verlaine1979

Another vintage performance. Weak in the tackle and only capable of the most unthreatening passes.

You're clearly the only one with a bizarre agenda about Davis.

Clasie's passing is on a par with MS from what I've seen, possibly with more of an eye for a through-ball (he certainly bags more assists anyway).

Talking up how integral Davis is to our play occasionally feels like an attempt by some fans to flatter their own understanding of the game (not every player who pops five yard passes in the centre of the pitch is Xavi), but I'd agree with this. I've never said he's useless, just that the limit of his use in a team with any ambition should be playing from the bench, where his industry and risk-aversion can be valuable commodities depending on the scoreline.

From your repeated references to family ties, I can only assume that the truth has been staring us in the face and that you're actually Davis' mum, here to defend him from those nasty brutes who think he's decent enough for a place on the bench of a top-half premier league team, but not good enough to start if they want to, y'know, actually score a few goals. As others have said, Davis gave Dier yards of space in which to cross for Spurs' first equaliser, and then he failed to trouble the keeper with any of three ludicrously gilt-edged chances in front of goal. I've always said that I like him as an option on the bench when his industry often helped us close out games under Poch, but he's simply not decisive enough to be our main attacking midfielder, either in his passing and especially not in his shooting.

The only thing he's been consistent at is mediocrity. No goals in 44 league games and counting, only 2 assists this season. People are acting like the last three games are a blip, but he's been giving the ball away, failing to hit the target, and generally hiding in possession since the very first game of the season. He's a nice player to have on the bench to close out the game, but that's all.

Right, as I was saying...

Don't worry, someone will be along in a minute to tell us how important he is to the way we play.

He actually got an equal amount of criticism last week when we won. It isn't scapegoating, it's just pointing out a forward player who hasn't scored in over a year, rarely assists, and specialises only in looking 'tidy', which basically equates to playing tedious wall passes at every opportunity and refusing the responsibility to actually create anything.

Davis is only singled out because so many people have spent the best part of a year idolising him as an unsung hero. There are plenty of players I don't really rate that highly in the squad, but only one where the balance of praise/criticism is so ludicrously skewed. He is a decent squad player, a midfield journeyman who has only ever excelled in Scottish football, and who now hasn't scored a league goal for more than a year. Personally, I think his play has been sloppy since the turn of the year, but what seems inarguable is that most people recognise that his performances in the last two games have been awful. So when I see posts like yours, I have to wonder - are there any other players in the team whose wayward passing you'd excuse through static strikers and wingers loitering 3000 miles away? When Wanyama was struggling last season, were you on here explaining he was only failing to hit players ten yards away because of a lack of movement?

Nope. Schneiderlin put it in from Fonte's header.

Longer than that. He's been giving the ball away through indecision and sloppy play since the Man City game.

None of the above, I just think he's cack. No goals in forty plus games and only two assists all season. Oh, and telling lies about him? What are you, his mother?

I never saw Ramirez put in a performance even half as abject as the one Steven Davis put in today. The idea that there are some people who watched that game and thought he came out of it with credit absolutely boggles the mind. A nothing player 99% of the time, who always prefers to pass the creative buck on to others. No goals in more than a year of league appearances. Dire.

Steven Davis once again proving my point that he just isn't good enough to be a first choice attacking midfielder.

Defensive midfielders rarely seem to go for more than the low twenties. Maybe there's a commercial consideration - fewer goals scored = fewer shirts sold.

I hate to break it to you, but he's played in 7 of our last 9 games, during which we've generally been woeful in attack. If you think Steven Davis is the answer to our problems in attack, you're asking the wrong question (though I'll admit, 2nd half against Burnley he had his best 45 minutes since the 2nd half against Everyone at home).

We've been lacking in ideas and confidence up front for a couple of months now. Transition into attack is so slow unless we're hoofing it at Pelle, and there's no confidence in our decision-making. The player on the ball seems to want time to assess every option before making a pass, which is tolerable when trying not to surrender cheap possession in the middle of the pitch, but counter-productive in attack. Pelle isn't playing well, and if he weren't on the pitch we'd probably play with a bit more discipline and play fewer long balls, but he isn't the real problem. We seem to be creating only one or two genuine scoring chances per game, which even the very best strikers are only going to convert at a rate of about 1 in 3. So unless we'd gone out in January and acquired an exceptional striker who both created and finished his own chances, we'd still be in exactly the same place, toiling away in possession but creating only scraps.

He played a couple of times in the World Cup last year, and from what I remember was pretty poor.

Credit where it's due - beautiful scooped pass from Davis.

He couldn't get into the first XI of the Spanish champions & CL finalists? Definite proof that Fonte is as good, if not better...

Dragging us back with no league goals for over a year and only two assists this season? Come off it. Tidy player, but absolutely not the answer to our lack of goals.

As an allegedly attacking player, I've certainly noticed that he hasn't scored now in 40 league appearances, and he only has two assists this season. For all the reasons you mention, work rate, tidiness on the ball (though he's definitely much sloppier in possession this season than he ever has been) etc, Davis is the player we should be bringing on with twenty minutes to go to close the game out, not the player we should be starting with when we want to dominate in attack at home.

Djuricic in for Davis - we should be more progressive against Burnley and Djuricic looks far more of a goal threat (and far more likely to provide a telling pass). Davis put in a reasonable shift defensively against Chelsea, but in an attacking sense he contributed absolutely nothing and surrendered possession several times through indecision.

None of the few comments attributed to him make staying seem all that likely. He'll be in demand, having played for top clubs in Ajax, Atletico & now a full season in the PL, so he'd have to have an almost irrational love for Southampton to make him pick us above the multiple offers that are bound to come his way.