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Ryan Mason

Yoof said:
I don't understand this insistence from fans that there's such massive problems that desperately need fixing from last season. We finished 5th didn't we? Not a million miles off top four? Or did we finish there in spite of Mason and Bentaleb? Who by the way were both in their first full seasons at the club. Considering we were bottom half before the two were first paired together(vs Everton) then maybe they're not quite so poor as they're made out to be. I don't recall players like Schneiderlin, McCarthy, Sissoko(good lord ...) etc ever coming out on top against them when they met, yet these are players fans on here are clamouring for us to sign.
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We were in 10 th place two points away from 4th ( so not a million miles of top four) place so hardly in relegation trouble. Say what you like about how good both players are the truth is we conceded a lot of goals ( which the back four took the blame for from some posters) but the truth is our CM was wide open and left the defense with no cover at all.

But they are/were " one of our own" so they can not be blamed by some.
 
Jordinho said:
Just like Aguero and Silva carry City, Hazard and Costa carry Chel53a, Sanchez and Giroud carry Ar5ena1 etc. etc.
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Every team relies on certain players I'm not arguing they do not, but each of above would be weaker with those players you mention and each of those teams has weaknesses in their teams which they need to rectify.
 
Gazzasrightboot said:
Perhaps, but is our proportion of goals scored by them out of kilter with the rest of the top 6?
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No, but as mentioned above, all of the teams around us have areas in which they need to upgrade on just as we do.

Anyone watching us last season could tell you we need more solidity in defence and CM, more creativity and help for Kane.
 
parklane1 said:
We were in 10 th place two points away from 4th ( so not a million miles of top four) place so hardly in relegation trouble. Say what you like about how good both players are the truth is we conceded a lot of goals ( which the back four took the blame for from some posters) but the truth is our CM was wide open and left the defense with no cover at all.

But they are/were " one of our own" so they can not be blamed by some.
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seriously, is there any need to constantly b!tch about young players fully entrusted by our coach? The club is going in the direction of blooding youngsters and results and performances will be up and down whilst they gain experience.

We finished 5th last season with Mason and Bentaleb but why let a fact like that get in the way of a good b!tch
 
Jurgen the German said:
Every team relies on certain players I'm not arguing they do not, but each of above would be weaker with those players you mention and each of those teams has weaknesses in their teams which they need to rectify.
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Which makes it much harder for us finding players that will actually bring us closer to these clubs. Players we look at as first choice they'll just swoop in and sign on ludicrous wages to sit on the bench.
 
parklane1 said:
We were in 10 th place two points away from 4th ( so not a million miles of top four) place so hardly in relegation trouble. Say what you like about how good both players are the truth is we conceded a lot of goals ( which the back four took the blame for from some posters) but the truth is our CM was wide open and left the defense with no cover at all.

But they are/were " one of our own" so they can not be blamed by some.
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There was a stat posted on here recently that actually only Man Utd allowed fewer balls played through their midfield last season than Spurs so maybe it's not as bad as you think. Plus I don't think it's as easy as saying play a DM = concede less = more points when you don't seem to be acknowledging the possibility that we might also score less as a result of having a player who only offers defensive qualities.
 
Jurgen the German said:
No, but as mentioned above, all of the teams around us have areas in which they need to upgrade on just as we do.

Anyone watching us last season could tell you we need more solidity in defence and CM, more creativity and help for Kane.
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Agreed. My point was that with Bentaleb and Mason we could still get 5th and be reliant on the aforementioned 3 for the goals. Being reliant on those 3 is not out of kilter with the other teams around us, so I don't think we can rule out Bentaleb, Mason et al to get us to a similar position.
 
Jurgen the German said:
Then it's going to mean Kane, Eriksen and Chadli carrying us goals wise again.
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Except realistically we won't end August with Kane as our only striker, right? I understand some people have zero faith in Levy or our transfer policy; but I doubt anyone honestly believes we won't buy at least one more striker / front-man (and probably even two).

Personally I also hope we get in an experienced central midfielder; and I think we're likely but not guaranteed to do that. But I am 99.99% certain that our list of goal-threats will be longer than just "Kane, Eriksen and Chadli" this season (whether it's N'Jie or Berahino or whoever).
 
Yoof said:
There was a stat posted on here recently that actually only Man Utd allowed fewer balls played through their midfield last season than Spurs so maybe it's not as bad as you think. Plus I don't think it's as easy as saying play a DM = concede less = more points when you don't seem to be acknowledging the possibility that we might also score less as a result of having a player who only offers defensive qualities.
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I did see that, but like most stats it does not always tell the full story, our problem was that the through balls that we allowed
were picked up by UNMARKED m/f runners from the opposing team, something our CM allowed to happen by letting these runners get in behind them and not tracking them.
 
parklane1 said:
I did see that, but like most stats it does not always tell the full story, our problem was that the through balls that we allowed
were picked up by UNMARKED m/f runners from the opposing team, something our CM allowed to happen by letting these runners get in behind them and not tracking them.
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Its as much the system as the personnel. You can't track runners if you're pressing the ball up the pitch.
 
parklane1 said:
You can if those runners start off in front of you and you allow them to run pass you.
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Well I think Poch has made some changes this year. Firstly a DM to track runners and provide vital protection and we're not always pressing the ball. More often getting into a tight formation, then pressing from that foundation. Last year Mason and Bentaleb would be needed to press the ball and stop passing routes. If a full back or CB then fires a long ball over the top to a runner who gets in behind and scores, its churlish to blame Mason. Dier was promising on Saturday, do you prefer him in the middle to Mason?
 
Yoof said:
There was a stat posted on here recently that actually only Man Utd allowed fewer balls played through their midfield last season than Spurs so maybe it's not as bad as you think. Plus I don't think it's as easy as saying play a DM = concede less = more points when you don't seem to be acknowledging the possibility that we might also score less as a result of having a player who only offers defensive qualities.
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Despite often getting criticised for his inflexibility, I think that the midfield pair Poch settled on last season was a pragmatic decision that attack was the best form of defence.

He settled on a pairing that could quickly turn defence into attack and in doing so accepted that they may provide less cover than having a couple of brutes in the same position. It worked, we finished in the top five and we scored more goals than any other club outside the top four.
 
milo said:
Despite often getting criticised for his inflexibility, I think that the midfield pair Poch settled on last season was a pragmatic decision that attack was the best form of defence.

He settled on a pairing that could quickly turn defence into attack and in doing so accepted that they may provide less cover than having a couple of brutes in the same position. It worked, we finished in the top five and we scored more goals than any other club outside the top four.
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I'm not sure I buy that. I can't possibly see how conceding 53 goals (one of the worst totals in the league) was part of the plan. Attack as the best form of defence agreed, but not to that extent.
 
Jordinho said:
Which makes it much harder for us finding players that will actually bring us closer to these clubs. Players we look at as first choice they'll just swoop in and sign on ludicrous wages to sit on the bench.
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That just sounds too convenient for me. There must be players out there who we can realistically get without the likes of Chelsea poaching them from us.
 
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