TalkSPORT Pundit Tony Cascarino has laid into Aston Villa captain John McGinn for his performances this season.
The Scotland International was made captain by Steven Gerrard at the start of the season after the armband was taken away from Tyrone Mings, but the midfielder has struggled for consistency this season whilst Villa have been disappointing overall.
Gerrard was eventually sacked and replaced with former Arsenal boss Unai Emery, who has kept McGinn on as captain despite some suggesting he should be replaced.
Emery has won both of his games in charge so far, and they currently sit in 12th place in the Premier League.
Speaking on TalkSPORT, Cascarino claimed that McGinn was one of the biggest underperformers under Gerrard, and that the captaincy issue should not affect his performances.
“The biggest disappointment of all the players I think I’ve seen over the last year or two is John McGinn,” he stated.
“John McGinn is a really good player, okay. but he’s fallen so short. I mean, the captaincy thing, it shouldn’t be an issue really, it shouldn’t be, but why is John McGinn playing to that level, he’s far better than what we’ve seen.”
TIF thoughts on McGinn…
Given that Villa as a whole were disappointing towards the end of Gerrard’s reign, it may seem slightly harsh to pick out one player as the worst of them, but McGinn’s performance level has dipped at a concerning rate.
He ranks in the bottom 18% of midfielders for pass completion as per FBref, highlighting his inability to keep the game flowing from the middle of the park.
Villa fans will be hoping that the appointment of Emery can see McGinn, who was once one of Villa’s top performers, return to his best form.