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Dan Neil


Ale taster said:
He was an integral part of the recovery from those wilderness years and for that he has all of our thanks. If we want to sustain top flight status and become established, he is sadly (for him) just not good enough. He should be playing football. I agree with the club stance, it won't be here.
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We said same of ballard before season started. Then he played and now he's world class. I honestly think dan Neil is more than capable of playing in prem albeit as a squad player. He hasnt even had a small chance to prove himself.
 
dave hedgehog said:
Id wager that dan 'safc fan through and through' neil would crawl across broken glass to play for us in prem. Yet theres people on here suggesting he's knocked back a couple of contract offers from us as if he's some sort of prima donna. Im genuinely disappointed for him he cant even get the chance to show what he can do. He 100% deserves it after being our captain and leader for last few years. We piled alot of pressure on the lad given his inexperience and seemingly couldnt give a shit about him now. Doesnt sit too well with me tbh
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You suggest that “Dan Neil would crawl across broken glass to play for us in the prem” yet he apparently won’t play for us on the wages that have been offered, seems like a contradiction in terms to me.
 
dave hedgehog said:
That fans have short memories. The lad was an important part of our rise. Cost zero and added quality to our midfield. Also he's better right now than chris rigg. No way does rigg merit game time in prem yet Neil hasbt had a sniff. I think club has treated him badly
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He hasn’t signed a contract and is going, so why should he play instead of Rigg ? Who probably has a higher ceiling too.
Club first, player second. He isn’t good enough for the premier league imho.

We kept giving contracts to rubbish players like Cattermole, look where it got us.
 
dave hedgehog said:
We said same of ballard before season started. Then he played and now he's world class. I honestly think dan Neil is more than capable of playing in prem albeit as a squad player. He hasnt even had a small chance to prove himself.
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And I respectfully disagree with you having watched him throughout his emergence into the first team. Championship yes, PL not a hope. It was clear to me that Ballard and Hume would have no such problems.
 
viccarlton said:
You suggest that “Dan Neil would crawl across broken glass to play for us in the prem” yet he apparently won’t play for us on the wages that have been offered, seems like a contradiction in terms to me.
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And what wages are those he's been offer Vic? If you have no idea then you xant through thw assunption about that he has been offered something worth signing.
.the fact he has relatives on this board, is a sunderland fan through and throughm hasnt spoke bad about the club, still appears as sub etc etc tells me it isnt him who has the issue
Ale taster said:
And I respectfully disagree with you having watched him throughout his emergence into the first team. Championship yes, PL not a hope. It was clear to me that Ballard and Hume would have no such problems.
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Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Well he aint gonna get the chance to confirnm it either way so its all just assumptions. I just wont bring myself to shoot down a local lad who put everything into being our captain at such a young age and cant get a contract now. He's no worse in his position than hume / cirkin / ballard.

Ballard wasnt even 1st choice going into playoffs. Maybe he's benefitted from better players around him. Dan would too
 
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dave hedgehog said:
And what wages are those he's been offer Vic? If you have no idea then you xant through thw assunption about that he has been offered something worth signing.
.the fact he has relatives on this board, is a sunderland fan through and throughm hasnt spoke bad about the club, still appears as sub etc etc tells me it isnt him who has the issue

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Well he aint gonna get the chance to confirnm it either way so its all just assumptions. I just wont bring myself to shoot down a local lad who out everything into being our captain at such a yoing age and cant get a contract now. He's no worse in his position than hume / cirkin / ballard.

Ballard wasnt even 1st choice going into playoffs. Maybe he's benefitted from better players around him. Dan would too
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Of course you’re correct I have absolutely no idea what Dan Neil earns or was offered, to be honest it’s not my concern, but it appears that his new contract (whatever it was) was the stumbling block, only one person refused new terms, we can assume he wanted more, so your assertion that he would crawl over broken glass isn’t true is it, unless it comes with more money 🤷‍♂️
 
dave hedgehog said:
And what wages are those he's been offer Vic? If you have no idea then you xant through thw assunption about that he has been offered something worth signing.
.the fact he has relatives on this board, is a sunderland fan through and throughm hasnt spoke bad about the club, still appears as sub etc etc tells me it isnt him who has the issue

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Well he aint gonna get the chance to confirnm it either way so its all just assumptions. I just wont bring myself to shoot down a local lad who put everything into being our captain at such a young age and cant get a contract now. He's no worse in his position than hume / cirkin / ballard.

Ballard wasnt even 1st choice going into playoffs. Maybe he's benefitted from better players around him. Dan would too
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Kind of hard for him to have been involved when he was injured.
 
The lad gets far too much grief on here.

Has been a key player for us for 3 years, got the most MoM's on here last season. Ive lost count of the amount of times i seen him referred to as a 'Rolls Royce' last
season as well. He used to glide through games.

So he would get caught in possession a bit. So what? It was mainly down to the way we play and we can see that as its even happening to Xhaka this season.

He has a habit of playing the easy pass. Well that will happen after 3 years of being told to play it to Clarke/Amad/Roberts/Mundle. You could argue hes had his creativity coached out of him.

End of the day hes given a lot to club, played for us through League 1 to the Prem, been captain, no rumours ever of a bad attitude. Regardless of whether hes up to this level he shouldnt be getting the grief he is.
 
He's been great but not being willing to sign a contract and commit in the summer will see him gone this window and that's down to him.
 
dave hedgehog said:
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Well he aint gonna get the chance to confirnm it either way so its all just assumptions. I just wont bring myself to shoot down a local lad who put everything into being our captain at such a young age and cant get a contract now. He's no worse in his position than hume / cirkin / ballard.

Ballard wasnt even 1st choice going into playoffs. Maybe he's benefitted from better players around him. Dan would too
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Should never have been appointed captain - not dynamic enough on or off the pitch.
Nobody is 'shooting down' anyone. It's a judgement based on evidence throughout several seasons and obvious weaknesses he has that cannot be corrected to enable consistent top flight performance.
His place is birth is utterly irrelevant.
 
The Cabbage said:
There’s been an opinion that has become an internal justification amongst the fans - and potentially within the club - that Neil cannot possibly operate at pl level. It’s not one I agree with, personally. It has felt like the club doesn’t even want to check its assumption at times this season. Definitely too late now though.
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I think, as someone alluded to earlier, it is not a matter of "...the club doesn't even want to check its assumption at times this season ...". Rather, it has been the case that the club (Le Bris) has not felt able to test whether Neil's level of ability is sufficient for the Premier League. As an earlier poster has said, many games have been competitive right up until the final minute and Le Bris has concluded that he needed the men he feels most confident to deliver on the field. with little chance to speculate on Neil adapting to the level.

I like Dan Neil and believe that he will have a very successful career, but his style of play doesn't fit with how Le Bris wants the team to play.

Who would you drop (or take off mid-game) to accommodate Neil ? Xhaka has become 'undroppable'. Sadiki is not far behind Xhaka in this regard, Le Fee is an entirely different type of midfield player. Diarra, when he returns, is also likely to be a different type and a better player. As a replacement, Geertruida offers better ability, more top level experience and greater adaptability. Rigg, hmmm. It will be interesting to see how the future unfolds. He appears to me to be too lightweight for the rigours of the Premier League, but he clearly has ability.

Neil appears to have concluded that his best option is to sit out his contract and move on in the summer, letting his agent negotiate a hefty signing on fee, in lieu of any transfer fee being incurred, and an improved remuneration package. And good luck to the lad in so doing. He owes the club nothing, having repaid it for the chance he was given, by his on-field contributions in previous seasons. Loyalty means nothing when you are endeavouring to optimise your earnings during a relatively short career.
 
dave hedgehog said:
And what wages are those he's been offer Vic? If you have no idea then you xant through thw assunption about that he has been offered something worth signing.
.the fact he has relatives on this board, is a sunderland fan through and throughm hasnt spoke bad about the club, still appears as sub etc etc tells me it isnt him who has the issue

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Well he aint gonna get the chance to confirnm it either way so its all just assumptions. I just wont bring myself to shoot down a local lad who put everything into being our captain at such a young age and cant get a contract now. He's no worse in his position than hume / cirkin / ballard.

Ballard wasnt even 1st choice going into playoffs. Maybe he's benefitted from better players around him. Dan would too
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You also have no idea what hes been offered and what's hes turned down but you've decided to slate the club over it.

The club has more than earned enough trust from the fans.
 
The top and bottom of the situation is that the manager clearly feels he isn't at the required standard to contribute and the club don't feel hes worth what hes asking for. This rumbled on all last season with nothing signed.

No hard feelings from fans in that. Wish him the best.
 
Mowgli said:
You also have no idea what hes been offered and what's hes turned down but you've decided to slate the club over it.

The club has more than earned enough trust from the fans.
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JUst basing my opinion on the facts that have happened. Neil being our captain at such a young age. Being a better option than chris rigg right now. He's ewrned the right to have a chance. The club disagree. I think its bad crack from the club. Just my logic. Fair enough if you think he hasnt earned the right to have a chance. We'll disagree
 
Baxter the maestro said:
I think, as someone alluded to earlier, it is not a matter of "...the club doesn't even want to check its assumption at times this season ...". Rather, it has been the case that the club (Le Bris) has not felt able to test whether Neil's level of ability is sufficient for the Premier League. As an earlier poster has said, many games have been competitive right up until the final minute and Le Bris has concluded that he needed the men he feels most confident to deliver on the field. with little chance to speculate on Neil adapting to the level.

I like Dan Neil and believe that he will have a very successful career, but his style of play doesn't fit with how Le Bris wants the team to play.

Who would you drop (or take off mid-game) to accommodate Neil ? Xhaka has become 'undroppable'. Sadiki is not far behind Xhaka in this regard, Le Fee is an entirely different type of midfield player. Diarra, when he returns, is also likely to be a different type and a better player. As a replacement, Geertruida offers better ability, more top level experience and greater adaptability. Rigg, hmmm. It will be interesting to see how the future unfolds. He appears to me to be too lightweight for the rigours of the Premier League, but he clearly has ability.

Neil appears to have concluded that his best option is to sit out his contract and move on in the summer, letting his agent negotiate a hefty signing on fee, in lieu of any transfer fee being incurred, and an improved remuneration package. And good luck to the lad in so doing. He owes the club nothing, having repaid it for the chance he was given, by his on-field contributions in previous seasons. Loyalty means nothing when you are endeavouring to optimise your earnings during a relatively short career.
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I think that’s largely fair, but would have brought him in here and there along the way, personally. There’s been times where Sadiki was flagging. There’s been dead rubbers. All could have been used imo. I do think there’s been a change in what Reg is looking for from his midfield, but I don’t necessarily think that the assumption from the club that we ‘must’ have that physicality in the middle to survive is correct. Incidentally I think that assumption has hampered ELF a bit too. Hopefully we’re adjusting our thinking a touch on that front. The timing won’t allow us to learn about Neil one way or another, but that’s football.
 
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