why Jazz does not get a decent run is baffling imo
Isn't mates with the right people

why Jazz does not get a decent run is baffling imo

you have to know what your talking about otherwise you make comments like that...

Isn't mates with the right people![]()
According to Stuart Pearce (-21 manager) Shelvey refused to play under 21s once he'd gained his full cap!
If that is true then it is a terrible indictment of his character .... as many have noticed, this season he's not so hot and has weaknesses that despite his professional experience (made is debut at the age of 16) he does not have the discipline control.
It just occurred to me that Robbie James would be a good player to compare with Shelvey. Robbie made his debut when he was barely 16, on the last game of the '72-'73 season on the right wing - a very tidy debut it was too. Interesting to compare where Robbie was at Shelvey's age in terms of ability and most importantly maturity. By rough reckoning, Robbie had played over 220 league matches v 135; scored 65 goals v 22; and had started to play for Wales seniors. Robbie never looked knackered in the second half and didn't lose his s**t with stupid fouls .... I don't think Harry Griffiths or Toshack would have put up with it.
You could argue that Routledge is too old to start an international career at 29(30 in Jan). Hodgson is going for youth at the moment and Shelvey is only 22. Dyer is 27 next month so he's still in contention I guess.
When you're a small player like Carroll you're used to playing against bigger players. He's a seasoned professional who, after years of playing football at a high level, will know how to use and position his body to evade challenges from physical players.
And besides, Stoke actually try and play a bit of football these days under Hughes. It's not like the ball is going to be in the air all game with Carroll contesting high balls. From what I've seen of Carroll so far he's very comfortable in possession and is a better prospect than Fulton. Looking forward to seeing how he gets on.
I thought he played a good game. He played well with Ki, which allowed Ki to be more offensive and this created most our good chances in the first 30 minutes. We did not cough up possession by banging long balls to nowhere. He played up to the tempo of the game, was busy making himself available for the pass from the back four.
I'd start him again without reservation. The way we played for the first 30 minutes was the best we have played all season. Once they scored, it went down hill, but that's not his fault. In fact, once he went off Stoke pretty much owned midfield. We couldn't get nor keep possession to save ourselves.