Tyrone Mings

[chrisw1]

The next ones of the conveyor belt (Tomori? Guehi?) have had pretty ropey seasons themselves. I wouldn't pick Maguire myself, but it's hardly crazy that Southgate continues to do so, given he's been completely fine for England whenever he's played regardless of his club form.

That's the point though. Maguire is fine when we're sticking 5 past the likes of Malta or whoever, because the rest of the team is usually good enough to compensate. When it comes to the crunch though, he isn't fine, as he's demonstrated on a few occasions. Also, while all other players might have indifferent seasons, at least they're playing regular football against top flight opposition. Maguire isn't, which also isn't going to help in the long run.

Maguire has played well in the big tournaments though to be fair to Southgate. He's fine when he's sat on his 18 yard box with the likes of Rice ahead of him. That's the kind of cautious football Southgate wants. Mings has proved this season, really surprised me for one, that he is comfortable playing in a high line and a bit of cat and mouse on the ball with opponents. He has improved out of all recognition really under Emery. Much better athlete than Maguire too, Maguire is a liability on the turn.

I'm not sure I agree with this.  Mings has been an excellent player for most of his time with us.  Yes he's a little more consistent with fewer errors, but to me he looks much the same player he always has.  I think he's always been comfortable on the ball, he's just got more players around him now who are also comfortable so there are more options rather than him being our only outlet.

[Risso]

I'm not sure I agree with this.  Mings has been an excellent player for most of his time with us.  Yes he's a little more consistent with fewer errors, but to me he looks much the same player he always has.  I think he's always been comfortable on the ball, he's just got more players around him now who are also comfortable so there are more options rather than him being our only outlet.

Don't agree at all Chris, I think he's improved enormously under Emery. He's always been a good defender, but was prone to the odd rick and his distribution mostly consisted of long punts out to nobody usually. Now he's defending better than he ever has, has cut out the mistakes, and is comfortable carrying and passing the ball out of defence. The rest of the team has hardly changed in terms of personnel, it's still Luiz and McGinn in front of him.

[paul_e]

The next ones of the conveyor belt (Tomori? Guehi?) have had pretty ropey seasons themselves. I wouldn't pick Maguire myself, but it's hardly crazy that Southgate continues to do so, given he's been completely fine for England whenever he's played regardless of his club form.

That's the point though. Maguire is fine when we're sticking 5 past the likes of Malta or whoever, because the rest of the team is usually good enough to compensate. When it comes to the crunch though, he isn't fine, as he's demonstrated on a few occasions. Also, while all other players might have indifferent seasons, at least they're playing regular football against top flight opposition. Maguire isn't, which also isn't going to help in the long run.

Maguire has played well in the big tournaments though to be fair to Southgate. He's fine when he's sat on his 18 yard box with the likes of Rice ahead of him. That's the kind of cautious football Southgate wants. Mings has proved this season, really surprised me for one, that he is comfortable playing in a high line and a bit of cat and mouse on the ball with opponents. He has improved out of all recognition really under Emery. Much better athlete than Maguire too, Maguire is a liability on the turn.

I'm not sure I agree with this.  Mings has been an excellent player for most of his time with us.  Yes he's a little more consistent with fewer errors, but to me he looks much the same player he always has.  I think he's always been comfortable on the ball, he's just got more players around him now who are also comfortable so there are more options rather than him being our only outlet.

I mostly agree, I'd also that the biggest boost Emery has given him is that our play is so much more structured (in and out of possession) which means he doesn't find himself in situations where he makes mistakes as often. In the past he was the player that bailed us out when we made mistakes which meant his own were much more obvious because he couldn't clean them up. On top of that I think he's just enjoying his football more than he was for a few years and it's showing in his game.

[Risso]

You don't see him sliding in for last gasp desperate challenges nearly as much any more, either.

[paul_e]

You don't see him sliding in for last gasp desperate challenges nearly as much any more, either.

Yep, that's another example of where the more structured setup has really helped him.

I guess my point is that I don't think this is down to a spell of improved form, I think it's much more sustainable than that.

[ChicagoLion]

The improvement is remarkable.
He has always had the physical requirements to be a very good defender and now you are seeing a man that looks comfortable with himself on the pitch.
His positioning , his work with the ball his reactions to make sure he is in a position to deal with danger.
Its brilliant.

[Drummond]

I think the thing that's helping him the most is that Emery has told him to focus on his own game, rather than thinking he has to cover for everyone else.

[Footy-Vill]

I think the thing that's helping him the most is that Emery has told him to focus on his own game, rather than thinking he has to cover for everyone else.

Mings already stayed in a hotel on the night preceding home games before Emery made it mandatory for the entire squad.
Dedicated.

[Bad English]

"If you lose, next home game you will all stay at the Britannia on New Street, ¡Coños!"

[boozey182]

I think we need to remember as well that Tyrone is relatively new to playing at CB. When he joined us on loan, there was a lot of talk of him playing at left back, which seems incredible now. So he, by his own admission, has had to do a lot of learning about playing in this position, so I guess it's not really a surprise that a manager that is so hands on has been the catalyst for this kind of improvement - he's needed a proper coach all this time.

If you were going to design a centre half in a lab, the result would be pretty similar to Tyrone. Tall, quick, strong, devilishly handsome... Now Emery and his coaching staff are putting together the other parts, and he's turning into a world class player - and I don't use that term lightly.

The funny thing is, a lot of people outside Villa fans don't see it. We had a Liverpool fan stay with us last weekend, and it was all very nice and amicable throughout the match. The only time when we started to get a little tetchy with each other was when she started talking about Tyrone - how she couldn't understand why Emery played him as he's no good on the ball and a defensive liability. She even called him a very offensive word ending in 'gger'*, which is what really wound me up. I guess a lot of people made their mind up about him a long time ago. Not that it really matters, as long as we realise how great he is.

*She called him a 'clogger', just for clarity.

[Somniloquism]

Whilst you made a little joke about what she called him, could her opinion of him also be swayed because of his outspoken views? The public associated figures used to state to players like Mings and Rashford "you should concentrate on your own game to become a better footballer and leave politics out of it" which seemed to associate them to not be that good in other fans minds.

[Drummond]

Until the last 6 months his job has been to clear the ball by hitting it long to Watkins so I can see why that opinion could form.

[boozey182]

Whilst you made a little joke about what she called him, could her opinion of him also be swayed because of his outspoken views? The public associated figures used to state to players like Mings and Rashford "you should concentrate on your own game to become a better footballer and leave politics out of it" which seemed to associate them to not be that good in other fans minds.

It's an interesting question. In the case of there being a direct relationship between her opinion of him and his more political views I would say no - absolutely not as she is a very intelligent person that has political views that would be aligned with Tyrone's. She's a lovely person that is very knowledgeable about football, and watches far more than I do. However, I think there is something to be said for how Tyrone is perceived by the wider public and in the media which I think that is certainly informed by his outspoken views and comments.

And I think that has a trickle down effect - so even people (specifically non-Villa fans) that might like Tyrone as a person have a slightly distorted view of him as a result of how he is seen by people that maybe don't appreciate his views outside of the game.

There is the other matter that when Tyrone has made mistakes, they have tended to be quite big ones. I'm thinking of the header against Chelsea earlier in the season. If you compare him to Konsa, for example. I don't think there would be many Villa fans that rate Konsa more than Mings, but to people that don't watch Villa every week, or have just watched highlights of games for the last few years, you might think that Konsa makes fewer big errors and therefore is the better player? Plus, as Drummond says, he has had to play it long more often until recently as we haven't been good enough on the ball throughout the team.

Defenders are very difficult players to judge if you don't watch them regularly.

Hope I didn't offend anyone with the joke - it was meant to reflect my over-sensitive protection of Tyrone's performances.

[AV82EC]

In my view he’s the best left sided English central defender in the Premier League. He’s massively improved his consistency this season and our more structured play from the back has shown just how good a footballer he is. He’s not at Van Dijk or Ruben Dias levels yet but he’s heading in that direction.

[Dave]

Whilst you made a little joke about what she called him, could her opinion of him also be swayed because of his outspoken views? The public associated figures used to state to players like Mings and Rashford "you should concentrate on your own game to become a better footballer and leave politics out of it" which seemed to associate them to not be that good in other fans minds.

It's an interesting question. In the case of there being a direct relationship between her opinion of him and his more political views I would say no - absolutely not as she is a very intelligent person that has political views that would be aligned with Tyrone's. She's a lovely person that is very knowledgeable about football, and watches far more than I do. However, I think there is something to be said for how Tyrone is perceived by the wider public and in the media which I think that is certainly informed by his outspoken views and comments.

And I think that has a trickle down effect - so even people (specifically non-Villa fans) that might like Tyrone as a person have a slightly distorted view of him as a result of how he is seen by people that maybe don't appreciate his views outside of the game.

He's also had a few very well publicised "moments" on the pitch which could be seen as unsavoury.

There was the time at Bournemouth when he was accused of deliberately stamping on Ibrahimovic, and again with Nelson Oliveira for us when we played Reading.

Stuff like that goes to building a reputation when you're not watching a player every week.