I did single Steffen out a little yesterday. I don’t think he’s solely the reason we lost but I thought he was shaky.
I don’t mind him but I’d say Steffen is a 6-7 out of 10 most games. He’s a pretty decent shot stopper, generally. His passing and distribution is usually decent. I know he is a little laid back and people chit themselves when we try play out from the back. That’s not his fault though as it’s how Carrick wants us to play.
I do think he’s got weaknesses to his game though.
1) His decision making at times is poor, certainly on crosses.
2) He doesn’t command his box very well.
3) He puts players under a lot of pressure with some questionable passes at times.
Yesterday, a better finish from Diallo and we are 1-0 down after 10 minutes. He got lucky after a hospital ball.
He doesn’t come off his line early enough when Stewart gets in behind for the penalty.
Even for the penalty. He gets there and should at least parry the ball away from goal. Perhaps a little harsh, but we’ve seen him make similar “saves” in open play.
Overall, he’s good when we have lots of possession and suits our style. Not convinced he’d be worth signing permanently though. When the pressure is on and we’re under the cosh, he makes more mistakes than I would like. Burnley was another example of that.
He’s a definite improvement on what we had and is the best keeper at the club on the evidence I’ve seen. Happy for him to remain no. 1 until the end of the season. Just not convinced he’s the long term solution.