Player/Manager at Eastwood Town. Any one know how old he is?

no older than 24/25 surely.

http://www.eastwoodadvertiser.co.uk/spo ... _1_3889985

25

he talks a good game

He is caretaker manager, Jamie Brough the last manager stepped down on October 10th, Steven Istead has been put in charge for the next few matches. Good luck to the lad, Darryl Clark stepped up at Salisbury so why not?
Istead never seemed the "manager" type though.

Quick Wiki search Full name Steven Brian Istead
Date of birth 23 April 1986 (1986-04-23) (age 25)
Place of birth South Shields, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Eastwood Town
Youth career
2000–2002 Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2002–2006 Hartlepool United 64 (3)
2006 Gateshead 17 (0)
2006–2007 Consett
2007–2008 Peterhead 24 (1)
2008–2009 Ilkeston Town
2009–2011 Mansfield Town 44 (1)
2009 → Alfreton Town (loan)
2011– Eastwood Town 0 (0

Never knew his middle name was Brian!
:

Lost 6-1 yesterday

If you need information on a Pools player use inthemadcrowd, Istead scored 4 goals for Pools not 3.

He is caretaker manager, Jamie Brough the last manager stepped down on October 10th, Steven Istead has been put in charge for the next few matches. Good luck to the lad, Darryl Clark stepped up at Salisbury so why not?
Istead never seemed the "manager" type though.

Salisbury lost 5-0,so wonder if Clarke will be in charge much longer

It was only a quick search Bob but Wikipedia is not the oracle as we all know. Istead always looked like he had potential but never reached it- BSP at 25 is typical of failed Pools prospects.

i always thought with a little bit of work he could have done well, he was lightning quick but was a bit like aaron lennon in he respect of "head down, go on the outside, if it doesnt work, errr im a bit fucked".

His debut was pretty impressive when he came on at 16 and hit the bar.

Didn't he win us about 3 penalties in consecutive games after coming off the bench? He was really quick but got pushed off the ball far to easy. Seem to remember he couldn't cross aswell

Another who wasn't helped by a large section of morons that support our club

Isteads career was ruined by the managers who used him only as an impact player , it was pathetic that he started so few games....

He wasn't good enough to start more games Jonny.

In fact he did well given he wasn't good enough to play so many games.

Mind we could do with a bit of pace in the team now! Unfortunately that's all he had.

He was getting used for ten minutes here and there, he scored a few goals, caused problems and was often the player we turned to to break down a defence. The way he was treated was shabby , no wonder he didn't develop as a player...

He didn't develop because he wasn't good enough and was never going to be at our level, he was released by a conference team in the summer and now plays in the Conference North.

'Shabby'

Give Over!!

He started 5 league games , he had a lot of decent games especially early on in his career, pools failed him.... If you think that 5 starts and 59 sub appearances is the way to develop a young player thats up to you....

He was dreadful.

He did better than a lot of young players, the vast majority who are released without even getting close to the first team. If Cooper wasn't manager he wouldn't have been thrown in at 16 and wouldn't have had that experience to take with him.

So if he'd started more games, even though he clearly wasn't good enough in terms of ability, how would that have benefited him or the club? Given his level is now three divisions lower than the one we play at?

Sometimes players need a chance to shine, what level does Jim Provett play at again? Or are you going to claim that he was rubbish and didn't benefit the club as well...?

What a magificent counter argument Jonny, you've just given me someone who got lots of starts who was a decent keeper but not tall enough for League One. To be Jim's height you need to be top class. Again not really up to our level, Dimi and Flinders are in a different league to Provett. He had a good season and won player of the year, but in hindsight he'd probably get slaughtered if we had him in nets now. He wasn't rubbish at all but mentioning him backs my point not yours. Seeing his career since Pools suggests he wasn't really good enough. Istead was rubbish though!

Do you honestly believe that Stephen Istead would be playing three divisions higher than he is now if he'd have started a few more games for Pools? I reckon he'd have just been shown up to be not good enough a bit quicker.

Istead had a couple of games, and just didnt use his pace. And without it he was nothing. When he came on as a sub at first he was lightning quick. When he got in the team he was slow. He did my head in.

colonel you've shared plenty of dealings with the hufc youth system on here lately, dont you think then that through your experience the youth system is failing players and not bringing them on like they should?

I can see both sides of pj's and jonnys argument, istead and many others looked raw, but i think they had some potential, and with a bit of work who knows where they could have ended up.

That's true Mr Yubep but football is a cut-throat world. I don't feel that a manager should devote too much time to developing players if they are unsure if they have the potential to go all the way. The way I see it is that young players who play in the side have to compliment the side and are not just there because they may be good a few years down the line but aren't there yet.

I hate what I'm saying but I feel it's true. Players have a few games and sub appearences to show that they are worth persisting with, otherwise they're stuck in the reserves and ultimately picked up by a lower placed side

If I recall rightly, we did try give alot of the youngsters a game in the Istead era, likes of Appleby, Foley, Wilkinson brothers, brackstone, ... All in my opinion had some potential but obviously not enough.. That's what I liked about Cooper though, giving these youngsters a run out. Shame Scotty and Turner didn't do it enough especially with the likes of Rowell who I thought had alot of potential if given the chance

We get these discussions whenever a young ex - player is mentioned somewhere else, usually about how great they could've been if only we'd given them more of a go......Istead, Rowell, Foley etc etc....now it might just be the way I view it but they were not good enough and that is the reason they didn't get a chance with us. If they were good enough for regular first team football at lower league Hartlepool United who operate on a small budget and need young players to come through the ranks they would play simples.

Had they gone on to have a career in the top flight here then I get the argument......Mark Venus for example, Tony Barras who left us too early and had a very good career in higher divisions than us, is another. But the reason Istead, Foley et al didn't carve out a career in league football wasn't due to Pools not giving them opportunities, Foley had 2 years longer than he should have had in my view, it was because fundamentally they did not have all the attributes to enable them to make it in a very competitive career. Not that managers didn't give them a chance or the clubs youth system is lacking.

Foley is playing in the Caribbean in a league more akin to Northern League and is doing well.....great I am delighted for him.....but he wasn't good enough for us.....still isn't and wouldn't be the answer now, neither is Istead and neither is Rowell.

When he got in the team ? He started 5 league games, the most consecutive games he started was 3 in a row. In one of those games he scored, prior to that he used for mainly for 15 minute cameo's.... I don't see how anyone can say that he got a fair crack.

In response to PoolieTim - It seems to me like the players on high wages are picked first and this has probably been the case for 5-6 seasons. Who was the last player to successfully come through the youth setup ? Matty Robson...?

Are you trying to say that in the last 6-7 seasons not one youth team player has been good enough..? I find that hard to believe. Are they not good enough or are HUFC failed to develop and nurture talent...? It must be frustrating for young players to play once and then get dropped - often after playing well.

This season MW had the perfect opportunity to blood Darren Holden when Horwood was injured but he played experienced players out of position instead. I don't think that sends the right message. Pools must be spending more than ever on the youth setup but what's the point if they don't get a chance.?