Not sure if I'd be that panicked. He just turned 19 at the end of April and has 17 league games. And they were in a relegation dogfight when O'Neill came in and I think Collins may have had a shaky game or two around that time. I don't think he needs a loan as soon as possible. He could take one in January if needs be. He'll still be 19.
Souttar starts today, Collins not on bench. Confirms him as 5th choice centre half. Hopefully he will push for a short term loan. I don’t buy into he’s only 19, he can be patient. He’s outgrown Mickey Mouse underage football. This is a crucial time in his development. Needs to drop down a division to get some solid experience now, rather than stagnating.
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/spor...ns-4562827.amp
Remains “integral” to Michael O’Neills plans. I don’t quite see the clear path. With all the competition there he should certainly at least go for a shorter term loan
It's a pretty average squad, he will get a chance when they lose a few games.Originally Posted by tommy_c12000
I dunno. You've got to ask why did O'Neill, who by his own admission has an overly 'bloated' squad, sign Chester if he genuinely rated Collins that highly?
I fear Collins - a young player of extremely high potential from what I've seen of him - risks seeing his career stall if he doesn't get regular first-team football this season.
And that would be a real shame.
Probably likes experienced centre backs. Some managers consider this very important in their centre backs.
Probably, though you would have that thought that Batth, Shawcross and Martins-indi already provided that.
He will be and has been given chances at Stoke. He just has to start taking those chances.
He will start again in the cup tonight. When given chances in the league his performances have generally been poor and that's why he hasn't made it into the first team.
Souttar is almost 3 years older than him so he really did need to start getting into the team.
Last edited by youngirish; 01/10/2020 at 3:07 PM.
Rave reviews for Collins and Souttar again - Stoke beat a weakened Aston Villa 1-0
He's very highly rated by Stoke supporters. Certainly more so than Chester.
Deserves to be given a fair chance by O'Neill.
Let’s hope he breaks into the team, certainly the supporters have him in starting vs Birmingham on Sunday. But O’Neill hasn’t shown himself to be persuaded by supporters views so let’s see. The loan window is closing soon, even 3 months of first team league one football and return to stoke in January would be great if he’s not going to break in over next few weeks
The thing that baffles me is that he is exactly the type of player that could command an 8 figure fee before he is 21. The links to Dortmund and co wouldn't be too far off is he got a full season of games under his belt.
I think he's just unlucky in that Stoke have stacks of centre backs, they have a centre back that played in a World Cup semi final and a third place playoff, which is ridiculous for a Championship team. Longer term I think he's a better prospect than Souttar, but Souttar is two and a half years older than Collins which makes a difference at the moment.
If and when he gets a run of games I'm confident he will do well, he could easily outgrow Stoke in terms of his development in a short space of time if he gets the opportunities and stays fit.
Fails to make the matchday squad against Birmingham after his impressive performance against Villa.
McClean named amongst the substitutes.
He fractured bone in hand so wasn’t available for selection. Major doubt now for under 21s
Conor McCarthy would be my replacement. He’s very good. I wouldn’t have any doubts about his ability to step up and play if needed.
Long list of replacements would probably include McNally, O’Hora, McGuinness, Ndaba, Nolan, Omobamidele, O’Driscoll... all have been were either involvement with the squad previously, were on standby lists or were involved in the last 19s squad and have come on since then...
We have a lot of guys at a relatively similar level in that position. I suspect it will be Ndaba or O'Hora who is called up and Scales steps into the first team. If O'Shea is called up to the seniors, we're in a bit of bother.
I don't think Collins was going to start this game anyway, O'Shea and Masterson have been the first choice pick right through the campaign and have formed a good partnership. If they were subbing in a centre back Collins would have been first in, but it's not a common substitution to make. Scales will be first reserve now.
Obviously that changes if O'Shea is called up to the seniors, but them bringing in Long and Christie suggests to me that they're keen to leave O'Shea with the under 21 team for this one. Which makes sense as it would be unlikely that O'Shea would actually get game time against Slovakia.
Only noticed today that Stoke let Bruno Martins Indi go out on loan for the year a few days ago. Between that and them going three at the back Collins should get a lot more chances than he might have done. Started today against Luton, kept a clean sheet and assisted a goal.
According to their main fans forum, shaky start but recovered and played okay. Was left side of 3 man centre back system, not ideal for him and affected distribution. Great to see him get a run. All he needs is a run of games and the backing of his manager to get his confidence up
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