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Post by erasedcitizen on Feb 9, 2023 8:29:06 GMT
Page has noticed.
With Page promising changes to his Wales squad, one player who is getting attention for a possible call-up is Wrexham striker Paul Mullin.
The 28-year old qualifies for Wales and has expressed an interest in an international call-up.
Mullin's goal record is prolific and Page, who watched the striker in Wrexham's 3-1 FA Cup defeat at Sheffield United, says he liked what he saw from the forward.
"I was really impressed with him, he did not give the centre back one minute on the ball," he said.
"If there was an aerial battle he was there. He was competing all game. And I like that about him.
"And he's got an eye for goal and he's got quality as well. So I was really impressed with him."
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Post by insertname on Feb 9, 2023 9:23:13 GMT
Blimey. Does Page know how old he is? 😂
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Post by conwy10 on Feb 9, 2023 9:38:57 GMT
Not giving the defender one minute on the ball... I think we need to set the bar higher than that. Max 5 seconds or something.
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Post by iot on Feb 9, 2023 13:54:31 GMT
Thought he was excellent last night. That movement to win the second penalty was just top class. Really impressed by the way he made the ball stick - he was bullying the defenders at times and they really struggled to handle him. I wouldn't mind seeing him called up at all, but still unclear on his pathway into the side given the type of games we've got coming up in the short term and the long wait until the next opportunity to experiment, by which time he will be almost 29. I just wish he was a couple of years younger. His pathway is more simple than perhaps we might think. We'd ideally want to phase him in through a few friendlies, that's true However, the way I see this going is selecting him for Croatia & Latvia, and using him as an impact player if we're chasing a goal. Page will then know how he looks in and around the camp, and we might see from a 15-20 minute whether he can be an impact player. I mean if he were to come on and score an equaliser against Croatia for example, how many people would be against starting him up front with Kieffer against the Latvians? I'm not saying it should necessarily all happen that quickly, but I think it makes sense for him to be in the squad now, and then it's up to him to make an impression. We may start him for the first time in the September friendly with the idea that we like what we've seen in cameos "the way I see this going is selecting him for Croatia & Latvia, and using him as an impact player if we're chasing a goal. Page will then know how he looks in and around the camp" This is where we disagree. There is next to no room for error in the qualifiers. We had one bad result in the last campaign and met or exceeded expectations (results wise) in all other games. Even then, we only just pipped the Czechs to that second spot. If we were relying on the nations league playoff in the last game we probably wouldn't have made it - think the Czechs got Sweden in Stockholm and with Poland in the final. So if we slip up against Latvia, I don't think anyone will be saying "at least now Page knows what Paul Mullin can do". We will already have the likes of Harry Wilson and probably Dan James on the bench for these games who would rightly get the nod over Mullin if we're chasing a goal. So realistically, it's unlikely he would (and I would say should) get gametime. Knowing what he's like in the squad and around training is all very good, but at his age and with the lack of upcoming fixtures, it's more of a mid-term strategy which he probably doesn't have the time for. Add to that we'd be hampering Wrexham's chances to boot - I wouldn't be in favour of a call up personally. |
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Post by talyfan on Feb 9, 2023 15:57:28 GMT
To be honest if I had a gun pointed at my head and the only way out of it is for a Wales player to bury it in the onion bag I'd pick Mullin over those two.
But that's why I'm not the Wales gaffer with those hypotheticsl selection criteria!!
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Post by rushy on Feb 9, 2023 16:19:30 GMT
Mullin is in the form of his life but I wouldn't call him a baller, he has no real finesse as the second penalty miss showed the other night, no doubt though he's good at what he does and it's paying dividends for him, I wouldn't be surprised by a call up I'll just say that.
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Post by insertname on Feb 9, 2023 16:24:00 GMT
I’d say you’ve got it round the wrong way- the second penalty was placed and it took a good save to stop it. The first penalty showed something of a lack of a cultured foot but then you’ve got that chip from 20 odd yards posted up thread which shows he’s not just a slogger.
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Post by cadno on Feb 9, 2023 16:29:43 GMT
Give him a call up fine, but for gods sakes give poor Tom bradshaw a call up too… he has a far superior goal scoring record at championship and league 1 level. And we all know he’d score piles of goals in league 2 and non league. I get the hype cause Mullins at Wrexham but based on what we know and can see, Bradshaw should be in the squad just as much if not more.
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Post by jimexotic on Feb 9, 2023 18:02:27 GMT
Not a dig at Bradshaw, just a genuine question, has Bradshaw ever torn it up against a side at the top end of the Championship table? His 7 goals in 23 league games this season have been scored in 4 games, 4 against strugglers and a hat-trick against Watford, which is decent although Watford were pretty screwed with injuries. Last season he scored 9 in 24 league games, decent, only one was against a side in the top 6, Luton. The season before that, 4 in 29 league games, all against mid table or less. In October 2019 he scored against Leeds United. I'd have him in ahead of the likes of Harris and Roberts right now no question, Mullin is in the ascendancy right now though and quite simply deserves a call up more than any other Welsh attacker after Brennan and Kieffer.
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Post by quetzal on Feb 9, 2023 18:24:47 GMT
Give him a call up fine, but for gods sakes give poor Tom bradshaw a call up too… he has a far superior goal scoring record at championship and league 1 level. And we all know he’d score piles of goals in league 2 and non league. I get the hype cause Mullins at Wrexham but based on what we know and can see, Bradshaw should be in the squad just as much if not more. I agree on the Bradshaw situation. I think there’s snobbery in the Welsh set up. If you came through all the youth thanks then you have an huge advantage. Not sure that is living in the now. Living on past reputations as kids and it’s not healthy. Matt Smith the perfect example |
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Post by surge on Feb 9, 2023 18:28:54 GMT
Tom Bradshaw and Aaron Collins going to be looking at this quote with interest, but I think we need to look beyond form and try to find fit for what we want/what we're currently short of.
Similar to how Kieffer Moore got a look the first time because he was so different and so needed for the team at that time: Kieffer probably wouldn't have been called up if he was a right-footed, wide attacking player coming from non-league to Championship late in his career even if he had been playing well because so many in front of him in the queue.
Which of Mullins, Bradshaw and Collins does what we don't currently? Which can take good league form and make an impression on international circuit? Which can produce for 2+ years at high standard so we're not taking a risk for short period of time?
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Post by marsvolta on Feb 9, 2023 19:45:45 GMT
Give him a call up fine, but for gods sakes give poor Tom bradshaw a call up too… he has a far superior goal scoring record at championship and league 1 level. And we all know he’d score piles of goals in league 2 and non league. I get the hype cause Mullins at Wrexham but based on what we know and can see, Bradshaw should be in the squad just as much if not more. I agree on the Bradshaw situation. I think there’s snobbery in the Welsh set up. If you came through all the youth thanks then you have an huge advantage. Not sure that is living in the now. Living on past reputations as kids and it’s not healthy. Matt Smith the perfect example Bradshaw did come through the youth system though. |
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Post by insertname on Feb 9, 2023 20:52:56 GMT
Not a dig at Bradshaw, just a genuine question, has Bradshaw ever torn it up against a side at the top end of the Championship table? His 7 goals in 23 league games this season have been scored in 4 games, 4 against strugglers and a hat-trick against Watford, which is decent although Watford were pretty screwed with injuries. Last season he scored 9 in 24 league games, decent, only one was against a side in the top 6, Luton. The season before that, 4 in 29 league games, all against mid table or less. In October 2019 he scored against Leeds United. I'd have him in ahead of the likes of Harris and Roberts right now no question, Mullin is in the ascendancy right now though and quite simply deserves a call up more than any other Welsh attacker after Brennan and Kieffer. Interesting finding, although it sounds like you’re not taking into account who those appearances were against - eg he can’t score against the top teams if he was injured or out of favour when Millwall played them. |
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Post by jimexotic on Feb 9, 2023 21:03:42 GMT
Just a quick look, he's played against all of the top 6 this season, he played against Bournemouth twice and Forest twice last season. Not wanting to dig him out or prove anything, I quite like him as a player, just interesting stats/facts.
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Post by cadno on Feb 9, 2023 21:07:49 GMT
He’s still scored 80+ goals in the championship and league 1 compared to Mullin’s 3. I think both should get a call up
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Post by allezlesrouges on Feb 9, 2023 21:23:06 GMT
He’s still scored 80+ goals in the championship and league 1 compared to Mullin’s 3. I think both should get a call up I personally see more upside in Collins, but would be fine with a Bradshaw call up |
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Post by allezlesrouges on Feb 9, 2023 23:20:20 GMT
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Post by jimexotic on Feb 10, 2023 0:06:27 GMT
The wheels are in motion
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Post by bale-droed on Feb 10, 2023 2:20:06 GMT
Breaking News: A west European International football team that doesn’t have a huge talent pool considers calling up a player based on his ability not the level he plays at just like every Scandinavian and east European country More to follow |
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Post by morg on Feb 10, 2023 9:09:43 GMT
Just to put it out there. Shoot me down etc but is any of the reticence to call him up to do with embarrassment. I.e. Grief we'd take from the noisy neighbours for calling up a non leaguer? Laughing stock on Talkshite etc?
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Post by marsvolta on Feb 10, 2023 10:11:41 GMT
Can’t speak for everyone obviously but I doubt many on here would base their decisions on what England fans are thinking, especially Talksport.
As far as embarrassment goes,It’s not as if we’re calling him up instead of top Premier League strikers, the alternatives play for the likes of Bristol Rovers and Millwall
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Post by dai on Feb 10, 2023 10:23:08 GMT
Yes, those over the borders will have a good laugh about it. However I saw a lot of positive posts about Mullin from non-Welsh following both Sheff Utd games. Even the commentary teams were talking about him all match. It's obvious he's playing well below the standard he can.
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Post by daearegwr on Feb 10, 2023 10:45:11 GMT
It's a shame Wrexham didn't go up last season as I don't think we'd be having this debate at all then.
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Post by insertname on Feb 10, 2023 10:56:32 GMT
Just to put it out there. Shoot me down etc but is any of the reticence to call him up to do with embarrassment. I.e. Grief we'd take from the noisy neighbours for calling up a non leaguer? Laughing stock on Talkshite etc? I’ve never got that impression, to me people just don’t believe a conference striker can have the ability to thrive at international level and whilst there are strikers playing higher up the pyramid there should be no need to find out. That’s it pretty much. |
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Post by bale-droed on Feb 10, 2023 11:24:03 GMT
Just to put it out there. Shoot me down etc but is any of the reticence to call him up to do with embarrassment. I.e. Grief we'd take from the noisy neighbours for calling up a non leaguer? Laughing stock on Talkshite etc? No it’s more to do with our own arrogance of thinking we are bigger and better than we are. |
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Post by jimexotic on Feb 10, 2023 11:31:39 GMT
How did Paul Mullin do in two games against Sheffield United?
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Post by dai on Feb 10, 2023 11:45:40 GMT
How did Paul Mullin do in two games against Sheffield United? Fantastic considering he's playing for a NL side against a side who's going to be promoted to the PL. Arguably the best player on the pitch in both games, certainly the first anyway. |
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Post by surge on Feb 10, 2023 13:58:48 GMT
Gareth Southgate was smart in calling up James Maddison, and lucky in him picking up a knock, to stop England fans/media tearing themselves apart over a player some see as real deal and others don't see him fitting into the national team's system.
Mullin did well in the games against Sheffield United against good level CB's, it's not a position we're particularly strong in and he held up ball quite well while also being difficult to defend against when playing with taller partner so therefore there is an argument to call him up.
Equally, he did well in 2 'championship' games and okay in a third. As much as some are willing him on that's not really enough data to say he can cope at international level so therefore a risk and argument against him being called up.
Some people on twitter are becoming too entrenched in their viewpoint. I hope we don't have a James Maddison reaction when he is/isn't called up to the squad in the future.
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Post by fiveattheback on Feb 10, 2023 15:36:35 GMT
I can already see the shit Mark Harris will get if he's called up ahead of Mullin next month
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Post by erasedcitizen on Feb 10, 2023 16:03:36 GMT
Wrexham forum having a meltdown over the idea of him getting called up.
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