Ex Player Jack Stevens

[Mellowyellow]

All academic now but you do wonder where we would be if we had started Jack Stevens last year when Easty got injured instead of bringing Archer in on loan. Stevens had played against Charlton (was it?) in the summer and done very well, and many on here were suggesting he be given a chance, so it's not like he was a totally untried commodity. And maybe the coaching staff thought it was too early for him, but less than a year later he's slotted right into a team struggling in the relegation places and made the #1 shirt his own. Didn't Eastwood make some howlers on his return against Rotherham, too? In a game which, had the result gone the other way, would have seen us up automatically.

All sliding doors moments, and perhaps it was too early and we'd all have been furious about KR putting in a totally green goalkeeper in a promotion chase, but definitely an interesting one.

That's being a little disingenuous to Archer, who played well when he was here.

 

[ttg17]

That's being a little disingenuous to Archer, who played well when he was here.

Not disputing that at all. Very good keeper, I wish we'd signed him permanently for the run-in. The point was more whether we would have been better long-term blooding Jack than bringing in a short-term stop-gap and sticking with a keeper who, with hindsight, was past it.

 

[Foley]

He strikes me as a pretty confident chap who backs himself. By all accounts he’s quite vocal which is promising and shows a decent level of self-assurance.

For a young, inexperienced keeper, this us one of the things that really impresses.
I was at the Northampton home game and you could tell how vocal Stevens was. Brown and KR were also encouraging him to be vocal.
I would imagine that the club are discussing a 3 year contract with Stevens?

 

[Fourthstand]

Young inexperienced keepers only get experienced when clubs take a punt and really put them through their paces and play them regularly. Oh wait... maybe we have a player in our hands

 

[Wallop]

With the squad limit dropping to 20 overage players, I don't personally think you can carry 2 keepers among those. So if I was making the decision based on right now, it would be Stevens as no.1 and a young loanee as backup (or our best youth keeper if the coaches believe him good enough).

I think that’s right because if you get an injury to one of your keepers you can get dispensation to bring in an emergency loan.

 

[pooshooter]

Looks like he has ended Eastwood's career with OUFC now

 

[Mellowyellow]

Not disputing that at all. Very good keeper, I wish we'd signed him permanently for the run-in. The point was more whether we would have been better long-term blooding Jack than bringing in a short-term stop-gap and sticking with a keeper who, with hindsight, was past it.

I think with the amount of loan keepers he brought in kr didn't seem to have much faith in him then.

 

[LeftSideBoy]

I think with the amount of loan keepers he brought in kr didn't seem to have much faith in him then.

Or maybe Jack knew that he wasn’t ready and it was more of a case of picking the right moment? Why is everything always KR’s fault?

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Or maybe Jack knew that he wasn’t ready and it was more of a case of picking the right moment? Why is everything always KR’s fault?

Some things are, some things aren’t. He’s not constantly blameless any more than he’s forever to blame.

Let’s not have tribalism on at least one thread on this forum. Surely we can all just focus on Jack and his dark, mysterious complexion.

 

[Mellowyellow]

Or maybe Jack knew that he wasn’t ready and it was more of a case of picking the right moment? Why is everything always KR’s fault?

Why do you read what you think is in someone's reply, rather than the actual reply, and engage in a proper discussion, rather than always seemingly wanting to start an argument?
I simply said kr resorted to loans when he had the option of using Stevens. When have I blamed kr here for anything?
As for Jack stevens telling kr he wasn't ready to keep goal, and he was picking the right moment, that sounds quite fanciful.

As [U]#RyanioBirdio[/U] said keep the tribalism away, we all support the same team, and come on here through the day, to discuss, debate, away from the pressures of work, or in my case an armful of medicines.

 

[bazzer9461]

Most keepers come into their prime in their late 20’s. Jack is still young but the lads come of age in recent weeks, good for him.

 

[tonto]

Jack comes over very well in the interview on ifollow

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Nice little article on the OM site today. Talks about the fact that Stevens’ agility and athleticism allows him to essentially play the ‘sweeper-keeper’ role, which not only takes the pressure off the defence psychologically but allows the entire team to push 10/15 yards further forward. You can definitely see that the team is playing higher up the pitch than previous, and that we have more players in and around the box and aren’t seeing Taylor with 30 yards of empty space around him. Really goes to show that you build the foundation of a strong team from the back.

I have to admit, though, that the way Jack plays and the starting positions he takes up, and the agility that he has compared to most goalies, makes a couple of moments that have occurred in recent months all the more painful

 

[Kiewhite]

The keeper position is a strange one. Eastwood Is not a bad keeper. Confidence and misstakes in a keeper can wreck your career. Look at joe hart once said by many to once being the best keeper in the world after a few misstakes he was 3rd choice at Burnley. I do think Eastwood is a great keeper but maybe to many eras for him psychologically to come back from

 

[Paul Cannell]

I have to admit, though, that the way Jack plays and the starting positions he takes up, and the agility that he has compared to most goalies, makes a couple of moments that have occurred in recent months all the more painful

He'll make a decent back-up centre-back if we're not quick

 

[RyanioBirdio]

He'll make a decent back-up centre-back if we're not quick

We’d best hurry up. I’ve got a brilliant picture of Mick Hucknall ready for you.

 

[m]

We’d best hurry up. I’ve got a brilliant picture of Mick Hucknall ready for you.

f**k, that's nasty.

 

[Wandering Yellow]

Who knows how he would have done last year?
Maybe the timing was spot on maybe not
Regardless, as somebody said a goalkeeper normally peaks late 20's and early 30's. So if we get him signed up on a new long term contract, the best may still to come.

If he played last year we would probably be in the Championship

 

[Foley]

If he played last year we would probably be in the Championship

Mmm. Who knows? I am.not sure that you can say 'probably. It would have been a huge game for such an inexperienced young keeper (he is far more experienced now of course).

 

[werthersoriginal]

If he played last year we would probably be in the Championship

If if if. He might have fallen down the Wembley steps and broken his leg and we'd have had to put a youth teamer in goal. (OK, could still have worked out better but …)