Dan Neil may aswell carry a "for sale" sign around with him. Barely getting a sniff. If it's an injury concern then so be it, but it's painfully obvious he is being kept wrapped in cotton wool and the funding for next season.
I think people forget he's only 18 and hasn't played first team football previously. I think he's done remarkably well to hold down a place for 40ish games in his first season.
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agreed. but like I say, it's clear what's going on. and everyone will wave him of saying stuff like "can't blame the lad" etc etc.
Don't think that's painfully obvious at all. Don't get why so many of our fans are so negative on a consistent basis
I am torn between two opinions. Alex Neil has all but ditched the young lads since arriving. He suggested they have been flogged to death but I think he is being disengenious. On the other hand I like so much about Alex Neil and what he has done. I am settled on the view he used the tired old rhetoric all managers use when taking a job mid season - fitness isnt what it should be. I swear they assume fans are stupid. Of course he was right in the caee of Defoe, Clarke and Roberts, but was trying to pull the wool over our eyes with the younger lads, and more insultingly recently with Stewart. I dont buy much of what he said at all frankly, it makes very little sense when it comes to Neil etc. I have a feeling he is incredibly arrogant and he doesnt really think anyone in the media or fan base is intelligent enough to challenge him, or worthy of his explanation, but that isnt for now. I am fully behind him while we go for promotion, but I have a range of challenges that I want to hear him respond to in the summer, as it stands he is getting a free pass and that is ok, but it wont last, it never does with managers.
TBH I never pay that much attention to what managers say in the media. All too often they're trying to protect players, hide internal issues and mislead other managers. There are players who have confidence issues or are homesick or whatever. Plus, in every squad, there are cliques and grudges that have to be addressed. And as contracts are chased or avoided, at this stage of the season, players will 'pull sickies' to avoid turning out or make light of them to keep playing. I never feel we have any real idea of what's going on but I'd imagine it's a hundred times more complicated than we'd like.
I don't see how I'm being negative? Lads a top talent that for some reason isn't getting as many minutes as he was earlier in the season and a player that has reportedly courted interested from teams higher up the food chain so to speak. If its purely tactical then fair enough.
Players sometimes make it clear they've no interest in staying which is bad for team spirit ... ... Hume was the same despite being 'one of our own'.
Very true mate. I think he is definitely trying to spin somethings and gloss over others, which is not a criticism by the way. The Dan Neil argument is the one that brings out my concern about him, and that concern may well be unfounded. It seems a player that good doesnt fit in for some reason, yet I think he hasnt really been pushed to explain it. Whilst we are flying he does not need to and people have gone with the flogged to death line. Bearing in mind how good of a player he is, and how much he was loved by us fans, I am a little surprised he hasnt been challenged more on it. Like I say though come the summer, when hopefully we are planning a championship campain, I think it will be reasonable to expect a bit more insight from him.
I'll be honest I think Dan Neil has let us down at times this season. He obviously has talent but has vanished during games and barely contributed imo. His occasional moments of brilliance aren't enough over a L1 season. It's sad that Matete came in and instantly showed the aggression and energy that we'd rarely seen. He shouldn't be able to knock Neil or Embleton out of the side but he did. As we're unbeaten for so long, after collapsing against the likes of Bolton, we're now showing the kind of determination and graftv you can't do without. AN wants promotion and, if he felt Neil could really help, he'd play him. But Pritchard, despite being currently a better player, does the clever stuff but also works his nuts off, fights to win the ball and always wants the ball even if he's double marked. We can't carry passengers and, imo, Neil and Embleton have stood by and watched too much.
Good in the air? Plenty of pace? You need them attributes to be a very good defender, never mind a world class defender.
The lad was shot to bits. He'd played something like 35 games by Xmas. Johnson flogged him to death like he did Doyle. Alex Neil came in and said he needed a rest. So, he;'s rested him whilst Evans has had a bit of a renaissance. Now the way the team is set up, there isn't really an obvious slot for Dan Neil. Not everything has to be a conspiracy
Dan Neil had a cracking start to the season but he was definitely one of our young players that went missing when our backs were against the wall. He mostly just drifted through games, tbh. It's also hard to make a case for him when our form has been so good without him in the team. I don't agree with the comments that Neil should be in the team over Matete. Matete already has that consistency to his game and is involved in every game that he plays.
You say that, but we have a 21 year old goalkeeper, a 21 year old in central midfield, another 21yo playing wing-back pretty much every week. I just think Dan Neil was shot to bits in his 1st season as a pro and he's been taken out the team to protect him as much as it is that he doesn't currently fit in to what AN is wanting to do with the midfield.
