McCarthy is so much more energetic than Fellaini was, his passing is more precise and even when it isn't he never stops working. He's not the same physical presence but he more than makes up for it with tenacity. There were occasional instances where Fellaini dominated games in way that McCarthy hasn't yet, but McCarthy is much younger and getting better. Selling Fellaini and replacing him with a much cheaper, more consistent and much livelier replacement is excellent business. Apart from Martinez's positive approach, having McCarthy and Barry this has helped us to recover from spells against United or Arsenal, for example, when we're under pressure, whereas last year we'd have retreated into a shell, or drifted out of the game against weaker teams. There's no doubt we're much stronger through the middle now, and, dare I repeat MOTD, this has helped us on the wings because opponents can't just assume that's our only means of attacking anymore.
