I'd have taken him over Mason. I also like Biton at Celtic, good solid midfielder. Speaking of Celtic, James Forrest is having a great season, would love to see us in for him.
Meyler is worse on the left than he is in the middle. In fact if we put a palace shirt on him he'll pass to us
Thing with Meyler is, at Championship level you get a lot of games where you need energy in midfield and a bloke that crunches into tackles and he thrives at that level. At Premier League level, you need more to your game than that, you need to be able to win the ball, have a great passing range, vision, awareness and a bit of bite. Meyler doesn't have this, hence why in an ideal world we would've got rid at the end of the season. He shouldn't be anywhere near a PL side.
As did I and I was slated massively for it. I like the guy, but a Premier League quality footballer he ain't.
You're absolutely bang on! Sadly we have far too many players in our squad that aren't PL footballers either
Yeah, loads. And those that didn't say it outright said it via proxy by suggesting he should be in ahead of players that were, using such classic excuses as "oh but he covers a lot of ground" and "he tackles a lot". Basically, things every footballer does as standard were his best traits.
Alternatively, £13m buys you a poor mans Meyler! I'd rather have Meyler in the side than Mason. At least Meyler will a) run around b) possibly make a tackle c) provide a slight more of a goal threat. I'd suggest all the 'bits' you thought Meyler brought to the side are exactly what we are missing in the PL. Some fans get caught up in the notion that football is a complicated game - it isn't. We just make it look complicated. If we have more players with the courage to at least try and carry out their convictions we'll do better than we are at present. Let us be honest - Meyler is going to be a huge improvement on the invisible Ryan Mason or the Missing Henricksen. Both **** and should be returned under the sale of goods act.
I agree excellent post. We need the right to play further up the pitch. Neither Mason or Henriksen do this. In the end we'd be better giving it to our full backs playing it behind running after it and getting throwing free kicks further up the pitch. Meyler will give us more opportunity winning the ball and running with it, despite what people think Livermore and Meyler together are best when our backs are against the wall.
Well firstly, there's nothing wrong with Henriksen, he's being played out of position as a deep central midfielder. His best role is behind the striker. Even so, he's done his job fine, he doesn't make mistakes and he is yet to fully get going. Second, having courage and battle isn't enough. You're right, Mason isn't playing well at all and should be dropped, but for Huddlestone. What we have to discern is the difference between a lack of form and a lack of ability. Mason is woefully out of form, but he's clearly a talented footballer as he's played for England and spent years in Tottenhams first team. Meyler couldn't get into Sunderland's team because, wait for it, he's not good enough to play consistently in the Premier League. Bunging him in because he looks a more attractive option right now is a rash decision. Or, play Bowen on the left and put Clucas in the middle. Honestly, in the Championship Meyler is an asset. In the Premier League, he's just not good enough.
The same could be said for Livermore in my opinion. Also if a players out of form playing them out of position isn't a bright thing to do.
Ryan Mason played in the premier league for Spurs for 2 'years'. David Meyler played in the Premier League for Sunderland for 3 'years'. And if we're using international appearances as a barometer...
