- Oct 19, 2004
- 39,837
- 50,713
I agree with you for the majority of that. But come on, Dier's mentality must come into question if he's come on the pitch late against Newcastle, not focusing when the whistle blows, and then is at fault for conceding a goal because of his lack of focus. That, my friend, to me, is a lack of a good mentality.
Hopefully it was just a one off, but the game against Tripolis on Thursday didn't help.
Being played out of position isn't helping. He's not a RB and I think he's a liability there. I'm not sure he's the sharpest tool in the box either, like I said, they've all got some footballing issues, but I like the mental strength that all those I have mentioned show. I believe I read somewhere that Dier captained every level of Sporting's academy he played for, not bad for a foreigner.
It has to be matched, ultimately, with footballing ability, but I liked what I saw at Villa with Lamela happy to shove Benteke back and scrap for the ball despite the mismatch in size, and Mason happy to get stuck into the fray too. I also love the character and maturity Bentaleb has shown for a kid of 19. And all three of those have got some ability. Good attributes.