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Is Ryan Mason a flash in the pan?

3 min read
by Editor
Brian Schneider takes a close look at Ryan Mason. Is he really that good?

After scoring this goal against Nottingham Forest in the League Cup 3rd round, Ryan Mason burst onto the scene in September 2014 as a legitimate contender for the starting CM role for Spurs. Three days later, Mason made his Premier League debut against North London rivals, Woolwich. Mason put in a solid 90 minute shift as we drew 1-1. It was after this game that Mason went on to have a very good run of form in the Premier League that lasted for about 4-5 matches.

These performances in the league made Spurs fans everywhere excited about this young, English, homegrown talent that seemingly came out of nowhere. Nobody expected this to happen. As the season wore on, Mason fizzled out a bit and started becoming more inconsistent. Could his earlier performances have been a fluke?

Are we getting ahead of ourselves thinking we may have our future captain slowly cementing his place among the leaders of the squad?

Let’s break down a couple aspects of his game.

Shooting

This particular part of his game is something I almost never see criticized. His first goal of the season from outside the box was a peach of a goal, but it was against a Championship side. Any Premier League keeper will always be saving near post shots that don’t have much movement on them. Since then, the majority of his shots have gone straight into the keepers arms. According toWhoScored.com,

Mason attempts 1.5 shots per game in the league this season (which is more than Andros Townsend by the way, who gets berated for shooting too much). Mason has made seventeen appearances in the Premier League so far, and has yet to score a single goal. And he hasn’t exactly been lacking goal scoring opportunities either. He skied this sitter vs. United after being set up perfectly, and hit this shot straight at Joe Hart from close range.

Defensive Positioning

After watching Mason week in and week out, I’ve noticed he roams aimlessly all over the pitch, which breaks down the structured pressing system and leaves large spaces for the opposition to run into. He is often hailed for his work rate and his stamina, but does this really matter if he isn’t using it properly? If he ran laps around the pitch for 90 minutes he would no doubt be top of the league in distance covered, but that’s simply not the greatest way to measure how good of a player he is.

Take a look at his duels vs. Liverpool. Yes, he was everywhere. Yes, he was aggressive, tenacious, passionate, etc. If you watched the game, it was clear to see that this was causing huge gaps for Liverpool to exploit as Mason was quite often caught out of position. On top of this, Mason can look lost at times. A primary example of this was him getting caught ball watching when he should have been marking Giroud’s run into the box vs. Woolwich.

If Spurs are a club that want to challenge for top four every year, do we need better options than Mason in midfield? Take a look at the players that other big clubs have playing CM: Fabregas for Chelsea, Toure for City, Henderson for Liverpool (one year older than Mason, but miles ahead of him in my opinion), Rooney, Di Maria, Mata, Herrera, Fellaini, or whomever’s name Van Gaal pulls out of a hat to start at CM for United.

Perhaps Mason is only starting for us because we lack consistency in the central midfield area, or maybe Poch truly sees untapped potential in him. As for whether he can be a cornerstone at Spurs, only time will tell.

All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.

9 Comments

  1. sam
    21/02/2015 @ 3:16 pm

    my thoughts exactly-if we want to be serious contenders and sent a statement we need to have a good summer. focus on a big bid on a CM-cabaye, schneiderlin or even rabiot. go hard for depay then some support for kane (wouldnt mind ings) keep a hold of the important players and thats a solid solid squad. Big name CM should be first on the list.

  2. Adhithya
    21/02/2015 @ 3:30 pm

    I completely agree with you first point regd. the shooting, which he needs to improve. And I think he’ll improve with time. But other than that he’s been quality along with Bentaleb in the midfield.

  3. THFC
    21/02/2015 @ 3:46 pm

    Have to disagree here. Mason’s introduction to the side coinciding with spurs’ upturn in form is no coincidence. I agree he had a bad game at Liverpool but he was all action against Arsenal 3 days before in which he turned in one of his best performances. He doesn’t score hatfuls and his assist record isn’t amazing but neither was Modric’s, (not saying he’s cut from the same cloth) Spurs are a better side when he’s playing for sure.

  4. Woodsy
    21/02/2015 @ 3:54 pm

    When you consider he’s in his first year in the league he’s done pretty well and whilst he lacks positional discipline, this should improve in time.

    As fans it’s important we resist the temptation to chase the next signing. Henderson was poor last year but is much improved, hopefully Mason can show similar improvement too. As for the rest you mentioned, not only are they older but we can’t afford a Fabregas or Toure, get real.

    We need to show patience because the potential in Rose, Dier, Walker, Bentaleb, Mason, Townsend, Eriksen, Lamela and Kane is enormous. Our newfound ambition comes from their success, let’s not hold it against them because they aren’t the finished article yet.

    • Ally
      22/02/2015 @ 11:22 am

      Well said.

    • Dan Mac
      23/02/2015 @ 9:53 am

      You said it so well it saved me typing it out. bravo

  5. Spurs92
    21/02/2015 @ 4:10 pm

    We’ve been complaining for 3 years about CM not linking defence to attack and slow build up play. Mason is the only one who’s had the balls to take a risk and play passes forward, that’s why were suddenly looking a good team again. It’s been lacking since Modric left, too many Dembeles playing the safe percentage pass that gets us nowhere. There’s room improvement but Mason is vital to us right now get behind the lad and support him id rather someone lose the ball 3 times out of 10 with the intention of attacking playing forward than keeping the ball 10/10 passing backwards going nowhere…

    • Dan Mac
      23/02/2015 @ 9:54 am

      spot on.

  6. cape town spurs
    21/02/2015 @ 6:26 pm

    Well said Spurs92..mason has played a major roll in the teams upturn, his directness in play has actually helped instill confidence in the team. Their play is so much more positive and the attacking play is awesome. Finally they are a watchable team, before tht they were totally crap to watch but now even paulinho looks better but only slightly

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