I hope that Matete & Neil can be the basis of our midfield next season. Both you, excellent lads but at the moment Evans is the person we need most in the middle
Experience counts for a lot in this league and though I have a great liking for both Neil and Embleton they are on some occasions put out of the game or indeed find it difficult to get in to the game - they have to learn to impose themselves when needed , this only comes with experience .
Despite the age difference I think both Dan and Elliot are competing for a similar role in the team atm, and Embleton has nosed in front. I dont buy into this shop window theory but that's not to say its out of the question, nothing is. On this subject I was thinking, if I were Rotherhams manager which one would I have had in my team to play against us, and I have to say neither, and certainly not at the expense of another local boy doing well Dan Barlasser who has been outstanding every time I have seen him play. That's what our two lads need to aim for, then playing them both , in any set up, would be a no brainer.
Good points. Not sure he had a choice with Patterson or Cirkin. Matete has been in and out but certainly fits the method currently more than Neil because we arent playing from the back as much. It is the gaffers call, and he has my backing 100%.
I dont think it is a deliberate case of wanting to sell him either. It may be of course, we know he is a saleable asset, possibly alongside Stewart our most valuable. I tend to think Neil has decided where he can he wants experienced older heads and people that talk on the pitch. I dont mind that and it is working. I dont really think Dan Neil has let himself down though in terms of performance levels. He was the heartbeat of everything positive in the first half of the season. His drop in form coincided with an entire team drop in form. We have seen in his brief sub appearances he still operates at a very high level when he picks the ball up centrally and gets on the half turn. I am sure if the gaffer wanted to play a different style Neil would shine again and give us the sort of controlled possession he did in the first half of the season. At the moment Alex has different plans and that is working and deserves a lot of credit. Maybe it isnt a result of Dan not being at a certain level though.
No I dont think he has either, and think Dan would have made a similar contribution to our progress as Elliot has done in recent weeks ,given the same chance. As I see it, its more a case of at the moment only being room for four players from Embleton, Neil, Evans, Matete, Pritchard, O/9, Gooch, Roberts and Clarke in a 4/4/2 or maybe at most 5 in any other configuration so injuries apart I would be very surprised to see Embleton , Matete and Neil in a starting line up this season , I do hope to see that happen more regularly next season in the Championship where I am sure they will be comfortably at home.
My thoughts exactly, Dan Neil is a good player and a great prospect but Alex Neil picks the team and obviously doesn't see a place for him at the moment. DN will need to be patient, keep working hard and force his way into the starting 11.
As good as Dan is on the the ball, and finding those great passes, he needs to work on being effective off it. That’s the biggest thing stopping him getting more game time at the moment. Henderson is a good role model for Dan to aspire to. Jordan wasn’t a ‘get your foot in’ kind of player for us but has developed into a relentless physical force for Liverpool with his running and intelligence.
