The Meyler Contradiction

David Meyler is a player that continually splits opinion on Hull City AFC message boards.  He also splits my own opinion.

Against Sunderland I was particularly disappointed with him, especially with some of the misplaced passes.  But against Man City I was singing his praises.

To me, this player epitomises the spirit and ethos of our football club.  The ethos of Hull City, and probably most football clubs goes all the way back through to the fans that support the club – hard-working, honest grafters in our case.  This is the qualities that I associate with the fans of my football club, and this spirit is what I most relish in a football player for my club.

Unquestionably, David Meyler is hard-working.  He is honest, cheeky and a grafter.  He embodies the spirit of our football club – and also it should be mentioned, of his manager.

I don’t like criticising him.  However I would prefer not to play him against lesser opposition such as Sunderland, or the upcoming game against Leicester.  We should instead have someone such as Robertson on the left side – someone with pace and added guile that can create opportunities, put quality crosses in and provide some creative link-up play.

These are not Meyler’s strengths.

For me, he comes into his true worth against the big teams.  Teams such as Man City, and the forthcoming games against the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Man Utd where we are going to be on the backfoot quite a lot of time – teams that will take advantage of any space that is offered to them.
Meyler’s qualities are perfect for harassing opponents that need to luxury of space to show off their footballing abilities.  Meyler harasses such opponents, gets in their faces and puts them off their game.  Not only that, his work ethic does rub off on other players around him.
It seems odd to say that you want a player to play against the really good teams, but not the poor teams.
Whatever division we are in next year, I hope Meyler is still a part of the squad.
It’s taken me a couple of years but I finally understand and fully appreciate him.

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