Re: Stansfield

BlueJim

I've said for a long time that his touch is very hit and miss, his ball striking is also very hit and miss (see Ducksch goal at Sheff Wed), he struggles to switch from pressing mode (tense & aggressive) to possession mode (calm) so he snatches at a lot of things and a lot of balls bounce off him.

He does a lot of good however, there are lots of things he does do, in unbelievable work rate, he's a nuisance, he's also getting a lot better at using his body and competing

The good thing now is we have options, Priske, Stansfield and Ducksch are all capable of playing in a two together, it's what a promotion contending squad should look like, we may now sometimes be able to use Stansfield really effectively in a short 25 min burst off the bench in a 3 game week.

I completely agree, and he would get into my team every week, I just don't remember him having a bad first touch (occasionally) when he was on loan, just seems a bit strange to me.

I think it is how we play now, he is often deeper than he was and more involved in play. In our relegation season he was more often playing off the shoulder of the last man, and having less touches of the ball.