James McCarthy

[chazzle_dazzle]

@Mikey_Fitzgerald is also right about 2 things;

1-- McCarthy is far better than Gibson.

2-- McCarthy is worth £15-20mil

I think in the centre it should be him,Barkley and Besic but the problem is Besic is always injured. I really hope Besic can get consistently fit as that could be a very good partnership.

Alot of people are praising Barry but failing to recognise McCarthy is the one allowing him to play and also covering for his lack of mobility.

Total unsung hero and one of the first names on the team sheet for me. Even if we went out and spent £40mil on two midfielders he would still be rotating with them as the defensive player.

Stick him as the anchor and play Besic/Barkley ahead of him and we will see some energy and drive in that midfield.

Whats that valuation based on, considering he hasn't improved an aspect of his game, or contribution, since he has been here?

 

[ijjysmith]

@Mikey_Fitzgerald is also right about 2 things;

1-- McCarthy is far better than Gibson.

2-- McCarthy is worth £15-20mil

I think in the centre it should be him,Barkley and Besic but the problem is Besic is always injured. I really hope Besic can get consistently fit as that could be a very good partnership.

Alot of people are praising Barry but failing to recognise McCarthy is the one allowing him to play and also covering for his lack of mobility.

Total unsung hero and one of the first names on the team sheet for me. Even if we went out and spent £40mil on two midfielders he would still be rotating with them as the defensive player.

Stick him as the anchor and play Besic/Barkley ahead of him and we will see some energy and drive in that midfield.

Gareth Barry plays.

 

[kithnou]

Can anyone tell me what he offers to the team that Besic doesn't?

Nothing

 

[Zatara]

Whats that valuation based on, considering he hasn't improved an aspect of his game, or contribution, since he has been here?

I think that he's improved in quite a number of areas, hes more tactically astute and positionally aware than when he first joined.

Also, its worth noting that when he went off injured at bournemouth our form totally nosedived. The statistics also show him to be our defensive key in terms of points won when he plays.

Personally i wouldnt have him alongside a Gareth Barry type. He should be the sole DM as his energy negates the need for two players in that role.

However, in a truly top centre midfield he wouldnt ever be the highest rated or most valued player. He would be perfect next to a box to box player such as a Roy Keane / Vieira type which would mean the centre was ultra-competitive and he would allow his partner to bomb forward.

I actually could see him (ideally) as being a rotation option for us if we brought in 2 new centre midfielders in the summer. He would be a fantastic player to bring in for extra defensive requirements in some games and a great option from the bench. Pretty much how i would see Besic also if we had 2 new players come in.

 

[chazzle_dazzle]

I think that he's improved in quite a number of areas, hes more tactically astute and positionally aware than when he first joined.

Also, its worth noting that when he went off injured at bournemouth our form totally nosedived. The statistics also show him to be our defensive key in terms of points won when he plays.

Personally i wouldnt have him alongside a Gareth Barry type. He should be the sole DM as his energy negates the need for two players in that role.

However, in a truly top centre midfield he wouldnt ever be the highest rated or most valued player. He would be perfect next to a box to box player such as a Roy Keane / Vieira type which would mean the centre was ultra-competitive and he would allow his partner to bomb forward.

I actually could see him (ideally) as being a rotation option for us if we brought in 2 new centre midfielders in the summer. He would be a fantastic player to bring in for extra defensive requirements in some games and a great option from the bench. Pretty much how i would see Besic also if we had 2 new players come in.

I think our form nose dived purely because of his engine which he always had and we didn't have the running next to Barry to compensate.

In his time at EFC, he has scored 4 goals. 1 in his first, 2 in his second and 1 this season. I don't have them infront of me but i would hazard a guess his assists would be of a similar ilk. I personally think we should require more then that from our centre mid.

At Wigan he scored 7 goals, his seasons went 1 goal, 3, 0, 3, 0. I wouldn't say he has improved that side of his game. He was always pretty positionally aware, however when at Wigan he was used in a slightly different sense then we do.

Again, i have seen nothing to suggest he offers more then just a good engine. I would happily replace for a proper number 8 that contributes in all phases of play.

Incidentally, Barry has contributed 3 goals in his time with us, including his loan - and Barry offers much more then McCarthy in the defensive third.

Wigan fans in work say they watch him and say he is pulling the same performances as he did for them, literally nothing has changed.

 

[madden95]

Nothing

done more than besic mate, everyone has rose tinted glasses on about besic, not saying besic wont be better never seen mccarthy [Poor language removed] out of a tackle or never give a 100%

 

[madden95]

You've been on the money for ages mate with this but at times were shouting into an empty chamber.

The lack of class in central midfield has been the root of a lot of this team's problems (before the wheels and axel came off completely recently). It's always easy just to Blake centrebacks for individual errors though and gloss over the side being completely unbalanced with a dearth of quality in the middle.

Besic is raw but has potential and all the right tools, Barkley needs to work on his positioning and aggression off the ball, Gibson has limited mobility and poor fitness but a very good passing range.

Barry McCarthy and Cleverley for me just aren't good enough for a team that wants to challenge for top 4.

It should be no surprise that the team boasting the standout best midfielder in the league is top of the pile. How many times did it take Fergie to win a league with two midfielders in the middle for people to catch on? If you have genuine class like Scholes Keane Carrick in his prime who can manipulate the ball and control the flow and tempo of the game then everything in the team works.

In my opinion maybe only two players in this squad can come even close to doing that, one is always unfit but hasn't had a look in under Martinez. The other is playing out of position at ten and seems to have lost all his confidence.

weird the way mccarthy and barry got us more points in the premier league than we did when we come 4th, but yeah seems legit that argument cleverly and barry didnt win the league either, are centre midfield isnt a massive problem its are inconsistency and terrible defending and the fact we are the easiest team to play against as we play the same way and same formation every week

 

[kithnou]

done more than besic mate, everyone has rose tinted glasses on about besic, not saying besic wont be better never seen mccarthy [Poor language removed] out of a tackle or never give a 100%

I think I,and others, just don't feel he offers anything more. We can do better. Besic has more talent on his little toe. Just can't get fit long term.
Football. All about opinions isn't it?

 

[Saint Domingo]

weird the way mccarthy and barry got us more points in the premier league than we did when we come 4th, but yeah seems legit that argument cleverly and barry didnt win the league either, are centre midfield isnt a massive problem its are inconsistency and terrible defending and the fact we are the easiest team to play against as we play the same way and same formation every week

Seems you've got a few arguments rolled into one here. My point is that our central midfield are not of the required quality in comparison with those further up the league and are one of the reasons (there are now many others too) as to why we are 14th.

 

[madden95]

I think I,and others, just don't feel he offers anything more. We can do better. Besic has more talent on his little toe. Just can't get fit long term.
Football. All about opinions isn't it?

Don't disagree with you all about opinions just don't get it with besic not denying could be class, but he has had about 2/3 really good games in the time he has been here, just think if mccarthy isnt the answer besic hasnt show enough to say he is the top 4 midfielder, i personally think we'd be even further down without barry.

 

[madden95]

Seems you've got a few arguments rolled into one here. My point is that our central midfield are not of the required quality in comparison with those further up the league and are one of the reasons (there are now many others too) as to why we are 14th.

dont think personally its the center mids not saying there the best two but there definitely better than 14th like most of our team thats why i made the other points dont think there the massive problem, i would a class center midfielder though not going to lie we need one to kick on but first we need a new manager

 

[kithnou]

Don't disagree with you all about opinions just don't get it with besic not denying could be class, but he has had about 2/3 really good games in the time he has been here, just think if mccarthy isnt the answer besic hasnt show enough to say he is the top 4 midfielder, i personally think we'd be even further down without barry.

Oh we need another gun in the midfield for me as well. Besic, despite the talent just can't stay on the park.

 

[WarringtonBlue]

You always need someone who does the simple things well. McCarthy is that. I don't need him to score or assist other players can do that. Only besic and him can cover the pitch like he does. However it is often only him protecting the centre backs and opposition know and can exploit this

 

[Zatara]

I think our form nose dived purely because of his engine which he always had and we didn't have the running next to Barry to compensate.

In his time at EFC, he has scored 4 goals. 1 in his first, 2 in his second and 1 this season. I don't have them infront of me but i would hazard a guess his assists would be of a similar ilk. I personally think we should require more then that from our centre mid.

At Wigan he scored 7 goals, his seasons went 1 goal, 3, 0, 3, 0. I wouldn't say he has improved that side of his game. He was always pretty positionally aware, however when at Wigan he was used in a slightly different sense then we do.

Again, i have seen nothing to suggest he offers more then just a good engine. I would happily replace for a proper number 8 that contributes in all phases of play.

Incidentally, Barry has contributed 3 goals in his time with us, including his loan - and Barry offers much more then McCarthy in the defensive third.

Wigan fans in work say they watch him and say he is pulling the same performances as he did for them, literally nothing has changed.

I dont follow, he's a defensive midfielder so why would you assess his goal return? How many goals does Busquets score or makalele, Gattuso, Jeremies in their careers?

Also, if you would sell him and replace him with a 'number 8' then no one would do the running for Barry (assuming he's your 6?) and if Barry is finished after this season (does a distin) we would have no defensive midfielders.

 

[Zatara]

@Saint Domingo

So, where would you play Barkley and i assume you would get rid of Gibson/Barry and have McCarthy/Besic (if fit) on the bench + bring in how many new players?