The Gr8 Keeper Deb8

[3 veesinarow]

Stick.

If the strapped knee proves to be a flag of convenience to drop him for fitness reasons alone, so be it, but otherwise stick.

[maffff]

If he has 4 or 5 bad games out of the next handful of fixtures then yes, we need to consider giving Taylor or McCarthy a chance - but not before.

How many poor games did McCarthy have before he was dropped?

How many poor games with McCarthy have for Ipswich last season?

[Woodcote Royal]

How often do you go to Portman Rd?


I can't recall McCarthy making any howlers in a Reading shirt that compared with Federici's on Saturday or even the one last night.


Every point in this division is worth millions to our club and to suggest that we can afford to give Skippy Mark 2 another 4 or 5 games in which he makes similar cock ups, is nonsense of the highest order.

We don't pay a small fortune in wages to squad players and not to use them when those higher in the pecking are not delivering.

[Hoop Blah]

Someone mentioned he fumbled a fair few shots in the warm up for the Stoke game
and to me he just doesn't look happy, quite on the case. That is, he usually exudes
confidence, almost to the point of being cocky, and he hasn't so far this season,
including before his mistake v Stoke.

And what's with the strapping on his knee? Is he carrying a niggle?

Is the rib problem totally cured or is he consciously or unconsciously protecting himself?

He's had little pre-season because of that injury as well. He could well be just short of sharpness.

[SpaceCruiser]

PS The corner? Who gives a fark. Worth it to try and rescue a point. That wasn't his fault.

He wouldn't have felt the need to do that had the Torres tap in been correctly ruled offside.

[Hoop Blah]

PS The corner? Who gives a fark. Worth it to try and rescue a point. That wasn't his fault.

He wouldn't have felt the need to do that had the Torres tap in been correctly ruled offside.

Or if he hadn't dived over a 25 yarder....

[PieEater]

Stick. It's a new ball in use this year, he'll get used to catching it eventually.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Stick. It's a new ball in use this year, he'll get used to catching it eventually.

The key point is how long "eventually" turns out to be.

[juanpablo]

It's far too early to drop him. That would be very harsh; but there's no getting away from the fact he's had two very poor games, and as a result his confidence will be rock bottom. What he needs is encouragement, not barracking!

If he has 4 or 5 bad games out of the next handful of fixtures then yes, we need to consider giving Taylor or McCarthy a chance - but not before.

you cannot afford to give a keeper 5 games to make clangers like he has, we went down on goal difference last time let alone points

[RoyalBlue]

Stick. For one more game only. You can't afford to be sentimental in this league. If your top scorer missed two absolute sitters and cost you two potential goals he would not keep his place. What's the difference?

What teams have you been watching?

Numerous top scorers at numerous clubs have done exactly that and worse, yet kept their places.

[maffff]

If your top scorer missed two absolute sitters and cost you two potential goals he would not keep his place. What's the difference?

What teams have you been watching?

Numerous top scorers at numerous clubs have done exactly that and worse, yet kept their places.

Torres.

[Ian Royal]

Absolutely should get a minimum of 5 games unless he starts flapping at everything and leaking goals like a sieve (I don't count two in two as quite that bad).

Anyone suggesting we should drop him now must have a very funny walk with their jerking knees.

[i_kingsley]

STICK

[Snowball]

Not sure the comparison with top scorers is a good one.

If one striker keeps failing he's still being marked etc and others may score.

if ALL the strikers were failing match after match, different story.

But a keeper who starts flapping and letting in bad goals DIRECTLY hurts his team
and on top of that makes the defence less certain possibly leading to more goals-against

[Snowball]

Keepers like McCarthy are patient but frustrated.

Surely though, it can get worse if they see the man in No 1 spot
making X mistakes and not being dropped?


Just to be clear I'm not knee-jerking and saying Feds should be dropped, just exploring the issue etc

[RoyalX]

Glad to see most posters on here have thought about this sensibly...

You don't drop players if they make one or two mistakes - it would not only affect his confidence but the confidence of the other players. You can't send out the message that if you mess up you're dropped, because then everyone would play with fear rather than with freedom. How do you think McCarthy would feel coming in now?

I don't even particularly rate him as a keeper, but he's obviously our number 1.

[Alan Partridge]

“Feds has hardly made a mistake in four years"

[bcubed]

“Feds has hardly made a mistake in four years"

+

[Still Hate Futcher!]

Stick. Must admit to being pretty worried after those 2 mistakes in 2 games but he was consistent enough last season to earn another chance.

[Muskrat]

I know I'm going to be in a minority of one here but I would rest him for his own good. Martin O'Neil is a Wiley Old Fox and he would have picked up on this and they will be trying their luck from all angles and peppering our goal to try and capitalise on what he will perceive as a lack of confidence in our keeper, which despite what BMD says, will have spread to the defence as well.

Playing McCarthy would scupper that and McCarthy would have a huge incentive to prove himself.

Feds is a legend but this is an unforgiving league I'm afraid.