There’s one thing you can’t blame him for, unless you are just making things up, is his work rate. I actually think his problem right now is he is trying too hard and he’s having a stinker.
But of course the crux there is for the club to support Ralph in getting players in and out in those two windows. If they don’t then it’s status quo trying to get the best out of what we have.
It might seem ‘unprofessional’ but it’s a welcome to the real world experience for your grandson. When he applies for full-time jobs in the future he will find that in the vast majority of cases a company will not reply to applicants they are not interested in.
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.