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Author Topic: John McGinn - signed (Captain)  (Read 653837 times)

Offline PeterWithesShin

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4740 on: April 01, 2023, 02:40:20 AM »
I reckon Footy knew Bruce Willis was a ghost straight away.

I did. But to be fair, my mate who recommended watching it told me there was a twist so I was on alert.

In China it was called "He's A Ghost".

Offline Rory

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4741 on: April 01, 2023, 03:14:49 AM »
I reckon Footy knew Bruce Willis was a ghost straight away.

I did. But to be fair, my mate who recommended watching it told me there was a twist so I was on alert.

I definitely clocked but not straight away. Your mate sounds annoying :D... "Watch this film, I swear you won't believe who Keyser Soze is!!!"

Is it Gabriel Byrne? 😉

Ssshhh! You know... is he any good? As an actor? I feel like I've barely seen him in anything. Maybe I just look in the wrong places. I vaguely recall him as the devil in the something.

Haha, End of Days, Schwarzenegger film. He was unfairly nominated for a Razzie.

Personally, I think he has a good screen presence, but he's a bit limited compared to some of the countrymen of his generation, like Brendan Gleeson or Ciarán Hinds.

Offline Percy McCarthy

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4742 on: April 01, 2023, 03:34:02 AM »
I reckon Footy knew Bruce Willis was a ghost straight away.

I did. But to be fair, my mate who recommended watching it told me there was a twist so I was on alert.

I definitely clocked but not straight away. Your mate sounds annoying :D... "Watch this film, I swear you won't believe who Keyser Soze is!!!"

He is annoying actually, but for reasons that are irrelevant on the football part of the site.

Offline Rory

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4743 on: April 01, 2023, 03:35:22 AM »
I reckon Footy knew Bruce Willis was a ghost straight away.

I did. But to be fair, my mate who recommended watching it told me there was a twist so I was on alert.

I definitely clocked but not straight away. Your mate sounds annoying :D... "Watch this film, I swear you won't believe who Keyser Soze is!!!"

He is annoying actually, but for reasons that are irrelevant on the football part of the site.

One of your Danny Dyer mates, Percy? 😉

Offline Villan For Life

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4744 on: April 01, 2023, 08:31:21 AM »
SJM interview from today’s Times

In a geography classroom at St Peter the Apostle High School back in 2010 a teenage John McGinn was presented with his first chance to write himself into Scottish football history. His teacher, Mr Ferrier, asked him to captain the school side for the Under-16 Shield the then 15-year-old did not think it was the cool thing to do so passed the responsibility to his friend Kieran.

It was only when they were crowned champions of the national tournament and it registered with McGinn that the winning captain had their name engraved on the trophy that he realised his mistake. “Some of Scotland’s best ever players are on there, and I turned it down. I regret it every day,” the Aston Villa midfielder says, smiling.

He was in a relaxed mood as he reflected on one of the best international breaks of his career; a goal against Cyprus and a historic 2-0 win against Spain. If he regretted missing that opportunity 13 years ago he has certainly made up for it
Their two wins put Scotland in good stead to qualify for next summer’s European Championship and McGinn hopes that it is the start of a new generation for the national side. With a number of big names on the Spain bench at Hampden Park on Tuesday there was a feeling in the home dressing room that Luis de la Fuente’s side had underestimated the steely Scots. “I don’t think they’d do that again,” McGinn says.

And then there were the post-match comments by the Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who accused them of playing “rubbish” football and time-wasting. But McGinn was not surprised or offended by the words from his Premier League counterpart.

“I think there needs to be a bit of realism, Scotland aren’t a team that can go toe-to-toe in a game that will suit Spain for 90 minutes because we would come out on the losing end. We have to find every single marginal gain that we can get,” he explains. “Whether that’s taking 30 seconds instead of ten for a throw-in, sometimes you need a breather. If any of the Spanish players tried playing right wing in that team the other night . . . I needed a breather. So I was shouting back to Angus [Gunn], ‘Take your time.’ If there’s anyone that was encouraging the time-wasting it was me.”

The 28-year-old has it down as one of his best moments in a Scotland shirt and it is a standout moment in a season that has been a learning curve. Thirteen years after turning down Mr Ferrier’s request to be captain of his school team, McGinn did not need to think twice when the same question was asked of him by Steven Gerrard. It was a big call by the former Aston Villa manager, who had decided that he wanted the midfielder as his captain instead of Tyrone Mings, the leader when Gerrard took charge.

“It was an amazing feeling having someone who’s achieved so much in the game telling you what they think of you. I was buzzing and proud to be a captain of a club this size,” McGinn says.

But unfortunately for McGinn, gaining the armband coincided with a drop in form that led to widespread criticism and then, in the two games after Gerrard’s dismissal, he lost his place

“The biggest disappointment for me and the biggest disappointment I have in my time under Gerrard is that I didn’t lead with the way I played, it wasn’t my best football,” he says. “Sometimes when you’re not playing well you get targeted by people saying you’re not a captain or a leader and you take it with a pinch of salt. But I certainly do have a bit of regret after the manager put a lot of faith in me and it wasn’t through a lack of effort or trying but I didn’t perform my best under him.”

While he was not bothered about the world of social media questioning his capabilities to lead the team he was disappointed that that filtered into some staff at the club. After Gerrard was sacked, McGinn was dropped for the next two games and cites it as one of the most difficult points in his career.

“It was my toughest few weeks as a player,” he says. “There was a lot of noise when the manager changed with people saying that I wasn’t good enough for Villa. A lot was said and I was disappointed at the time after the amount I’ve contributed while I’ve been here. There were people who had been here a long, long time that got sucked into thinking that I wasn’t good enough and that I was the issue.”

But under Unai Emery, and with the departure of some long-standing staff, the midfielder has found a new lease of life. He credited the Spaniard for making his own assessments and not listening to outside influences and he is thriving under his new manager.

McGinn has established himself as one of Emery’s most reliable players as they have navigated their way away from the congested relegation battle

“He and his staff judged with their own eyes which was so refreshing,” McGinn says. “I managed to just keep training and playing and bring my qualities to the team and thankfully so far I’ve been back in the team and in my best form that I’ve been in a while. It’s been refreshing to have that and obviously I’m glad to know that I’m not the problem after all.”

Far from being a problem, McGinn has established himself as one of Emery’s most reliable players as they have navigated their way away from the congested relegation battle to mid-table security.

Being coached by Emery has been a different experience for McGinn, who had previously only ever been managed by British former professionals. While he was not critical of any of his previous managers he did explain how the Spaniard brings a different perspective and more meticulous level of detail, which has taken the players some time to adapt to. And McGinn explained how he nearly had to get used to playing a totally new role in the team after Emery told him he could see him leading the line in Villa’s attack.

“When the manager came in he spoke to me about a few different positions he thought I could play, and one of them was upfront believe it or not,” he says. “I would have done it, I’d have been happy with that. My first game under him I came on up front against Manchester United, which is something I’ll be able to tell the grandkids. I think I lasted five minutes and then I got shifted to the wing.

“He asked me what my preferred position was and I’d spent a few weeks on the bench and I just said, ‘Not on the bench.’ I don’t think he could take me seriously.”

The squad knew from Emery’s first day on the job that things were going to be different under their new manager but it was not until McGinn was on the coach on the way back from their 2-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur on New Year’s Day that the penny dropped that they could be on to something really good.

“At half-time he came in and said he was delighted with the performance and we all sat wondering what was going on because we felt like we had been battered a bit. But he had planned the game to a tee and it was going exactly how he predicted,” McGinn says. “Then we went out and won 2-0 in the second half and I thought it was a bit mental.”

That was, for McGinn, the first of a number of moments under Emery that has made them believe they are at the beginning of an exciting journey. There is a renewed sense of optimism around the club’s Bodymoor Heath training ground and there are whisperings of European football as the team prepare for their final 11 games of the campaign.

“The owners have got massive ambitions. It has maybe taken a little bit longer than what we imagined but they want this team to be back in Europe consistently and not stop there,” he says. “There’s times when you’ve thought, is this going to happen? But with the manager coming in with his CV of European football there we’re starting to see signs that it could be possible and I’m sure he’s not going to stop until we get there.”


Offline Bad English

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4745 on: April 01, 2023, 09:15:09 AM »
Anybody quoting this in full is a div.

Offline Risso

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4746 on: April 01, 2023, 09:16:25 AM »

Offline Baldy

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4747 on: April 01, 2023, 09:17:24 AM »
Thanks Villan For Life, a fantastic read and a great insight into our manager and SJM himself.

We go on a lot about 5 subs, 9 subs and 2 goalies on the bench etc but I honestly believe having a master technician in charge is tantamount to having 15 substitutes on the bench.

Based on their attributes, Unai has more than one role in mind for most of our players and is quite happy to 'tweak' things on the field instead of always resorting to the bench. Going into precise detail about the oppositions strengths/weaknesses and thorough knowledge of our own players attributes is nectar to a Grand Master.

Unai knows 'there is more than one way to peel a potato'.
« Last Edit: April 01, 2023, 09:35:32 AM by Baldy »

Offline Bad English

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4748 on: April 01, 2023, 09:31:33 AM »
Ha! Rodri accused them of playing 'rubbish' football, did he? Has anyone accused Spain of 'losing'?

Offline PeterWithe

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4749 on: April 01, 2023, 09:51:48 AM »
I reckon Footy knew Bruce Willis was a ghost straight away.

I did. But to be fair, my mate who recommended watching it told me there was a twist so I was on alert.

In China it was called "He's A Ghost".

I remember reading that the Chinese Government has a ‘Ministry of Certain Things’ which I thought was pretty handy.

Online Nev

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4750 on: April 01, 2023, 10:01:43 AM »
I thought it wasn't great against Spurs in the first half as well. It is about confidence and belief for both the players and the fans, that much is now obvious.

What is also obvious from that interview is that there is a chasm between the likes of Gerrard and Emery, the latter is a coach, the former an ex player almost "having a go at it". Perhaps this is why the likes of him and Lampard will never be successful?




Offline brontebilly

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4751 on: April 01, 2023, 10:07:47 AM »
SJM obviously spends a bit of time on H&V!

Online ChicagoLion

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4752 on: April 01, 2023, 10:08:48 AM »
I thought it wasn't great against Spurs in the first half as well. It is about confidence and belief for both the players and the fans, that much is now obvious.

What is also obvious from that interview is that there is a chasm between the likes of Gerrard and Emery, the latter is a coach, the former an ex player almost "having a go at it". Perhaps this is why the likes of him and Lampard will never be successful?
That’s right, Emery is a coach first and is focussed on every aspect of the game as opposed to those that think it’s all about media stuff, swanning about , turning up to training occasionally and picking the team.

Offline olaftab

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4753 on: April 01, 2023, 10:08:57 AM »
this

Sorry mate :(
It's no good apologise now after totally ignoring what Sir had said. Detention slip will be issued, shortly.

Offline RamboandBruno

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Re: John McGinn - signed (Captain 2022/23)
« Reply #4754 on: April 01, 2023, 10:31:11 AM »
Thanks Villan for Life, really enjoyed that read. Having McGinns insights, especially after Spurs away, makes me even more excited for the future under Emery.
I wonder who had been at the club a long time who had written him off?

 


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