Niall Mason contract cancelled

[bobjimwilly]

I think Nial Mason, the fans, the club are all victims - as well as the sweet young girl.

I think you need to have a word with yourself and maybe think next time before you type and click the post button.

[selby]

   The situation is not great, the club could not win whatever they did. As far as the football  is concerned, the timing of the situation was the worst thing about it, brought on by Mason's insistence to the club he was innocent, and the timing of the case just after the transfer window stopped us covering the situation in a position where we were light on cover and class.
    Fifteen months ago due to being played out of position, a lack of experience, positional sense and strength, he was very average, but settled as a right back, got experience and improved, which helped his  reputation with our supporters, but was still limited, and nowhere near the best right back in the division, just a regular player in at this level, and we can get better.
  We have not lost a world beater, He brought it on himself, the club did the right thing, and in the closed season there is every chance we will sign better, in fact Lewis is a better bet to become a better defender than Mason.

[NickDRFC]

   The situation is not great, the club could not win whatever they did. As far as the football  is concerned, the timing of the situation was the worst thing about it, brought on by Mason's insistence to the club he was innocent, and the timing of the case just after the transfer window stopped us covering the situation in a position where we were light on cover and class.
    Fifteen months ago due to being played out of position, a lack of experience, positional sense and strength, he was very average, but settled as a right back, got experience and improved, which helped his  reputation with our supporters, but was still limited, and nowhere near the best right back in the division, just a regular player in at this level, and we can get better.
  We have not lost a world beater, He brought it on himself, the club did the right thing, and in the closed season there is every chance we will sign better, in fact Lewis is a better bet to become a better defender than Mason.

Veering off topic here (some would probably say that's a blessing), but why would you say that Lewis is a better bet to become a better defender than Mason? I'd say that right now Mason is the far better full back; Lewis may develop but he's only 18 months younger than Mason so it's not like he has lots of time to improve to that standard.

[RedJ]

   The situation is not great, the club could not win whatever they did. As far as the football  is concerned, the timing of the situation was the worst thing about it, brought on by Mason's insistence to the club he was innocent, and the timing of the case just after the transfer window stopped us covering the situation in a position where we were light on cover and class.
    Fifteen months ago due to being played out of position, a lack of experience, positional sense and strength, he was very average, but settled as a right back, got experience and improved, which helped his  reputation with our supporters, but was still limited, and nowhere near the best right back in the division, just a regular player in at this level, and we can get better.
  We have not lost a world beater, He brought it on himself, the club did the right thing, and in the closed season there is every chance we will sign better, in fact Lewis is a better bet to become a better defender than Mason.

Veering off topic here (some would probably say that's a blessing), but why would you say that Lewis is a better bet to become a better defender than Mason? I'd say that right now Mason is the far better full back; Lewis may develop but he's only 18 months younger than Mason so it's not like he has lots of time to improve to that standard.

Well in fairness, 18 months ago Mason wasn't a world beater.

[NickDRFC]

Fair point, although 18 months ago he was playing out of position at left back. Or wherever Fergie’s random position generator placed him that week.

[steve@dcfd]

Selby by I disagree with your analysis of Mason re football only. He was a good player last season being played out of position. When at Right back he showed how good he was. With extra fitness under GM he improved again and we have missed him. Blair is a good cover but has his limitations in position play and passing. Lewis is not our player and needs to improve drastically to be any where near Mason. I would hope GM goes out and gets a better right back has one of first signings in the summer whatever league we are in. If he wants to sign Lewis then he’ll make good cover.
Mason in his personal life has made a bad mistake which he paying for and will pay for with the seven year sex register.

[selby]

  When he first came (Mason) he was about the same age as Lewis is now. Defensively and positionally he was nowhere near as good a defender even as a right back as Lewis is now.  It was only in the last twelve months that he learnt to keep goal side of the man he was marking, and with Alcock and the loanee from Everton all of them were abysmal in the last six games of our promotion year.
   We could have got three out of the National League to have done better than those three in that period.

[dickos1]

Mason was within our top 3 or 4 performers this season and in my opinion one of the reasons our form hasn’t been as good since December is the loss of him.
At the moment I don’t really rate Lewis and we’ve been better with Blair there but then we miss him further up the pitch.
So it’s definitely caused us issues

[selby]

  Dickos, there is no doubt that he has played better this season and from Christmas last season as well, I have no argument with that, although at Charlton away in the league with Blair in front of him, they both got picked out as a weakness and were run ragged down our right flank.
  He is decent, was getting better, and at Barnsley in a one off game played well down the middle, but you would not put your house on him one on one, and had his better games when the team played well, and was only average getting in forward positions, and was not blessed with great pace.
  There are bigger stronger better defenders playing in this division with poorer sides than us this season.
  He has gone, I wish him well, it is his own fault, and the club did the right thing in the circumstances.

[drfchound]

Mason was within our top 3 or 4 performers this season and in my opinion one of the reasons our form hasn’t been as good since December is the loss of him.
At the moment I don’t really rate Lewis and we’ve been better with Blair there but then we miss him further up the pitch.
So it’s definitely caused us issues

I am with Dickos on this.
Mason was certainly one of our best and most consistent players this season.
Whenever him and Copps played together down the right their link up play was great and Mason showed plenty of times that he could get a good cross into the box.

As for not being a world beater, who in L1 is?

[Chris Black come back]

Came from Villa and we I think paid a fee for him, so he will have been on a half decent wage. We can now deploy this for a replacement and perhaps more senior right back.

[dickos1]

He was one of our most valuable assets, we will struggle to get someone as good. But obviously we need to find someone of his quality

[selby]

  Dickos, he was out of contract at the end of the season, if he was that good he would not be here next season anyway, and seriously most of the top five sides would not have a regular place in their first team for him from what I have seen of them this season.
  Which of those five teams do you think he would get in? or Championship sides?
  Fleetwood, Wimbledon,  Blackpool, And others have Right backs as solid as him.
 We should be looking at players like Evans from Everton, who is on loan at Blackpool.
 

[bpoolrover]

Don’t think Evans can get in the Blackpool team can he?

[selby]

 Came on as a sub against us and nearly set up a goal, took part in the preceding games, but not since, whether injured I don't know. For Everton against us in the development game he was the class player on view that night, and played right wing back. I would say just what we are looking for.

[drfchound]

Came on as a sub against us and nearly set up a goal, took part in the preceding games, but not since, whether injured I don't know. For Everton against us in the development game he was the class player on view that night, and played right wing back. I would say just what we are looking for.

He has been on the bench every week so he won’t be injured.
When he played in the development game it wasn’t against a full L1 team so maybe that is why he looked good.
Some players can do the business at that level but can’t reproduce it in the league games.

[sha66y]

Avsuptem's is possibly the worst post on this well-exhausted subject that I've read.
And that's saying something!

Why ?
He/she makes valid points...why is it the worst ?
an intriguing statement

[sha66y]

Ohhhh noooooo!!

We have started wheeling out the “ championship Manager “ game for PC
Looking for the most obscure defenders to replace Mason.....

Best just wait and see what the “ gaffer” does first eh?.... but if he’s reading this, I used to always buy a young lad from Sligo to strengthen my Conference Donny team......

[selby]

i have no problem with whoever Grant end up with next season, I think Lewis could be a good defender as he gets experience.
 I also admit that Mason was vastly improved in the latter stages of his stay here, but he was a poor defender for the first 18 months of his stay here.

[steve@dcfd]

i have no problem with whoever Grant end up with next season, I think Lewis could be a good defender as he gets experience.
 I also admit that Mason was vastly improved in the latter stages of his stay here, but he was a poor defender for the first 18 months of his stay here.

He wasn’t a poor defender and our record under DF defensively was good although not good to watch. If he could have played right back all last season you’d have seen him differently.

[selby]

  Steve, it didn't matter if he was left or right, most teams we have played against in the last few years have targeted the side him or Blair defend.

[dickos1]

  Dickos, he was out of contract at the end of the season, if he was that good he would not be here next season anyway, and seriously most of the top five sides would not have a regular place in their first team for him from what I have seen of them this season.
  Which of those five teams do you think he would get in? or Championship sides?
  Fleetwood, Wimbledon,  Blackpool, And others have Right backs as solid as him.
 We should be looking at players like Evans from Everton, who is on loan at Blackpool.
 

I’ve no idea which side he’d get in, only the manager of those clubs can answer that.