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Posts Tagged ‘james mcfadden’
St Andrew’s star could be on his way to the Reebok Stadium or St. James’ Park.
Tagged Under: Alan Pardew, birmingham city, bolton wanderers, james mcfadden, Johan Elmander, newcastle united, Owen Coyle
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Ever since Birmingham City were relegated from the Premier League on the last day of the season, there have been plenty of rumours linking James McFadden with a move to a top flight club, whether that’s in England or Scotland. [Read the rest of this entry »]
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It was less than a year ago when James McFadden sent the Tartan Army delirious, after his thirty-yard strike was enough to give Scotland a 1-0 win away to France in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Despite his international heroics, ‘Faddy’ continued to struggle holding down a first-team place at Everton and a transfer to Birmingham City ensued. However, very few could envisage that the Scottish forward would be starting next season in the Championship. [Read the rest of this entry »]
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The Daily Telegraph reckons that Birmingham City are “set to lose James McFadden” and we’d have to concur. [Read the rest of this entry »]
Tagged Under: birmingham city, Celtic FC, Championship, james mcfadden, Premier League, Transfer Rumours
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Birmingham City have undergone a sort of revival since the start of this year and City manager Alex McLeish has no hesitation to single out James Mcfadden as the reason for the transformation.
The player was signed in January from Everton for £5 million and has already established himself in the Birmingham starting line-up. McLeish says:
James has brought a bit of creativity from middle to front, which we had lacked. James has definitely added something in that department.
He has taken the responsibility on of being a £5million player. James knows that is what comes with the territory when people look at you as a top player.
You have to take that responsibility and you have to show consistency, do it in every single game – and James is relishing that challenge.
I just felt it was a case of him being the right man at the right time. He has settled in very well and is a popular lad in the dressing room.
Has he been waiting for this stage?
He has been waiting for this chance. Over the years he would have been a wee bit impatient about it. He has been developing all the time through that spell.
I am sure his mental toughness would have improved because of the amount of times he would have been knocked down and had the stuffing knocked out of him having played and then being left out.
It takes a strong person to keep bouncing back.
I am not saying he will play every game because players cannot play 40 odd games consecutively – but he is certainly going to be one of the major players for us and has made a great start.
Seems like McFadden’s decision to leave the greener pasture of Goodison Park was a blessing.
Not many players would be happy with life struggling for survival in the top flight but Birmingham City’s striker James Mcfadden is one of a kind. He decided to leave UEFA Champions League hopefuls Everton last month and arrived to St. Andrew’s. But why? After all, for most of us, playing for Everton at the moment is much better than playing for the MIdlands club.
But McFadden wanted more playing time and thus decided to leave the Goodison. He says:
I have maybe swapped a fight to get into the Champions League for a relegation battle at Birmingham. But I would rather play every week in a relegation fight than be a bit-part player at Everton which was the case. I still maintain that Birmingham is a club with a lot of potential and I’ll be giving it my best shot to make sure we are not relegated and then we can regroup in the summer.
Again we have the same reason: more playing time. McFadden certainly is one player who wants to play football rather than collect his paycheck every week without coming on the pitch. He did score a sensational goal last season and a few of those in the remainder of the season in the Premiership could go a long way in saving Birmingham from sinking down.
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Birmingham City are hovering perilously near the relegation zone and are separated from the drop zone by only goal difference. No wonder manager Alex Mcleish is looking for reinforcement this month.
And he has got the man he has been chasing for long. Sky Sports reports that Birmingham have signed striker James Mcfadden from fellow Premiership club Everton for an initial trabsfer fee of £5 million. The deal was reached only on Friday and implies that the Scottish player will be available for Birmingham when they play Chelsea on Saturday.
McLeish is delighted with the signing and said:
I am delighted to have signed James. He is not just a guy who can score great goals. He can also create things and make things happen and he has got a big heart. He is the type of player you know you are going to get everything from for the entire 90 minutes of a game. He has matured. He has had his initiation at Everton in the Premier League and for me he is a definite Premier League player. He has shown that in a very good Everton side this season. When he has come into the side, I am not so sure anyone has looked as good as him.
McFadden is indeed a very efficient player who can be useful during dire times. But what about the rest of the Birmingham side? Can McFadden alone stop the sink?
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James McFadden is set to team up with former Scotland gaffer Alex McLeish at Birmingham City reports the Guardian, Stuart James writes:
“James Mcfadden is expected to complete a £5m move from Everton to Birmingham City in time to feature against Chelsea at St Andrew’s on Saturday. Alex McLeish has failed with two bids for the Scotland international – the most recent valuing the player at £4m – but sources indicate the Birmingham manager is ready to return with an improved offer that will see Everton receive £5m up front for the 24-year-old and another £500,000 in add-ons.”
McFadden, worshipped in Scotland like the Ewoks worshipped C3PO, has never lived up to his international brilliance at domestic level and at Everton has remained an enigma, more often that not stuttering and oscillating between distilled brilliance and sheer tripe, combining sublime goals with woefully misplaced passes. Everton though are not a selling club, and the sale probably has more to do with the money they will get for him and the bottleneck of strikers currently at Goodison. So who will Moyes spend his money on?
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James McFadden has been reduced to a few cameo performances for Everton this season, although the Scottish international has an old friend requiring his services. Step forward Alex McLeish, formerly manager of his native Scotland and now in charge of Birmingham City. According to Sky Sports, the Blues have already had a £2.5 million bid rejected by the Merseyside club but they’re not finished yet.
“James is a proven Premier League player. He has the character to play in a team of mine and he’s the type of player I’m looking for,” said McLeish.
“He’s also got great technical ability and will bring extra from that point of view, if we can do the deal.
“I’d love to work with James again but you never know in this game. I know we have some competition.”
Most Everton fans would be sorry to see ‘Faddy’ go but lament the fact that he has too many ordinary matches and only the occasional flash of brilliance for the Toffees. Can his former international manager get the best out of him at St Andrews, much in the same way he did for Scotland?
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The BBC is reporting that Everton have turned down Celtic’s attempts to bag James Mcfadden on loan in January and take him to Scotland where he is revered as a God. McFadden has only started three games for Everton this season, but the Toffees won’t welcome any offers according to Everton Chief Exec Kaith Wyness who said:
“We have rejected Celtic’s offer out of hand and we have left it at that. We are not actively trying to sell him, but there has been a lot of interest, not just from Celtic.”
McFadden himself, who has yet to sign a new extension to his Everton deal, recently crypically said:
“I’d love to play in the Premiership. But if it is not going to happen or if a chance to go back up to Scotland came in and I felt it was right, I’d do it.
“Obviously it would be nice to be back with my family and back playing football again. But until that chance comes it is quite hard to answer that question. Hopefully it will happen one day but I will wait and see.”
“The club have made it clear that they want to offer me a contract.
“But I have not gone down that road yet because I want to try to get into the team before I start talking about contracts.”
So is it the perfect time for David Moyes to cash in on his Scottish striker, or will he try and keep hold of him and replicate his form for Scotland?
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