Tyrone Mings

[Risso]

Like I say, that's the way he carries himself. He was captain of the Villa team that won the League and the European Cup. Doesn't get much better than that.

Regarding his view of all that a captain does, I think that may be correct for a very, very small number of teams; where all the players are leaders, know their role in the team and execute it well. Just look at the team he was captain of. Gut feeling says it was easy being captain in 1980-81 because the personnel never changed and the manager got everyone playing well.

These days we need our captain to lead from the front, demand more of players and the referee. There are quite a few examples of captains who have pushed their team on to much aplomb.

Yes the game has changed massively in 40 years. Miles bigger squads, players earning hundreds of thousands a week, "professional" refs, VAR, every second of every match covered by a million cameras, social media, players diving and cheating, players from dozens of different countries, players being fitter and everything a lot faster, and everybody just being under miles more pressure to succeed.

[cdbearsfan]

Like I say, that's the way he carries himself. He was captain of the Villa team that won the League and the European Cup. Doesn't get much better than that.

Regarding his view of all that a captain does, I think that may be correct for a very, very small number of teams; where all the players are leaders, know their role in the team and execute it well. Just look at the team he was captain of. Gut feeling says it was easy being captain in 1980-81 because the personnel never changed and the manager got everyone playing well.

These days we need our captain to lead from the front, demand more of players and the referee. There are quite a few examples of captains who have pushed their team on to much aplomb.

I think you're reading quite a lot into what was clearly a throwaway line.

[Footy-Vill]

When a team begins to play the ball out from the back, a period of transition in which players make mistakes is to be expected so we require a bit of patience for Mings and the defence.

My main concern is not Mings but more the passing from Emi Martinez to Mings and the goalkeepers other distribution to his defence and decisions on who and how to pass and play the ball in regards to possession and build up play by Martinez
I think Bednarek will be ok on the ball and passes well however Emery plays with a high line of defence and Mings is the only one with any pace as a centre back.
And can match most attackers.
Remains to be seen where Chambers fits in with all this.

[Risso]

Martinez's distribution is some of the best I've ever seen from a goalie. I think he was told to hold on to the ball for longer after our bad start to the season, but that's not his fault. That ball where he fizzed it out to Young(?) against Brentford was superb.

[Footy-Vill]

Martinez's distribution is some of the best I've ever seen from a goalie. I think he was told to hold on to the ball for longer after our bad start to the season, but that's not his fault. That ball where he fizzed it out to Young(?) against Brentford was superb.

Really? We have differing views by some distance. A bit like Emi kicking lenth compared to others!
If you actually saw a goalkeeper with quality distribution, I imagine you would be overcome as Martinez isn't that in my view.

Maybe you're biassed or don't know about these other teams goalkeepers who are superior at passing and distribution of the football. But if talking on Villa- Pepe Reina had better distribution of the ball to me. Granted likes of Nyland make Martinez look elite passer.
 I will write anything further on the Martinez thread as there's plenty of cause for concern which will be identified.

I am upon agreement that his pass versus Brentford was outstanding but that was an exception from my observations.

[Risso]

I can't decide whether I'm biassed or if I'm just not blessed with your amazing powers of analysis. Tough one, I'll let you know.

[Footy-Vill]

I can't decide whether I'm biassed or if I'm just not blessed with your amazing powers of analysis. Tough one, I'll let you know.

To be fair many find you have many great insights as well we just disagree on the levels of Martinez ability on this one -that's all.
It's observations we have that vary and to me I have future concerns for Villa passing out from the back that could lead to problems which start with goalkeeper and not Mings or any defender -that's all.

[Ger Regan]

From the Athletic.

Even for Tyrone Mings —  one of Aston Villa’s longest-serving players — this season has been a rollercoaster of emotions.

Losing the club captaincy over the summer and then his place in the starting XI for the opening game of the season hurt.

“I could sit here and say that it didn’t affect me, but it did,” he tells The Athletic. “I just didn’t let it affect me in a negative way and that is something that I’m really proud of.

“It was a very difficult start to the season and there’s no getting away from it. How I’ve managed to put that to one side and play well is certainly my biggest achievement this season.”

Mings, who is in good form for Villa, has won promotion to the Premier League, stayed up on the final day of the season and lost in a League Cup final during four eventful years at the club.

He is about to play under his third manager in Unai Emery, a challenge that brings mixed emotions.

“It’s unnerving because it’s not as easy as saying everything is going to be amazing now there’s a new manager,” he says.

“You also have to prove yourself again. But it’s exciting because of what he has done with the Villarreal players and the big results he has achieved.

“That to me is the sign of a manager… that he can really squeeze every last bit of motivation, emotion, energy and enthusiasm out of the players he’s working with. He must be doing something very well between Monday to Friday to make the players really want to play for him and believe in what he is doing, and every 90 minutes, really go to the well for him.”

Emery’s appointment has lifted the uncertainty following Steven Gerrard’s sacking last week but, for Mings, he’s seen all this before.

“Myself, Jed Steer and John McGinn are the only survivors from the play-off squad and I was talking with Jed only this week about our time at the club,” he continues. “A lot has happened. A lot!

“Players are always looking for motivation but for me, it feels like there has been something different every week this season; first it was getting back into the team, then trying to prove people wrong, then trying to save the manager’s job, now trying to impress a new manager… and we’re not even at the World Cup yet.”

Mings is discussing the season so far while pinging balls off the crossbar for a photoshoot ahead of this year’s Emirates FA Cup, which gets underway next month and will use a Mitre ball. “I swear all the best goals are scored with a Mitre ball,” he says laughing. Full disclosure, Mings is speaking to The Athletic as a brand ambassador for Mitre.

He’d love to see more of the ball, though, because in the months ahead, there is one aim that stands out for him — adding a major trophy to his list of Villa achievements.

“That’s something I would love to deliver,” he says. “It would be massive. If you ask all Villa fans, they would probably place winning the FA Cup higher than climbing up the Premier League, so we’re aware of the expectations and we know we should be competing.”

Mings is also aware that climbing away from the relegation zone and closer to the European positions is the target first and foremost. Emery has been appointed by co-owners Nassef Sawiris, Wes Edens and CEO Christian Purslow to steer the club away from their lowly position. His record in cup competitions — he has won the Europa League four times — will give Villa an edge when the knockout games continue, first as Villa take on Manchester United in the Carabao Cup, and then into 2023 when the FA Cup gets underway.

Mings has no problems with internal or external expectations, either. Dreaming big is his outlook, too.

He describes Villa’s play-off final win in 2019 as the “best day of his life” and wants to feel such highs again.

There’s also a sense of pride at what he achieved with England in the 2021 European Championships despite the heartbreaking defeat to Italy in the final.

“The football side will go down in history but what we did off the pitch was equally as important,” he says.

“OK, we were unable to go one step further but in a time where the country needed it, it brought one of the best summers after what was a really tough period for a lot of people.”

His record with the national team helps build confidence in times of reflection.

In the 17 games Mings has played, England have recorded 14 clean sheets. The 29-year-old started the first two games of the last Euros when Harry Maguire was injured and performed well.

“I judge my performances based on how I come out of big moments and whether I was able to come out on the right side of them,” he says.

“I look at my record with England where I know the whole country is relying on me and watching or waiting in anticipation of how I play because often I’m seen as the new face in the team and I’m so dialled-in. It comes as second nature.”

Despite his recent top form for Villa that earned plaudits from his former manager and plenty of praise from the supporters, there are still moments that Mings has not been happy with.

Allowing Mason Mount to score in a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea, for example, is playing on his mind.

“Against Chelsea, I think I played well, other than that header (which led to the goal).” he adds. “People say that you bounced back from it, but I don’t want to bounce back from it because I don’t want to have the mistake in the first place.


“As a centre-back — and an elite-level centre-back, which I want to be classed as — in the big moments you have to be coming out on top. If it is a big moment in the game that I get wrong, that lasts way more than a big moment in a game I get right.

“I don’t want to be on the wrong end of big moments. It’s not something I want in my game. Sometimes it’s down to concentration. It’s what I have to be aware of in my game.”

Embarking on this new era will help realign the focus, although Mings says it is “tinged with sadness” because Gerrard and his support team lost their jobs.

“When I was captain, I took a lot on board because I care about the club. I would take a lot of it home with me. If we hadn’t won, I would be really down.

“If I had not played well, I would be really down because I took my role of captain really seriously. I wanted to do well for both Dean Smith and Steven Gerrard.”

He’s also built a deep connection with the supporters after settling in the West Midlands and now performing in his fourth campaign at the club.

“At the start of this season, I felt a wave of support which maybe I didn’t even know I was there,” Mings says about his short time out of the team.

“That has enabled me to play to a higher level this season. There’s nothing better than fans singing your name and really appreciating what I’ve done for the club. I don’t want to be in the team because I got the club promoted, though. I want to be in the team because I’m playing well.

“In the very first interview I did with the club when I joined on loan they asked me, ‘What can we expect of you?’.

“I said I am someone who likes to leave everything on the pitch and hopefully the Villa fans can see that I continue to do that.”

[LeeB]

The guy is absolute class, my hero.

[dave shelley]

A perfect role model for your kids I would suggest.  A good man.

[Ian.]

He’s a fantastic lad and such an important player for us. As the comments above, oozes class and a brilliant role model to any youngsters.

[markeeeebeeee2005]

Would have been easy for him to trash talk Gerrard, and I could see why he might. But he didn’t and that is class. Hope Emery gets the absolute best out of him, because he has the attributes to go up a level with good coaching.

[eamonn]

Would have liked the interviewer to press him more on the mistakes of his that get magnified but overall a decent piece.

[Risso]

He talks a good game, but he was dire today. Wilson took the absolute piss out of him. Whatever the opposite of having somebody in your pocket is, it was that.

[Footy-Vill]

Emery is going to wait and see on the players and then make his decision as to the captain.