The Steffen conundrum

I don’t think there’s any conundrum with Steffen. He’s the best keeper we have. I actually think he’s improved throughout the season.

I initially thought he was at fault for the goal on Saturday but after a number of replays I think McNair is equally to blame.

I’ve never been a massive critic but likewise, he’s been poor in some games which I’ve called out.

He’s a little laid back, he’s a bit sloppy at times but overall he’s a good shot stopper and most of the time his distribution is very good.

Would I spend massive a chunk of our transfer / salary budget on him? Not sure I would. But all depends on what your alternative options are too.

His passing out from the back is a direct instruction from the manager. Fans have to understand that. It will get us into tight situations at times, but it can be high risk / high reward. That’s the way we play!
 
I think Steffen's great.

I do think he's subject to far greater scrutiny than he warrants because a keeper mistake generally has greater consequences than other positions. That said, repeatedly turning over possession through aimless hoofing may lead to us conceding more goals in the long run, but that's harder to quantify and certainly harder to pin on the keeper.

But... part of me also thinks finding a good keeper with decent composure and passing range oughtn't to be an impossible ask, and in that case Man City is a very expensive place to go shopping if you don't have to.
 
wilkos_perm said:
Ah well if he makes you nervous lets get rid then
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No no….if he makes him nervous go get some psychological support; around £50 a session or take some wise advice; focus on all his positive attributes and save yourself 50 snot’s with a mentality shift
 
Also, don't just disregard the squad togetherness. A big reason we're doing so well is the strong bonds there seem to be in the squad. He's part of that and it's not insignificant.
 
Chutney said:
Also, don't just disregard the squad togetherness. A big reason we're doing so well is the strong bonds there seem to be in the squad. He's part of that and it's not insignificant.
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He's also part of a team that has gone from relegation candidates to automatic promotion contenders. He is part of a very good team and is often where our attacks start from and has contributed to the 3rd best goal difference in the division. And that's starting from a position where we were conceding multiple goals before halftime.
 
Traffic was slow away from the ground tonight so I listened to the whole of the post match thingy on BBC Tees. There were still numpties on about Steffen. That was the worst part of the goal you just knew it would empower them. FWIW I thought Steffen had a very good game (with the possible exception of their goal and one loose-ish pass.
 
Steffen to his credit had a good game. As for the goal it’s fair to say it was a freak goal by perhaps a freak player. Overall the defence had a good game although QPR despite being without Dykes had some chances. One mention for their goal scorer Chair, he’s a quality player so I’m surprised he still playing in the championship although I’m sure he’ll be gone in the summer.
 
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Expat Smoggie said:
Steffen to his credit had a good game. As for the goal it’s fair to say it was a freak goal by perhaps a freak player. Overall the defence had a good game although QPR despite being without Dykes had some chances. One mention for their goal scorer Chair, he’s a quality player so I’m surprised he still playing in the championship although I’m sure he’ll be gone in the summer.
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Chair is a great player and the one player I was concerned about, having said that, I also rate Neil critchley, I’ve been surprised by their struggles because he is very good tactically and did well at Blackpool
 
On The Bob said:
I don’t think there’s any conundrum with Steffen. He’s the best keeper we have. I actually think he’s improved throughout the season.

I initially thought he was at fault for the goal on Saturday but after a number of replays I think McNair is equally to blame.

I’ve never been a massive critic but likewise, he’s been poor in some games which I’ve called out.

He’s a little laid back, he’s a bit sloppy at times but overall he’s a good shot stopper and most of the time his distribution is very good.

Would I spend massive a chunk of our transfer / salary budget on him? Not sure I would. But all depends on what your alternative options are too.

His passing out from the back is a direct instruction from the manager. Fans have to understand that. It will get us into tight situations at times, but it can be high risk / high reward. That’s the way we play!
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He certainly kept us in it at Sheff Utd several times. He's the best keeper we've had for a while & I'd agree his game is coming on. He's not up to Randolph / Dimi level yet though broadly a very decent keeper & esp in this division.

I don't buy the 'risk reward' argument - you can pass out from the back without risk - & no pass in our own 3rd & in our area is worth risking allowing a goal [ to no concede is the reason we defend, so it's not OK to fanny about at the back - esp in the area - with a big possibility of losing a goal.

Defenders not taking responsibility & kicking it out when they should - under too much pressure without an 'out ball' should not pass it back to a keeper when they have no option but to kick it long - they should kick it long themselves.

Time & a place for passing around at the back & sometimes the hand grenade will explode - it's knowing that & getting shot before it does.
 
Very average keeper who has done nothing that I wouldn't expect any competent keeper to do. However there there is too many ricks in his game, too casual at times and lapses of concentration affects his game, definitely not one for signing permanently!
 
BobUpnDown said:
He certainly kept us in it at Sheff Utd several times. He's the best keeper we've had for a while & I'd agree his game is coming on. He's not up to Randolph / Dimi level yet though broadly a very decent keeper & esp in this division.

I don't buy the 'risk reward' argument - you can pass out from the back without risk - & no pass in our own 3rd & in our area is worth risking allowing a goal [ to no concede is the reason we defend, so it's not OK to fanny about at the back - esp in the area - with a big possibility of losing a goal.

Defenders not taking responsibility & kicking it out when they should - under too much pressure without an 'out ball' should not pass it back to a keeper when they have no option but to kick it long - they should kick it long themselves.

Time & a place for passing around at the back & sometimes the hand grenade will explode - it's knowing that & getting shot before it does.
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Nothing I disagree with in particular there but I think Mr Michael Carrick does.
He’d say, I’m developing a style where by we start from the back so it’ll involve the odd mistake or two as we adjust but we will have the occasional long kick where absolutely necessary but that’ll be the exception and I’ll take the responsibility for the mistakes because it’s my instruction 👍

Looks like we’re in for an era of testing our own nerve(!) as Michael Carrick teaches us fans how to be calm like the players 🤷‍♂️
 
The goal we conceded yesterday, Steffan was telling McGree to step across a bit more, then (it’s hard to tell from tv footage) he seems to be out organising the defenders at which point a shot was taken.
 
I think steffan is great - but I don’t think he’s ever going to be worth to us the rumoured wages he is on at Man City. So signing him long term isn’t really a conundrum in that sense.
 
It’s very frustrating in the ground. There’s a fella behind me who hates him and was constantly telling him to ‘stop messing about and get rid of it’. I pointed out to him that this is how we play now and so be better get used to it. On one such occasion of ‘messing about’ we played it out and in a few passes McGree was hitting the post.
 
He's fantastic in one-on-one situations. He's improved at dealing with crosses. His distribution can isn't perfect but I can give multiple examples of world class keepers like Allison and Ederson making similar errors. Yes they might do it less often but you going to have to spend and ridiculous amount of money to bring in a keeper with top notch distribution.

He's the best option we have got currently.
 
It is possible for him to be important to the way we play and still make mistakes that cost us goals. On the balance, we're better off with him. There's an argument to say he won us the game on Wednesday night and that could have been season defining.
 
Over the whole season he's been good more than bad, but as with all keepers their mistakes generally lead to goals.

Yesterday's was a proper clanger, thankfully didn't cost us.

He's a good shot stopper, sometimes struggles with crosses, and then there is his distribution. Sheff Utd in the first 15 mins he passed straight to their players 3 times and played 2 out of touch - missing the intended player by 10 yards🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

But then the flip side he makes 50 yard laser passes which puts us on the attack in an instant. Maybe he doesn't realise we don't have the quality City have, or that players get less time on the ball than the PL. Dunno.

We just need to get behind him and accept he will make mistakes, but imo his good far outweighs his bad.
 
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