James McCarthy

Devil may care said:
I think we need to add that caliber of player though before dropping £30M on an extra option, plus I doubt at that price he'd come to simply play rotation.

Schneiderlin I can see, I think he offers more all round than McCarthy and has performed well deeper and as a box to box CM.
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McCarthy has performed well deeper and as a box to box mid too, there's very little difference between the two players in terms of quality.

That said, I'd probably go for Schneiderlin too as he offers more of what we need right now. If we were bringing in more than one mid though or a new #10 then that might change things.
 
sullydnl said:
McCarthy has performed well deeper and as a box to box mid too, there's very little difference between the two players in terms of quality.

That said, I'd probably go for Schneiderlin too as he offers more of what we need right now. If we were bringing in more than one mid though or a new #10 then that might change things.
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I think Schneiderlin's athleticism and agility gives him a distinct edge, but personally I don't think either alone are enough to get our midfield where it needs to be, we really need a CM that can control the tempo like Carrick, whether that is as a #6 or slightly further forward.
 
I'd be delighted with one of McCarthy or Schneiderlin coupled with Gundogan.

If we're signing one midfielder then it has to be Pogba or someone of that quality.
 
Devil may care said:
I think Schneiderlin's athleticism and agility gives him a distinct edge, but personally I don't think either alone are enough to get our midfield where it needs to be, we really need a CM that can control the tempo like Carrick, whether that is as a #6 or slightly further forward.
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Aye, I'd agree with that. I certainly wouldn't want us to bring in either McCarthy or Schneiderlin if we were expecting them to run our midfield. They're players you bring in to compliment that sort of player.
 
KiD MoYeS said:
Far too many people in this thread know sweet f*ck all about McCarthy and what he has to offer. :lol:

Sad truth is that if he had a fancy name and played at a similar level in Italy or Spain more people would be receptive to signing him.

For the record I don't think we're in for him anyway but I've seen enough of McCarthy to know he'd currently be good enough to play in our midfield.
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They're just shit posters, don't mind them. If you look through the posts of people who call McCarthy or Schneiderlin average you will see it isn't just McCarthy they know sweet feck all about.
 
Schneiderlin--McCarthy
--------Herrera-----
ADM------Rooney----Memphis

Could be decent. Would like to see Mata in there somewhere too though. Makes Herrera a better player. Being honest I'd rather see Schneiderlin di Maria and Herrera in midfield but that could be a bit lightweight. And then Mata Rooney Memphis in front
 
dhm91 said:
Schneiderlin--McCarthy
--------Herrera-----
ADM------Rooney----Memphis

Could be decent. Would like to see Mata in there somewhere too though. Makes Herrera a better player. Being honest I'd rather see Schneiderlin di Maria and Herrera in midfield but that could be a bit lightweight. And then Mata Rooney Memphis in front
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Exactly. Could be decent. Decent ain't going to put us where we want to be.
 
KiD MoYeS said:
I'd be delighted with one of McCarthy or Schneiderlin coupled with Gundogan.

If we're signing one midfielder then it has to be Pogba or someone of that quality.
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From my posts you'd see I very pro, a move for McCarthy but one thing, there is no way Pogba or any of the very big midfield names are coming to United, until we're challenging or probably even, Champions, again.
 
KiD MoYeS said:
He's dominated our midfield on more than one occasion.

Anyway you clearly don't rate him which is fair enough, I'd be surprised if we were interested but he's a great midfielder.
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You are wasting your time with this lot, these are the same people who were doubting Strootman and Matic a few years ago and they will be the ones giving the club grief when McCarthy starts doing it for whoever he signs for next. The criteria here is always fancy foreign name but people are always overlooking one fact - this league. For us to succeed, in this league, with players like Herrera and Di Maria we need players like McCarthy/Schneiderlin playing behind them but hey let's just spunk another £200m on continental junk or players like De Gea using us as stepping stones.
The other thing is that people will have you believe we still have a shit midfield when it's clearly isn't the case anymore. We have Herrera, Di Maria and Mata around and I sincerely doubt if we would struggle to create goals if that trio was playing in front of a Carrick-McCarthy/Schneiderlin double pivot supplying our Captain, whom people want sold as well. It's not all rosy I will grant you that but we aren't staring down the barrel either.
 
We have always had quality British and Irish players in our squad. If McCarthy is available we should snap him up. I feel he's ready to make the step up to us.
 
McCarthy has had the second season blues this season. Looked like a world beater a season ago when Everton under Martinez were a much better animal than Utd under Moyes. I get the feeling he knows he is too good for Everton and is blaming them for the contract situation as an excuse to find a way onto bigger things......I think he will be a top 4 player but is perhaps a couple of seasons away from reaching that level
 
itso 7 said:
You are wasting your time with this lot, these are the same people who were doubting Strootman and Matic a few years ago and they will be the ones giving the club grief when McCarthy starts doing it for whoever he signs for next. The criteria here is always fancy foreign name but people are always overlooking one fact - this league. For us to succeed, in this league, with players like Herrera and Di Maria we need players like McCarthy/Schneiderlin playing behind them but hey let's just spunk another £200m on continental junk or players like De Gea using us as stepping stones.
The other thing is that people will have you believe we still have a shit midfield when it's clearly isn't the case anymore. We have Herrera, Di Maria and Mata around and I sincerely doubt if we would struggle to create goals if that trio was playing in front of a Carrick-McCarthy/Schneiderlin double pivot supplying our Captain, whom people want sold as well. It's not all rosy I will grant you that but we aren't staring down the barrel either.
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Are you living some kind of paradox? We don't need fancy continental players but we should have got Strootman and Matic (continental)

To be good in the premier league we have to have McCarthy but our midfield isn't that because we have the fancy continental names in Di Maria and Mata lool. Make your mind up.
 
First I have heard his name pop up, is there anything linking him with United?
 
Mainoldo said:
Are you living some kind of paradox? We don't need fancy continental players but we should have got Strootman and Matic (continental)

To be good in the premier league we have to have McCarthy but our midfield isn't that because we have the fancy continental names in Di Maria and Mata lool. Make your mind up.
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My mind is made up already, we need a player like him to provide steel to our midfield. Simple as. The funny thing is the comments I'm reading in here are identical to the ones I read in the Strootman thread a few years back when we were linked with him. The point I was making and I always make is that there isn't one way to succeed in this game and sometimes players who bring incremental improvements like him are what we need rather than overlooking them because their names aren't fancy enough, we already have those in Herrera, Mata and Di Maria but surprise surprise we are still getting mugged at OT by teams like WBA. Adding McCarthy/Schneiderlin to a midfield that has Di Maria and Herrera would give us a nice blend of grit and skill which we wouldn't get if we were to add say Gundogun. I don't know if that's clear enough for you.
 
--Schneiderlin-McCarthy--

--ADM---Herrera---Depay

---------Rooney------


Id rather we go for McCarthy and Schneiderlin rather then your Vidal's and Pogba's of the world simple because they all can do the same job but the Vidal's are shiny imports and they cost more...
 
Will Singh said:
--Schneiderlin-McCarthy--

--ADM---Herrera---Depay

---------Rooney------


Id rather we go for McCarthy and Schneiderlin rather then your Vidal's and Pogba's of the world simple because they all can do the same job but the Vidal's are shiny imports and they cost more...
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And they tend to string you along throughout the whole window, wasting your time and eventually leaving you scurrying around for worse players with limited time. I think sometimes we are too caught up with the current status of a player and do not give enough thought of what they could do around better players and on a bigger stage.
 
KiD MoYeS said:
Far too many people in this thread know sweet f*ck all about McCarthy and what he has to offer. :lol:

Sad truth is that if he had a fancy name and played at a similar level in Italy or Spain more people would be receptive to signing him.

For the record I don't think we're in for him anyway but I've seen enough of McCarthy to know he'd currently be good enough to play in our midfield.
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I think that's a slightly disingenuous point of view to be honest. I don't see any threads on this forum saying we should sign an Espanyol central midfielder like Canas or Lucas. Likewise I don't see threads discussing a Celta Vigo, Sampdoria or Genoa central midfielder. Plus even if there were a thread saying that we should take a punt on a mid table player in Spain or Italy that's doing well, they wouldn't be costing €35-40m, (unless they'd been truly brilliant).

I don't think there's anything wrong with some fans dismissing a mid table midfielder who'd cost a fortune as not what we need right now. Especially since the last time we bought Everton's best player and central midfielder for a fortune we ended up paying nearly double his current value and most would agree he's a squad player at best.

For the cost of McCarthy there are many better options.

/Edit: Just a quick look at the list of midfielders on the first page or two of the forum that would probably cost over £15m: McCarthy, Gundogan, Pogba, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Xhaka. I think most would agree McCarthy looks like he's being elevated to a level higher than his performances suggest, rather that being put down as you suggest.
 
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finneh said:
I think that's a slightly disingenuous point of view to be honest. I don't see any threads on this forum saying we should sign an Espanyol central midfielder like Canas or Lucas. Likewise I don't see threads discussing a Celta Vigo, Sampdoria or Genoa central midfielder. Plus even if there were a thread saying that we should take a punt on a mid table player in Spain or Italy that's doing well, they wouldn't be costing €35-40m, (unless they'd been truly brilliant).

I don't think there's anything wrong with some fans dismissing a mid table midfielder who'd cost a fortune as not what we need right now. Especially since the last time we bought Everton's best player and central midfielder for a fortune we ended up paying nearly double his current value and most would agree he's a squad player at best.

For the cost of McCarthy there are many better options.
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McCarthy is Prem proven & was one of their best players, in what was a very decent side in 2013/14, who finished 8 points ahead of us.

We all know that it's the Europa League & the limitations of Roberto Martinez, that has seen them fall to mid-table.

We've targeted Baines, they have Naismith, Coleman, an England CB in Jagielka, Tim Howard & prospects in Lukaku & Barkley, plus other fine players. They've underperformed this season but they do not equate to Celta Vigo, Sampdoria or Genoa.

There's often a premium to be paid for proven Prem players & always a premium for United.

Isn't it disingenuous to compare Fellaini to McCarthy?
 
I'm going to put it out there that I would not be at all surprised if Tom Cleverly outperforms McCarthy this year.

I really don't think he's anywhere near as good as some seem to be suggesting.
 
I've only really seen him when Everton plays United, but he's certainly looked the part in those games. I'd love to see him at United.
 
Nozzy said:
McCarthy is Prem proven & was one of their best players, in what was a very decent side in 2013/14, who finished 8 points ahead of us.

We all know that it's the Europa League & the limitations of Roberto Martinez, that has seen them fall to mid-table.

We've targeted Baines, they have Naismith, Coleman, an England CB in Jagielka, Tim Howard & prospects in Lukaku & Barkley, plus other fine players. They've underperformed this season but they do not equate to Celta Vigo, Sampdoria or Genoa.

There's often a premium to be paid for proven Prem players & always a premium for United.

Isn't it disingenuous to compare Fellaini to McCarthy?
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I wasn't comparing the two of them as players. I was saying I'm not surprised that people are skeptical about whether he can make the step up, given how it worked out the last time we shelled out over £25m for one of their midfielders.

Again just because McCarthy is one of their best players doesn't really mean anything. Sigurdsson is one of Swansea's best player's but I wouldn't want him at United either. In fact I'm not sure at this moment in time I'd buy any of Everton's players, none of them are a big enough upgrade on our players to justify the £25m cost that would be attached to them. I'd rather play Fellaini than pay £25m for a slight improvement in McCarthy, I'd rather keep Valencia and Rafael than pay £25m for Coleman.

I think we'll see next season how great McCarthy really is when the very limited Tom Cleverley is looking just as good in their midfield next to him.

I don't see how comparing them to Celta Viga, Genoa or Sampdoria is harsh. All three of those finished in the top 8 of their Leagues last season, whilst Everton finished 11th. Even if you think Everton under-performed last season, 7th or 8th is roughly where they finish most seasons; with United, City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs & Liverpool ahead of them. Which clubs in Spain or Italy would you compare them to?
 
Bwuk said:
I'm going to put it out there that I would not be at all surprised if Tom Cleverly outperforms McCarthy this year.

I really don't think he's anywhere near as good as some seem to be suggesting.
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This.

I'd much rather see us give Pearson a shot. You can't moan about us not promoting enough of our own youngsters if you constantly buy everyone else's (at inflated prices) instead.
 
Bwuk said:
I'm going to put it out there that I would not be at all surprised if Tom Cleverly outperforms McCarthy this year.

I really don't think he's anywhere near as good as some seem to be suggesting.
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McCarthy has been outperforming Cleverley for years, I'd be amazed if that suddenly changed for no apparent reason.
 
sullydnl said:
McCarthy has been outperforming Cleverley for years, I'd be amazed if that suddenly changed for no apparent reason.
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It's a lot easier to play for a team like Everton or Wigan, than it is for Manchester United.

Cleverley is better than McCarthy technically.
 
Bwuk said:
It's a lot easier to play for a team like Everton or Wigan, than it is for Manchester United.

Cleverley is better than McCarthy technically.
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Yes but McCarthy is better than Cleverley generally. It's not even particularly close.

Anyway, I'd have thought some of Cleverley's performances for Villa this year would prove that stepping down a level doesn't always make a player look better. Cleverley was woeful at times this season.
 
finneh said:
I wasn't comparing the two of them as players. I was saying I'm not surprised that people are skeptical about whether he can make the step up, given how it worked out the last time we shelled out over £25m for one of their midfielders.
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That is precisely, comparing the two as players.

finneh said:
I'd rather play Fellaini than pay £25m for a slight improvement in McCarthy,...
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Fellaini has showed his best (which in fact was in about 7 or 8 games only), when playing off the front. Fellaini & McCarthy are not interchangeable. McCarthy is a genuine midfield player - Fellaini is not.

finneh said:
Again just because McCarthy is one of their best players doesn't really mean anything. Sigurdsson is one of Swansea's best player's but I wouldn't want him at United either.
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McCarthy was a stand out player in a strong group, in 2014 at Everton. Sigurdsson is one of Swansea's best player's, in a well organised & coached side - the quality of individual players at the two clubs does not compare.

finneh said:
In fact I'm not sure at this moment in time I'd buy any of Everton's players, none of them are a big enough upgrade on our players to justify the £25m cost that would be attached to them.
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McCarthy is the right age to come in, learn, improve & play, in midfield with Schneiderlin (we need both), when Carrick retires (or when he's injured). He would free up Herrera to move up where he can contribute more goals & is more athletic than Blind.

finneh said:
I think we'll see next season how great McCarthy really is when the very limited Tom Cleverley is looking just as good in their midfield next to him.
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Tom has got nothing of the energy, power or passing for that matter, of McCarthy.

This Everton side, without the Europa League, finished sixth, in the most competitive league in the world, in 2014. You started with the comparisons which, are ludicrous, as the style of football throughout European top flight divisions, bears no resemblance, to the competitive nature of the Premiership.
 
Brightonian said:
This.

I'd much rather see us give Pearson a shot. You can't moan about us not promoting enough of our own youngsters if you constantly buy everyone else's (at inflated prices) instead.
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I'd love that too but as we saw with James Wilson & briefly, with Anders Pereira, they are just not ready to step up yet. McCarthy at 24, is far more physically developed & I believe would develop as a player, in our group.
 
Nozzy said:
I'd love that too but as we saw with James Wilson & briefly, with Anders Pereira, they are just not ready to step up yet.
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We have in no way seen that. Neither has been given anywhere near a proper chance yet. You might scoff, but imagine if Wilson had been given every minute of game time which was wasted on Falcao. I guarantee he would have scored a lot more goals.

Look at Kane, Bellerin and Coquelin this season. None of them were better at U21 level or on lower league loan spells than some of our lads. The difference is that for one reason or another those three got a serious crack at the first team this season.

In Wilson, in particular, we have a player with all the qualities we would be looking for in a signing. A proper #9 with pace, clinical in the box, more than capable of joining in with the link-up play, and with all sorts of goals in him. Would it be so ridiculous to just give him a shot?
 
Brightonian said:
We have in no way seen that. Neither has been given anywhere near a proper chance yet. You might scoff, but imagine if Wilson had been given every minute of game time which was wasted on Falcao. I guarantee he would have scored a lot more goals.
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Not scoffing, just calling it as i've seen it. I don't believe Wilson is physically ready but I'd tend to agree that with with hindsight, we could have given him Falcao's pitchtime. United took a gamble with Falcao which, had it paid off, would have given us a proven world beater, so it was worth a punt. However, you can't "guarantee" Wilson would have scored a single goal. Now that we're in the Champions League, he'll quite possibly get even less opportunity, as we'll buy a proven goal scorer. He has to go out on loan & I expect the same will happen with Blackett & Pereira

Kane is a lot more physically developed than James Wilson & thus, able/ready to step up.

Coquelin was loaned out, aged 21/22 & again aged 23. He's now a fixture in his side, aged 24. This is the way to prepare players, until they are ready.

If it were to come to a choice in Champions League game between McCarthy & Pearson, there's not many who would go with Pearson.
 
lem8sh said:
Jaysus H Christ
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Hardly ridiculous, to be honest. I'd say his touch, control, short passing is tighter and cleaner.
McCarthy can play passes that Cleverley can't though.
 
lem8sh said:
For me Mccarthy is a different planet technically to Cleverly but each to their own.
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I can see the argument either way, when talking just about technique. Don't think they're particularly far apart in that regard. Definitely wouldn't say they're on different planets, but yeah, each to their own.
 
For me, McCarthy can do everything that Cleverley can do, but is also more defensively sound and has a higher work rate.

I like McCarthy and expect him to end up at a big club within the next year or two - but I am just not convinced that he is what we need at United right now. Same goes for Schneiderlin to be fair.
 
Walrus said:
For me, McCarthy can do everything that Cleverley can do, but is also more defensively sound and has a higher work rate.

I like McCarthy and expect him to end up at a big club within the next year or two - but I am just not convinced that he is what we need at United right now. Same goes for Schneiderlin to be fair.
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The options aren't that great, suppose we could really take a risk & go for Barkley. The German is 31 in August.
 
Nozzy said:
The options aren't that great, suppose we could really take a risk & go for Barkley. The German is 31 in August.
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Its true that the options do not seem great at the moment. With that in mind I would prefer us to either splash the cash and bring in someone like Pogba, or alternately look for a young prospect who we can mould into the player that we need - even then I have difficulty thinking of any though.
 
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