James McCarthy

[bcblue1878]

Hes not worth the £13m price tag. Evidently shown today.

Can he improve...100% but I dont think hes going to become a world beater ala Ross the Boss

Apologies, not just picking on you Sozzled, but the lad was on the pitch for 20 minutes how you can say " evidently shown today" I will never know!! What he did he did pretty well as far as I could see!
A few of the posters on here need to give the lad a break! May be when you can say "evidently shown over 20 games or even a season" people may take you a bit more seriously!

 

[Christiffa25]

Was a excellent substitution at a time we really needed it. It changed the whole flow of the game and without that change I have no doubt we would of conceded.

 

[centralTon]

Over analysing this Blues.

Everton won. Enjoy it.

^^^This

 

[toffeeben15]

Thought he did good . We finally have 2 players in Barry and McCarthy who can protect our defense . We just need the creativity to balance the midfield . Will Ross be able to provide this maybe he's great at driving at the oppenents but he does need to improve on his creative side and pick the right pass

 

[Titus Bramble]

Some pretty laughable shouts in this thread.

After he came on, our ball retention improved 100% and we settled it down big time and began to look dangerous going forward. He did a quiet job, but the midfield looked much more solid.

 

[dannyboy]

Some pretty laughable shouts in this thread.

After he came on, our ball retention improved 100% and we settled it down big time and began to look dangerous going forward. He did a quiet job, but the midfield looked much more solid.

Tbf that had nothing to do with him, it was down to the fact Jelavic was hauled off and Mirallas could hold the ball up.

I'm not judging him after one game but today was exactly what I expect from him. Solid but not spectacular, and when a club like us pays £13m for a player I think we need more than that.

 

[Tubey]

Tbf that had nothing to do with him, it was down to the fact Jelavic was hauled off and Mirallas could hold the ball up.

I'm not judging him after one game but today was exactly what I expect from him. Solid but not spectacular, and when a club like us pays £13m for a player I think we need more than that.

Yep this. Well, that and the diagonal outball to Naismith.

 

[Woolly Blue]

We were getting over-run before he came on, after he came on we were back in the game.

He's a water carrier, but a very good one. His job is to play the way he is facing, retain possession, offer himself to team-mates on the ball and hold his position to shield against opposition attacks.

This job is not as easy as it sounds, it's not about chasing around diving into tackles, it's about concentration.

Take Jack Rodwell, it is almost certain that this is the job Mancini bought him for (at 15m), he should be able to do it in his sleep but he doesn't have the head for it.

When McCarthy has a run in the team people probably will still ask the same questions but when he's out injured or suspended for a couple of games, THEN you will know his value.

Spot on.
We need to forget how much we paid for him and just let him play his game.

He's bigger and stronger than I remember when he was playing for Wiggin. Osman's natural replacement, but better.

 

[PaddyG]

I was impressed. Good touch and composure.

 

[harryjam]

Looked to have really good feet and put a solid tackle in on the edge of our box. Looking forward to seeing what he can do.

 

[Titus Bramble]

Tbf that had nothing to do with him, it was down to the fact Jelavic was hauled off and Mirallas could hold the ball up.

I'm not judging him after one game but today was exactly what I expect from him. Solid but not spectacular, and when a club like us pays £13m for a player I think we need more than that.

Yeah Mirallas moving up made a difference as well, but McCarthy helped tighten up the midfield. He did a quiet but effective job and as the season progresses I think the combination of him/Barry/Gibson will prove a very tight and controlled midfield.

 

[Aidey9]

I think people are very confused as to what type of midfielder he actually is to the type of midfielder they think he should be cos of the fee we payed out for him?!.

He's usually a CM thats a giver and goer who uses the ball well and gets into good pockets of space to recieve the ball and use it intelligently and is a vital cog in a team that is trying to retain possesion of the ball. Yes he can get on the ball and drive on from deep with it as ive seen a number of times when he's played for Wigan, he as even popped up with a goal once or twice, but lets get one thing straight, he's no Makalele, nor is he a Ozil either!.

Dont get me wrong, he can put a foot in and he can pick a pass, but his game is all about finding space and keeping the ball ticking over, being composed and using the ball well. In time he will come good. He's one of those players that does his job really well but very unspectacular but is a big asset to the team.

Tubey is moaning about his passing, his tackling or lack of it, bottling out and things, but the likes of Barkley, Mirallas & Coleman were all like that yesterday, either backing out of 50/50's or just hanging a leg in instead of sliding in to win the ball, and the amount of times Ossie & Barkley missed placed passes yesterday was a joke, yet Tubey makes out Barkley was outstanding yesterday!. Yes, in parts, but he showed his inexperience alot at times yesterday aswell when giving the ball away, keeping hold of it for too long instead of giving a pass.

All i'll say is, we payed £15m for a young Belgium CM 6 years ago and was giving him bucket loads of abuse about him not being good enough etc and he soon changed everyones tune!.

 

[stinger]

I think people are very confused as to what type of midfielder he actually is to the type of midfielder they think he should be cos of the fee we payed out for him?!.

He's usually a CM thats a giver and goer who uses the ball well and gets into good pockets of space to recieve the ball and use it intelligently and is a vital cog in a team that is trying to retain possesion of the ball. Yes he can get on the ball and drive on from deep with it as ive seen a number of times when he's played for Wigan, he as even popped up with a goal once or twice, but lets get one thing straight, he's no Makalele, nor is he a Ozil either!.

Dont get me wrong, he can put a foot in and he can pick a pass, but his game is all about finding space and keeping the ball ticking over, being composed and using the ball well. In time he will come good. He's one of those players that does his job really well but very unspectacular but is a big asset to the team.

Tubey is moaning about his passing, his tackling or lack of it, bottling out and things, but the likes of Barkley, Mirallas & Coleman were all like that yesterday, either backing out of 50/50's or just hanging a leg in instead of sliding in to win the ball, and the amount of times Ossie & Barkley missed placed passes yesterday was a joke, yet Tubey makes out Barkley was outstanding yesterday!. Yes, in parts, but he showed his inexperience alot at times yesterday aswell when giving the ball away, keeping hold of it for too long instead of giving a pass.

All i'll say is, we payed £15m for a young Belgium CM 6 years ago and was giving him bucket loads of abuse about him not being good enough etc and he soon changed everyones tune!.

At that time Fellaini was MOTM in Standard Liege competing against Liverpool for Champions League place and was considered one of the brightest talent in Belgium - we all now know how high praise it is now. Based on your report McCarthy is Joe Allen ver 2.0 and like our neighbours we overpaid heavily for this kind of player. We can't afford spending 13m on player who does this, which is proved after we got Darron Gibson and Gareth Barry on cheap.

I don't doubt that he will be a good squad player for us, as he's decent and he's clearly a Premier League level player. But people are delusional thinking that we will make any profit on him or will be someone helping us moving forward big time. We just wasted 10m on player like him which could be potentially invested in top striker or another winger or Mirallas level.

 

[Aidey9]

At that time Fellaini was MOTM in Standard Liege competing against Liverpool for Champions League place and was considered one of the brightest talent in Belgium - we all now know how high praise it is now. Based on your report McCarthy is Joe Allen ver 2.0 and like our neighbours we overpaid heavily for this kind of player. We can't afford spending 13m on player who does this, which is proved after we got Darron Gibson and Gareth Barry on cheap.

I don't doubt that he will be a good squad player for us, as he's decent and he's clearly a Premier League level player. But people are delusional thinking that we will make any profit on him or will be someone helping us moving forward big time. We just wasted 10m on player like him which could be potentially invested in top striker or another winger or Mirallas level.

As like McCarthy though, we didnt buy Felli on the strenght of one game!. We'd been scouting him a while and felt we had to get him after his performance against Liverpool or else he'd of gone else where.

McCarthy as had good games over the years, been very instrumental in wins against the likes of Man Utd, Man City & Liverpool over the years at Wigan but we havent bought him solely on the strength of that.

And comparing him to Allen is a bit harsh for me as i do think Allen is a crab footballer and always plays the safe pass, McCarhty doesnt. Yes he does play alot of short, give and goes, but he does run forward with the ball at times, he does look to pass forwards aswell and be progressive in his play, but Mccarhty as the stature and over time will develop the power to get about CM and put his foot in and play. He'll be good for us dont you worry. Yes, £13m + is alot for him, i agree, but he'll be a good player for us, he's still young and learning the game.

 

[stinger]

As like McCarthy though, we didnt buy Felli on the strenght of one game!. We'd been scouting him a while and felt we had to get him after his performance against Liverpool or else he'd of gone else where.

McCarthy as had good games over the years, been very instrumental in wins against the likes of Man Utd, Man City & Liverpool over the years at Wigan but we havent bought him solely on the strength of that.

And comparing him to Allen is a bit harsh for me as i do think Allen is a crab footballer and always plays the safe pass, McCarhty doesnt. Yes he does play alot of short, give and goes, but he does run forward with the ball at times, he does look to pass forwards aswell and be progressive in his play, but Mccarhty as the stature and over time will develop the power to get about CM and put his foot in and play. He'll be good for us dont you worry. Yes, £13m + is alot for him, i agree, but he'll be a good player for us, he's still young and learning the game.

I am not saying we did buy Fellaini based on one game - I know Moyes was too smart to do it. But he was stand out player out of young generation of Belgium players and these days we see how big praise was that. After all this years he spent here I still have a feeling he can improve as a player, just not sure if he can still improve under Moyes though.
McCarthy was just an OK midfielder for team relegated from Premier League, compare his transfer to Gibson or Barry? Is he better than any of them at the moment - in my opinion not (even if he is healthier than Gibson). Will he be better - maybe better than Gibson, but I don't think he will reach Barry level. He is kind of player Moyes was loaning first and then getting them or permanent transfer for low money. And we paid 13m for him. He will be a decent squad member, but from financial standpoint he's an awful, awful acquisition. There is many players who would be cheaper, have in my opinion a higher upside and would be a good players for us as well.