I'm in the pro-Stephens/£1.5million value camp. But he really does frustrate me. I only noticed on Saturday (despite him having a great game) just how often I hear myself shouting out 'For God Sake Stephens!'. He sadly really reminds me of a Pardew-type player. Technically very gifted, we can all see there is a class-player in there somewhere and that he has potential, yet has about 1 good game per 4 poor ones. Its also odd that his best two games in a Charlton shirt have coincided with the transfer window opening. Never really seems to me that his heart is in this club.
its true, any whiff of interest in him and he'll be off. not a "charlton" type player, but getting better. i used to slate him for bottling challenges but recently he's been putting in a few crunchers.
He does seem to have developed the Pritchard-esque 'stay on your feet, stick one foot in' challenge which can prove very effective when successful.
At the start of last season, when the Good Doctor had assembled a super team for very little outlay and we looked like world-beaters, before Hollands got tripletized (and we were never consistently as good after that), I posted that I suspected Stephens would be the first of the new breed to leave us. (Well, Hollands may beat him to it though, if so, it is a mystery to me what went wrong). I had no real reason, just a hunch. Maybe just because he had a "northern" background.