James McCarthy M Celtic b.1990

**geysir** · 22/12/2011, 6:51 AM

I missed the first bit of the game where apparently Liverpool dominated. James and Diame controlled midfield, especially in the 2nd half.
I think he only crossed the ½ way line once, to rob Rodriguez on the edge of the box and lay the ball off, to set up Sammon.
A very tidy composed game.
He's pacey as well, he'd give Alan O'Brien a run for his money in a sprint.

**paul_oshea** · 22/12/2011, 7:35 AM

I thought he was very average. I gather he was told to sit deep but i know exactly what trap means by his game increasing 30%.he rarely looked for a pass should be far more aggressive and assertive.

**paul_oshea** · 22/12/2011, 7:38 AM

He also got caught in possession a few times and lost out to Henderson too and easily dispossessed by same player on a few occasions

**geysir** · 22/12/2011, 7:43 AM

You're not very good at this Paul, you forgot to mention his stray pass in the 2nd half

**drummerboy** · 22/12/2011, 8:46 AM

Only seen the highlights last night and he done ok. However he was good against Chelsea at the weekend.

**Dunners** · 22/12/2011, 9:31 AM

Paul - Is anyone good enough in your opinion

**tetsujin1979** · 22/12/2011, 12:28 PM

Overly harsh there Paul, for a 20 year old to play in midfield for one of the weaker sides in the Premier League against both Chelsea and Liverpool and not look out of place is something I've not seen in a long time

**Wolfie** · 22/12/2011, 1:14 PM

Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

Overly harsh there Paul, for a 20 year old to play in midfield for one of the weaker sides in the Premier League against both Chelsea and Liverpool and not look out of place is something I've not seen in a long time

Indeed. Last player affiliated with the Irish team to do that was Roy Keane for Nottingham Forest.

**Closed Account** · 22/12/2011, 2:28 PM

Originally Posted by Wolfie

Indeed. Last player affiliated with the Irish team to do that was Roy Keane for Nottingham Forest.

Na, it was Barry Quinn...

**brine3** · 22/12/2011, 3:01 PM

Obviously his performance wasn't perfect. There was the odd misplced pass and what not. But I'm not saying he's perfect.

He put in a solid performance and generally kept things tidy - and he's only 21. And it wasn't a "blood & guts" performance, he was tactically and positionally sound. This is what we need. He keeps this up and it's the bench for Glenn Whelan.

**geysir** · 22/12/2011, 6:07 PM

With the likes of Caldwell behind him, there is an intelligence deficit that James has to compensate for.

**irishfan86** · 22/12/2011, 6:47 PM

Interesting to see two comments in this thread that suggest Whelan and not Andrews would be dropped if McCarthy broke through. Thought it would be the other way around?

**Kingdom** · 23/12/2011, 9:31 AM

Originally Posted by geysir

You're not very good at this Paul, you forgot to mention his stray pass in the 2nd half

Or the harrying

**Kingdom** · 23/12/2011, 9:32 AM

Originally Posted by geysir

With the likes of Caldwell behind him, there is an intelligence deficit that James has to compensate for.

Totally agree. Always thought I was on my lonesome on that score!

**Jaysus** · 23/12/2011, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by irishfan86

Interesting to see two comments in this thread that suggest Whelan and not Andrews would be dropped if McCarthy broke through. Thought it would be the other way around?

I think Trap would be more likely to drop Whelan as Andrews has a physical + aerial presence and more likely to score a goal.

**geysir** · 23/12/2011, 11:06 AM

Originally Posted by Kingdom

Or the harrying

Was his harrying not up to scratch? I thought James was quite good at his covering duties

If a Wigan defender around the box just as much as put their foot a millimeter off-course, when trying to win the ball back, the Liverpool players were unashamedly flinging themselves to the floor in agony.

**Charlie Darwin** · 16/01/2012, 7:26 PM

Playing against Man City at the moment. Was looking very comfortable on the ball and defensively until a stupid tackle by Alcaraz gave City a free kick from which they scored. He's been the standout player for Wigan so far - hasn't given the ball away once.

**geysir** · 16/01/2012, 8:53 PM

James had a very good game, was deprived a goal by a good piece of goalkeeping from Hart and got a decent elbow in on Barry's face.

Caldwell missed a sitter of an own goal.

**drummerboy** · 16/01/2012, 9:00 PM

Hope Trap was watching this game. McCarthy looked very accomplished at the anchor man in midfield in first half and really pushed on in second half.

**Scooby Doo** · 16/01/2012, 9:17 PM

Very impressed with McCarthy v ManCity. Tonight he seemed a level of class above most of his team mates. Very comfortable on the ball, put in one or two real confident, crunching tackles and was always in the right place when Wigan were under pressure. I'm not one for cheerleading players to be in Ireland squads on the basis of watching a single game (although I gather that he has been playing well for a few weeks now), but if he keeps up tonight's performance then he would be very disappointed not to be going to Poland. Fair play to him being stand out in such a bad team.

As an aside, the mind boggles at how Seán St. Ledger cannot get interest from the Premier League, yet Gary Caldwell plays there week in week out!