Tyrone Mings is a ‘flat-track bully’, position in question at Aston Villa – Simon Jordan
Former Aston Villa captain Tyrone Mings’ future at the club is in question after he lost the armband, according to talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan.
The England centre-back had the captaincy taken off him in favour of Scotland midfielder John McGinn by Steven Gerrard last week (28 July), and reacted on Twitter by throwing his support behind the new skipper.
But former Crystal Palace chairman Jordan believes the move signifies the fact that Mings is not good enough to be part of the intended growth at Villa Park.
Speaking on talkSPORT on Monday (1 August) in a clip posted to the station’s Twitter account he said: “I think his response to having the captaincy taken away from him is very commendable. I suspect it’s probably being parroted from Steven Gerrard, but not withstanding that he still came out and said something very positive.
“I don’t think for Aston Villa to get to the next level Tyrone Mings is the answer. If he’s the answer then I’m not sure what the question is.
“I’ve not been a great admirer of his as a player… Obviously to play in the Premier League you’ve got to be to a certain standard.
“But when he’s been elevated up to the England level and when he’s been asked questions of at Aston Villa, I thought he was a little bit of a flat-track bully.
“Some of the players that were able to cope with that were able to make him look very pedestrian as a centre-half.
“So I think that’s beginning to see itself in perhaps the future of his position at Aston Villa.”
Exit-bound?
Jordan may be putting it harshly but in terms of pure ability it might be not far from the truth.
The former Bournemouth man is a good player and has proven to be an outspoken leader at times, but if the manager valued his contribution in either capacity long-term it is unlikely that he would have decided to make the change.
Bringing in the likes of Philippe Coutinho and targeting Europe shows that Gerrard is very ambitious in what he is planning at the club, and perhaps Mings is better suited to a team a step down from that.
Diego Carlos has been signed from Sevilla this summer but for now there seems to be no reason for Mings to be ostracised.
There is certainly potential for him to raise his game having been freed of the pressure to lead the team, and motivated to prove his worth the manager.
How the upcoming season goes will be instructive for what the ex-skipper’s long-term prospects at the club are.
From his point of view he will just have to hope that he is given the opportunity to show that he should be a big part of things going forward and that the manager hasn’t already made up his mind.
In other Aston Villa news, a return to the club for Jack Grealish has been mooted.