John McGinn

[Dante Lavelli]

McGinn looks a different player when he doesn’t have to sit.  I really hope we play three in midfielders from now on and obsess with having a ten.
We will have to switch/swap Ings and Watkins to make this work but I think it will be worth it.

[Mister E]

McGinn looks a different player when he doesn’t have to sit.  I really hope we play three in midfielders from now on and obsess with having a ten.
We will have to switch/swap Ings and Watkins to make this work but I think it will be worth it.

As I've said before, Smith wants midfielders who can sit, pass, tackle, play and score. Hence his apparent lack of interest in a world-class DMF.
McGinn, Luiz, Ramsey, Sanson, Chukwuemeka and Buendia can do all these things (although, based on tonight, MacPhee needs to help Ramsey and Luiz in shooting practice).
Marv is a tactical player, brought in to shut things down ... which is why I was surprised to see him come on tonight.

[Dante Lavelli]

McGinn looks a different player when he doesn’t have to sit.  I really hope we play three in midfielders from now on and obsess with having a ten.
We will have to switch/swap Ings and Watkins to make this work but I think it will be worth it.

As I've said before, Smith wants midfielders who can sit, pass, tackle, play and score. Hence his apparent lack of interest in a world-class DMF.
McGinn, Luiz, Ramsey, Sanson, Chukwuemeka and Buendia can do all these things (although, based on tonight, MacPhee needs to help Ramsey and Luiz in shooting practice).
Marv is a tactical player, brought in to shut things down ... which is why I was surprised to see him come on tonight.

In which case I agree with Smith but it only works if three are playing othewise you’re in a situation where you need at least one DMC.

[Sexual Ealing]

He's so good at so many things, but his distribution is often terrible. It's why he plays for us rather than one of the c*nt teams.

[Risso]

He's so good at so many things, but his distribution is often terrible. It's why he plays for us rather than one of the c*nt teams.

I agree. He looked much better today, becacuse he got to do more driving forward than when he's asked to sit with Luiz in that two in front of the back four. Passing isn't his thing though really is it?

[Sexual Ealing]

He's so good at so many things, but his distribution is often terrible. It's why he plays for us rather than one of the c*nt teams.

I agree. He looked much better today, becacuse he got to do more driving forward than when he's asked to sit with Luiz in that two in front of the back four. Passing isn't his thing though really is it?

He's a bit of a curate's egg. He tackles and wins the ball so well that you can see why the manager has persisted with him as a DM. He surges forward so well (and scores the odd screamer) that you can see why fans are screaming for him to play further up the pitch. But the inability to pass well consistently means he's not really a player that you can build around, and shouldn't be accommodating if you're serious about being a European team.

[Footy-Vill]

Brilliant today just needs to cut out the yellow cards
He had the most of any player last season
Let's him down

[Ads]

He got booked for winning the ball. An abysmal decision by a wank referee.

[Clampy]

The booking was just ridiclous. I've no idea why Footy has a thing for players getting booked. It's a bit odd although yes, he does get too many.

[Rigadon]

He's a cracking player.  Never stops pressing, chips in with goals and I don't see his passing as being that bad either.

[CT]

He got booked for winning the ball. An abysmal decision by a wank referee.

I know you can’t rescind a yellow card, but surely it wouldn’t take someone 10 seconds to look at that and realise it was an appalling decision.

Thought SJM was superb yesterday. Ron Saunders would’ve fucking loved him.

[Nunkin1965]

He was one of quitea few real positives for me yesterday.
Tenacious in the tackle and work rate off the scale.
Any side or fan would want him in their starting XI.

[West Derby Villan]

He’s getting back to his best which will help the rest of the midfield. Playing with more freedom since joe left

[Bobby Boy]

He was one of quitea few real positives for me yesterday.
Tenacious in the tackle and work rate off the scale.
Any side or fan would want him in their starting XI.

Absolutely. He was inspirational yesterday. The way he dispossessed their midfielders high up the pitch would have taken the roof off had the match been played at Villa Park.

That tenacity really raises the temperature.

For me our most important player.

[Steve67]

Faded a bit in the second half but was a driving force for us yesterday.  I though both he and Dougie played well, as did Ramsey to be fair.  Passing still a bid hit and miss but seems to have upped his game.