mcshane was tipped by the racing post as player to watch as being the worst buy- the other guy they tipped was nugent- id agree on both -unfortunately we dont seem to have anyone else-mcshane is a gamey player with no brains- hunt also falls in that category but at least if he makes mistakes it doesnt cost the team- hunt determination can cause teams problem but to think of playing him ahead of Aiden is a joke
McShane is a decent player. He’s not blessed with great natural ability granted but he does the right thing most of the time and sticks his head or boot in when needed. He’s like a smaller, less experienced version of Stephen McManus. Time will tell whether he can become a reliable centre half but as you say we’re short on central defenders at the moment and he’s by no means the worst player in the squad. He’s a huge step up from Andy O’Brien anyway.
Pity O’Dea got injured pre-season because he has the makings of a cracking player. His performance in the Giuseppe Meazza last season was superb - though we only saw it from the EUR 24 seats. I wonder what Dancing Baby made of it all from his EUR 300 vantage point.
I think McShane is a very good player with the capability to become top class. He picks the wrong option sometimes but that will come with experience. His bravery is Kevin Moranesque and he reads the game quite well. The annoying thing is he’s probably going to be right back for Sunderland from now on.
Finnan’s extremely doubtful and we don’t have any full back cover other than Stephen Kelly, who’s not really impressed for us. This could be a big blow.