Is Alan McCormack Championship Standard?

Brentford's injury crisis has meant that our squad has been left very thin. As such, we have required the return of Alan McCormack into the starting eleven and with his return has come a fair amount of criticism. The experienced ex-Swindon player has been playing in midfield alongside Toumani Diagouraga, but his performances have been mediocre at best so far this season.

So the question begs, is Alan McCormack up to the high standard of Championship football?

Some would argue that he is clearly not.

Firstly, he seems to have a habit of making silly mistakes. Misplaced passes, underhit through balls and dodgy tackles all seem to feature regularly in his game. In his position (sitting just in front of the defence) one cannot afford to make such errors as it can cost the team dearly.

Diagouraga is in the same position as he is. Toums is the perfect example of a player who is rock solid. He has developed a level of consistency that makes him the perfect play to perform that role. He does not have the pace or strength that others have but he rarely makes slip ups and his concentration levels are excellent. He is a smart and level-headed player.

The same cannot be said for McCormack, who regularly lets his aggression get the better of him. McCormack's whole game is based around physicality. That's fine; it is great to have a player who bullies the opposition and who makes hard challenges.

But McCormack regularly crosses the line. There is no need to make pointless fouls in the middle of the park, earn yourself a booking, and have to walk on a tight-rope for the rest of the game. He sometimes seems to be aggressive just for the sake of it, feeling the need to live up to his "hard man" status. Perhaps he has an event to attend in a couple of Saturday's time, because he is heading directly for a ban.

McCormack also lacks key physical attributes. His touch has improved as his boots have got more bright and shiny, but his technique still falls short of other players in a similar position in the division. So too does his pace - a key attribute to any player.

The introduction of Ryan Woods to the Griffin Park crowd highlighted these factors. Although he only played five minutes, Woods looked lively, energetic and pacey. His touch was fantastic and his technique was "Pritchard-esque". In other words, he was the technique coach's wet dream. McCormack on the other hand is often guilty of taking too many touches and slowing the play up, rather than looking to keep the ball moving as his position demands.

However, perhaps we're being a little harsh on Alan. After all, following virtually no game time last season it is not easy to come into a team and provide an immediate impact. He needs time to adapt to real game situations and learn how toplay in this new role.

He was previously a midfield player but Rosler chose to deploy him as a left-back. This return back to playing in a deeper-lying midfield role requires patience; he isn't going to become exceptional over night.

Furthermore, whlst acknowledging that he can push the boundaries, one could argue that McCormack's aggression is exactly what this Brentford team needs. Someone who is willing to fight for the club and show character when things aren't going so well.

However, in conclusion McCormack probably isn't of high enough standard to be a starting eleven player for a club pushing for Premier League football. Whilst he is an adequate replacement for McEachran, MacLeod and the like whilst they recover from injury, he was getting nowhere near our first team towards the end of last season, and probably won't be at the end of this campaign.

I wouldn't tell him to his face though.

#brentford #mccormack #diagouraga #woods #Rosler