It must be an indication of how bad things are that NRC has taken up so much of this thread, When we signed him I loved it in a KK sort of a way. Box to box midfielder, captain of West Ham at a young age, England under 21's. I thought he would move us on to another level. Every game he played I was willing him to do well. But he was never all that, occasional lung bursting runs that ended in him passing to a defender when Gabby was free or passing to the keeper instead of firing it past him. Even as a DM he would often win the ball only to give it away. He always left me feeling a bit disappointed. It's been a bit of an emtional repeat with N'zogbia and Ireland. Though I was surprised with Nzogbia's contribution against Southampton, in that he made one. Maybe time hasn't run out on him.
I don't watch all these lower league players people mention on here. I watch the Villa, I watch match of the day and I watch my lad play (he could do a job for us). So I don't know how good Dale Stevens is but I would rather give somebody an opportunity to step up a level than go back to somebody who failed to take his.
NRC sorry but move on