I have a feeling Hume will really push on this season. Looked excellent in the 45 minutes against Ryan Kent (only pre-season I know). Huggins is a bit of a worry with how long he’s been out, but was really highly rated at Leeds. I’d be okay with bringing in one other full-back. Either side is fine given Huggins can cover both.
Agreed, Dan Neil is far from the finished article. Has a lot of potential but needs to be much more aware on the pitch of where he needs to be etc. Same with Matete really, has a lot of potential but I wouldn’t trust him starting week in, week out at this level.
Dan Neil was outstanding in the first half of the season. So much so we had prem clubs sniffing around and he got England recognition.. What I saw was Neil wanting the ball all the time, not Evans. It was Neil who was playing like the senior in that position, dictating play and urging the team on. Evans was a weak link in the early part of the season for me, he just didnt look confident. Under Alex Neil he was far better when he had a much simpler job. Maybe Dan faded, maybe he hit some bad form, but it certainly wasnt a case he didnt cut it by any means. He is 20, and it was his first season, so he will have stuff to work on naturally. For me he is the most technically gifted young player I have seen come through since the likes of Bridges, he has a massive future in the game. As for Morrison he just isnt that good in my opinion, and I dont say that to be controversial. He supposedly had his best season last year. Well I watched him probably 5 or 6 times live and he never stood out. I know plenty of derby season ticket holders who said he was a 1 in 5 player. His reputation is built on some mythical talent he had as a kid. It has been very rarely seen on a pitch to any consistent level. Maybe I am wrong, and he will go and have a great few seasons, but at 29 he has yet to prove he is a top end championship player so I would be gutted to see him push someone like Dan Neil down the pecking order, and I doubt it will happen personally.
Couldn’t disagree more. Neil was caught of out position constantly and left Evans trying to defend an impossible situation with numerous midfielders running at him on the counter. Again, I think Neil will be a quality player and he has the potential but he was crap last season and I’ve no doubt in mind that’s why he rarely featured under Alex Neil. I hope he develops and takes Pritchards spot in the team eventually but he’s currently not a centre midfielder at all. Morrison would be head and shoulders above Neil next season playing in the middle. Not even up for discussion he’s leagues ahead of him at the minute. Physically much bigger and faster, can control games and understands the role. Its like the whole Patterson argument. I understand people are passionate about giving our local lads a chance, but if you’re being serious about us getting promoted you want the best player possible in every position. Not someone who has a few good games in league one so deserves a crack. It’s a tough old game and if we’re to seriously challenge we need to be ruthless.
I have to say I agree with this. Neil is very talented but very young and his inexperience shows in the way he surrenders possession and I think both him and Patterson need a full season of football in League One. I’m not disrespecting the two players, I want us to see the best of them that’s all and that’s what I think they need. Maybe Neil for half a season then see.
I suspect arguing this one wont do much good. If you think Dan Neil was crap last season then we are on a different page. Fair enough, all about opinions. Likewise with Morrison, I can only comment on my opinion of him, having watched him a fair bit, but all about opinions again, I just have never seen the Morrison you have.
No chance would morrison be head and shoulders above neil. I watched Morrison loads last season and he never controlled a game. He also gets caught out of position loads, yes i agree neil does but it was also his 1st ever senior season while morrison has had about 10/11 seasons. Morrions got bailed out loads last season because he had loads of energy around him and max bird was there to mopped up. Neils ability is his passing, he is always looking to play that forward pass and get us on the front foot. He was class at times last season. I agree positional he got caught out at times but he will learn and improve in this area.
Agree with this, all have different opinions on how we want the club to move forward. The one thing we all want is success for the club and we seem to be going that way!! Buzzing for this season
hmmm, i can not say dan neil was 'crap' at all, obviously young and needs experience especially in that position although i did comment that he seemed to drop out of games, not sure if that is what @WorkyTicketFTM refers to as i felt at times he really needed to be more involved...i also rate the lad and he certainly looked a tad 'bulkier' against rangers so he is obviously doing the work. matete is very similar in that respect, looks good but also goes missing at times, pritchard on the other hand is showing his experience the way he wanders around and shows for the ball, even if knackered he offers himself for a pass and usually knows where his pass is heading...i think the two young lads have to learn to pace themselves as much as anything, stop trying too hard to impress and play their natural game (onien was guilty of the same thing at first) the talent is there and i think the worst thing would be to hoy them in to soon and possibly destroy confidence, once they learn that some games they wont contribute as much as others but it's not thier fault they will improve drastically i reckon.
Totally agree with what you are saying, sometimes players are too fit for their own good. Ive coached loads of CM who have so much energy that they just chase the ball, the hardest part is getting them to stop running and just drop into a position. Think neil n matete both need to do this more, onien as well still needs to improve in this area. I know it was only 45 mins but you could see Neil dropping into positions more rather than just chasing the ball
Fair post mate. I think one thing to bear in mind, at least in my opinion, is the way Johnson wanted to play, versus how Neil decided to setup last year. Johnson was very much an attack minded coach, with football at all times. That meant Dan Neil had the licence to carry the ball, get forward and impact us in the final 3rd. Some of his stats back that up, when compared to Evans. It was like Man City with Rodrigo rarely going forward, but Gondogan and De Bruyne do. I honestly believe Johnson told him to do that, which did mean when we got caught he was having to backtrack. If a coach wants to invest in him the out of possession stuff is the easier thing to coach, than the in possession stuff.
I’m not saying Dan Neil is crap at all by the way, I think he’s probably the most talented youngster we have. Im not going to give him preferential treatment because he’s a Sunderland lad. I’m just saying last season he was underwhelming and CM doesn’t suit him. I can’t remember watching a game and thinking, f**k me he was outstanding today.. we’re talking about a player who has more than enough potential to walk games in league one, yet when did he win us a game from his own performance? Compare that to Pritchard who’s dominated games left, right and John Mensah. I just think he’s not a centre midfielder, he’s a no.10 but he’s not getting a game there whilst we have Pritchard. Everyone was slating Evans for not having 8 legs and being able to stop a counter attack with more attackers than he had defenders, when in reality he should’ve never been in that position. I could see from a mile off Evans was decent whilst our fans were slating him, and they all changed their tune as soon as Neil was out of the team. We’ll just have to agree to disagree about his form last season.
Fair enough mate. Would be dull if we all thought the same. Just one last point is I am an old romantic and want our own lads to get a bit of preferential treatment, and a leg up. That is to say I would rather invest in detailed and impactful coaching with one of our own, than buy someone a bit more developed. Just my thing. I felt a massive thing for us in the run in last year was the attitude of Embo and Gooch - they wanted it badly.
100% mate - as I say I think Neil has more potential than anyone we’ve seen through the academy lately, including Pickford. I think he’s in a difficult position though where if we were a lesser club he’d be playing every game and show his quality but we’re lucky enough to have Pritchard who’s going to have another blinder this season IMO. Hopefully in a few years time we’ve got Matete in Evans position and Neil in Pritchards.
i see what you mean, many seem to overlook a lot when it's a young, local lad on the pitch, basically i get the feeling we are all agreeing with each other on this, we just have different ways of trying to make our points...we all agree the lad has the talent (as do others) we just see his contributions differently, for what it's worth i was a tad annoyed last season when evans was getting pelters so i am pleased we all started to see the 'real' player once LJ went.
Neil had some excellent games last season. He faded, and certainly he can improve, but to say he was crap is nowhere near the reality of it. As for Morrison, maybe. But it's a maybe. He has had a half decent season in a losing cause, but that's it. He has let every other club down he has played for, and unless he has undergone some dramatic, Pauline conversion, I imagine he'll do so again. But they are doing pretty well with recruitment these days, so if they think he's worth a gamble fair enough.
I don't understand the 'we need a playmaker' crack. Alex Pritchard is the playmaker. The two central midfielders are there to screen, spoil and break up play. If we want to screen more solidly then it'll be O'nien and Evans, if we want a little bit more expression then it'll either be Evans and Matete or Dan Neil. None of them are still in the side to be the playmaker, that will always be Pritchard or Embleton playing off Stewart at ten.
to be fair, you can be a playmaker and not play the 10 role. I don’t think a player that can sit alongside Evans and dictate from deep would go amiss.
