or playing the killer through ball like Murphy (although he's done a few.)
Instead Stephens keeps us ticking over. And he does it very well. Just by getting the ball from defence and keeping it moving upfield, Stephens helps us dominate possession and asset sustained pressure on teams. Without Stephens in the team last year our defenders were far more prone to long balls or aimless punts.
I think his best performance in this regard, one that really convinced me of his quality was away to Huddersfield last season when he came on as a sub after Russell was sent off. Before that we hadn't created much at all in the game and had failed to put Huddersfield under any real pressure. When Stephens came on we suddenly found it much easier to keep the ball as Dale was picking up the ball from the defenders and playing accurate passes to the rest of our midfielders who could push up and find space. We absolutely dominated the last half hour and were very unlucky not to get a point.
It will be hard to replace him.
Big mistake selling Stephens if true, a classy player & at 22 maybe not the finished article but is a good link between back 4 & rest of MF & strikers. If Villa rumours are true they're probably looking at the future rather than buying him to play in premier this season.
Have a look at their squad, its full of youth products and has very few Premier League class players except for Given (36), Dunne (33), Bent and Agbonlahor with loads of fluffy fanny merchants like Ireland and Nzogbia.
If they went down they would find it very, very hard to get back because they have a huge operating expenditure and very few saleable assets apart from Bent.
If I were them I'd be buying players for NOW not the future.
Spends to long on the ball and often gets closed down and has to turn back
Is not quick enough across the ground
Brings very little to the team IMO
Up until the injury either fake or true last season he was keeping everything ticking over since he returned he has not been as good
Would rather lose him than Hollands
Think lambert has rocks for brains if he thinks he is ready to step up