John McGinn

[LeeB]

He's a very good player, but Kamara is a better defensive midfielder, Tielemans is a better attacking midfielder, and Bailey is a better wide midfielder. At his best, McGinn has got a lot of strengths like the ability to drive forwards and retain possession, but with everybody at their best, I can't see where he gets in the team. And McGinn has been miles off his best.

I agree with most of this.  When he signed, my Hibs supporting mate sent me a message (probably still on this thread near the beginning) basically saying he won't be the best goal-scoring midfielder in the league, or the best chance creator, or set piece taker, or defensive midfielder, but he'll likely be the best at being able to do all of those things when needed.  And I think that's where we are now.  We have very good specialists in all positions who are better than SJM at their respective 'jobs', but when it comes to a midfielder who can do all of those things to a competent standard, he's probably the best we have - which is invaluable in today's squad game. 

He might no longer be an automatic first-choice, but he'll still play plenty (for the next year or so at least).

I think he's still first choice personally, he's 1st disciple of Unai as well.

[ChicagoLion]

He's a very good player, but Kamara is a better defensive midfielder, Tielemans is a better attacking midfielder, and Bailey is a better wide midfielder. At his best, McGinn has got a lot of strengths like the ability to drive forwards and retain possession, but with everybody at their best, I can't see where he gets in the team. And McGinn has been miles off his best.

I agree with most of this.  When he signed, my Hibs supporting mate sent me a message (probably still on this thread near the beginning) basically saying he won't be the best goal-scoring midfielder in the league, or the best chance creator, or set piece taker, or defensive midfielder, but he'll likely be the best at being able to do all of those things when needed.  And I think that's where we are now.  We have very good specialists in all positions who are better than SJM at their respective 'jobs', but when it comes to a midfielder who can do all of those things to a competent standard, he's probably the best we have - which is invaluable in today's squad game. 

He might no longer be an automatic first-choice, but he'll still play plenty (for the next year or so at least).

I think he's still first choice personally, he's 1st disciple of Unai as well.

Same, he adds to the team by being on the pitch. He is still the heartbeat and when it comes to the really big games he will start.

[Smithy]

He's a very good player, but Kamara is a better defensive midfielder, Tielemans is a better attacking midfielder, and Bailey is a better wide midfielder. At his best, McGinn has got a lot of strengths like the ability to drive forwards and retain possession, but with everybody at their best, I can't see where he gets in the team. And McGinn has been miles off his best.

I agree with most of this.  When he signed, my Hibs supporting mate sent me a message (probably still on this thread near the beginning) basically saying he won't be the best goal-scoring midfielder in the league, or the best chance creator, or set piece taker, or defensive midfielder, but he'll likely be the best at being able to do all of those things when needed.  And I think that's where we are now.  We have very good specialists in all positions who are better than SJM at their respective 'jobs', but when it comes to a midfielder who can do all of those things to a competent standard, he's probably the best we have - which is invaluable in today's squad game. 

He might no longer be an automatic first-choice, but he'll still play plenty (for the next year or so at least).

I think he's still first choice personally, he's 1st disciple of Unai as well.

Same, he adds to the team by being on the pitch. He is still the heartbeat and when it comes to the really big games he will start.

He's still very good, obviously, but I think in terms of genuine "first choices" now, given the squad strength, there are probably only a small handful that qualify.  And by that, I mean players who, if fit, are simply much better than the alternatives in their position.  And that's probably Big Emi, Pau, Youri, Rogers and maybe Watkins (less so for him now with Duran's emergence).  I don't think SJM fits into that group, unfortunately.  He's now part of the competition for a midfield birth - which is a great position to be in. 

The way you improve as a team is by recruitment/coaching which turns your automatic starters into squad players.

[UK Redsox]

....with the aim of having a team/squad which means SJM comes on as a sub to see out 3-0 wins

[Mister E]

I thought he was excellent last night; his ball-holding and passing were top-drawer.
Regarding his selection going forward, like all players, he will be deployed for those games where Emery sees him as the best option; there are very few must-pick players (Emi, Konsa, Rogers, Tielemans, Watkins and Torres appear to be them).

[cdbearsfan]

We are at our best when we are pressing like fuck. Doing that all the time is exhausting, especially when you are playing weekend-midweek for weeks at a time. I think we will see more rotation, both in terms of starting XIs and players being replaced after an hour or even earlier. We have the best squad we have ever had and you can make five subs now, we can use that to our advantage. McGinn might not play every minute any more, but he'll be a huge part of things, as usual.

[Risso]

We are at our best when we are pressing like fuck. Doing that all the time is exhausting, especially when you are playing weekend-midweek for weeks at a time. I think we will see more rotation, both in terms of starting XIs and players being replaced after an hour or even earlier. We have the best squad we have ever had and you can make five subs now, we can use that to our advantage. McGinn might not play every minute any more, but he'll be a huge part of things, as usual.

And while the bench is stong at the moment, it's not that long since we were back to two goalies and a load of kids as subs.

[RamboandBruno]

Its true we now have better players in their particular specialist areas of play. However, football is not just about the level of skill, although obviously massively important. Still at this moment in time, before his legs probably inevitably start to go a bit in a year or two, McGinn gives us energy and drive, but most of all, however cheesy he gives us heart and after 6/7 years an utter love for the club that the supporters and other players in my opinion feed off. Maybe not vocally, but in his actions, he’s our leader.
With all things being equal, everyone being fit and on form, if we had a massive game coming up, a domestic cup semi final or final or likewise in the champions league, I would bet my house Emery would start McGinn in those games ahead of say Ramsey or Onana if Kamara was fit.

[rooboy316]

I love him. That is all.

[Tayls_7]

I love him. That is all.

Well said. Same.

[Hopadop]

He's a very good player, but Kamara is a better defensive midfielder, Tielemans is a better attacking midfielder, and Bailey is a better wide midfielder. At his best, McGinn has got a lot of strengths like the ability to drive forwards and retain possession, but with everybody at their best, I can't see where he gets in the team. And McGinn has been miles off his best.

I agree with most of this.  When he signed, my Hibs supporting mate sent me a message (probably still on this thread near the beginning) basically saying he won't be the best goal-scoring midfielder in the league, or the best chance creator, or set piece taker, or defensive midfielder, but he'll likely be the best at being able to do all of those things when needed.  And I think that's where we are now.  We have very good specialists in all positions who are better than SJM at their respective 'jobs', but when it comes to a midfielder who can do all of those things to a competent standard, he's probably the best we have - which is invaluable in today's squad game. 

He might no longer be an automatic first-choice, but he'll still play plenty (for the next year or so at least).

He's the Skoda Yeti of footballers.

And I mean that as a compliment, Lynn.

[LeeB]

An air fryer of a player.

Squat, powerful, and your mom would like him.

[Brend'Watkins]

An air fryer of a player.

Squat, powerful, and your mom would like him.

And much easier to clean than an oven.

[Clampy]

The John Mcginn Air Fryer surely beats the George Forman Grill?

[Rudy Can't Fail]

He dropped a cryptic "next two and a half years" comment in his post match interview.  Is that the length of his contract or a realistic expectation of how long he can perform at this level?

His contract ends in summer 2027 and he'll be 32.

His attitude and energy are missed when he's unavailable, the UTD bore draw being a case in point. That's the sort of game that he would have been smashing into tackles and screaming at his team.

Excellent point. Hangover or no hangover from the Bayern game, had we SJM against Man U we'd be two points better off. As I said earlier, without him we can look a bit pedestrian.