James McCarthy M free agent b.1990

[dr_peepee]

Is there a bit of a lack of urgency about his game when he hasn't got the ball or when he's not directly involved?

From what I've seen I think there is...

I've a feeling that its all just about to "click" for him! Exposure to Barry and then Keane at this stage is a boost.

[Charlie Darwin]

I'm not sure Keano or Gareth Barry would be too happy if McCarthy exposed himself to them. There's better ways of getting noticed.

[DeLorean]

Alan Smith - Classy James McCarthy the unsung hero as Everton show they have midfield to match Arsenal (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/everton/10504821/Classy-James-McCarthy-the-unsung-hero-as-Everton-show-they-have-midfield-to-match-Arsenal.html)

[SkStu]

Wasn't aware he was suspended for the next game.

[tricky_colour]

Wasn't aware he was suspended for the next game.


I think he 'took one for the team' in his last match, brought down a player making a dangerous breakaway.
Could not really fault him for it, it had to be done, which reminds of the Keane v Vierra thing on TV the other say when
they showed Giggs pretty much single-handedly going right through the whole of the Arsenal team and Keane
was saying he could not believe nobody had brought him down
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHgkQr12Z5Q
Keane "I would have actually just took him out"!! 2:10

[tetsujin1979]

McCarthy named Everton's player of the month for November: http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/2013/12/18/mccarthy-november-s-top-blue
(Christ those auto-play videos are annoying)

[DeLorean]

Can do no wrong at the moment.

Martinez: McCarthy a future skipper (http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/2013/12/19/boss-mccarthy-a-future-skipper)

James McCarthy possesses the qualities that could make him a future Everton captain, according to his manager Roberto Martinez.

The midfielder has only been a Blue for four months but has already made a significant impression since his £13million move from Wigan Athletic.

In Everton’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa six weeks ago, McCarthy passed the 250-game landmark at club level, despite being just 23-years-old.

And it’s this maturity, both on-and-off the field, which makes Martinez believe the Irishman could one day become the occupier of the armband at Goodison.

Asked whether the midfielder has the credentials to follow in the footsteps of past midfield Club captains, Martinez declared: “Yes, he has that. He's a real example.

“When you're talking about players who you want to set an example to the youngsters, he's clearly that.

“To be able to reach that landmark [250 appearances] at that age shows you that he's never changed, he just embraces challenges.

“He wants to get in positions where he can help the team and he's such a humble footballer and example of how a modern footballer should behave.

“Looking at the way he's been enjoying his football at Everton, it's been a real joy for everyone and he deserves that milestone and deserves to be an example.”

On Wednesday, McCarthy was recognised for his excellent contribution so far by scooping the Club’s Player of the Month award for November.

[Charlie Darwin]

Interview with him on Football Focus on BBC now.

[Charlie Darwin]

Seems it was all just an elaborate set-up so they could fawn over Ross Barkley some more.

[DeLorean]

Liverpool Echo (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/roberto-martinez-hails-everton-fcs-6677645)

McCarthy's our Mr Reliable

McCarthy makes team tick, says Martinez


Roberto Martinez has hailed the reliability of Everton FC’s unsung hero James McCarthy.


The Republic of Ireland midfielder was temporarily shifted to right-back on Saturday as the Blues chased the game against Aston Villa.


McCarthy, 23, slotted in seamlessly to help Everton regain the upper hand and ultimately grab three points, and Martinez believes he can rely on his £13m summer capture from Wigan in any situation.

He said: “James is one of those players you sometimes don’t appreciate but he’s always there making sure the team has the right balance and what it needs.


“He allows others to shine.


“He can adapt to different situations during a game when you need him to because of the tactical awareness that he has.


“At the weekend you saw that influence in the manner that we were able to get men forward, and give us the momentum to make it hard for Villa to keep a clean sheet.”


McCarthy has already made an impressive 156 Premier League appearances despite only being 23, and made his top flight debut for Wigan Athletic against Manchester United at the age of 18.

It is that maturity and wealth of experience which make him such a valuable player, added Martinez.


“James never plays according to his age because of the incredible amount of experience he already has at 23,” he said.

[Stuttgart88]

Pure propaganda. I put more weight on Paul O'Shea's opinion.

[DeLorean]

Martinez view reminds me of an interview with Xabi Alonso (http://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/nov/11/xabi-alonso-spain-england-interview) a couple of years back. He was basically talking about the difference in attitude between the English and the Spanish and how players like Michael Carrick's contribution are undervalued. Perhaps something similar applies to Paul with regards McCarthy.


It's hard to judge England in South Africa but maybe they failed to gel despite having excellent players. Sometimes it seems the English don't rate those who make the team work rather than standing out themselves. You shouldn't necessarily pick the best players; you have to have a collective identity."In other words, don't waste 10 years trying to crowbar Gerrard and Frank Lampard into the team. Alonso dodges the bullet. "Hey," he says. "That's a press debate. I'm not saying that. But the collective ideal hasn't always been there. Paul Scholes maybe hasn't had the international career he should have. Or Michael Carrick: he makes those around him better, regardless of the fact that he's not the one who scores the most goals, or a great tackler."
There is a pause as Alonso reaches, again, the crux of the issue. A single English word he returns to that, unpacked, analysed and investigated, explains much. "I don't think tackling is a quality," he says. "It is a recurso, something you have to resort to, not a characteristic of your game. At Liverpool I used to read the matchday programme and you'd read an interview with a lad from the youth team. They'd ask: age, heroes, strong points, etc. He'd reply: 'Shooting and tackling'. I can't get into my head that football development would educate tackling as a quality, something to learn, to teach, a characteristic of your play. How can that be a way of seeing the game? I just don't understand football in those terms. Tackling is a [last] resort, and you will need it, but it isn't a quality to aspire to, a definition. It's hard to change because it's so rooted in the English football culture, but I don't understand it.

[geysir]

Martinez (and most acute observers) reckon the team are feeding off McCarthy's assuredness and football intelligence. Paul has an opposite opinion, he thinks McCarthy is a bit fragile and needs better players around him, to feed off them.

[tetsujin1979]

Does playing with better players enhance McCarthy's strengths, or did playing with weaker players expose his weaknesses?

[Charlie Darwin]

All this suspense is killing me.

[paul_oshea]

Richie Rooney would get the best out of mccarthy for his local pub team the Lobster anyway.

I think what Man UTD are sorely lacking is Glenn Whelan, what I or less acute observers can't see but which I'm sure you guys can is that he is so subtle its almost unnoticable but without him playing at full strength for full games Stoke would be playing in the lower level of the Championship. And because of his game dropping a level the last few months Stoke have now found themselves in a relegation battle and not upper mid table where they would be with a fully fit and functioning Glenn Whelan running the show - subtly of course without standing out. I just can't appreciate this sutblety of "making the team work".

[Stuttgart88]

C'mon Paul, everyone knows that many teams have that "tidy and effective without being overly conspicuous" player. I remember nobody ever thinking that much of Matthieu Flamini in his first stint at Arsenal but Fabregas thrived when he was there. People used to say Roy Keane was overrated and for years I said Bryan Robson was overrated, yet everyone who played with him swore by his importance.

I'm not saying McCarthy is all of this - well, I am because I've said before that he's a quietly effective player! - but the answer to your point above is that that type of player exists so your post above is daft. Whether you think McCarthy is that player or not is a matter of opinion.

Funny, but I was reading a good article on the uselessness of stats and "heat maps" yesterday. One pundit was complaining that Soldado spent too much time on the halfway line against Man City until it was pointed out that he took 6 or 7 kick offs! The same article said that you can always blame someone for any goal scored. I thought of you when I read that!

[paul_oshea]

Stats are nothing without context stutts. You should know that.

Then again with context they can also be misleading.

My point was not about that role not existing.

[Charlie Darwin]

I think what Stutts is talking about is 'unseen' work - the things a player does that mean he doesn't have to do far more noticeable things later. I expect Paul would counter by saying if it was such important work you'd be able to see it. geysir would say something facetious and eight pages of stats and salmon puns later, we'd all agree to make snide remarks about it in future.

[paul_oshea]

,...at my expense

But you got the jist of it.

Tho my own subtle contribution was missed a la james McCarthy earlier.

[geysir]

If Paul doesn't see the work then it's unseen.
Or is it, if Paul doesn't see the unseen work, then it remains unseen work.
Paul I thought you would reply that the acute observers watch the games live :)

Charlie you should know by now that I'd only bother with stats, just to highlight a piece of bull being pedalled :)

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

If Paul doesn't see the work then it's unseen.
Or is it, if Paul doesn't see the unseen work, then it remains unseen work.

Charlie you should know by now that I'd only bother with stats, just to highlight a piece of bull being pedalled.

"Robbie 6 goals in 15 games for Liverpool Keane".

[geysir]

"Robbie 6 goals in 15 games for Liverpool Keane".
Eh, smart ass who are you quoting there?
Read my actual quote carefully and then compare with the recorded stats.

"Robbie, totally out of sorts at an epl club, started 15 epl games for Liverpool, had 5 goals and 6 assists"

[paul_oshea]

Liverpool with robbie in the squad 2009: played 23 points 48. Average 2.08 points per game.
Liverpool after robbies sale in jan 09: played 15 points 38. Average 2.53 points per game.

Why can't I thank on mobile?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Eh, smart ass who are you quoting there?
Read my actual quote carefully and then compare with the recorded stats.

"Robbie, totally out of sorts at an epl club, started 15 epl games for Liverpool, had 5 goals and 6 assists"

Yes. I'm being the smart ass constantly making "subtle" barbs on myriad threads and comparing Robbie Keane's stats from 6 years ago with Shane Long's stats from this season while pontificating about the manipulation of statistics. Yes. Robbie Keane's record at Liverpool, Spurs (second spell), West Ham and Villa is quite similar to Long's record at West Brom and Hull. Excellent work, Columbo.

[SkStu]

And with that, TOWK tells the foot.ie old guard he's here to stay and he'll go toe to toe with any muthafukka! :D

[DeLorean]

Paul, just in case you thought I was being condescending with my Alonso post, I wasn't. I didn't see what was so great about Gibson's performances for Everton when the fans were apparently delighted with him. Many a battle I had with Irwin3 you might remember! Any game I saw at that time I didn't think he was very influential at all, adequate at best. I was either watching the wrong games, blind to his effectiveness or who knows... maybe I wasn't wrong at all. Same thing probably applies to you regarding McCarthy I feel. You are a pretty harsh critic though, as your analysis of McGeady's ten minute stint at Anfield proved!

I don't see the relevance of Liverpool's season improving after selling Robbie Keane. Most decent sides improve as the season goes on, certainly ones that challenge for titles. The big thing for me is that they were left with N'Gog as the only back up to Torres... the only striker option to really go for the win in the final few minutes of games they needed a goal. Like I said on some other thread, Macheda turned two points into six that same season for United, which was the margin between the two clubs at the end. Keane was certainly more capable than N'Gog of doing something similar.

As for the thanking... I don't think I can either on the foot.ie app, but I always select 'Request Desktop Site' from the options.

[Stuttgart88]

Without going all Donald Rumsfeld on it, there are unseen things we can see and unseen things we can't see. I think McCarthy does the seen unseen work. That's how I see it anyway.

[Stuttgart88]

Slighty daft, but in context, when I played in nets my captain never really appreciated me but I had a great rapport with my centre backs. Loads of times in games I'd simply collect a through ball in behind me CBs just inside the 18 yard line. My CB would give me a nod as if to say "well read". If I did it 5 times in a game he'd say afterwards "great game" but my captain wouldnt have had a clue, saying I did eff all again.

[paul_oshea]

So you do see and are not of the unseen unseen?

I don't know i was having an argument with one of the lads on whatsapp and he produced that stat as part of his pro liverpool anti robbie rant. He tried to tell me that is enough evidence in itself to prove robbies ineffectiveness, I suggested at best without having any idea how many goals were conceded previously against goals scoared that the stat was pretty useless.

[dr_peepee]

Without going all Donald Rumsfeld on it, there are unseen things we can see and unseen things we can't see. I think McCarthy does the seen unseen work. That's how I see it anyway.

It's like Platform 9 & 3/4s... You have to believe its there to see it!!

[paul_oshea]

Slighty daft, but in context, when I played in nets my captain never really appreciated me but I had a great rapport with my centre backs. Loads of times in games I'd simply collect a through ball in behind me CBs just inside the 18 yard line. My CB would give me a nod as if to say "well read". If I did it 5 times in a game he'd say afterwards "great game" but my captain wouldnt have had a clue, saying I did eff all again.

Its relative to what your CBs considered a good game and your Captain considered a good game. Perhaps he just wasnt happy with 5 goals conceded on average a game.

[Crosby87]

Me Irish mate tells me McCarthy wants to try the bobsled when he retires. Speaking of which, what do you chaps make of that sochi poster making the rounds this week, the fishing one in particular?
http://a.abcnews.com/images/International/HT_sochi_bathroom_sign_jef_140203_16x9_608.jpg

[Stuttgart88]

Its relative to what your CBs considered a good game and your Captain considered a good game. Perhaps he just wasnt happy with 5 goals conceded on average a game.are you having prostate trouble these days Paul?

[paul_oshea]

No, are you still taking Finasteride?

[DeLorean]

Gareth Barry: McCarthy amongst the best (http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/2014/04/03/mccarthy-among-the-best)


Gareth Barry says James McCarthy is already one of the best midfield partners he’s played alongside.

Seasoned performer Barry has enjoyed a lengthy career at the highest level, playing for Aston Villa and Manchester City as well as racking up over 50 England caps.

Those experiences have seen him play alongside some of the modern game’s most distinguished midfield performers.

But Barry told evertontv: “For me, from playing alongside him, (in terms of) influencing games, James is up there with the best already.

“Until you play with someone week in week out it’s hard to judge how good somebody is.

“I had obviously played against James before and knew he was a really good player, but to train and play alongside him for a whole season you realise that for someone so young he is so mature.”

And the good news is that Barry expects McCarthy - who is still only 23 - to get better and better as he gains more experience under the tutelage of Roberto Martinez.

Barry explained: “He is still young and has lots to learn, as he will find out along the way - I’m 33 and still learning the game. But in terms of maturing and affecting games, he’s up there with the best.

“He knows exactly what to do in every situation in a game. For me, the more he plays here and under this manager the better he will become too. It’s good for Everton that he is already at that level.”

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

http://www.goal.com/en-ie/news/3942/ireland/2014/04/03/4728257/mccarthy-up-there-with-the-best-claims-barry?ICID=HP_BN_7

McCarthy one of the best players Barry has played with.

[Crosby87]

Does Barry think McCarthy is any good?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Does Stuttgart think Crosby is any good?

That is the more pertinent question.

[BonnieShels]

Stutts enjoys Crosby's levity.

[Stuttgart88]

I enjoy Cosby's surreal contributions.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I enjoy Cosby's surreal contributions.

I see myself in you, Stutts.

[Charlie Darwin]

I enjoy Cosby's surreal contributions.
http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130131221607/simpsons/images/1/17/Cosby.jpg

[Crosby87]

I see myself in you, Stutts.

I dont think he goes that way. (Not that there's anything wrong with it.)

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I dont think he goes that way. (Not that there's anything wrong with it.)

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[BonnieShels]

I enjoy Cosby's surreal contributions.

A very POSH-like response.

[Charlie Darwin]

A very POSH-like response.
I see a lot of Paul O'Shea in Cosby's surreal contributions.

[Stuttgart88]

I think Crosby intends to be surreal though.

[paul_oshea]

I am just real. None of the Sur about me.

[geysir]

I am just real. None of the Sur about me.

Yeah, but that delusion is the surreal part.