Shay McCartan

This is the Shay McCarten thread isn't it?

If you want me to break it down to half time then I wouldn't have subbed the GK or back 4. I thought DMH, Reeves and Novak all did ok, enough not to be subbed. Out of Shay, Akpan and Guthrie he was the worst and I would have changed him for Middleton to try get some width in and support Wood. Its that simple really.

 

Akpan and Guthrie were the worst on the pitch for me, first and second half.

Akpan is such a bottler, he's dangerous.

 

All about opinions.

 

Reeves is a bottler too though. A bigger one than Akpan mate.

 

Weakest tackler I've ever come across. When the ball is at his feet and he drives forward from time to time he looks an asset but few and far between in a city shirt. Major disappointment as he has the build to be a dominant force in a midfield. His quality and fitness clearly set him back in the last couple of years. He'd be the first out of the door for me. Could get 2 decent midfielders/players on his wage packet.

 

So you're insightful snap shot into the role of Bradford City manager is sub off your match winner at HT.

 

That'll be why the Ginger Wizard is the boss and not me or my fellow City fans around me who thought the same.

Do you never make a suggestion/have an opinion on something that is different to the managers?

 

why do you hate Reeves so much

 

Yes. I think McCartan should be playing more than a bit part role and should stop being dropped for no discernable reason.

 

Where have I said I hate Reeves?

 

Sorry meant for Fordy

 

Maybe something to do with the 1342 posts he made asserting he'd never play for us again.

 

Great, that's your opinion.

So you disagreed with various Bradford City managers in how he should have been played then?

 

It's not for me to decide how to play him. As I've said he's had limited chances, he made the most of those imo and scored some important goals. Despite this he seems to be the go-to fall guy and he keeps getting dropped. I think he's been unlucky, no more no less. I don't think he's the next Messi and I'm not 'creaming' over him.

 

Nice snap shot.

Yet despite all of this he's still been dropped and loaned out by various City managers and Lincolns manager.

 

Wasn't loaned out, i.e. loan cancelled under Lincoln's manager and played a major part in their promotion

John Coleman, no fool, speaks highly of him - perhaps appreciate the galvanising affect a younger McCartan had in taking his team from bottom, around now, to just outside the play-offs

I don't think we can properly judge players who've played for us since August 2017. We've not had one success during that time - even Jack Payne and Lewis O'Brien eventually succumbed to the meandering standard we had

And strangely enough a lot of players who have underperformed, improved immediately when they left the club, as shown when Doyle left and O'Brien

If one player underperforms, I'd look at that player - when it's half a dozen or more there's clearly been an issue

McCartan's been given little chance to shine under any of his previous City managers. Even McCall made him the scapegoat for that Northampton farce, a month before he was sacked, when he'd been arguably the best player in very good wins against Oxford and Accrington - as I said, there is no way Stuart was thinking clearly at this time, which of course wouldn't help a young player who needs good management. Grayson, was the biggest disappointment I can remember since Terry Yorath had the role and clearly (see Blackpool's forum) has lost all his man-management skills because he thinks he's bigger than L1

Add all that up and there's a very good L2 player in there, who could perform at L1 (lacks pace for any higher) who, if we give up on, will simply pop up and look a million dollars elsewhere. Not only can I see Stuart improving him, but I can see Shay wanting to stay regardless of where we are

 

He wasn't loaned out? We didn't loan him to Lincoln??

The majority of his time at Lincoln was on the bench.

 

Another one of those players where the less he plays the better he gets. McCartan did contribute at Lincoln, not enough that they wanted to keep him. On his day he's a decent enough league 2 player, up to him to show how many of those days he wants to be remembered for, cos I don't see a queue of potential buyers waiting for him.

 

I agree.

I didn't come into this thread to berate him, I only commented on his performance 1st half. He's an ok League 2 player that has had opportunities and in the main failed to take them (with us). I hope he continues to get the goals but I'd also like him to be more involved for more minutes in the game.

 

I was merely rebutting part of your statement. He wasn't loaned back (i.e. loaned out) by Lincoln or seen as a failure, i.e their manager found him perfectly adequate for their dominant L2 title winning season of last year

The fact he was on the bench a lot, isn't that relevant when we're talking about an improving player (he was 24, for all his time at Lincoln). Surely, if he was good enough for them, then he's good enough for us.

Everyone seems to have caveat of doubt with every player we sign. We're L2, every player we have will be bound to need work and be imperfect. I merely pointed out that a player than scores 1 in every 3.5, as deep lying forward (i.e. CAM) is surely worth pursuing and maybe we've managed him poorly

It could be as simple as that. Doyle's a good example of what happens when you don't treat these confidence players correctly. Blake was another one. But for some reason any of our current players are generally useless and here's the evidence. I simply get the impression that fans have no patience with any players signed during the 2017-19 seasons - I can understand why, but we might be missing a trick

Incidentally, I'd had been fine with him leaving in January. But a player that galvanised Accrington three seasons ago at the same time, could easily do the same for us.