Absolutely!
How this guy gets stick from some fans is totally unbelievable.
That performance tonight was truly class.
He bossed Crawleys back four, won every header, ran his b******s off and scored a sublime goal.
That work ethic is infectious and a great example for the rest of the squad.
Absolutely!
What he said.
I don't think anybody has ever questioned Jon Stead's work ethic, fitness or professionalism. For a 35-year old to play 180 minutes in the space of 4 days is very impressive.
I think the one thing I would say is that he was similarly influential at this time last season, as was Ameobi for that matter, but both of them visibly lost sharpness as the winter wore on and the pitches got heavier. Neither of them was the same in the second half of the season, and it had nothing to do with lack of effort or ability, it was simply Old Father Time dictating that a 35-year-old and a 36-year-old couldn't go through a whole season leading the line with very little quality back-up.
Tonight, Stead was excellent and sharp, and he will probably sustain that form for a few weeks yet, but at some point he will need a rest if we're going to see him maintain his best form later on in the season. The difference this year is that we do have another quality option in Kristian Dennis, whose scoring record speaks for itself and whose best is yet to come.
Agreed....Stead and Shola started off last season like a house on fire.......then they faded badly.
Kewell needs to make sure that Stead is used wisely this season and rests him occasionally......Macclesfield look ready for a trouncing, so maybe give Dennis a run-out....a combo of Dennis, Hemmings, Enzio and Aless is easily enough to get us the result IMO.
He may have rallied briefly, and obviously judgement of performances is subjective, but I think overall Stead and Shola looked jaded for much of the winter and in the run-in, because there was no-one else of sufficient quality to share the load. In fact, Shola was barely able to last 60 minutes in alternate games, which further increased the demand on Stead.
As Tarquin says above, Forte proved to be a bit of a saviour, but he's a different type of striker anyway. He wasn't really the type to cover the role played by the two big lads.