david in sweden

wrong preposition! ...we should drop him on Davis.

Kelvin Davis - good enough for Premier League and an England prospect. (sorry Kev...no offence intended).

I still go for Yoshida and Jos......I agree with your comment about " trenches- type" defenders, they're not pretty to look at but effective and we need those types of CB. Michael Svensson did that job... and went into many tackles without fear for personal injury.....(everyone who recalls Jim Steele will remember that).. and Claus L. played the one touch stuff at the back. Whilst I agree Fonte is " more cultured "..... he needs too much time and space, and that's not part of the Prem. scenario.

Whilst I agree that Barry is cr*p, I don't think that term applies to Jos. You used the word " clumsy " but surely you don't expect every tackle to be choreographed perfectly? I watched the Man.City v Chelsea SF yesterday and it was more like a tennis game than football. The ref. kept out of it... OK, but some of the tackling was pretty hairy - wasn't it ?! I've never seen Jos shrink from a tackle....he may have missed a few, but he's surely not alone in that respect. Name me a CB who wins every tackle neatly and cleanly! As we were talking stats. I can't believe that Jos is the worst of our CB's when it comes to interceptions / tackles - he's a bit gangly and it does look untidy - but he's pretty effective. A lot of comments about the OG's he's been " credited " with, but I recall that Michael Svensson (one of the best CB's in the last 20 years) also conceded a fair few OGs in the rough / tumble of the six yard box..... the O.G v. Newcastle was a travesty. The ball fell to Fox, who blasted a clearance into Jos' back from 6 feet away..(and it rebounded into the net)..blame Fox not Jos.

actually .. not a bad shout, that one.

Sssssh ! you don't know what NC might have up his sleeve....remember he does sign the cheques....

..so from these (impressive) stats. we can more or less understand that you don't rate Jos......suggest he should attend ballet classes so that his future errors don't appear to be quite so clumsy. one stat. you missed was that Jos won the ball and made 14 clearances in the Man.City game...don't know how many of them were clumsy, though ?.... Of course those three OG's were clumsy too, and not nearly as stylish as that classic back-pass type that England " star " Gareth Barry did so well...at SMS. Question : Do you have comparative stats. for our " other clumsy defenders..." ?

None of our CB has got any "real pace". and it's unfair to pick on Jos. Jos is brave and good in the air and not afraid to get his head bloodied. (ala Claus L. or Michael Svensson). Although Fonte is good on the ground, he lacks pace more than anyone and was single-handedly responsible for the 2 goals we conceded v Wigan (H). The terrible tales about Jos' own goals are a bit unfair and O.G. at Newcastle was totally Fox's fault (not Jos'). At least none of them was the "classic " Gareth Barry-type efforts. Given the present back-line and the fact that we haven't seen Forran in action yet..I'd stick with Jos and Yoshida for the time being.

A good point well made Kelvins right glove. In the early season criticism of young goalies (Gazzaniga in particular), the point came out that good young, central defenders are even harder to find. It is the tough end of the game, and coming up against a 6' 2 " striker throughout a game takes a certain amount of skill and a lot of bravery - especially at Prem. level. Stephens looks quite promising at his present level, we can only hope that the coaches faith in him for the future will be fulfilled.

I think it's a case of " good cop / bad cop " , Adkins was always satisfied with " something " in a game ...Pochettino picks up on the smallest mistake. I'm not criticising Pochettino with that comment, but he does seem to be more demanding than Adkins' " nice uncle " style. It was too easy for NA to praise even a mediochre effort, whereas MP seems to be much more demanding of the team and is less inclined to " pat players on the head" and leave it at that. The Pochettino Effect - more agressive and attacking - hasn't led to many more fouls or yellow cards, but is far more entertaining to watch.

with this comment - I agree. Pucheon would have been a better bet against the very "physical " Wham side on a wet, and blowy day. Apart from his poor free-kicks, I didn't think Ramirez did so badly, but we would have done better if Jay Rod had been able to play from the start.

well not yet anyway. Remember, he didn't start the season...was out injured a while ...and it has to be said, he didn't look any better under Adkins. Pochettino may have other ideas. If we follow up the " alleged " media interst, we will get our money back if he moves on, but he's still young and may yet develop into something special. For me - the jury is still out.

If for no other reason..it's the right historical choice, and parking is a little better option than it was at The Dell, but whichever way you look at it ....it's better than Fratton - don't you think ?

Management is always about the RIGHT manager with the RIGHT squad...at the RIGHT time. Few can doubt that NA did a great job with back-to-back promotion, however....I've recently seen so many references to " Pochettino inheriting Adkins' squad." when in fact one might say that Adkins " inherited " some of Pardew's squad.....Lambert, Puncheon, Fonte.....and of course; KD, Lallana and Schneiderlin who were with the club - even before he arrived. Clearly the purchase of Jay Rod wasn't utilised correctly, but MP seems to have turned him into an England prospect in less than a dozen games, and somehow even the "so-called " £12 million misfit " Ramirez looks more comfortable in the MP set-up, than he did at the start of the season, likewise Steven Davis, who spent much of the first half of the season on the bench seems to be emerging as the type of player we thought we'd bought in the first place. I am still an admirer of Nigel's fantastic achievements, but also see that the new " Pochettino tactics " have taken the team to a level that those previous managers might only have dreamed about.

anyway lads..back to Jack Stephens..... that's who this thread is supposed to be about. Having watched a few " streamed" U21 games this season, I was impressed by Jack's performances and he does seem to be a good acquisition....as does striker Sam Gallagher, who is a giant compared to some of the schoolboys on the same pitch who scarcely came up to his shoulder. Maybe in a while?.. we'll have " a Sam Gallagher thread" ....time will tell.

I don't think I was so totally inaccurate - was I ? To say that our players " are not England standard " is a fair comment, but .....tell me what IS " the England standard " nowadays? I'd put Gerrard on my team sheet - every time -even if he wasn't 100%....and Hart (simply because we don't have a viable alternative at present)..but after that. who is an automatic choice ? Very few. Defoe is selected - when fit, but is the same generation as Rickie and has less Prem.goals this season. It says something for Rickie's ability that he scored most of those goals whilst the team was in the relegation zone, whilst the above-mentioned are playing in top four clubs dominated by foreign players. Welbeck has scored 1 goal in Prem. league (?) and Cleverley (so poorly named IMO).....are selected because they are in the same club as Wayne Rooney. But how often do they play on the same pitch. Some smart nerd came up with stats. showing that despite a 50+ games tally for the top four clubs, some of the English players had scarcely played half of the Prem.games and some of those apps. were as sub. I'm not suggesting that all of our prospects should be in the next England squad, but we have at least 4 ENGLISH players who are worth a second look, but will fall by the wayside 'cos were Saints. Roy has forgotten .....play your best in-form players.

..with the media going full pelt for Jay Rod and Rickie in the next England squad......and also tipping Shaw and Clyne for honours, is it any surprise that Roy H. is suddenly criticising Prem.club managers for not backing him and supplying him with the England players he wants....! BUT listen Roy....if you haven't noticed , there are barely half-a-dozen ENGLISH managers in the Prem. nowadays, and most of those are in clubs in the lower half of the table.. .....all the other Prem. managers (of foreign extraction) are looking after no.1 and couldn't care a tinkers cuss about the ENGLAND team. but MP isn't among them.

I think Sunderland could be the third side to go down....... UNLESS... they can win the upcoming derby game with Newcastle......and can beat us by a convincing margin..... personally I'd like to see us finish above Wham and Fulham.....

yes well I thought that too, but wasn't there a case some seasons ago ...of a club who weren't allowed to take part in Euro games because of ground restrictions, or something that didn't meet UEFA standards ?...can't recall exactly..

.....and why not I ask myself?. Chelsea and Man U.......whilst not so successful this season, have historically had one squad for the Prem.games ..and other players who turn up just for Euro games..... . None of them is just reliant on 11 players and 3 subs. Euro football pays big dividends......so why not a bigger investment in top players....?

it's one small (and long overdue) step for man, but unlikely to be utilised more than 2 or 3 times a season, whereas dozens of penalty calls and off side goals occur every week and still get missed. I am brutally tired of watching games on the TV ....and then realising that whilst I can see almost instantaneous replays of an incident ..the ref will only give it if he (or one of the assistants) actually sees it, and many times the culprit gets away scot-free. The SKy / BBC commentator is better placed to refereee the game instead of "mere humans" - highly capable of making huge mistakes. Blatter and Platini should stop trying to run (or should it be ruin) the game by holding onto 19th century ethical standards whilst refusing to allow 21st century technology to show the real truth. Many other sports; Ice Hockey, Tennis, Rugby and Cricket ....aren't afraid to show the action - why not football. THERE ..rant over!.......but true nonetheless

yes I remember that too, League Cup game at home v. Rochdale

well yes Mark Blake did score in that game, but it wasn't his first goal I'm afraid. He'd scored in the away game v.Norwich (we lost 3-4 ) ...in the previous season (30th August 1986).

.don't like to take the gloss of a great story, but we have to refer to it as Shearer's home debut. He had come on as a sub. TWICE before in away games.

however, there is some explanation as there have been a lot of changes in the last few games with new recruits coming in, (including a couple of schoolboys and yet another young keeper.... .....whilst some of the early season boys have moved up to the U21 squad while Hoskins and Reeves are out on loan.....