James McCarthy

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Robertor said:
Thought he was brilliant yesterday. Still think people undervalue him because they don't necessarily understand his role, fans tend to call him limited when his role is to cover the full back, get forward when merited and do Barry's running for him breaking up opposition play. For what his role is in the side I don't think there's many players who could do that better than him.
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I think this is one of the most annoying arguments in football 'you just don't understand what he does'. I do, but I don't think he's as good at it as some people think.

If he's there to do Barry's running, why does barry often cover more ground? If he's there to cover the fullback, why do we get exposed down the flanks so often?

I Don't think he's useless, but I think he's massively overrated by many fans.
 

Lanolin said:
I think this is one of the most annoying arguments in football 'you just don't understand what he does'. I do, but I don't think he's as good at it as some people think.

If he's there to do Barry's running, why does barry often cover more ground? If he's there to cover the fullback, why do we get exposed down the flanks so often?

I Don't think he's useless, but I think he's massively overrated by many fans.
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I think you are absolutely right. People should be able to explain what players do if it's so clear to say what people are missing. I agree with your analysis too, but what I'd ask though is how far is that McCarthy and how far is it a tactical switch we have made?

McCarthy seems to me (before Sunday) a bit caught between positions. I don't think it's been clearly defined what his role is. I think he was expected to not be as defensive as Barry but also not go forward to much. He was getting a bit caught for me between two positions, of defensive midfield or a box to box midfielders and really doing neither. In principle he is meant to cover our fullbacks, but with Coleman being injured and Browning less offensive that has left him again a bit wasted.

I am glad the hand breaks are off now. Until we move Barry on (which I don't think we should do yet) we don't need them both in there. He obviously has ability going forward and I really think he can score 5 or 6 goals if he pushes on enough plus influence play going forward. Longer term he has shown for Ireland he also has the ability to be a very good defensive midfield player.

The obvious question of what does he do? I think the season in games he's played well he has been able to neutralise the opposing teams influential players. When Yaya Toure was flying for City McCarthy man marked him and kept him quite quiet. He did similar against Ramsay V Arsenal a couple of seasons ago. When he's at his best he has the energy and drive to make it difficult for opposing players higher up the pitch.

I think increasingly he has shown he too can break from Midfield and influence the game going forward. We need to see more of it. In some games Ross will want/need to come deeper to get the ball, and we need a midfield player willing to break beyond Lukaku or get up to support him. This season hopefully McCarthy can be that man.

As a final point we are a side that is light on leaders. He is a real leader though which can't be underestimated.
 
I thought McCarthy was excellent yesterday. He played as a defensive and attacking midfielder yesterday. He was available for the ball and kept it moving in front of the Sunderland back four.
I think he has it in him to be a box to box midfielder and yesterday he was trying to get forward past Lukaku to give options in attack.
I think the manager looks at the opposition and from that decides the role McCarth has to play from week to week.
 
catcherintherye said:
I think you are absolutely right. People should be able to explain what players do if it's so clear to say what people are missing. I agree with your analysis too, but what I'd ask though is how far is that McCarthy and how far is it a tactical switch we have made?

McCarthy seems to me (before Sunday) a bit caught between positions. I don't think it's been clearly defined what his role is. I think he was expected to not be as defensive as Barry but also not go forward to much. He was getting a bit caught for me between two positions, of defensive midfield or a box to box midfielders and really doing neither. In principle he is meant to cover our fullbacks, but with Coleman being injured and Browning less offensive that has left him again a bit wasted.

I am glad the hand breaks are off now. Until we move Barry on (which I don't think we should do yet) we don't need them both in there. He obviously has ability going forward and I really think he can score 5 or 6 goals if he pushes on enough plus influence play going forward. Longer term he has shown for Ireland he also has the ability to be a very good defensive midfield player.

The obvious question of what does he do? I think the season in games he's played well he has been able to neutralise the opposing teams influential players. When Yaya Toure was flying for City McCarthy man marked him and kept him quite quiet. He did similar against Ramsay V Arsenal a couple of seasons ago. When he's at his best he has the energy and drive to make it difficult for opposing players higher up the pitch.

I think increasingly he has shown he too can break from Midfield and influence the game going forward. We need to see more of it. In some games Ross will want/need to come deeper to get the ball, and we need a midfield player willing to break beyond Lukaku or get up to support him. This season hopefully McCarthy can be that man.

As a final point we are a side that is light on leaders. He is a real leader though which can't be underestimated.
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Great point. I've defended him all season, and I stand by that his displays really haven't been poor - just not up to the standard he has set. I thought in the derby he was superb - but then against United and Arsenal he was poor.

The first-half against Norwich, he was dreadful. Not just by his standards but by anyone's. However, as soon as Barkley came on and he had a ball player next to him (Gibson is good on the ball, yes, but he didn't have the sharpness to pick up the space in midfield so McCarthy was having to do a lot of the 'ball' work - not his natural game) then we saw the best of him and I think it was a real turning point.

Against Sunderland Barry was superb, and he dictated our play from deep as Sunderland, for some reason, didn't press and gave him the room to operate. In turn, McCarthy got forward well and also kept his position when we needed to get back and defend. His assist for Kone's second was a great pass - after he had actually received a really awkward ball from Barkley.
 

It was good to see McCarthy getting involved in a fast paced attack on Sunday. He out-muscles M'Vila on the edge of the Everton area winning the possession; stays on Del's left shoulder making himself an option; Del then stutters the offensive flow with a slow pass to him; but McCarthy keeps the attack alive by feeding the ball into Kone's path resulting in the excellent 5th goal. His stamina is unreal.
 
How anyone can complain about mccarthy amazes me.Without him our midfield would be way too slow and lethargic.He has a huge engine,never stops running and pressing,slows down and breaks up opponents attacks.he is priceless and always seems to just get better and better as the season goes on.really hope he stays fit.
 
BlueToff said:
Great point. I've defended him all season, and I stand by that his displays really haven't been poor - just not up to the standard he has set. I thought in the derby he was superb - but then against United and Arsenal he was poor.

The first-half against Norwich, he was dreadful. Not just by his standards but by anyone's. However, as soon as Barkley came on and he had a ball player next to him (Gibson is good on the ball, yes, but he didn't have the sharpness to pick up the space in midfield so McCarthy was having to do a lot of the 'ball' work - not his natural game) then we saw the best of him and I think it was a real turning point.

Against Sunderland Barry was superb, and he dictated our play from deep as Sunderland, for some reason, didn't press and gave him the room to operate. In turn, McCarthy got forward well and also kept his position when we needed to get back and defend. His assist for Kone's second was a great pass - after he had actually received a really awkward ball from Barkley.
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That assist was sublime. I expect everyone thought like me and thought he was going to shoot. Perfect weight on the ball to Kone.
 

McCarthy is excellent for us. He's as good as it gets for us in that deep midfield position. The annoying thing is that for teams with more money or teams who are genuinely going to challenge for the top 4 their McCarthy will not just run around and tackle but will also pass, assist and score goals.

I love McCarthy and he's really important to us at the moment. We'll never get in the top 4 as long as he's our most important midfielder though.
 
Thuck ma Baws said:
McCarthy is excellent for us. He's as good as it gets for us in that deep midfield position. The annoying thing is that for teams with more money or teams who are genuinely going to challenge for the top 4 their McCarthy will not just run around and tackle but will also pass, assist and score goals.

I love McCarthy and he's really important to us at the moment. We'll never get in the top 4 as long as he's our most important midfielder though.
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Thought his forward passing and 'getting forward' was quite good when the game allowed it on Sunday.
Suppose you could argue that he should take more risks and gamble more, but is that really what you want from a defensive midfielder?
 
If he could just learn to pass in front of the man rTher than behind him he'd be a far better player. His passes are just too flat though, they take the sting out of attacks. Better on Sunday though.
 
Number_25 said:
Can we not kid ourselves here, he has been utter pish this season so far.

Lets hope that performance on Sunday can be the catalyst for some improvement in his performances.
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He hasn't at all. It's picking holes in performances that really haven't been that bad. Not up to his usual standard, no. But bad? No where near, mate.
 

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