Jack Stephens - Saint or Sinner?

[Professor]

Did the ball just bounce off Stephen's thigh, so it wasn't his fault that it fell to the Watford No. 23, giving him a clear path to goal? I don't think so.

 

But if it was poor that Stephens failed to control the ball that came to him first, what seems to be worse, is that Stephens took the long way round by going outside of Sarr and then failed miserably to match the forward for pace. If only we had an experienced, international, Centre Back in the squad who could replace Stephens. Someone not only good enough to play for his country but experienced enough to captain his international team. If Southampton had a player like that, it would be so much better than the hapless Jack Stephens. But what's the use of dreaming. Hasenhutttl can only pick the players he has.......

[Red]

Did the ball just bounce off Stephen's thigh, so it wasn't his fault that it fell to the Watford No. 23, giving him a clear path to goal? I don't think so.

 

But if it was poor that Stephens failed to control the ball that came to him first, what seems to be worse, is that Stephens took the long way round by going outside of Sarr and then failed miserably to match the forward for pace. If only we had an experienced, international, Centre Back in the squad who could replace Stephens. Someone not only good enough to play for his country but experienced enough to captain his international team. If Southampton had a player like that, it would be so much better than the hapless Jack Stephens. But what's the use of dreaming. Hasenhutttl can only pick the players he has.......

 

See you next Tuesday! After all his BS about taking his last chance in the Echo prior to the game - not just the goal, he slipped up a few times

[Toussaint]

Just lay off him. As CB’s go he’s still young and inexperienced, he did his bit to bring about our little revival with his effort against Everton, shaming the others for hiding. Last night was a nightmare for the CB’s , there was no out ball, the midfield wasn’t there, partly due to the weird team selection overloaded with forwards and Cedric was well off the pace. He’s not brilliant but saint for me.

[Danbert]

Just lay off him. As CB’s go he’s still young and inexperienced, he did his bit to bring about our little revival with his effort against Everton, shaming the others for hiding. Last night was a nightmare for the CB’s , there was no out ball, the midfield wasn’t there, partly due to the weird team selection overloaded with forwards and Cedric was well off the pace. He’s not brilliant but saint for me.

 

Stephens is 25, older than Van Dijck was when he joined us. His age has nothing to do with it, he's just not very good.

[Toussaint]

Stephens is 25, older than Van Dijck was when he joined us. His age has nothing to do with it, he's just not very good.

 

Im not suggesting he’s great, but he hasn’t had a massive amount of pl experience, CBS normally mature later, yes I’d rather have Gary Cahill, but saints don’t do things like that. I’ve no problem digging players out who aren’t trying, but he always does put a shift in.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

Points in his favour - he's got passion, commitment, tries to play the ball out and shows leadership qualities plus he is not a big earner and cost us comparative peanuts.

Points against - does make mistakes but no more than the rest of them.

[Tom & Gerry]

I've come to the conclusion we don't have good or bad players, just confident players or no confidence players. This seems particularly true of all our centre backs who can look good one game and not the next. It can't help Stevens confidence when even his back passes are booed. I always thought it was better to pass to one of your own players than give the ball away. I think he's better than our other centre backs at playing from the back but yes he makes mistakes and get slaughtered for it so he can't really win.

[igsey]

Would rather have Yoshida any day of the week.

[Heisenberg]

Judge him after a run of games.

Edited 26 December, 2019 by Heisenberg

[Baird of the land]

I don’t think he lacks ability.

However he does have the John stones syndrome of just switching off or doing something lax.

Might as well stick with him and bednarek & see if some sort of partnership can develop.

 

As for yoshida, I like him but he seems to have carried the can for Leicester in ralph’s Eyes and with him being out of contract soon I wonder if we’ll See him again in a saints shirt.

[shurlock]

Not good enough.

[Micky]

There is a right time to hit row z. That was it.

 

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[gordonToo]

Lacks basic awareness to be a regular starter.

[Turkish]

Points in his favour - he's got passion, commitment, tries to play the ball out and shows leadership qualities plus he is not a big earner and cost us comparative peanuts.

Points against - does make mistakes but no more than the rest of them.

 

So his positives are he’s cheap and tries hard, great

[Born In The 80s]

He makes mistakes regularly and is a solid championship CB (as he will prove next season).

 

The really concerning thing is I think he's probably currently our best CB. Yoshida, Danso, Vestegaard are all complete liabilities. And Bednarek, despite being a good tackler, is always hopelessly out of position.

 

Not getting 2 solid CBs in the summer will ultimately be what sends us down this year.

[DuncanRG]

All our centre halves make bad mistakes, including Yoshida. Stephens probably makes more than the average but it looks like he's in the team for his vocal leadership. Despite being a captain Yoshida isn't really like that.

[beatlesaint]

I can’t believe after two summers and three transfer windows we are still having to pick a player of Stephen’s ability, or lack of rather.

 

The sheer incompetence of going all this time without addressing the problem is a disgrace.

[washsaint]

Bertrand was as much at fault for the 1st goal. His positioning was terrible (as it was most of the game) - his mistake should have led to a 2nd goal as well but for a brilliant save from McCarthy. Stephens is not perfect but I think he is the best of our CBs despite the mistakes.

 

All our CBs make mistakes every game - but Stephens is always there putting his body on the line and his heading has improved enormously.

 

It staggers me how so many awful players (Cedric, PEH, Bertrand spring to mind) are given a free pass for some bizarre reason yet players who give 110% every game (JWP, Stephens) get slagged off at every opportunity.

[Baird of the land]

I can’t believe after two summers and three transfer windows we are still having to pick a player of Stephen’s ability, or lack of rather.

 

The sheer incompetence of going all this time without addressing the problem is a disgrace.

 

We have consistently tried to address it just without any success.

[um pahars]

He is absolute dogshtt.

 

He must be awful if I’m desperate for Yoshida to be put in in front of him.

[Batman]

awful defender. He has no business being in the premier league

[Whitey Grandad]

He’s always a concern. Doesn’t attack the ball or dominate enough for me. Seems scared of any ball in the air and lets it bounce. Opponents must love playing against him.

[qwertyell]

He is absolute dogshtt.

 

He must be awful if I’m desperate for Yoshida to be put in in front of him.

He's not good, but he has never put in a more inept display of defending as Yoshida - our most experienced centre back - phoned in against Leicester (0-9).

 

I think it's perfectly reasonable for the manager to never pick him again.

 

 

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[beatlesaint]

He’s always a concern. Doesn’t attack the ball or dominate enough for me. Seems scared of any ball in the air and lets it bounce. Opponents must love playing against him.

 

”He’s always a concern” :lol: Oh I love that, ain’t that just the truth and a very polite way of putting it too

[Greenridge]

Bertrand was as much at fault for the 1st goal. His positioning was terrible (as it was most of the game) - his mistake should have led to a 2nd goal as well but for a brilliant save from McCarthy. Stephens is not perfect but I think he is the best of our CBs despite the mistakes.

 

All our CBs make mistakes every game - but Stephens is always there putting his body on the line and his heading has improved enormously.

 

It staggers me how so many awful players (Cedric, PEH, Bertrand spring to mind) are given a free pass for some bizarre reason yet players who give 110% every game (JWP, Stephens) get slagged off at every opportunity.

 

If you think they get a ‘free pass’ then I don’t think you’ve been reading much of the forum. As for Stephens the less said the better.

[Whitey Grandad]

”He’s always a concern” :lol: Oh I love that, ain’t that just the truth and a very polite way of putting it too

 

If it puts the willies up the likes of us just think what it does to his fellow defenders

[beatlesaint]

If it puts the willies up the likes of us just think what it does to his fellow defenders

 

indeed

[OttawaSaint]

His replacements are the error prone Yoshida and Vestergaard, or perhaps the reckless Danso.

 

I’d keep Stephens in the team, yes he makes errors too but he is a threat at corners and scores goals.

[davefizzy14]

Some of the comments on here are laughable. Jack has come back into the side and performed really well for the last 4 games. He has leadership qualities that we desperately need and is the only CB we have who can play out from the back. He definatley deserves his place in the side.

[Greenridge]

His replacements are the error prone Yoshida and Vestergaard, or perhaps the reckless Danso.

 

I’d keep Stephens in the team, yes he makes errors too but he is a threat at corners and scores goals.

 

3 PL goals since 2016. Yes, let’s keep him in for his goals.

[OttawaSaint]

3 PL goals since 2016. Yes, let’s keep him in for his goals.

 

And Bednarek, Vestergaard, Yoshida, and Danso, how many Saints goals do they have?

Edited 1 December, 2019 by OttawaSaint

[Greenridge]

And Bednarek, Vestergaard and Danso, how many Saints goals do they have?

 

What’s that got to do with it? You claimed that Stephens should keep his place in the team as he gets us goals which in some way might make up for not being able to do his primary job which is defend. If you’re using that as the justification then it’s not really true is it.

[Wade Garrett]

Not sure how Danso can be judged at centre-half.

[suewhistle]

As for Bednarek, in _this_ team he doesn't even look like a footballer: he certainly never wanted the ball yesterday.

[Norm]

I can’t believe after two summers and three transfer windows we are still having to pick a player of Stephen’s ability, or lack of rather.

 

The sheer incompetence of going all this time without addressing the problem is a disgrace.

 

Bullseye! Absolutely what most fans think, I would suggest.

[Sheaf Saint]

It was very unfortunate that the ball bounced off him and right into a perfect path for Sarr to run on to and score.

 

That sort of thing doesn't happen to better players though, does it.

 

Overall, he's not looked too bad since he's come back in, and I like that he is starting to show some of the leadership qualities we have been missing. This is the sort of thing that comes with age and experience.

 

If he could just cut out the sloppy errors he makes 3 or 4 times per game, he would be a decent defender.

[Dark Munster]

So his positives are he’s cheap and tries hard, great

That's a massive positive when compared to the likes of Lemina and that Osvaldo nutter.

[Toussaint]

It was very unfortunate that the ball bounced off him and right into a perfect path for Sarr to run on to and score.

 

That sort of thing doesn't happen to better players though, does it.

 

Overall, he's not looked too bad since he's come back in, and I like that he is starting to show some of the leadership qualities we have been missing. This is the sort of thing that comes with age and experience.

 

If he could just cut out the sloppy errors he makes 3 or 4 times per game, he would be a decent defender.

 

It probably doesn’t happen to tap players, but we are thin on the ground when I comes to top players, I can’t see Liverpool sniffing round any of our current squad. The thing is most of our team are equally if not more hapless than Jack, but when you are the last defender the consequences are often dire.

[Bad Wolf]

Not good enough but then neither are our other CBs.

[IFHP]

Im not suggesting he’s great, but he hasn’t had a massive amount of pl experience, CBS normally mature later, yes I’d rather have Gary Cahill, but saints don’t do things like that. I’ve no problem digging players out who aren’t trying, but he always does put a shift in.

 

Hes played over 60 premiere league games for Saints - I would class that as more then enough experience.

 

Yes he tries hard , so would I , but he’s playing in a league well above what he should be .

[Bourne Valley Saint]

I'm just glad that most on here don't attend games because you'd destroy any confidence that any player possesses with such negativity and cruel comments.

Jack Stephens is an honest, hard working player who despite playing in a struggling team never hides and shows a fair amount of passion, qualities sadly lacking in some of his teammates. Yes, he makes mistakes but so do the rest of them. He also makes some great tackles (a brilliant one on Saturday when Watford were 3 against 1 on him and we were 1-0 down) and great blocks and interceptions. He also provides an outlet for our static midfield by bringing the ball forward and passing to our forwards, as he did at Arsenal with good effect. I just don't get all the hatred directed at the likes of JWP and Jack on here. It was the same with Targett last year - he seems to be doing ok at Villa. Is it because they have come through the academy and you'd rather we spunked millions on some Carillo or Claisse type player? I'm proud of our academy players (there were 5 on the pitch on Saturday) and long may it continue - at least the club means something to them as it does with the real fans.

[um pahars]

He's not good, but he has never put in a more inept display of defending as Yoshida - our most experienced centre back - phoned in against Leicester (0-9).

 

I think it's perfectly reasonable for the manager to never pick him again.

 

 

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I’m no apologist for the error prone Yoshida, who was only a squad player when we had a decent back four, but it’s a testament to how bad I think Stephens is, that I’m actually pining for Yoshida.

 

Historically, we had a decent track record of replacing centre halves (Lovren, Anderweild, Van Dyk, but we’ve not repeated that since Fonte left. As others have said, we’ve never resolved that and have ended up relying on players who previously wouldn’t have got a look in.

[Whitey Grandad]

I'm just glad that most on here don't attend games because you'd destroy any confidence that any player possesses with such negativity and cruel comments.

Jack Stephens is an honest, hard working player who despite playing in a struggling team never hides and shows a fair amount of passion, qualities sadly lacking in some of his teammates. Yes, he makes mistakes but so do the rest of them. He also makes some great tackles (a brilliant one on Saturday when Watford were 3 against 1 on him and we were 1-0 down) and great blocks and interceptions. He also provides an outlet for our static midfield by bringing the ball forward and passing to our forwards, as he did at Arsenal with good effect. I just don't get all the hatred directed at the likes of JWP and Jack on here. It was the same with Targett last year - he seems to be doing ok at Villa. Is it because they have come through the academy and you'd rather we spunked millions on some Carillo or Claisse type player? I'm proud of our academy players (there were 5 on the pitch on Saturday) and long may it continue - at least the club means something to them as it does with the real fans.

It’s not a matter of hatred. These players are paid a fortune and they’re not very good.

[gammon cheeks]

Works hard and tries his best ........he is a poor mans John Terry

[HarvSFC]

Yeah, at least he puts in the effort and is a threat in the opposition's box. The same can't be said about the £20m centre-back.

[S-Clarke]

He's a very poor player for this level, can't really get away from that. Incredibly limited.

 

He tries hard and shows passion, but he's crap.

[Tom & Gerry]

How do you win a cup semi final at Liverpool with a terrible centre half?

No he's a good player who sometimes makes terrible mistakes. He can only eliminate that from his game by playing more matches and gaining more experience.

The problem is that it is difficult for players when they are not in the team as they play no competitive football. He could have done with a season on loan in the championship earlier in his career. Maybe if we do sign a good centre half in January he could get that.

[Hodgey]

He’s got something, but he’s not a first choice prem cb. I think he’ll get better and would be a good player to fill in for a few games at cb / rb and even possibly dm. It’s an odd one as he can pick a pass, can carry the ball fwd comfortably and isn’t bad in last ditch tackles. His positioning, defensive awareness, heading and marking can be shocking though - and sadly he doesn’t have the speed or energy to be a serious dm or full back (which is probably more suited to his game). The fact he is currently first choice, and did ok when Virgil left, shows he can do it (but only for a few games, and only as a reserve)

[Trout-Tickler]

How do you win a cup semi final at Liverpool with a terrible centre half?

No he's a good player who sometimes makes terrible mistakes. He can only eliminate that from his game by playing more matches and gaining more experience.

The problem is that it is difficult for players when they are not in the team as they play no competitive football. He could have done with a season on loan in the championship earlier in his career. Maybe if we do sign a good centre half in January he could get that.

 

Christ, one good performance in 86 appearances is hardly justification to say he a good player. Looking at his Saints career as a whole his performance that night was the exception rather than the rule!

[beatlesaint]

Christ, one good performance in 86 appearances is hardly justification to say he a good player. Looking at his Saints career as a whole his performance that night was the exception rather than the rule!

 

Exactly, says it all if you have to go back two and a half years to remember a game where he played well