AIDEN MCGEADY WILL never fulfill his potential as his game lacks the consistency to be a top player, according to Sky Sports pundit Phil Thompson.
The Ireland winger arrived at Everton from Spartak Moscow 12 months ago and, despite showing glimpses of brilliance, has often left Toffees fans frustrated with his end product.
“Aiden McGeady has been okay,” said Thompson ahead of this weekend’s Merseyside derby with Liverpool.
“The problem he has had in his career is getting that level of consistency. Looking for eight or nine out-of-ten most weeks, whereas Aiden is going between five and eight. It’s very much up and down.
“You see him sometimes and go ‘wow!’ after he does something absolutely incredible on a pitch. He will do a stepover, go inside, bend the ball over into the far corner. He doesn’t do it often enough and I think he realises that.
If he was doing what I said, he would probably be playing for Manchester City or Chelsea.
“”If you want me to be honest, I think he will always be that five-eight range because he has been like that for a little while. He went out to Spartak Moscow and probably thought it would make him a better player to come back to Britain — particularly under Martinez.
“We’ve seen flashes of it but this has been one of the problems for Everton. They have too many players who are great in one game but you don’t see it replicated until the third or fourth game after that. The same with Mirallas. He looks a world-beater at times but is not consistent enough.”
Aaron Lennon’s deadline day loan move from Spurs will add more competition for places on the flanks and Thompson adds that it could spell danger for McGeady.
“I was doing transfer deadline day and I was on the set when the news came through that Stoke had conceded that Aaron Lennon was going to Everton,” he said.
“One of the things which he wouldn’t except at Stoke was that they couldn’t guarantee him a starting place. So then you start thinking Roberto Martinez had to say to him – ‘you will have a starting place in my side’.
“You start thinking who is going to make way for him. Is it going to be McGeady? Is it going to be Kevin Mirallas because he has been making waves that he’s not going to sign next year and he will be moving on after the penalty debacle at West Brom.”
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