He definitely lead with his elbow, whether or not he had any reason to elbow Finnan, (I can't imagine why he would, especially as he'd been on literally for a minute) I can't say. Suffice it to say the ref had no choice.
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It was a shocking challenge and it looked deliberate to me. Bruce was disgusted with him. Going on other reports of dangerous tackles etc, the lad needs to cut this crap out fast.
Calls for him to be sacked are ridiculous though. Apart from that he did nothing wrong... ;)
Meyler has been excellent again today so far for Sunderland. He is controlling the midfield against Birmingham. Seems to have that extra time on the ball that only really good players have. Great to see.
Am I missing something obvious in relation to this lad as I cannot understand the lack of attention his recent performances for a 20 year old in the centre of midfield for an established Premier League club have been getting. By all accounts Sunderlands return to form can be attributed to Craig Gordans heroics , Darren Bents goals and the solidity Meyler's destructiveness, athleticism and attitude has brought to the midfield in the absense of Cana and Cattermole. Usually we are prone to odd bit of blind optimism when it comes to our young players but this lad seems to have escaped that.. What odds on a James McCarthy & David Meyler central midfield combo this time 2012....
fair point, and the only real answer is the McCarthy has taken a lot of the attention off him playing well in midfield and getting called up to the senior squad.
Also possible he's suffering from association with the U21's
There's also the added factor that Meyler isn't a flashy player, whereas McCarthy is playing an attacking role with Wigan and has scored a couple of goals.
"Sunderland midfielder David Meyler continued his impressive run in the team as the Cork native helped the Black Cats to a 3-1 win over Birmingham on Saturday.
The win moves Sunderland a step closer to safety and eases the pressure on manager Steve Bruce, who got the dreaded vote of confidence from chairman Niall Quinn a fortnight ago.
Meyler has been keeping Lee Cattermole out of the side in recent weeks and Bruce is delighted with the 20-year-old’s all action performances on the pitch.
“One thing he has got is a huge heart and an appetite for the game,” said Bruce. “He’s only 20 but he came in and the stats showed he ran 13km. It would be very difficult for me to leave him out of the team.”"
http://www.eleven-a-side.com/acrosst...ws.asp?n=38288
Excellent game again today for Sunderland. His composure on the ball has improved beyond belief from last season. Looks as fit at the end of games as he does at the beginning. Won a peno and some of his passing and tackles were excellent. Real find here guys.
yep fingers crossed - its very encouraging to have a young player playing well in the premier league against a very good side like Spurs - in centre mid too.
Ithink him and McCarthy will give us options sooner rather then later in there :)
I didn't think he'd go straight back into the team after his injury. Then again they were so roundly slaughtered by Liverpool last week something had to give. Good to see he played well again, though.
Agree, not realised he was injured, thought he had been dropped!! Seems to have a bit of attitude - essential for CM.
Saw that game today, hope he keeps progressing, had a great game!
Surprised people are not talking more about this guy. He has looked very solid any time I have seen him
He's doing a great job with Sunderland, but not much changes game to game for him. He plays an aggressive, hard working game, and keeps things fairly simple.
That sort of player is not generally going to get the headlines, and subsequently, isn't going to capture the imagination of fans.
But considering his age, and the fact that he is playing in a position where we're short on options right now, I understand why you're surprised there isn't more enthusiasm for his commendable performances.
No arguments here Sean, I'm sure if Trap got a close look at him, he'd seriously push for a place in the middle. A Meyler/Whelan partnership seems like it would be difficult to break down.
I agree, he has what Trap wants in his engineroom. I'd be surprised if he was ignored for the upcoming games. Hopefully Trap has been informed that he is Irish.
Went to the game on Saturday with a Spurs mate and have to say that I was very impressed. His dominant presence at 6ft 2 makes him perfect for the modern midfield role and whereas he didn't necessarily do anything fancy he was always an option and keeps the ball moving well. Have heard grumblings from some Sunderland mates that he has a bit of a tendency to pass sideways - however that fits the way Sunderland play and hopefully some more incisive passing will come as his confidence (which he already has in abundance) grows.
Amazing how our fortunes have changed from having a real fear for our strength in depth in midfield when Whelan and Andrews came on the scene to looking like it is one of our strongest positions with the progression of these two and the emergence of players like Meyler, McCarthy, Gibson and McCann. We should be sorted for a few years with these lads.