Does Ryan Mason deserve to keep his place in the starting eleven for Tottenham? Many different views from many different people, none are wrong of course, but everyone has their opinion. My opinion is that over the course of the season, he hasn’t exactly showed that he deserves to be in the midfield. Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t a bad player, he is a good young player.
But Tottenham need a fully developed player, not someone who could take a few years to blossom. Someone like Morgan Schneiderlin, who has shown on many occasions this season that he is the type of player that many teams need. A player who can protect the back four, break up play and allow the attackers to attack. Nemanja Matic is the proof of how a strong defensive midfielder can improve a team. Now, I’m not comparing Mason to Matic, but to Schneiderlin who Spurs could have and should have signed in the summer, he isn’t what is needed.
It is nice to see a youth player finally make an impact in the Spurs side, and alongside Harry Kane, he has become a first team regular due to his fire, desire, determination and love for the club. But fire, desire and a love for the club shouldn’t mean he gets an automatic place in the side. I love Oasis, and I love Metallica, but that alone doesn’t mean that I should replace Noel Gallagher or Kirk Hammet. I have to be better than them, and a lot of other people, to get their place and the same applies to Ryan Mason. He may be a ‘Spurs Boy’ but that doesn’t mean he is better than someone else.
Paulinho has played better than him whenever he’s made an appearance lately, and even managed to grab a Man of the Match award. Does that mean he should play ahead of Mason? When football is judged on talent, then yes it does mean that he should play ahead of him.
I don’t want to come across as if I’m criticising Mason for not having talent, he is talented. I first saw him last season whilst he was on loan at Swindon Town playing midfield against Tranmere Rovers in League One. He was clearly miles ahead of everyone on that pitch and made me proud to say ‘that lad plays for Tottenham’. He clearly had talent then and has it now. Another example is the North London Derby at White Hart Lane this season. Anyone who has read any of my other pieces about Spurs knows how this game was probably the best part of the season for me. Harry Kane got the headlines, but Ryan Mason was the one who controlled the game.
Against the likes of World Cup winners Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil, Mason showed them how football was meant to be played and was fantastic from the first whistle to last. But that was the last time I remember being impressed by Mason for a whole game. The talent is there, but at what level? Is it too much too soon for a player who was playing League One football last year and then made his full Spurs debut away at Arsenal?
What lies in stall for Ryan Mason? It’s not like he is getting sold any time soon, but could lose his place if someone new is bought. Rumours linking Spurs with Schneiderlin, who many see as the first piece of the Pochettino jigsaw, could see Mason dropped to the bench. Whilst it is nice seeing a product of the Spurs youth getting a first team place, it would be nicer to see a player come in and bring some level of success to the team, whether he is youth or bought because ultimately, in the words of the great Bill Nicholson, the game is about glory and if a player brings the club glory, then that is all that matters. Rather fittingly considering the debate that English football is having at the moment, Mason may be entertaining for some fans, but eventually the entertainment must evaporate when the club doesn’t win anything?
But ultimately it comes down to whether Ryan Mason is good enough for a club who needs and demands success when he isn’t looking like giving them success.
