James McCarthy

[Goat]

I wouldnt sell unless we had somebody of equal quality coming in and even then The Clev and Gibson would defo get punted before him.

 

[Paul w]

Yeah if we buy two quality mids between now and the window closing then sure sell him, but I don't think we will. I'd shift Cleverly and Gibson on before Jimmy.

Your blinded by a decent 1st season mate he is average at best,agree about the other 2 if poss ship 3 of them out and get 2 or 3 in but i think it's too late for that.

 

[Jreverton1]

I wouldnt sell unless we had somebody of equal quality coming in and even then The Clev and Gibson would defo get punted before him.

Defo. He is far better than both of these two, ones a pisshead the other is just crap at football.

 

[Mickey]

Your blinded by a decent 1st season mate he is average at best,agree about the other 2 if poss ship 3 of them out and get 2 or 3 in but i think it's too late for that.

That's literally just what I said mate.

 

[davek]

McCarthy either can't, or won't carry the ball. His first instinct is to look to the side, give it (to the side) and get behind for the return ball. All very well covering ground, AJ used to do that a lot, too.

He pulled a ball back from the line to the 6 yard box for a goal the other night.

 

[Goat]

Your blinded by a decent 1st season mate he is average at best,agree about the other 2 if poss ship 3 of them out and get 2 or 3 in but i think it's too late for that.

Hes not average, hes limited, theres a massive difference, he performs the role of DM very well, he just cant do much else, thats not a bad thing at all.

 

[davek]

Oh, if spurs came back with that £20m they were meant to be offering a season or two ago, I'd accept it.

But I wouldn't let him go for the sake of it.

He wont go to a decent team...apparently.

 

[Goat]

He wont go to a decent team...apparently.

Celtic cant afford him, not even sure why hes up there.

 

[davek]

I didn't see it, but apparently Koeman was furious with him on Tuesday, which resulted in him being subbed.

Yeah, mate. Probably the same source that said he wants him out.

 

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

Hes not average, hes limited, theres a massive difference, he performs the role of DM very well, he just cant do much else, thats not a bad thing at all.

You do actually talk sense at times you know Goat.

 

[davek]

It could be literal or it could be negotiations tactics. Won't know til the window "slams shut".

It could be. More likely to be a matter of Koeman being fine with him staying to fight for his place, but ready to replace if he wants out.

I think we can rule out the belief of some that he doesn't rate McCarthy though.

 

[Goat]

Yeah, mate. Probably the same source that said he wants him out.

Koeman doesnt want him out, but im pretty sure hes told all the players that anyone who doesnt wanna play a squad game can jog on.

 

[davek]

Celtic cant afford him, not even sure why hes up there.

Is he up there?

 

[Durham Toffee]

Hes not average, hes limited, theres a massive difference, he performs the role of DM very well, he just cant do much else, thats not a bad thing at all.

Agreed.

A narrow and very specific set of skills that only work in few systems.

Good quality at what he does, but when there's not a need for what he does, he isn't missed - which is self explanatory really.

Excellent point, @MoutsGoat

 

[Woolly Blue]

No one's saying he's flawless.

Try and read what's actually in posts rather than what you want to be there.

A lot of the grief that McCarthy gets on here is due to his pretty average ( at best ) form in the last two seasons.

What people overlook is for those two seasons we had strikers and wingers pretty much under instruction to limit their tracking back so, for a lot of time, McCarthy was pressing on his own, which is almost always doomed to failure.

In his first season, Pienaar was around snapping at peoples heels, so McCarthy was less isolated.

If he was playing alongside Barry now, he'd be getting a lot more help from the likes of Barkley and Mirallas so he'd almost certainly look better than he has for a while.

If Gana gets injured or his form drops then it'd be interesting to see McCarthy given a run in the team.