James Ward-Prowse

I think he deserves his own thread. He has been phenomenal for us in the Europa league recently.

He has received a lot of unfair criticism from the idiots (mostly over on Saintsweb), but I think we can say he is finally showing his potential. I think it's a matter of time before his near misses start becoming screamers.

He needs his own song. What a player he could become.

 

Well said. A 30 yard free kick tomorrow would be a good start.

 

I didn't think he was that good against Inter at home. First half he frustrated me a lot because all of his passes were in the Mcqueen-Romeu-Van Dijk triangle, not a single forward or probing pass, only sideways and backwards. Second half he improved, he got forward a lot more, took some shots, played some nice diagonal passes.

I actually think he was much better in Milan, where some of his diagonal passes were almost Gerrard like, he also had some nice forward passes, like that one with outside of his boot between two defenders in space to Jay Rod, that was sublime.

 

I feel that Puels encouragement towards the younger players of the squad is starting to shine through. Prowsey is a prime example. I can imagine the academy is starting to get a good buzz about it now, seeing the likes of McQueen, Hesketh etc being given opportunities. I'd be really keen to see how he is at penalty taking as he can clearly strike a ball well enough. There were times over the last couple of seasons where I started to have my doubts over whether he would make the next step up - he just needs to add a few more goals from open play into his arsenal.

I should also add, I'll always have a bit of a soft spot for him due to the fact he's a product of the academy and a saint through and through. He's been around for so long now, seeing him in a different shirt would just be weird.

 

Osvaldorama

I don't think that JWP just gets stick on line. There are a good number of fans who are not impressed and these are probably in the majority. A lot of Saints fans I encounter share the negative perception of JWP. He has taken a long time to move on from his initial, impressive performances and , over the last two seasons, I don't feel that he has progressed. The game this week seemed to be a milestone for him and he , at last, put in the kind of performance he has always threatened to achieve. The biggest problem is his shooting and the general lack of goals. I can't seem him being an automatic choice but he is certainly no worse than Clasie. I do wonder if he will eventually be moved on with the arrival of Boufal. It has always struck me that JWP is the kind of player a Championship side looking for promotion would be likely to add to their squad but it does seem a long while since he was catching the eye of the Liverpool scouts. Not sure that JWP will ultimately establish himself as a Premiership regular but last Thursday's performance maybe demonstrated that he has the ability to finally achieve this. I think he needs to contribute more goals as a priority.

 

I respect your opinion Ian, but in my opinion you are wrong, James HAS progressed and this season he has been very consistant when he has played. He was our best player against Inter and his passing was accurate and searching, plus his shooting was quality. He is not the captain of England's U21 for nothing and they have been very successful under his leadership. He will only get better in time and it's interesting that Lallana and Schneidelin weren't any better than him at his age and they were playing in League One.
The Saints fans that I talk to are very proud of JWP and think that he will be a future captain of the team.

 

My personal opinion is that I disagree with anyone negative.
The lad has literally everything, everything, to become a top, top player. Successive managers have continued to play him. At 22, he is still one of the youngest in the squad. His early hype has sort of cause the negativity I think, which is massively unfair.

 

To answer Craig, James is one of our penalty takers....he was regarded as second to Tadic by Koeman.

I think JWP's problem (as far as the fans are concerned) is that he has was so good as a teenager that many are disappointed that he hasn't become Lionel Messi. He is a quality Premier League player....the type every team would keep if they had him, but few would scramble to sign if they didn't....just because he isn't flashy. He always receives compliments from TV commentators, the media and managers (Saints and England U21). I rarely speak strongly, but to say he is a Championship player is mmmm mmmmm not nice.

 

Ahh, thank you. I thought I remembered vaguely that being mentioned, but would be nice to see it put to good use now.

Agree with the media compliments too. His right foot delivery has been compared to Beckham's on more than one occasion. (That could just be down to lazy journalism but I prefer to look at it in a positive fashion).

 

He already has two!

One to the tune of Kumbaya and the other one to the tune of Son of my Father.

Vin

 

Are we discussing a 22 year old here? A 22 year old midfielder, where it is notoriously difficult to establish yourself. A 22 year old with seasoned pros challenging for the same position.

That successive managers keep picking him; that he is often the go-to sub and the fact that he has just signed a long term contract. Well he'll do me. I like the non-flashy point as well. A younger Steven Davis. Or for those who remember these things, David Armstrong from the Lawrie team. Not a flashy player, but highly reliable, and almost certainly popular with his fellow pros who can read him. Nothing worse than playing with a show pony (are you listening Gaston?)

 

He is quite clearly too good for the championship. JWP has been flirting around the edge of the first team for a while now and hasn't quite established himself as a regular starter. He now has a big season ahead of him, he is getting to the age where youth is no longer an excuse and he needs to put in good performances on a regular basis - and he is doing just that!

I've been impressed with him this season and Thursday only highlighted what a good player he is. Personally I would start him ahead of Davis against Hull (fitness pending).

 

He must be benefitting from Puel's rotation system....as a good player, he gets his chance. I'm sure he's a pleasure to manage and he seems to like Claude.

 

Fran

This website is the only place I ever find Saints fans singing JWP's praises. Where I sit in the Chapel, there seems to be a lot of negativity about him and the Saints fans I speak to or encounter through work seem to be ambivalent at best. The consensus is, as you allude, that he hasn't progressed as much as his potential suggested when he first played for us. There seems to be more fans who would prefer to Reed have a run in the team but, as I said, I don't think that Clasie if much better either but I can't see how you could suggest JWP is in the same league as either Lallana or Schneiderlin who are in a different class.

It will be interesting to see how JWP does progress but my gut feeling is that he is the kind of player that a newly promoted team like Middlesborough or an ambitious team like Brighton would look to acquire. The success of Targett and McQueen this season is suggestive that the academy is still producing talent yet I think the latter looks more of a first team player than JWP from the few performances he has put in. If JWP starts getting in amongst the goals, I think he will fit the bill yet this is his Achilles heel in my opinion.

 

That last statement is clearly ridiculous. I think Davis is probably the most capable midfield player we have. Along with Forster, Fonte and Van Dijk, he would be next on my team sheet each week.

 

I wouldn't say it's "clearly" ridiculous at all. Firstly it's his personal opinion, but also based on recent performances, I'd also start Prowsey ahead of Davis

 

Really? He's been average at best all season. I would certainly play JWP ahead of Davis at the moment.

 

Before this season I would have agreed with you. The fact is that Davis has not had a good season. That's not to say he is now useless, but he hasn't performed well this season. Also it isn't like him to make errors such as last Sunday that cost us an early goal against Chelsea. He is 32 in January and not playing his best football - to me it would be ridiculous to not play the younger, more in-form player that has a huge future should he get enough game time to progress.

 

In my opinion, JWP is starting to mature into a very steady, reliable and hard working player, who will always put in a good shift. I never worry about him being on the team sheet, because he has shown that he is worthy of starting games.
His next step up needs to be finding the back of the net from open play, but that same comment could be aimed at every one of our midfield players. And to be fair to JWP, he is finding himself in shooting positions with more regularity, so far, this season, so hopefully the goals will soon start to flow.
Sometimes I think he could be more adventurous, with regards to his positional play, and mentioned last season how he never shows wide on the touchline, for forward passes from the full back, preferring to drop deep, encouraging the full back to pass backwards, but then, ball retention is key to Claude's plans.

 

I like how he's been getting more stuck-in and aggressive recently. Always been a fan, though.