John McGinn

[The_Steve]

Totally different player when he’s given the freedom to get forward 

[Zatman]

1 hour ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

You laugh but many on here wanted him gone and said he couldn’t play a technical game.  Confidence is everything. 

actual coaching helps

[Jono62]

You can also see he is slimmer. Must have cut out the chips.

[Vive_La_Villa]

47 minutes ago, Zatman said:

actual coaching helps

It does indeed but you can only coach talent and McGinn always had an abundance of it.  Fans seemed to have forgotten this when he had his sticky patch. 

[Don_Simon]

4 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

It does indeed but you can only coach talent and McGinn always had an abundance of it.  Fans seemed to have forgotten this when he had his sticky patch. 

Don't recall people wanting him gone. Just being disappointed in his form. Which was correct at the time.

[lexicon]

1 hour ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

I always backed him and am not surprised at all by how he is playing 

Fair play, but that was blind faith rather than anything else tbh. 

[Vive_La_Villa]

1 minute ago, lexicon said:

Fair play, but that was blind faith rather than anything else tbh. 

No way. It was based on what I’d seen he was capable of for us and Scotland. He just needed to do it consistently which he now is.

[Vive_La_Villa]

9 minutes ago, Don_Simon said:

Don't recall people wanting him gone. Just being disappointed in his form. Which was correct at the time.

Trust me mate some did. I remember because I spent time arguing/debating with them. 
 

Anyway the main thing is Unai came and our captain is excelling. Long may it continue. 

Edited October 27, 2023 by Vive_La_Villa

[Stephen_Evans]

When Gerrard appointed McGinn as captain, it somehow seemed the wrong fit.  Now, under Emery, he seems the perfect fit.

[lexicon]

24 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

No way. It was based on what I’d seen he was capable of for us and Scotland. He just needed to do it consistently which he now is.

He'd never played to this standard for us. His great performances in the Championship were through sheer work rate and a few moments of magic, then in the prem he didn't look up to snuff for a long time (I think COVID hit him hard tbh) and his career was stagnating. The work he's done since Emery has arrived has transformed in into a far better player than ever before, which is kinda what Unai does. 

[Zatman]

27 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

Trust me mate some did. I remember because I spent time arguing/debating with them. 
 

Anyway the main thing is Unai came and our captain is excelling. Long may it continue. 

I think I didn't want him starting every game which is form didnt deserve

Then it dawned on me that the "coach" was the issue. 

[lexicon]

2 minutes ago, Zatman said:

I think I didn't want him starting every game which is form didnt deserve

Then it dawned on me that the "coach" was the issue. 

I remember quite a few were of this opinion. I.e. a squad player rather than a starter and someone that could be upgraded fairly easily. 

[Jareth]

1 hour ago, Jono62 said:

You can also see he is slimmer. Must have cut out the chips.

cheps

[Villan_of_oz]

25 minutes ago, lexicon said:

I remember quite a few were of this opinion. I.e. a squad player rather than a starter and someone that could be upgraded fairly easily. 

I will admit that this was where I was at during the Gerrard regime. I never wanted McGinn gone but I remember him being devoid of confidence and not understanding why he was starting every match.

[Tom13]

That midfield setup under Gerrard just wasn't it, it was so unbalanced. Now Emery starts both Kamara and Luiz, we have balance, and McGinn is currently thriving.

[MrBlack]

I wanted McGinn dropped under Gerrard because he was being asked to play a role he couldn't do (or at least wasn't being coached to be able to do).

If he'd been played further forward, to his strengths at the time,  and Gerrard had instead played the obvious DM pairing of Luiz and Kamara, I think McGinn would have been fine. 

The problem was always Gerrard. I knew McGinn was a decent footballer and warranted a place in the 11 if played in the right position.  I didn't know McGinn was this good though. Him, and many others, have gone levels beyond what I thought they were capable of.

[bobzy]

12 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

The Gerrard caveat is huge

Nah, people were calling McGinn fat and lazy

[Tom13]

Under Gerrard his confidence was low and it was affecting his decision making badly. He kept shooting from distance and lofting up aimless/hopeful balls into the box instead of trying to create an opening through precision.

Our setup and lack of options on the ball contributed massively to this as well.

Edited October 28, 2023 by Tom13

[Steero113]

On 27/10/2023 at 10:30, Don_Simon said:

Don't recall people wanting him gone. Just being disappointed in his form. Which was correct at the time.

Hmm....

On 09/04/2022 at 19:53, Wainy316 said:

His stock is still far higher than his ability.  Act now and sell!

On 09/04/2022 at 20:13, maqroll said:

Should be a permanent bench option or just be sold. 

On 09/04/2022 at 22:01, rodders0223 said:

King of giving the ball away and jogging back. King of the "I'm working really hard" grab the ball and take a quick free at 4-0 down.

The bloke is full of shit. Slow. Immobile. Crap on the ball. Hider. Bluffer.

This one was just funny, doesn't specifically 

On 09/04/2022 at 22:11, Newry_Villan said:

The good thing is we'll make a tidy profit when we move him on. Paid a couple of million quid in the championship? His level is lower to mid prem if we want to improve we need better.

On 10/04/2022 at 11:31, sne said:

Really falling out of love with this guy sadly. Gerrard picking him and playing him 90 mins (almost) every game no matter what certainly doesn't help.

Happily sell him for the right price or use him as a impact sub. But as a starter in this position I'm pretty much done with it.

On 11/04/2022 at 08:56, duke313 said:

It would be a good bit of business selling him to United, we signed him for £3m and could easily ask for £30-40m.

On 23/04/2022 at 17:24, Spoony said:

First out the door for me

On 23/04/2022 at 17:54, Spoony said:

Oh I’m def not defending Luiz in all this. McGinn is first out the door with Luiz being swiftly booted out behind him. We are going nowhere with those two. 

On 24/04/2022 at 11:41, Mazrim said:

He's just not very good and I'm sick of seeing him in the starting XI. I really hope we move him on.

I was just as bad at the time by the way, it's a hell of a ride this football forum stuff. 

Edited October 28, 2023 by Steero113

[Panto_Villan]

I think he’s on record saying he didn’t think he was this good at football before Emery started working his magic.

It’s impressive for a player who joined us in the championship to be more than holding his own in a team that’s challenging for the CL places. It’s more than a massive step up, it’s a whole series of them in rapid succession.