The Gr8 Keeper Deb8

[TBM]

Joey Barton picks his Championship XI

[wally bassoon]

He also has two Donny players in there

[dogzbollox]

Personally I think we should approach Arsenal about the availability of Oxlade-Chamberlain

[Dick Habbin's hairdo]

Personally I think we should approach Arsenal about the availability of Oxlade-Chamberlain

Shirley you mean Kieran Gibbs.... or perhaps Theo Walcott? Oh, hang on, he's injured.....

[RoyalBlue]

Sorry, it is now definitely the time to bring back Feds to protect both the team and McCarthy himself.

McCarthy's confidence when it comes to distribution is now completely shot (not that he had much in the first place). He starts to look nervous even before the ball comes towards him and, once it is in his hands or at his feet, looks like a rabbit caught in headlights. Not only does this prevent us mounting quick and effective counter-attacks but it is also leading to increasing pressure on our defence. Our opponents have clearly identified McCarthy's lack of confidence and poor distribution and are starting to exploit it by quickly pressing and closing our players down. Even when McCarthy kicks long, he is just as likely to pick out an opponent as his own man, even when his own men haven't all been closed down.

To make matters worse, McCarthy's nerves are starting to affect other elements of his game e.g. he is starting to hesitate before deciding whether to come for a ball or not. In turn this is planting doubt in his defenders minds - on Tuesday there was an occasion when Pearce clearly didn't know whether McCarthy was going to come to clear up or not and eventually ended colliding with McCarthy who had hesitated and then decided to come. With a forward on his back, it wasn't for Pearce to make that call, McCarthy should have been bossing the situation.

I don't think any sane person could argue that Feds' ability and confidence on the ball and distribution isn't very significantly greater/better than McCarthy's. Furthermore, IMO, his shot-stopping ability isn't that inferior to McCarthy's (certainly based on some of the fumbles we have seen from AM in recent games).

At the start of the season, Feds was only given a limited time to turn his confidence and performance around and McCarthy has been given that time and more.Therefore overall, and at this moment in time, I believe Feds deserves to be given an opportunity to remind us what a good keeper he can be.

[If you still hate Futcher]

^^ Would also put him in the shop window for the great clear out at the end of the season - Feds has got to be on pretty high wages

[TBM]

He also has two Donny players in there

Both midfielders......Barton's position, if he votes for "others" it lessens his chances of getting in the team of the year

[melonhead]

any keeper would look nervy behind our defence

[Mr.Swainey]

I don't see a problem with McCarthy whatsoever. The story of his distribution is exaggerated, he is working with a defence that cannot deal with the ball at feet, and the movement to receive the ball is non-existent at times. On Saturday, on numerous occasions, Morrison and Pearce - and to a lesser extent Obita and Gunter - were just standing there motionless wanting to receive the ball, but offering no easy route for McCarthy. Secondly, McCarthy kicks the ball out to the touchline on instruction from the coaching staff, because that is the way they want him to do it. They don't want him to kick it straight up to the front man, they want him to kick it towards the touchline, so at least if it goes out, it slows down play, rather than it going straight into the midfield. Watch other goalkeepers who distribute this way, and see the difference with McCarthy; there is none. It is a difficult skill, and McCarthy is doing the best he can and will only get better.

[sandman]

Other keepers keep the ball in play. Sorry but his distribution is terrible, not just from his feet but also from his hands. Well done to him for the saves he made the other day as they were good but we've always known he's a good shot stopper, it's the rest of his game that is the problem.

[Mr.Swainey]

Other keepers keep the ball in play. Sorry but his distribution is terrible, not just from his feet but also from his hands. Well done to him for the saves he made the other day as they were good but we've always known he's a good shot stopper, it's the rest of his game that is the problem.

He is a young keeper and I'm certain he will get better with time. I can remember Federici not being the best kicker when he first became a regular here, but over time he got better, as will McCarthy. I don't see it as a major issue. It might be the weakest part of his game, but he is a very good at everything else.

[sandman]

His kicking was summed up by one moment for me. 1-1 in the QPR home game and we have a free kick in our own half late on, all the players are in their box ready for a last attempt on goal. McCarthy took the kick and instead of kicking it into a dangerous area he shanks it down the right wing near absolutely nobody. That has got nothing to do with 'not being confident with giving the ball to his defenders' and everything to do with not being able to distribute the ball effectively.

What about the amount of times he has had to kick the ball out quickly and he's hit it flat, to an opposition player in our own half? What about the throws to the opposition centre forward?

[Ian Royal]

So you don't rate him because he cocked up one kick? All keeper's do that sometimes.

[floyd__streete]

McCarthy got man of the match then?

LOL @ Royal Blue and Sandman

[sandman]

Not at all, he deserved it for those saves. Doesn't change the fact that there are several obvious flaws to his game that he has so far failed to improve upon and doesnt look like he has made progress on in the three or four Years he has been in and around the first team squad.

[Hoop Blah]

Unsurprisingly I think you're mainly talking a load of rubbish sandman (although I appreciate it's a large element of fishing to back up your long standing sad game of backing Fedrici). When McCarthy first came into the side his kicking was quite weak and a very obvious weakness. He couldn't clear the half way line and his kicks lacked any penetration. To say that hasn't improved is, quite frankly, ridiculous, and to prove it McCarthy bombed a kick from his hands to bounce about 20 yards from the goal on Saturday.

As for Federici, his kick is better than McCarthy's, I'd agree with that. However, he also got a lot of stick for kicking the ball straight out of play last season and has miskicked plenty of times with the ball at his feet, and has given goals away in doing so too.

We are obviously looking to play out from the back more and so McCarthy will make the odd mistake but it's not half as bad not being able to take a cross or deal with long range shots as Fedrici struggles so I'm happy to go with the superior keeper over an alternative who can kick a little better.

[bcubed]

Unsurprisingly I think you're mainly talking a load of rubbish sandman (although I appreciate it's a large element of fishing to back up your long standing sad game of backing Fedrici). When McCarthy first came into the side his kicking was quite weak and a very obvious weakness. He couldn't clear the half way line and his kicks lacked any penetration. To say that hasn't improved is, quite frankly, ridiculous, and to prove it McCarthy bombed a kick from his hands to bounce about 20 yards from the goal on Saturday.

As for Federici, his kick is better than McCarthy's, I'd agree with that. However, he also got a lot of stick for kicking the ball straight out of play last season and has miskicked plenty of times with the ball at his feet, and has given goals away in doing so too.

We are obviously looking to play out from the back more and so McCarthy will make the odd mistake but it's not half as bad not being able to take a cross or deal with long range shots as Fedrici struggles so I'm happy to go with the superior keeper over an alternative who can kick a little better.

well said

[Extended-Phenotype]

Think we have bigger problems to solve than which very decent keeper to play.

[sandman]

Once again Hoop Blah despite your attempts at appearing to be reasonable you are replying to a pre conceived idea of the poster rather than the point they are making.

Obviously McCarthy is not going to distribute it badly all the time and when he doesn't have to think about where he has to place it and to find a player he can get it quite far. Being able to get it over the halfway line doesn't necessarily mean he has improved his kicking even you could probably kick it over the halfway when you're not busy being a tosser. I'd rather look at who he is finding with his kicks and it is more often than not an opposition player. You talked about Federici and his ability saving long range shots well the one time I've seen him play this season against Brighton he made 2 or 3 excellent saves from long distance, not saying he hasn't struggled with it in the past because he has.

If I was playing a game as you put it I would have denied that McCarthy played well at all on Saturday as you and others so regularly do when Federici plays and has a good game. Then again, this is a trend when it comes to home grown players on here. Case in point Hector was pretty poor on Saturday, including a mistake that put Huddersfield through, fair play he was out of position but he has played there before in the SPL against the newly crowned Scottish Champions so it's not entirely new to him. If Akpan had played like that then you and others would have got the pitch forks out. Hector gets the "he's young and inexperienced" excuses whereas Akpan who is just a year older and is playing his first season at this level doesn't.

I don't see why that even when McCarthy's manager has said this season that he needs to work on his kicking that I get abuse for saying the same thing. You might want to dismiss kicking ability but if he wants to be the player that so many insist he's going to be then he needs to improve on it because the likes of Valdes and Neuer prove that the top keepers have to have ability with the ball at their feet.

[sandman]

Think we have bigger problems to solve than which very decent keeper to play.

Agree with that btw. It's just the double standards that are applied to them by the likes of Hoop Blah and Ian Royal that I have a problem with.