INTERVIEW: James Ward-Prowse speaks to the Mail

Congratulations on one of the most nonsensical posts I've read in a long time. Give the kid a chance ffs.

Some saints fans seem to be expecting him to be Zidane straight away. How about we give him some time to develop and mature?!

 

Ian has surpassed himself here with a JWP valuation of £2-4m. Unbelievable Jeff!

"He's one of our own...."

(Ok, technically he's one of that lot down the road, but let's not let a few miles get in the way of a good rip off, from a Spuds song - they nicked ours!)

 

I'm sorry, but I am not a fan of JWP. I agree that he is young and has the potential to become a better player. He did well to establish himself last season and think his ability to break in to the squad from the first match took many Saints fans by surprise. I don't expect him to be Zidane yet I think the recent success of our academy has seen an unimaginative press hike his potential value up given that they sense he could follow in the footsteps of previous successes such as Walcott, Alex O-C, Lallana, etc. English players are always over-priced but I think the 2015/16 season will dictate what happens to him. He needs to start scoring more goals for a start - the one big weakness with our current midfield.

I'm bemused by the reference to Schneiderlin as I wasn't aware of him seeming to be indifferent against league One opposition. I'd always thought that he looked talented and his distribution of the ball set him apart from many of him contemporaries from the off. I'd be more upset by losing the Frenchman or eve Wanyama before I lost any sleep about Ward-Prowse going. I think he has the potential to be an ok squad player and more likely to find his level at a club like Nottingham Forest, Norwich or Leeds as opposed to a top four club. I'd be very pleased if he bucked my expectations.

As for the England call up, I'm pleased to see another Saints player selected but feel that the likes of Clyne, Bertrand and the injured Forster merit the cap far more. Probably says more as to the paucity of English talent at the moment and reluctance of larger clubs to risk key players at the run in to the end of the season than anything else. Fans of most clubs in the EPL would probably make a convincing case for any of their English midfielders being selected.

 

Ian's posts. They are very long and I rarely agree with a single word of them. And here we go again. I can't decide whether they are a very subtle wind-up or not, more often than not.

 

Ian, the best example to use would be Aaron Ramsey. A couple of seasons ago every arsenal fan thought he was useless, now after a year or two of development he is a key player. It's a slightly different scenario due to his injuries, but proof that players can improve dramatically over a short space of time. For you to write him off at this stage is absolutely stupid.

 

Me too Channon. Two successive Saints managers, the England U21 manager, and now the senior England manager have all either picked him or said they intend to. And yet Ian knows better than all of them, and the vast majority of Saints fans. Ho hum.

 

I kind of lost Ian after he stated that he was sure that Saints would not be promoted (they were) and that he was certain that Pompey would not go down (they did) a few seasons ago. I doubted his motivation then and now.

 

He is sorry he is not a fan of JWP, but his selective criticism of individual players has always been his forte. He is allowed to have an opinion however, we aren't obliged to agree as we would probably both be wrong?

 

Oh absolutely. I may not agree with Ian but he is welcome to post his opinions on here-at length

 

1. You're not a fan of JWP -does that mean his value is low?
2. You have missed the point on the Morgan same age comparison. Morgan made his debut in the championship and then two seasons in league one; JWP made his debut as a 17 year old in the Premier League - I believe there may just be a difference in the standard of those two leagues.
3. The lack of goal scoring in our midfield; does JWP become the only player in that midfield to be devalued by the Thumwood on that basis?
4. No-one said he would be missed more than Morgan or Vic, so where are you going with that? Utterly ridiculous.
5. What are you on about by saying that "he is more likely to find his level at a club like Nottingham Forest, Norwich or Leeds as opposed to a top four club" ... are there no clubs between those Championship clubs and the top four? Here's one for you: Southampton! You could probably name most Premier League players that won't make a top 4 side.

Why don't you just say you don't rate him that highly and leave it at there, rather than post points that just don't make sense?

Can you please make your next post be about us being rubbish and never going to qualify for Europe?

 

I enjoy the Thumsters posts as he clearly puts a lot of thought into them. I don't agree with a lot of his opinions, but I'll fight anyone (at Thumb wars?) for his right to express them.

 

Indeed, Ian has a perfect right to his views on JWP. Show him the error of his ways with some clear examples. Here's one example - 6 assists. An easy stat from an iffy player, eh..? Yet I think that rates quite high considering the number of games he's played this season.

Personally, I'm not too bothered. JWP will do what he does whether I like him or not [and I do, as it happens].

 

Additionally, he is about the only player who can take a corner too....oh don't get me started about our corners!

 

Some stats came out recently that revealed that the number of corners leading to goals has generally gone down...teams now defend better. They even included goals a few touches after the corner and got the same results. We may not have scored from corners, but I think we may have only conceded from one. Shame Le Tiss can't take corners now, so we can see if modern defenders can deal with him.

 

People that have seen JWP week-in, week-out in training think he has the potential to be a future England player and possibly even captain.

People that have seen a 20-year-old playing in the Premier League for a grand total of 20 hours this season think he is overrated and not cut out for this league.

I know who I'm more likely to listen to...

 

I'd put a hell of a lot of money on 'no'.

 

We conceded almost immediately after our own corner against Chelsea IIRC.

 

Yes, I wonder what the stats are for goals scored from a break immediately after a corner?

 

I was going to use that example. Another example would be Frank Lampard ... not a great player at West ham or in his early days at Chelsea. I think central midfielders in particular can sometimes have the technical attributes (which is what the coaches see) but take time to learn how to put it all together into consistent influential performances. I guess it takes intelligence and maturity to play in midfield at the highest level.

I feel that next year is a big year for JWP though.

 

Can't we wheel him out (like they do in American football for kickers) and get him to take the corners? Surely no-one would notice, would they?