Jack Stephens recalled

Hopefully we get rid of Caulker now and it's a move in the right direction.

Hardly news. He has been back at the Club since before Christmas, appearing in all the training videos, but needed to wait until the transfer window to be allowed to play for us again.

get rid of caulker and use our own

Can't be any worse than Caulker. Will be sat on the bench a lot though.

Agree with what has been said. If he is no better than Caulker or Yoshida then we should sell him on. At this point he has to be a better option on the bench than those two.

Did he play much at Boro?

Did he play much at Boro?

No but I saw him against United and he looked pretty good.

get rid of caulker and use our own

Agree completely, should be giving the likes of Stephens opportunities rather than loaning in dross like Caulker.

Can't be any worse than Caulker. Will be sat on the bench a lot though.

Given he made only 4 appearances for Boro (3 in the League Cup), he might as well sit on our bench as theirs. Badly planned loan move, wasted half a season of development/experience for the lad.

I think Caulker is not as bad as everyone is making out to be honest, he seems to be be everyone's fall guy when plenty of others have been well below par this season

I think Caulker is not as bad as everyone is making out to be honest, he seems to be be everyone's fall guy when plenty of others have been well below par this season

He's been terrible in the most part. The Liverpool game was one of the worst CB performances you'll likely see.

I think Caulker is not as bad as everyone is making out to be honest, he seems to be be everyone's fall guy when plenty of others have been well below par this season

His display against Liverpool was up there with Alan Bennett debut.

His display against Liverpool was up there with Alan Bennett debut.

Oh God I remember that ! A 4-1 loss at home to Palace and I wondered who the hell the guy was - He played as though he had just been pulled out of the Itchen Stand 10 mins before KO, given a shirt and told to get out there and give it a lash!

His display against Liverpool was up there with Alan Bennett debut.

Oh God I remember that ! A 4-1 loss at home to Palace and I wondered who the hell the guy was - He played as though he had just been pulled out of the Itchen Stand 10 mins before KO, given a shirt and told to get out there and give it a lash!

I will never forget that game. Took my neutral-supporting mate to the match and despite being surrounded by Saints fans, he couldn't help but laugh his ******** off at every goal we conceded. I don't think anyone could really blame him.

The third was the funniest; big punt from the keeper, ball bounces ahead of Bennett about 30 yards from goal, Bennett jumps into the air as the ball is rising off the bounce and it goes straight over his head and almost over Bialkowski (who being far too far forward, and on the edge of his penalty area) has to leap up and stretch to prevent the ball bouncing over him as well and going into the net. He got a hand to it, clawed it downwards, and ended up inadvertently bouncing the ball in off the face of the onrushing Jamie Scowcroft (who then dived forwards in a 'heading motion' about two seconds later in order to try and make it look like his goal wasn't scored completely by accident).

Funniest goal we've conceded for sure. Although later that season there was a hilarious bungle-up between Jermaine Wright and Kelvin Davis against QPR which led to Patrick Agyemang literally walking the ball into the net.

Not sure why anyone thinks this will have any bearing on Caulker, Stephens being back is just representative of how little game time Boro were giving him and the fact season long loans can only be recalled during transfer windows rather than any massive shift in policy.

What part of not good enough to play for Boro makes anyone think he is anywhere near our squad let alone starting. The obsession with "homegrown" over talent is amusing; I'm sure many would rather we had 11 homegrown players in the team every week even if that menat League 2.

Not sure why anyone thinks this will have any bearing on Caulker, Stephens being back is just representative of how little game time Boro were giving him and the fact season long loans can only be recalled during transfer windows rather than any massive shift in policy.

Doesn't have to represent a shift in policy but it could easily relate to Caulker being wanted permanently by other sides so it wouldn't be a huge surprise if he goes this window. It's not as if we actually need him.

Not sure why anyone thinks this will have any bearing on Caulker, Stephens being back is just representative of how little game time Boro were giving him and the fact season long loans can only be recalled during transfer windows rather than any massive shift in policy.

Koeman said last week he wants to keep Caulker for the season - he must see something we don't then!

Oh God I remember that ! A 4-1 loss at home to Palace and I wondered who the hell the guy was - He played as though he had just been pulled out of the Itchen Stand 10 mins before KO, given a shirt and told to get out there and give it a lash!

It was as much the genius idea of playing him alongside Chris Makin at centre back as Bennett himself, who ended up being half decent at the ar5e end of the Championship for the last couple of games before Reading got him back after 10 matches and then loaned him to Brentford, presumably when they realised we were skint and couldn't afford to keep him. Playing at Brentford, Wycombe, Cheltenham and AFC Wimbledon as he slid down the divisions, and as of August Cork City, all suggest he was never quite good enough for that level.

For the record, that pre-season was the ONE occasion Alpine was right about signings (summer 2007) and with hindsight we were just trying to cut costs.

His comments are weird about not playing loanees when we do the same here.

What part of not good enough to play for Boro makes anyone think he is anywhere near our squad let alone starting. The obsession with "homegrown" over talent is amusing; I'm sure many would rather we had 11 homegrown players in the team every week even if that menat League 2.

Caulker is a bomb scare. We don't play three at the back any more and we're not in Europe. No need to pay him £30k+ to be on the bench every other game when we could have an England U21 international doing it on a third of the salary. Is Stephens better than Caulker? Probably not. Is either going to play much? Probably not. Is it sensible to save the club money rather than having it padded out with players eating up money doing nothing. I think so.

What part of not good enough to play for Boro makes anyone think he is anywhere near our squad let alone starting. The obsession with "homegrown" over talent is amusing; I'm sure many would rather we had 11 homegrown players in the team every week even if that menat League 2.

Who has said he was not good enough for Boro? He wasn't played because they have permanent players in his position already, and have not had injuries or suspensions to give him a chance. It was a stupid loan, to a club that really did not need a loan player. He has been given the chance in the League Cup and done very well. He is certainly good enough to cover for Caulker leaving (which seems likely) until Florin is fit again (whenever that might be). It is easy to argue that he was better than Caulker in the first place, but our manager is reluctant to use youth this season.

Koeman said last week he wants to keep Caulker for the season - he must see something we don't then!

I am sure it is just cover. But then if anything happens to Fonte or VvD then that is a worry!

Who has said he was not good enough for Boro? He wasn't played because they have permanent players in his position already, and have not had injuries or suspensions to give him a chance. It was a stupid loan, to a club that really did not need a loan player. He has been given the chance in the League Cup and done very well. He is certainly good enough to cover for Caulker leaving (which seems likely) until Florin is fit again (whenever that might be). It is easy to argue that he was better than Caulker in the first place, but our manager is reluctant to use youth this season.

In retrospect it might not have been the best option, but at the time, if Middlesbro come and ask for him why was it stupid? I am sure we assumed that they wanted him because they wanted to play him.

Koeman said last week he wants to keep Caulker for the season - he must see something we don't then!

Early on he looked panicked, even though he was part of the retrospectively decent clean sheet against Watford. He also was perfectly competent in an inexperienced back 4 in the cup win against Villa. Then when he came on after Fonte's injury against Man City, he put the thing on the ground and for the first time this season didn't look like he was just going to hoof the ball back up the pitch at the first opportunity. That looked like a big step forward for him, then he played against Liverpool a few days later.

I don't think the huge gap in midfield where Wanyama was meant to be helped against Liverpool much either, as any defender will look bad if the opposition is given the time and space to play the ball in front of them, and he hasn't played since then. He's not good enough to start, but he's decent cover against bottom half sides with different strengths and weaknesses to Yoshida, and he hasn't been frozen out of a Championship side, nor are there any great concerns about his ability at that level as there are still going to be with Stephens, which is sufficient reason to keep him around. If we're just saving cash, we can run with Yoshida and inexperienced kids as defensive backup, but that's the kind of stuff that DOES get you relegated.

Koeman said last week he wants to keep Caulker for the season - he must see something we don't then!

More likely to save a bit of face in case another deal isn't done and he ends up staying.

Given he made only 4 appearances for Boro (3 in the League Cup), he might as well sit on our bench as theirs. Badly planned loan move, wasted half a season of development/experience for the lad.

Would that wasted half a season include an appearance for England U21s? I'm sure getting recognition like that must go some way to the "development / experience for the lad"

Would that wasted half a season include an appearance for England U21s? I'm sure getting recognition like that must go some way to the "development / experience for the lad"

No. Though it was based on him being a Southampton player rather than his performances at Boro. Trouble was that he was sent off in that game :-) Has played a few time at various England youth levels. His 41 games for Swindon the previous season were much more positive in terms of his development. He would have been better being with them again this season than being sat on the bench at Boro.

In retrospect it might not have been the best option, but at the time, if Middlesbro come and ask for him why was it stupid? I am sure we assumed that they wanted him because they wanted to play him.

It was stupid because they already had the players in place and it was reasonably clear that he was not needed, i.e. they already had alternatives in his position.

I know you enjoy just being contrary for the sake of it, but sometimes things are done by the Club that really are not very clever, and their policy with loans is sometimes a bit questionable (whatever the policy is these days, given that last year Uncle Les stated categorically we do not do loans because its better for the young players to train with the Club).

We took a gamble on Caulker and it never paid off from what I saw of Stephens against United he can do a job !

If Stephens is back for good, not just " an interim visitor "....before going out on loan again...then expect to see him as an extra RB /CB , and Caulker can go on his way.

Gardos on the way back (?)...Cedric is between injuries and although Martina hasn't blotted his copybook...yet....maybe Jack would be another option at the back.?

Was Stephens not a right back when he first arrived? Perhaps that sort of versatility would make him a good option on our bench.

Was Stephens not a right back when he first arrived? Perhaps that sort of versatility would make him a good option on our bench.

Depends on exactly what his level is really. Boro obviously didn't think he was worth a game for most of the time in any position so I'd wait to have an actual look at his capabilities before deciding to put him into the first XI group on matchdays.

Was Stephens not a right back when he first arrived? Perhaps that sort of versatility would make him a good option on our bench.

If you are a reasonable height with reasonable pace and a decent defender you should be able to play either CH or FB without too much trouble.

Depends on exactly what his level is really. Boro obviously didn't think he was worth a game for most of the time in any position so I'd wait to have an actual look at his capabilities before deciding to put him into the first XI group on matchdays.

He's been back with us for about 3 weeks now, I guess Ronald has a decent idea of his capabilities. He also played him in the summer, pre-season, at CB (played 3 times).

Bit different playing RB (or LB) and CB, as Yoshida demonstrates regularly. He almost always played CB for Swindon last season, though more often than not they played 3 at the back. He was originally a RB, and can also play LB or as a defensive mid.

Mind you Boro have only conceded 12 goals in 24 league games this season and are top, so not surprising that they have not changed their defensive line up much

Sammy G also recalled from MK Dons.

If you are a reasonable height with reasonable pace and a decent defender you should be able to play either CH or FB without too much trouble.

Even if a player can get their head round the different roles they tend to be pretty different physical types. CBs tend to be tall and powerful, FBs smaller and faster.

Swindon want him back.

2 championship teams also interested.

http://m.gazetteandherald.co.uk/sport/14194534.Town_facing_fight_to_snap_up_Stephens_on_loan_again/

Swindon want him back.

 

2 championship teams also interested.

 

http://m.gazetteandherald.co.uk/sport/14194534.Town_facing_fight_to_snap_up_Stephens_on_loan_again/

And is that possible as he's already played for 2 clubs this season? Ben Arfa wasn't allowed to sign at Nice because he's already played for Newcastle U21s in an official match and Hull. Now it could be that Stephens is in some way different or the the U21 Premier League Cup isn't an official game but in theory Stephens as an over 21 has already played for 2 clubs.

And is that possible as he's already played for 2 clubs this season? Ben Arfa wasn't allowed to sign at Nice because he's already played for Newcastle U21s in an official match and Hull. Now it could be that Stephens is in some way different or the the U21 Premier League Cup isn't an official game but in theory Stephens as an over 21 has already played for 2 clubs.

Not sure how it works with loan players. I'm sure it happened to either Bamford or Afobe where they started a loan at one team in league one, then moved up on loan to a championship side in January.

Don't see how this would be different.

Not sure how it works with loan players. I'm sure it happened to either Bamford or Afobe where they started a loan at one team in league one, then moved up on loan to a championship side in January.

 

Don't see how this would be different.

And did they play for their parent clubs in the meantime ?

Edit: Apparently emergency loans don't count under FA rules but FIFA disagrees with this.