When will young Joe Mason come on and win a game for us? There is something about the lad that excites me - his coolness in front of goal is exceptional for such a young man. Apart from becoming bench bound when the starting lineup is posted which is probably fair given the talent now at the club, he's not been utilised as a sub these days, with the preference falling to Heidar. Could he be a better choice? Maybe tonight we won't need him, but....................
Always good to have on the bench but hasn't moved on this season as expected - probably due to the queue of strikers favoured in front of him. He has a track record of scoring some important goals (a one in four to five game strike rate), v. Liverpool for instance, but for me there is just something about him which says the Championship is about the limit of his ability. Too naive, not physical enough, not strong enough in the air, not quite fast enough? I don't know but there is something about him which just takes the edge off for me. Perhaps he needs an injection of confidence to get him to the next level? Don't get me wrong, I would love him to succeed and start pushing Campbell, Bellers and Helga for a starting place. Could even do a job wide on the right like Smith. Also strange, still only 21 he has not featured for the Republic of Ireland since 2010/11 despite his good form for us last season. That looks odd to me unless he is holding out for a call to the full England side. I think he can do that having only played at under 21's for Ireland? A mystery wrapped in a conundrum?
