Craig Cathcart

Discussion in 'Former Players Archive' started by hornmeister, Mar 3, 2017.

  1. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    Well 3 after being shocking for the rest of the season. Think I’ll wait for more evidence before changing my opinion that he is miles off premier standard.
     
  2. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    Please just ******* GO AWAY.
     
    Chumlax likes this.
  3. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    The embodiment of Pozzo’s woeful squad building capabilities. And he and Kaba are both here for next season as well due to their contract extensions which will restrict squad rebuilding in the Championship.
     
    Chumlax, NorwegianOrn and Burnsy like this.
  4. Relegation Certs

    Relegation Certs Squad Player

    It's beyond belief that he's still in the team. I have no ill will towards him, he's just way past his best.

    Just a couple of decent defenders bought in the January window of the relegation season and who knows where we'd be now. Pozzo you utterTIT
     
  5. RS2

    RS2 Squad Player

    Yeah I have no real dislike for Craig, you can probably count the amount of big mistakes he's made in his time here on one hand. He's just not up to this level anymore and hasn't been for a number of years. It's bad enough that he's still playing at centre back but him filling in at full back really grinds my gears.
     
    põder likes this.
  6. The Voice of Reason

    The Voice of Reason First Team Captain

    Cathcart keeps getting a lot of stick on here, but on the whole I think it is a little unfair. OK he obviously should not be a 1st team regular anymore, but I think he is still good enough as a squad back up player as mostly he does not let us down when called upon.

    Plus he is also versatile, so I would keep him in the 25 man squad because IMO he is still a decent backup squad member.
     
    Clive_ofthe_Kremlin likes this.
  7. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    How does he mostly not let us down? He's been woeful all season.

    Players who are back up still need to be good enough when they step in. Cathcart has been utter **** at this level for 3+ years because he's an old man on the decline.

    I just do not get what goes through people's heads, honestly. Why can our fans not just accept when players are just ****?
     
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  8. Steve Leo Beleck

    Steve Leo Beleck Squad Player

    Yep definitely not good enough and caught out in the classic Cathcart way for the second goal by not being quite aware where Maddison was running from. But then gets unnecessary stick too as it's fashionable to bash him and overlook others - lots of people on the Shoutbox were blaming him for the third when Morris was caught out of position as they broke down the right and Cathcart was going out to try to cover and Sierralta was miles behind Barnes in the middle. Ludicrously, someone said he was playing Barnes onside, as if he should have just stopped running and allowed the Leicester player on the wing to have a free run in on goal.

    He's not good enough, no. But he has been a good player for us overall and it's a bit tiresome people looking for any excuse to kick him. The biggest, and most costly, defensive mistake today was Sierralta mindlessly giving away a penalty after five minutes. And he then followed that up by twice more losing Vestergard from corners.
     
  9. Leetanner

    Leetanner Academy Graduate

    Serrialta is just not good enough,getting worse each game positioning is terrible so then makes clumsy challenges ,need to get another centre back in before next week now that nkoulou is out and kabs is made of glass
     
  10. Leetanner

    Leetanner Academy Graduate

    Cathcart and serrialta can be bench warmers at best
     
  11. Leetanner

    Leetanner Academy Graduate

    But we think our team is bad then look at Newcastle got beat at home in front of 52000 against Cambridge COYH
     
  12. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    If he’d been pensioned off 3 years ago then he could have described as having been good for us. The reason he gets so much grief is:

    a) he’s been significantly below par for the best part of 3 seasons
    B) he’s a poster boy for Pozzo refusing to invest in the defence and also giving stupid contract extensions.

    Reason (b) is why I get angered by him over someone like Troost for example. I’ve nothing against him as a person but he is everything that is wrong about the Pozzo ownership. I agree that is a bit unfair on Craig as an individual. Mind you he was hopeless today.
     
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  13. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

    But many people on here said he was excellent after half a season in The Championship
     
  14. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    Which is far less ridiculous than saying he's crap after about 3 games in the Premier League, with his most recent appearances coming after a long injury lay off and slotting into a woeful defence with zero confidence.

    It's amazing that some people will jump on a young player like Sierralta, who hasn't really even had half a chance to prove himself at this level, yet come to the defence of ageing, proven dross like Cathcart who hasn't been good enough for years.
     
    Since63, Heidar and Jumbolina like this.
  15. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

    I'm certainly not defending Cathcart but Sierralta was all over the place today. The penalty in the first 5 mins has nothing to do with not playing much, it's pi55 poor defending. He also has never looked comfortable on the ball.
    The problem at the moment is it's a forum fashion to have a go at Cathcart
     
    Jumbolina likes this.
  16. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    It's not a forum fashion at all. His performances on this pitch have been mostly crap for years, particularly this season. It's simply calling it what it is.

    What are people supposed to say when he puts in 4/10 performances week in, week out? Pat on the back for Craig, he may have been crap for years now but he was alright when we first got promoted so don't give him a hard time, k?
     
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  17. Steve Leo Beleck

    Steve Leo Beleck Squad Player

    I don't think anyone is defending Cathcart and saying that he should be starting games for us. To my mind, he could be in our squad if he was 4th/5th choice and started a handful of league and a few cup games a season (although admittedly that's unlikely for us given we can't keep defenders fit - see Mariappa having to play so many games). And I get that there is a desire that Sierralta comes good, it would be great if we could get a couple of quality Premier League seasons out of him and then make some money on him because he's developed into a top drawer centre back.

    My only argument is judge them on what they're actually doing on the pitch. At the moment neither Cathcart nor Sierralta are good enough. Cathcart never will be again but much as we might hope Sierralta will be at some point, he's been really poor in the games he has played this season.
     
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  18. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    I’ve been deeply disappointed in him for 4 years.
     
  19. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    Spot on.
     
  20. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    Has Sierralta really been that poor though? From memory I think he did fine in the away Spurs game and the Leeds game and was mostly fine last weekend at home to Spurs. That leaves Wolves where he scored the own goal which wasn't really his fault, and West Ham.

    And again, he's coming back from injury. An excuse Troost and Cathcart haven't had.
     
  21. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    We can all save ourselves a lot of time and posts here by saying none of them are any good. I'm inclined to include Samir in that as well even if people think that's harsh.

    There's a reason people pay actual money for good players. And there's a reason why there are more agent's than just Mogi Bayat.

    If Gino can actually acknowledge and act on the above points, we might stand half a chance.

    Anyone think thats in any way likely? No, me neither.
     
    Jumbolina likes this.
  22. Leetanner

    Leetanner Academy Graduate

    Serrialta did well against spurs as he had the other 9 outfield players parked around the penalty area helping him, west ham he was wrestling Antonio all game ,and today he was poor don't care with him coming back from injury he ain't good enough nor is troost or cathcart
     
  23. Knight GT

    Knight GT Predictor extraordinaire 2013/14

    More it’s just him rather Sierallta who looks awful but is 10 years younger
     
  24. NathWFC

    NathWFC First Team

    Sierralta had a bad game today, yes, but of course it's not the same for everyone and there are variables and considerations.

    The fact that Sierralta is significantly younger with potential to improve and has had significantly fewer poor games this season matters, yes.

    If Sierralta starts the next 20 league games and is as crap in them as Cathcart has been for the last 20 (and the rest) then he'll deserve as much stick.
     
  25. The Voice of Reason

    The Voice of Reason First Team Captain

    :rolleyes:
     
  26. The undeniable truth

    The undeniable truth First Team Captain

    2 or 3 £10m CDs would fix this problem. FFS Gino just get on with it.
     
  27. HeiaWatford

    HeiaWatford Reservist

    Not one of our defenders has justified their starting position, everyone one of them have made stupid individual errors that has cost us dearly. Take Nkoulou out of this equation. He looked excellent in his showings but won't be with us until March, April if lucky.
    They have wasted money on a keeper who arrives in the Summer, where as they saved by getting in Samir. He needs to dig deep and get another in now. Otherwise in the Summer we will have the usual suspects causing us grief.
    Kabs, Cathcart and WTE shouldn't be anywhere near a starting lineup for any club with Premier aspirations.
     
  28. The undeniable truth

    The undeniable truth First Team Captain

    Indeed just buy in 3 tried and trusted replacements. Simples.
     
  29. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    I’m fairly sure you know that the notion that we can’t make modest upgrades on Cathcart/Troost, even if on loan, without spending tens of millions is absurd. They are one of the worst centre back pairings ever to participate in the top league.
     
    Chumlax likes this.
  30. The undeniable truth

    The undeniable truth First Team Captain

    Yes I’m sure we can improve but this early in the window in the main we’ll only be able to sign players who have no hope of joining a bigger/better side this window. I’m sure we’ll be able to add a couple more at the end of the window however “relegation decider” week will have passed by then.
     
  31. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    Yes fair point. Makes it all the more damning nothing was done in the summer. I think we are stuffed now due to the timing of this key week.
     
  32. The undeniable truth

    The undeniable truth First Team Captain

    Very possibly. However replacing the strikers and the leaving midfielders was seen as the priority. Maybe we tried to improve the defence but were unable to land any of our targets. I’m sure with hindsight they can’t be happy with where they’ve ended up, defence-wise.
     
  33. Chumlax

    Chumlax Squad Player

    But again, and as ever, this isn't an acceptable excuse at this point/wasn't in the summer. It's an insane cope based on no tangible evidence (which I recognise is also true of many things we discuss here, that's not a 'how dare you make that up without cast-iron evidence') and if it was miraculously true, says other things that are equally bad about Gino and his crew to go alongside the fact that they were happy to go into the season without either the requisite or competent centre backs and with an partially empty squad list. To add to that, the Nkoulou saga alone totally flies in the face of that theory.

    Even if they are unhappy with hindsight where we are defence-wise, that's not at all useful, is it? Running a club by hindsight is not running one at all, and it's their literal jobs to run it on foresight. Given their behaviour over the past three to five seasons, it's also not really an assertion that's supported by precedent.
     
  34. The undeniable truth

    The undeniable truth First Team Captain

    I respect your views but we disagree and no problem with that. Out of interest which of our starting 11 last season do you believe we’re good enough to start this season, excl the 2 who chose not to sign new deals ?
     
  35. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    Good question. I don't think you can discount the 2 who wouldn't sign new deals because we could have kept them if we wanted at a financial sacrifice which isn't the Pozzo way.

    So Foster (if he counts), Kiko, Sierralta, Hughes, Sarr, JP.

    Chalobah, Cleverly, Kabasele, Ngakia as back up

    I would have said Bachmann after the Euros but he has been horrendous.

    So lots of rebuilding needed. The trouble is many of the reinforcements were no better than the likes of Sema/Gosling/Masina. Obviously the forward line has been upgraded with significant success. The real problem is the neglect of the defense over many many transfer windows which has left too much to do at once. The midfield is trickier with the Hughes/Chalobah situation.
     
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