LFEE

There's a player in there somewhere. Not sure what level yet but you only have to see how he takes his goals that there is a goal talent there. Would suite a counterattacking team possibly.

Nah McCarthy is actually a very good midfielder defensively. He tends to hide when his team is in possession though, never seems to want a pass, even though he is decent technically so perhaps that could be worked on. Clucas from what I saw wasn't great defensively but was always making himself an option for a pass off the ball Eamonn Dunphy in the Irish media called him a waste of space and all but suggested he'd conspired to get his manager (Martinez) sacked. Even if there's a snippet of truth in that I'd stay well clear Eamonn Dunphy makes a living from talking and writing s*** I absolutely love him but he really doesn't have a clue. Martinez loved McCarthy This. Martinez's Everton with McCarthy in it were excellent by and large. It was only when he was out injured for a while that the wheels come off. Everton fans I speak to say the reason the wheels fell off was because Martinez was useless and couldn't organise a defence for love or money. McCarthy is a good player though. They weren't saying that when McCarthy was in the team and they were fighting for top four. It was when he got injured in his second season and they were defensively more open that the criticism was levelled at Martinez. Fairly so to some level but I seem to recall he lost Baines and Jagielka to various medium term injuries whilst Mori's was adjusting to life in the league also which compounded his demise there. This is total rubbish tbh mate. Martinez is a terrible manager, ridiculously stubborn and arrogant in sticking with the same rigid tactics that do not work. Completely incapable of coaching a defence or organising a team. He didn't even practice attacking or defending set pieces in training, which was blatantly obvious on the pitch. His first season was a success because he inherited Moyes' defence which was rock solid and had been one of the best in the league for donkeys years. Within 12 months he had completely ruined it and we were a farce at the back. His downfall was nothing to do with McCarthy or injuries. As for McCarthy, he's not much of a passer and doesn't get forward enough when the game opens up for him but he can be excellent at breaking up play and has a good engine. He was really good for us in his first season. Second and third seasons he was rubbish whenever he played between injuries. Last season, he struggled with injuries again but was good when he played. Seemed to regain his form under Koeman. He'd be good to keep as a back-up/rotation player but is probably too valuable not to cash in on and he earns about 50k a week. Something Newcastle fans will have to get used to if you sign McCarthy is the whole Irish circus. O'Neill and Keane have rushed him back from injury two or three times now, causing him to break down again. When Koeman complains about this, they then slag Everton off in the media. The good thing about selling him would be never having to read another article about the latest nonsense from that pair of pricks. When you say rubbish you mean non of this happened? Everton fans happy with Martinez 1st season not the 2nd. Played with attacking flair to achieve 5th. McCarthy along with that back four was vital to Martinez's team that first season and they were missed when injured. I never said it was Martinez's defence. I never said he could organise one or adapt without key players missing hence stating the criticism of him was justified at times. I never said McCarthy was a great forward passer. You agreed he was good first season and not the same since injury. Starting to think you meant to reply to someone else First two paragraphs replying to you. Second two just talking generally about McCarthy, maybe would have been better in a separate post tbf. Defending Martinez's abilities and making McCarthy's form out to be instrumental in his downfall is what I was calling rubbish. Because it is. Obviously fans were happy when we finished 5th We thought Martinez was a good manager because of that. Within 6 months it was apparent that he wasn't and had got lucky inheriting a great defence. He tweaked Moyes' team to make us a bit more attacking in the first season and it worked well (went from 6th to 5th). Following seasons we had the worst joke of a defence in the league, despite having plenty of good players. We didn't even play decent football going forward in those seasons either. It was boring tippy tappy sideways stuff that went nowhere for the most part. There were no mitigating circumstances for Martinez's failure. It was purely down to his arrogant delusions that he was another Guardiola and that defending doesn't matter. I thought as much I wasn't trying to defend his abilities as I agree with his particular defensive shortfalls. I was highlighting how when certain key players are missing it threw his attacking tactics out of balance in particular McCarthy who the discussion is about. He tinkered because he never could replace him and every time he came back it was too early and never fit or possibly even the same player which yourself alluded to. Somehow you've wanted to make this more about Martinez tenure at Everton which I wasn't. I just think McCarthy played a big part of the success of his first season as manager and if he along with the back four had of stayed fit I think you would've had a better second season then you ended up having. So I'm not endorsing Martinez. I'm simply saying the cristiscm was too far the other way as had the plaudits been the previous season. In many respects you could see parallels with Ranieri and Leicester. Built on back 4 foundations of previous regime. Inserted Kante. Stuck to a formula. Next season back 4 picked up injuries. Sold Kante. Tinkered. Anyway... Rafa looks to have his eyes elsewhere http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/rafa-benitez-james-mccarthy-everton-13352565

Who's quote is it? Rafa's from his interview... http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/rafa-benitez-james-mccarthy-everton-13352565

Hmm, would be a lot more optimistic of him going and/or getting that fee, had they (or any club) approached us for him. Surely it doesn't give the selling club a position of strength in a deal, when you/the agent is touting the player around? All that happens is NUFC say to his agent if you can find him a club do so and that's his price. The agent obviously aware Lyon looking for a possible CF has went to them and asked if they'd be interested. There's your story.

This. That's why I never understood the lazy accusations as the one thing he did do was run.

Nah McCarthy is actually a very good midfielder defensively. He tends to hide when his team is in possession though, never seems to want a pass, even though he is decent technically so perhaps that could be worked on. Clucas from what I saw wasn't great defensively but was always making himself an option for a pass off the ball Eamonn Dunphy in the Irish media called him a waste of space and all but suggested he'd conspired to get his manager (Martinez) sacked. Even if there's a snippet of truth in that I'd stay well clear Eamonn Dunphy makes a living from talking and writing s*** I absolutely love him but he really doesn't have a clue. Martinez loved McCarthy This. Martinez's Everton with McCarthy in it were excellent by and large. It was only when he was out injured for a while that the wheels come off. Everton fans I speak to say the reason the wheels fell off was because Martinez was useless and couldn't organise a defence for love or money. McCarthy is a good player though. They weren't saying that when McCarthy was in the team and they were fighting for top four. It was when he got injured in his second season and they were defensively more open that the criticism was levelled at Martinez. Fairly so to some level but I seem to recall he lost Baines and Jagielka to various medium term injuries whilst Mori's was adjusting to life in the league also which compounded his demise there. This is total rubbish tbh mate. Martinez is a terrible manager, ridiculously stubborn and arrogant in sticking with the same rigid tactics that do not work. Completely incapable of coaching a defence or organising a team. He didn't even practice attacking or defending set pieces in training, which was blatantly obvious on the pitch. His first season was a success because he inherited Moyes' defence which was rock solid and had been one of the best in the league for donkeys years. Within 12 months he had completely ruined it and we were a farce at the back. His downfall was nothing to do with McCarthy or injuries. As for McCarthy, he's not much of a passer and doesn't get forward enough when the game opens up for him but he can be excellent at breaking up play and has a good engine. He was really good for us in his first season. Second and third seasons he was rubbish whenever he played between injuries. Last season, he struggled with injuries again but was good when he played. Seemed to regain his form under Koeman. He'd be good to keep as a back-up/rotation player but is probably too valuable not to cash in on and he earns about 50k a week. Something Newcastle fans will have to get used to if you sign McCarthy is the whole Irish circus. O'Neill and Keane have rushed him back from injury two or three times now, causing him to break down again. When Koeman complains about this, they then slag Everton off in the media. The good thing about selling him would be never having to read another article about the latest nonsense from that pair of pricks. When you say rubbish you mean non of this happened? Everton fans happy with Martinez 1st season not the 2nd. Played with attacking flair to achieve 5th. McCarthy along with that back four was vital to Martinez's team that first season and they were missed when injured. I never said it was Martinez's defence. I never said he could organise one or adapt without key players missing hence stating the criticism of him was justified at times. I never said McCarthy was a great forward passer. You agreed he was good first season and not the same since injury. Starting to think you meant to reply to someone else

Nah McCarthy is actually a very good midfielder defensively. He tends to hide when his team is in possession though, never seems to want a pass, even though he is decent technically so perhaps that could be worked on. Clucas from what I saw wasn't great defensively but was always making himself an option for a pass off the ball Eamonn Dunphy in the Irish media called him a waste of space and all but suggested he'd conspired to get his manager (Martinez) sacked. Even if there's a snippet of truth in that I'd stay well clear Eamonn Dunphy makes a living from talking and writing s*** I absolutely love him but he really doesn't have a clue. Martinez loved McCarthy This. Martinez's Everton with McCarthy in it were excellent by and large. It was only when he was out injured for a while that the wheels come off. Everton fans I speak to say the reason the wheels fell off was because Martinez was useless and couldn't organise a defence for love or money. McCarthy is a good player though. They weren't saying that when McCarthy was in the team and they were fighting for top four. It was when he got injured in his second season and they were defensively more open that the criticism was levelled at Martinez. Fairly so to some level but I seem to recall he lost Baines and Jagielka to various medium term injuries whilst Mori's was adjusting to life in the league also which compounded his demise there. You can easily say the same about Pardew when we were in the same position as them a few years before. I think Everton fans have better judgement than us on their matters, we as NUFC fans don't like it when other fans say stuff about why we should had kept pardew etc as he was apparently doing a good job, can't have it both ways. Martinez got 5th playing an exciting brand of football. Never deliberately try to sell their best players in public but instead built them up in public and wasn't complicate in making their football club something where you shouldn't dare to dream or enjoy cup runs. An attacking style of football can always be open to easy criticism of defending, we had that with KK despite our defensive records. Yes the wheels come off at Everton and he'll of made mistakes. I'm just giving a more level headed reason why they came off and highlighting why we would be looking at someone like McCarthy if he's still the same player after his injury. The same Everton fans were bombarding the radio stations wanting rid of Koeman this season when they went on a bad run. There's a lot of fickle fans at every club. The trick is to work out which ones aren't and converse with them for their opinion. A sensible fan should be able to give a good assessment on another club as sometimes a bit of distance makes thinks clearer at times.

Nah McCarthy is actually a very good midfielder defensively. He tends to hide when his team is in possession though, never seems to want a pass, even though he is decent technically so perhaps that could be worked on. Clucas from what I saw wasn't great defensively but was always making himself an option for a pass off the ball Eamonn Dunphy in the Irish media called him a waste of space and all but suggested he'd conspired to get his manager (Martinez) sacked. Even if there's a snippet of truth in that I'd stay well clear Eamonn Dunphy makes a living from talking and writing s*** I absolutely love him but he really doesn't have a clue. Martinez loved McCarthy This. Martinez's Everton with McCarthy in it were excellent by and large. It was only when he was out injured for a while that the wheels come off. Everton fans I speak to say the reason the wheels fell off was because Martinez was useless and couldn't organise a defence for love or money. McCarthy is a good player though. They weren't saying that when McCarthy was in the team and they were fighting for top four. It was when he got injured in his second season and they were defensively more open that the criticism was levelled at Martinez. Fairly so to some level but I seem to recall he lost Baines and Jagielka to various medium term injuries whilst Mori's was adjusting to life in the league also which compounded his demise there.

Nah McCarthy is actually a very good midfielder defensively. He tends to hide when his team is in possession though, never seems to want a pass, even though he is decent technically so perhaps that could be worked on. Clucas from what I saw wasn't great defensively but was always making himself an option for a pass off the ball Eamonn Dunphy in the Irish media called him a waste of space and all but suggested he'd conspired to get his manager (Martinez) sacked. Even if there's a snippet of truth in that I'd stay well clear Eamonn Dunphy makes a living from talking and writing s*** I absolutely love him but he really doesn't have a clue. Martinez loved McCarthy This. Martinez's Everton with McCarthy in it were excellent by and large. It was only when he was out injured for a while that the wheels come off.

Similar with my mate. Said he was excellent on the ball. Very comfortable both sides. Possibly not the greatest defender and due to team/tactics didn't get much chance to get forward that much but thought he'd have the technical ability to be useful final third.

He's looked bad in good sides. He can play on either side, so I assume we've bought him to not only fill Anita's boots but provide backup to Dummett too. No need to assume. Rafa said that he was looking for someone to cover FB positions. He's got his wide man & CB. Now all that's left is the striker and CM he wanted which I dare say will be late in the window as the demand and fee's will be currently very high so it will be a case of us getting in the queue and see what comes our way.

A million times better than their business last year. Just goes to show the benefit of having that year of the big TV deal I suppose. We're probably a year behind that sort of signing. It also helps you get given a free Stadium worth probably £700m and are allowed to keep the land from your old one to sell to the highest bidders.

I've no choice. Going to see James play at Time Square that day also. Town will be mental. James off here? Not sure what's sadder. Me predicting someone would attempt that lame gag as I typed my post or someone actually making it. Must've been Born Of Frustration

Just hope the lad is strong enough for the PL. Looks quite lightweight from the bits I've seen of him and fear he'll be bullied off the ball.

How much do you reckon he would cost? £30m or more? Everton want 50m. Last year of his contract... Good luck with that. Can see him signing a pre contract for some foreign team in January and sold back to a premiership team a week later for less than half that. I just found it intriguing that Rafa in his quotes asked MA did he have to spread the budget on several players or could it be used for just one. Kind of implies he has one big signing in mind if still available at the end of the window.

I've no choice. Going to see James play at Time Square that day also. Town will be mental.

Wonder if Barkley could be the #10 /CM. Might be the one we are stockpiling the cash for. Can only think of Spurs being interested who finished above Everton but they've Lamella coming back to fitness so can't see them wanting both. Not a hint of a link mind but think he might be a good fit at NUFC.

Got more than our monies worth out of the lad. Played everywhere he was asked to play and always did his best. No off field problems and never disrespected the fans or the club. No world beater but far from being one of our worst signings. Good luck to him.

LFEE will be gutted. I'll let you know when I see which GK we start the season with when the transfer window is closed. At this stage I'm predicting I'm going to be disappointed

If he takes Colback's place then I'm all for it. Winger isn't he? He's similar to Hayden with a bit of Shelvey in him.

Nolito in talks with Sevilla. Always looked good when I saw him play for Man City.

Your boys are losing.