was there this much panic when jenkinson left 17 months ago? we needed to sell carl for squad improvements yes but cp also said he would never stand in a players way IF he wants to play at a higher level. imo i don't think solly wants to leave but if stephens wants to go and we could do with the money to pay a few debts off then so be it. no need to panic as premier league buy lower league players all the time and its not like we haven't done it before. look at our history - minto, lee, bowyer, mills, parker, bent, shelvey, jenkinson have all gone as the player is happy to go and the price has been right.
The Hull no4 on Saturday was a much smarter footballer than Dale and I'd much sooner have someone like that in our team. Bradley Pritchard is better suited in that position, IMHO. I'm not surprised Dale is being sold. Isn't the strategy of the board to develop our own players or buy young talent at a knockdown price and sell for a profit?
I heard that Villa bid for Dale and West Ham have bid for Solly yesterday. The same source said and has mentioned it before that we have been offering Waggy to other clubs.
Isn't the strategy of the board to develop our own players or buy young talent at a knockdown price and sell for a profit?
Right. Doesn't purchasing a player's contract at £375,000 a season ago and selling the player's rights a year later for (potentially) nearly three times that amount demonstrate both good business and good talent evaluation (leaving aside how positively it reflects on player management and development)?
Spot on NLA. IMO, he loses the ball too often, is slow and, in most games I've seen, he's anonymous. Take the money I say. If we had to sell 1 from Saturdays starting 11, he'd be top of my list
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".
Agree. People said he'd be better suited to the Champ than League 1. Very early on but I'd say he's done ok, nothing more or less, and from the looks of things isn't going to find this level easier.
Prem midfielders will be bigger, quicker, stronger, they're not going to sit back and give him time on the ball.
Whether he's missed is all down the quality of replacement.
The Hull no4 on Saturday was a much smarter footballer than Dale and I'd much sooner have someone like that in our team. Bradley Pritchard is better suited in that position, IMHO. I'm not surprised Dale is being sold. Isn't the strategy of the board to develop our own players or buy young talent at a knockdown price and sell for a profit?
No, the board have never said what their strategy is. People on here like to think that is the policy when in reality the board have told us nothing just like they'll tell us nothing about these supposed sales.
was there this much panic when jenkinson left 17 months ago? we needed to sell carl for squad improvements yes but cp also said he would never stand in a players way IF he wants to play at a higher level. imo i don't think solly wants to leave but if stephens wants to go and we could do with the money to pay a few debts off then so be it. no need to panic as premier league buy lower league players all the time and its not like we haven't done it before. look at our history - minto, lee, bowyer, mills, parker, bent, shelvey, jenkinson have all gone as the player is happy to go and the price has been right.
I heard that Villa bid for Dale and West Ham have bid for Solly yesterday. The same source said and has mentioned it before that we have been offering Waggy to other clubs.
Hasn't Big Sam already said that West Ham have finished buying and are only looking at loans?
There have been sources quoted that claimed that Baldock to us was a done deal for example. Stephens brother on twitter is now distancing himself from the rumour. Maybe Villa have bid, does it mean he will go though?
I really like dale and it would be a real shame if he went. if we are financially up the spout and solly and dale go then we need Powell to work miracles. If he persuaded reo coker to join as a replacement for dale how would people feel? And maybe young for solly ?
Reo-Coker?!?!?!?!!? I mentioned his name from the free transfer list a couple of weeks ago as a joke! He's in a self imposed retirement apparently, and would have been on about 35k a week at Bolton, no chance in hell of him joining us imo
I guess Powell knows reo coker from whu. i think he'd have to take a wage cut for sure! But he's relatively local and it might just be the route back onto the game he needs.
ive been reading some comments here and i cant believe why anyone would think that £1 million isnt enough for stephens, he is a good player no doubt about it but i would certainly take 1 million as it can be used to improve the squad. i would also rather take 1 million for stephens than 2.5 for solly
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.
I like Stephens but I don't think he's as important to the team as you suggest. Last year when Stephens got injured, the pairing of Hollands and Hughes in midfield allowed Hollands to get forward and show just how devastating he can be in that role. We went on a fantastic run of form, played exceptionally well and scored 20 goals in 6 games before Hughes was inexplicably dropped in favour of Russell. And we kept the ball magnificently.
I'm not sure I agree he keeps things ticking along - for me he tends to slow down our game, and his passing is inconsistent. For every great pass there's a cheap giveaway, and this was epitomised during the Hull game. But he's a developing player, and a year or two at Championship level might see him become the game-running player I think he has the potential to be. This is why he's no Parker, because Scotty had been running games for a couple of years by Dale's age.
One thing that stood out for me last year was that given the strength of our midfield we often won games despite conceding the possession stats. I think Stephens has started well, and I'd be sad to see him leave too, but I think Hollands is the better and more valuable player for us and we might actually get him into his best role if Stephens wasn't there. That's a consolation if he does go rather than a reason to lose him, of course
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.
I like Stephens but I don't think he's as important to the team as you suggest. Last year when Stephens got injured, the pairing of Hollands and Hughes in midfield allowed Hollands to get forward and show just how devastating he can be in that role. We went on a fantastic run of form, played exceptionally well and scored 20 goals in 6 games before Hughes was inexplicably dropped in favour of Russell. And we kept the ball magnificently.
I'm not sure I agree he keeps things ticking along - for me he tends to slow down our game, and his passing is inconsistent. For every great pass there's a cheap giveaway, and this was epitomised during the Hull game. But he's a developing player, and a year or two at Championship level might see him become the game-running player I think he has the potential to be. This is why he's no Parker, because Scotty had been running games for a couple of years by Dale's age.
One thing that stood out for me last year was that given the strength of our midfield we often won games despite conceding the possession stats. I think Stephens has started well, and I'd be sad to see him leave too, but I think Hollands is the better and more valuable player for us and we might actually get him into his best role if Stephens wasn't there. That's a consolation if he does go rather than a reason to lose him, of course
I'd rather sell Stephens than Solly. With Stephens there is a lot of potential and i can see him being a good player but i just feel he does go missing for a lot of games (as proved last season). I also think that replacing Stephens would be a lot easier than replacing Solly. If we need the money, which it does sound like we do, then i could live with this sale and wish him all the luck in the Premiership.
I also think that replacing Stephens would be a lot easier than replacing Solly.
except we have already replaced Solly.
I don't think Wilson is good enough to replace Solly. Just my opinion.
based on the 90 minutes he played against Orient ?
Someone mentioned that he could be another Francis in terms of not being given a chance - looks like they were right ....
Very true. I've been quick to Judge. In the few moments i have seen him play he didn't look like he would/could tackle. Solly is a rock solid, battling right back... i don't see Wilson being the same type of player. Again just my opinion
Comments
Take the money I say.
If we had to sell 1 from Saturdays starting 11, he'd be top of my list
Prem midfielders will be bigger, quicker, stronger, they're not going to sit back and give him time on the ball.
Whether he's missed is all down the quality of replacement.
There have been sources quoted that claimed that Baldock to us was a done deal for example. Stephens brother on twitter is now distancing himself from the rumour. Maybe Villa have bid, does it mean he will go though?
Lets wait and see.
he is a good player no doubt about it but i would certainly take 1 million as it can be used to improve the squad. i would also rather take 1 million for stephens
than 2.5 for solly
I'm not sure I agree he keeps things ticking along - for me he tends to slow down our game, and his passing is inconsistent. For every great pass there's a cheap giveaway, and this was epitomised during the Hull game. But he's a developing player, and a year or two at Championship level might see him become the game-running player I think he has the potential to be. This is why he's no Parker, because Scotty had been running games for a couple of years by Dale's age.
One thing that stood out for me last year was that given the strength of our midfield we often won games despite conceding the possession stats. I think Stephens has started well, and I'd be sad to see him leave too, but I think Hollands is the better and more valuable player for us and we might actually get him into his best role if Stephens wasn't there. That's a consolation if he does go rather than a reason to lose him, of course
Hope I'm wrong if we sign him though
Someone mentioned that he could be another Francis in terms of not being given a chance - looks like they were right ....