On your first point, I was criticising that some of our fans often write players off without considering that the season is played over a long period and brings about a load of unexpected obstacles. I feel that at the start of the season, loads were saying that McCarthy should be sold because Gana and Barry were considerably better and some used Besic in their argument too. For a start Gana was always going to be absent during the ACON, and Barry was a 35 year old (now 36). Besic has played far less games than McCarthy since he joined the club in 14-15, and is still yet to feature this season. One of the most ridiculous arguments I saw was the lack of goals in McCarthy's game. And I said at the time that it is not his job to score goals and that Gana wouldn't be any more effective in that regard which has proven to be correct as Gana got 0 in 35 last season for Villa, and has 1 in 22 this season for us. McCarthy has 1 in 12 which is expected. Gana has had a great season and I do agree he should be in ahead of McCarthy.
However, McCarthy's first season for us was excellent and he has been crippled with injuries since. That is the biggest concern for me. I wasn't basing my opinion on the game yesterday either. He was he catalyst for the win against Arsenal in December, bringing aggression and tenacity to the game which no one else on the pitch did to the same level, and I believe we had a strong chance of winning the Derby had he stayed on for the full 90 minutes. Again, he was a focal point in us being the better side in the first half, and I believe the game was lost when he went off and the ageing Barry replaced him.
Don't agree fully with your second point, but we both agree he is a good squad player to have.