James McCarthy

[Señor]

Says it all that if United and Everton were to do a swap deal including Fellaini and McCarthy, United be the ones paying money on top of that. One cost £15m, the other nearly double that. What on earth was Moyes thinking?

 

[IwatUwat]

There's a problem with that mentality; we can miss out on great investments if we pass on players just because they're not 'proven'. When Vidal was at Bayer Leverkusen and Reus at Munchengladbach (I think), they were both relatively unproven. They're now some of the best players in the world.

Now I'm not saying McCarthy will be this good. I'm just saying, players don't need to be proven to be a great player. In my opinion and from the small amount of time s I've seen him, he's a fantastic player though.

I get your point and think he's a good player too but he hasnt stood out massively from anyone else at that level, and proven doesnt just mean big name it means playing at the top level, champs league experience for example (I get we're not in it this yr but thats the aim). McCarthy does not have that. Yes my number one choice would be a big name and Vidal. If we are to compete we need to sign a top player Chelsea have signed Fabregas and their midfield was better than ours, so its now even more so. City did it previously with Yaya. Teams we compete with (should compete with in Europe and here) sign big midfielders that have experience and are proven at that level.

We've flirted around buying un proven midfielders for a long time, Im not going to name them all but go back to Liam Miller, only Carrick has been successful.

As a back up I understand McCarthy or alongside another signing, but if the funds are there this year and it seems the player may be for the right price my view is we shouldnt be messing around with McCarthy. I agree with your point that some players develop into talents at clubs, my view is he can't be our only midfield signing and to a point Herrera is probably our ''talent'' buy for midfield, although in our midfield will also be our best player on early performances.

 

[AngeloHenriquez]

Not that I'm aware of, thanks for the concern though.

I wasn't concerned, I just asked if you were, I said they were different players and you tried laughing at me thinking De Jong is better, which is why I asked if you were mad.

They are very different players, hence it's difficult to compare them, De Jong is a lot more accomplished and is probably more of what we need IMO, but McCarthy may well go on to be a better player, but either way, I never offered that opinion for you to try and laugh at.

 

[sullydnl]

I'd usually dismiss it as preposterous, but I'd wager that everyone here would be creaming over him if he had a half-decent world cup.

I normally hate the "if he was Spanish we'd be all over him" argument, or the reverse "if he wasn't foreign you wouldn't be interested" line. That said...

If James McCarthy was Dutch we would have been linked with him all summer and an awful lot of posters would've been advocating the deal. It would genuinely amaze me if that many posters watch enough Dutch football to know exactly how good the likes of De Vrij, Blind, Clasie, Indi and Depay are but still don't seem to have an accurate opinion of McCarthy after years of watching the PL.

 

[ottosec]

Yeah, he has a boring name and doesn't yet play for a lucrative club, he must be average.

Yes, his name is holding him back, otherwise he would set the world on fire.

 

[Decotron]

I normally hate the "if he was Spanish we'd be all over him" argument, or the reverse "if he wasn't foreign you wouldn't be interested" line. That said...

If James McCarthy was Dutch we would have been linked with him all summer and an awful lot of posters would've been advocating the deal. It would genuinely amaze me if that many posters watch enough Dutch football to know exactly how good the likes of De Vrij, Blind, Clasie, Indi and Depay are but still don't seem to have an accurate opinion of McCarthy after years of watching the PL.

Very true....

 

[Everest Red]

Yes, his name is holding him back, otherwise he would set the world on fire.

We need a decent midfielder and nothing more, we can spunk our cash on a decent CB and able FB covers. We have Rooney, RVP and Mata to set the world on fire.

 

[mic.m]

Everton won't agree to sell him for anything less than we paid for Fellaini. United would be foolish to buy him for that much. Still better than the shower we call midfielders at United though.

 

[itso 7]

Ah no problem, its just a gripe of mine because I've seen it come up a bunch of times that McCarthy is a technical player or has excellent technique, something along those lines which I just cant agree with.

Watching him, he's right in line with what you expect for a player in his role last season, providing security in front of the defence and playing safe passes to teammates who are a bit more talented going forward. There's absolutely nothing wrong with his technique, but if someone tells me he's a technical player or has excellent technique, that to me describes someone like Busquets not James McCarthy.

The only place I've ever seen him have technique that stood out was on football manager where its really high for some reason.

At the same time he's impressed me in other ways. He works hard, did a good job next to Barry nicking the ball off opponents and seeing off danger and now and again I saw him picking the ball up and having a good run forward. I wasn't overly impressed with his passing last season from what I saw he was just doing the basics which again is just what you'd expect in the role he was playing.

A good midfield pairing is more than the sum of its parts and I think he has the kinds of qualities that would bring out the best in someone like Ander next to him.

I think a lot of people overlook the importance of attributes and how a player would suit next to other players already in the club but just go on and on about whatever big name is rumoured to be available. McCarthy would compliment Herrera and Mata/Rooney in a three men midfield and such players are important if we are to see the best of the players already here. Normally I wouldn't pay anything over twenty five million for him but considering the rut we are in I'd say twenty million plus Cleverley (though those deals never seem to happen) and a season long loan for Powell could do the trick.

 

[ottosec]

We need a decent midfielder and nothing more, we can spunk our cash on a decent CB and able FB covers. We have Rooney, RVP and Mata to set the world on fire.

We already have a bunch of decent midfielders, why buy another? You can't be the best with decent players. Not to mention that he will cost a lot, Everton bought him for close to 15M last year, if I'm not mistaken.

The way I see it, if we're gonna buy a midfielder we need either a top one, or a young one with the potential to be one of the best.

Don't get me wrong, McCarthy is a good player, but good is not enough if you want to be the best.

 

[An Irish Red]

McCarthy is only underrated because he is Irish.

Pretty much. He's a brilliant player but he doesn't get the respect he deserves because he's Irish and plays for Everton. People will catch on eventually though.

He has all the qualities we're looking for and would suit Herrera down to the ground as well. If we can't get Vidal (which is unlikely) then we should go for McCarthy.

 

[Ringo 07]

I'd bet my last coin that Martinez will piss himself laughing when he hears Utd are interested. All the stories of McCarthy feeling flattered to be linked to us is his agents way of getting him a better deal. Ross Barkley just signed a new 4 year contract today. Everton probably will not have to sell players for years to come ever since that clown Moyes paid them Vidal levels of cash for Fellaini.
I'm pretty certain that if we do go for a central mid then it might be De Jong as a stop gap and we may go for Depay and loan him back to PSV for another year. But I doubt Van Gaal may even bother with De Jong as Fletcher and cleverley and Carrick might be enough to get us through the season along side Hererra. So with Depay and Vermaelen i'd be pretty certain that will be our summer concluded along with some top young dutch 16 years olds possibly to boost the academy

 

[sullydnl]

We already have a bunch of decent midfielders, why buy another? You can't be the best with decent players. Not to mention that he will cost a lot, Everton bought him for close to 15M last year, if I'm not mistaken.

The way I see it, if we're gonna buy a midfielder we need either a top one, or a young one with the potential to be one of the best.

Don't get me wrong, McCarthy is a good player, but good is not enough if you want to be the best.

Two points. 1) McCarthy is a clear step above the likes of Cleverley, Fellaini and Fletcher so it wouldn't really be buying another decent midfielder to add to the rest (if they're what you mean by "decent"). On last season's form he'd waltz straight into our first eleven. 2) I think most people would only advocate signing McCarthy if there were no better options available. Obviously everyone wants us to sign the very best but if that isn't possible then we really need back up targets.

Bit of a pointless discussion anyway though as this story seems like 100% nonsense.

 

[The Neviller]

We should have signed him last summer instead of funding his move to Everton.

 

[BigDunc9]

All you lot trying to dump Fellaini back on us as part of exchanges for players think again, Martinez came out after he went and said he doesn't suit his style of play. Personally i like Fellaini though and wouldn't mind him back.

 

[An Irish Red]

We should have signed him last summer instead of funding his move to Everton.

We could have got him and Strootman for a combined thirty million.

As good as that would have been, in a way I'm glad we didn't because the pair of them would have helped us get top four and David Moyes would still be in a job. Silver linings and all.

 

[El-Manos]

I wasn't concerned, I just asked if you were, I said they were different players and you tried laughing at me thinking De Jong is better, which is why I asked if you were mad.

They are very different players, hence it's difficult to compare them, De Jong is a lot more accomplished and is probably more of what we need IMO, but McCarthy may well go on to be a better player, but either way, I never offered that opinion for you to try and laugh at.

They are not very different players and McCarthy is already a better player than De Jong. You don't watch an awful lot of football is you believe De Jong is "what we need".

 

[DWelbz19]

Let's be realistic here, would he be worth the £25-30m Martinez would probably tag him with? I don't think so.

 

[Offside]

Well it didn't do any harm buying Carrick from a Europa League standard PL club. I quite rate him. However, the tools would be in meltdown. ''Wanted Vidal, got McCarthey'' just because he isn't a big name. He probably would improve us though.

If we are interested in him it should only be at a decent price otherwise forget it.

 

[Godfather]

Please don't tell me we are linked with him. We got enough shit from Everton.

bar Rooney

 

[An Irish Red]

Let's be realistic here, would he be worth the £25-30m Martinez would probably tag him with? I don't think so.

I'd say so personally. He's good enough to be first choice in an area where we are weak; he'd compliment Herrera perfectly and we'd get years of service out of him. I'd pay 30 million for him without hesitation.

 

[Cassidy]

I'd say so personally. He's good enough to be first choice in an area where we are weak; he'd compliment Herrera perfectly and we'd get years of service out of him. I'd pay 30 million for him without hesitation.

£30m? Really?

 

[Devil may care]

So where are his comments about being flattered by interest from us that has suddenly materialized?

 

[An Irish Red]

£30m? Really?

He would be worth it. It wouldn't be that much different than the money we spent for Carrick (with the way the fees have been inflated).

McCarthy is a lot better than some people on here realise as well. He wouldn't be playing back up to Carrick, he'd be partnering Herrera. He'd be a great signing.

 

[sullydnl]

So where are his comments about being flattered by interest from us that has suddenly materialized?

It's actually a bullshit story.

From the Standard:

There have been reports that Louis van Gaal is prepared to double that figure to take McCarthy to United although Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane has strongly advised the player against such a move saying: “He’s only been at Everton two minutes.”

When I ask, McCarthy about the speculation he says: “If a club like Manchester United are interested, obviously you are doing a good job.” Then with a laugh he adds: “We will see what happens.”

Not like he's bringing up our interest, he's just politely dealing with a question about us.

 

[Cassidy]

He would be worth it. It wouldn't be that much different than the money we spent for Carrick (with the way the fees have been inflated).

McCarthy is a lot better than some people on here realise as well. He wouldn't be playing back up to Carrick, he'd be partnering Herrera. He'd be a great signing.

I think he is a very good player. However for £30m I would want someone who is more than just a very good player with potential, I would at least want someone who has played European football for a number of seasons. We bought Carrick for £18m so it would be very different.

 

[ThanksBoss26]

Well it didn't do any harm buying Carrick from a Europa League standard PL club. I quite rate him. However, the tools would be in meltdown. ''Wanted Vidal, got McCarthey'' just because he isn't a big name. He probably would improve us though.

If we are interested in him it should only be at a decent price otherwise forget it.

You can bet your last pound on that.

Good player is McCarthy and I think he'd do well here, but I don't see us going up to the figures Everton will want. With the four who are apparently going to be moved on by us this summer, I think Cleverley is currently set to stay, at least for now. If we did show enough interest in McCarthy to actually bid, it'll be interesting to see if we're willing to include him in any deal. We possibly would.

I don't see any of the four of Fellaini, Anderson, Kagawa or Nani being of much interest to Everton based on their wages alone.

 

[BigDunc9]

Please don't tell me we are linked with him. We got enough shit from Everton

Like the player who may be top on a lot of important records for your club in a couple of years ?

 

[The Neviller]

Let's be realistic here, would he be worth the £25-30m Martinez would probably tag him with? I don't think so.

Depends what we're comparing him against. If we compare him against the £27mil spent on fecking Fellaini then yeah, he's worth it.

 

[Lane]

He is overpriced. It is would not be a problem if he was really good, but he simply is not. So if we need to strengthen the area we need to look in Europe, esp Germany. A lot of good CMs there that could well be useful squad players.

 

[DWelbz19]

Depends what we're comparing him against. If we compare him against the £27mil spent on fecking Fellaini then yeah, he's worth it.

Lets forget Fellaini. We also have to strengthen in defence and could do with another fullback, would the £30m price tag still be worth it?

 

[The Neviller]

He is overpriced. It is would not be a problem if he was really good, but he simply is not. So if we need to strengthen the area we need to look in Europe, esp Germany. A lot of good CMs there that could well be useful squad players.

He is really good, though.

 

[The Neviller]

Lets forget Fellaini. We also have to strengthen in defence and could do with another fullback, would the £30m price tag still be worth it?

£30mil sounds steep, but he's a quality player with room for improvement. I like him, but the time to sign him was last summer at half the price you're quoting.

 

[sullydnl]

Let's be realistic here, would he be worth the £25-30m Martinez would probably tag him with? I don't think so.

No, he isn't currently worth 30m

That said, I wouldn't have thought Carrick was worth the fee we paid for him at the time either. He ended up justifying it over time though. Any future deal for McCarthy would be the same, we'd have to overpay for him now in the hope that it pays off long term.

Would it pay off long term? Quite possibly. He's only 23 and has already proven a lot (more than Carrick had at the same age, i'd say). He has the potential to be a better player than Carrick too, so if he reached that peak and stayed with us for a significant period of time...

It'd be a risk for that kind of fee though, which is why I'd prefer to see us go for other targets. As we've said countless times in the last year, last summer was the time to get him. At 16m he'd have been one of our shrewdest signings in years.

 

[An Irish Red]

I think he is a very good player. However for £30m I would want someone who is more than just a very good player with potential, I would at least want someone who has played European football for a number of seasons.

We just spent a similar sum on a player who fits that description (Herrera) and everyone is (rightly) happy with that.

We need a midfielder who can partner Herrera. McCarthy has all the attributes to do that and he would suit our system perfectly.

McCarthy would improve us dramatically and he would provide the balance that we need in midfield (while being more versatile than someone like De Jong). I doubt it'll happen but I'd be pleased if it did.

 

[Cassidy]

We just spent a similar sum on a player who fits that description (Herrera) and everyone is (rightly) happy with that.

We need a midfielder who can partner Herrera. McCarthy has all the attributes to do that brilliantly, he's young and he can improve.

McCarthy would improve us dramatically and he would provide the balance that we need in midfield (while being more versatile than someone like De Jong). I doubt it'll happen but I'd be pleased if it did.

I'm not saying he wouldn't be a good signing, I'm saying for £30m he wouldn't be. There are plenty of other midfielders available at his level (and above) which we could get for cheaper.

 

[Lane]

He is really good, though.

In a Leon Osman's way, sure.

 

[DWelbz19]

I think the longevity of a partnership that he and Ander could create (both being at a great age for central midfielders) is a strong plus, but the sort of price they'd want is still putting me off. At such a price, a more seasoned player such as Gustavo would be higher on my wish-list.

 

[The Neviller]

In a Leon Osman's way, sure.

No, in a he's much better than Leon Osman and pretty much our entire midfield panel way.

I don't think you've ever watched football at times, to be honest. You're kinda clueless.

 

[Keeps It tidy]

I think he would be a great signing but Everton would want 30m plus for him. In hindsight we should have signed him last summer.