McCarthy should have gone out on loan

Doesn't score goals
Doesn't create

Won't move us forward particularly

A few months training at full intensity, maybe a few minutes towards the end of the season then a full preseason and hopefully he'll be ready to play 30+ games in 2019/20.

Given the uncertainty around Gana Gueye I think this is the right decision for Everton - and maybe the boy himself.

I just hope that he's not impacted like in Inchy was, after that dirty rat Marwood done him, basically finished Inchy's ability to perform.

He's been jinxed by injury, but taking the advice of the Everton club doctor, whom hopefully has signed off a clean bill of health for James.

The imperative word being “fit”.

McCarthy of 2013-15 was aggressive, quick at covering ground and the most energetic midfielder in the squad.

McCarthy of 2019 however remains to be seen as he seems AWOL these days.

@ Peter (10) ... sadly no better midfielders by a long shot in the ROI squad.

Either TW Towers is getting lazy or we do not have a photo of him in a SportPesa shirt. When did they take over from Chang?

Full recovery from a double leg break is generally a two-year process (as we saw with Coleman, Oviedo and before that Barkley), so 14 months would be extraordinarily fast.

Good luck to him at his next club.

To me, it appears political. Silva must not rate him but, that being the case, why not play him or bring him on to put him in the window?

Like so many things this season, a mystery...

Yeah, Silva stuck him on the bench a few times, but there was clearly zero intention to play him.

It would be worth giving him a crack over these final matches, just to see what he has left in the tank... but, given that he hasn't contributed consistently since Martinez's first season, I'm not holding my breath.

Silva declared that McCarthy was fit in December (but obviously not match fit). So you get match fit by playing games. It's an absolute disgrace that an effort has not been made to get him games.

The Milwall game was an obvious one. We are crying out for an aggressive defensive midfielder and Silva won't bother his arse to get McCarthy match fit. We have Gomes playing at this point, who we know is extremely unlikely to sign.

Gana wants out too and we have a quality midfielder getting well paid to “sit at home” watching his team. To me, it sums up Silva: inept and “making it up as he goes along”.

As for the press conferences! What's the point? The questions must obviously be vetted or they wouldn't be so stupid! Why isn't a question asked about McCarthy or Tom Davies? Who cares about “the significance of getting a point from Chelsea last time out"? Shocking stuff.

Nobody knows the reasons why he wasn't loaned out in January, maybe the outlay of 㿲k+ a week for a player who is unfortunately never fit enough because of his ongoing hamstring problems who had suffered a severe leg break?

McCarthy is in no way a replacement for Gomes or even Schneiderlin so why certain people cannot comprehend that he is discarded from the bench is more a reflection on their footballing nouse. In no way can you whack Silva for not giving him game time with his fitness issues and contract situation.

McCarthy is third choice behind Gana and Davies, that's why he doesn't see game time, the way Gana is playing at the moment and the need to develop Davies supersedes giving minutes to someone who probably won't be here next year and cannot be counted on to string lots of games together without breaking down again.

It's not McCarthy's fault that his body is broken, just one of those things; elite professional sport is unforgiving. I honestly wish him luck but would rather he wasn't retained.

He broke his leg last season – hardly indicative of a recurring injury. He should have been getting as much game time as possible for the U23s and then providing cover for Gana. Instead, as someone else has pointed out, we rely on a loan player who's unlikely to sign, and a player who wants out.

Nil satis (except those who have no future) nisi optimum.

Ireland management whinging is pretty rich though.

In fact, a RedShite mate of mine even said only a few weeks back, "Is he still at Everton? I'm shocked." You see — just an irrelevance. Some of you on here still think this crock could have a part to play in the future...

My God – no wonder we've become a joke in this city. I fear we are going to end up like Espanyol in Barcelona — just a minor little irritant to our more glamorous and illustrious neighbours.

God, Everton, I fucking hate you!!!

Yaaaaaawn. Zzzzzzzzzzz!

Good point.

Fully fit or not, Macca has never, ever been as good a player as Gana. And he certainly isn't now.

I cannot believe what happened in the Barcode game.
Going back to the first derby match after that fluke goal giving RS all three points Everton just fell apart in subsequent games and then after getting a decent result this time in the derby they capitulate yet again and it would seem they are in for another run of poor results to finish the season.

Does anyone really think Silva has laid any good foundation for next season or is he out of his depth in the Prem ?

Macca is as good as any in the squad when fully fit but after a broken leg he may not be the same again much like Seamus has been.

What else Everton has in the midfield is purely average despite one or two good showings by Gana lately who is obviously out to impress PSG for his move at the end of the season.

There is something not quite right at our Club, and I don't just mean the present Manager/Coach. I watch many games both in the Premier/Championship as well as abroad (on tv) and maybe it's me, but I feel other players (even at cash richer clubs than our own) seem to be more passionate and committed.

That malaise seems to have manifested since the injection of money by FM.

He's on that list of players who have to go this Summer. Right at the top of that list. 29 this year and his most productive season was 5 years ago.

Silva's doing it right. Keep James healthy and able to pass a physical this Summer so we can get rid.

Problem is, he's only ever half-fit. Unfortunately, he's not one for the future.

You can't even say that this makes Silva seem more inept because you only have to look at Sandro and Klaassen from last season when they could've got experience of England by playing Under-23s or even a loan in the Championship which I felt would've really benefitted both.

I can't see Schneiderlin playing Under-23s either to keep himself sharp. Having said that, you could argue that it would inhibit the chances of younger players.

Not the case with McCarthy, he needed to play and has been treated in the wrong way to get back to speed. We even made mistakes with Holgate and Dowell who should've been out on loan at the beginning of the season.

I wasn't that far out then. But 107 games since he signed in 2013 isn't a great return, is it? Not even 20 games a season. He had a brilliant first season but, since then, has just been injury-prone.

A decent player but surely we should be looking to offload him in the summer. Thing is, we'd be lucky to get ٣ million for him given his injury record. Looks like a season-long loan to a Championship club then.

Yes, I have a soft spot for James McCarthy, he was (is?) a blood and guts type of player, big box-to-box engine on him, similar to Seamus but in midfield.

If he was fit and in form, he'd have played in my last derby team alongside Gueye and would have been more willing and capable of carrying the ball forward than Gueye.

Mike, yep I might be wearing a slightly rose-tinted pair of glasses, are you sure you're not wearing a pair of ultra dark-tinted sunglasses when watching James play?

We need players like Dave Mackay and Blanchflower. I also believe buying Mina was a huge mistake. By the way my eyes are in good shape.

I think a really more relevant stat is what is our record in those games compared to record this season. This would give some guidance as to his value and finally put to bed some of the bias and prejudice towards McCarthy. Rose-tinted or dark-shaded glasses... 😀

They're two great players that would've helped us. I'd like to throw in two more from our own history, that would have worked wonders in the last derby.

Reid & Bracewell: Bracewell winning the ball for Reidy to run at them, draw defenders to him, and then play that defence-beating pass.

We have Gomes, but he disappears and is nowhere near consistent enough. Gueye just doesn't like running at defences, McCarthy does and would've created more space for others.

He's a good player with limited skills but had a good work ethic. However his attributes need full fitness something he's not had in over 2 years. Will he ever regain again?

No better can be certain but we have moved on. Hard graft and high energy players are not enough for top 6 Premier league teams. They need greater abilty too.

The idea of him and Gueye in midfield sounds great, 2 busy, aggressive midfielders, pressing and hounding the opposition. But in reality, it probably wouldn't work, maybe in a 4-4-2, but not in a 4-2-3-1, that is why Schneiderlin is preferred.

I guess both Scheiderlin and McCarthy will go come the summer.

Just a thought and a guess.