I don't think McCarthy has ever been a great manager to be honest and there's not a million miles between him and the likes of Phil Brown and Iain Dowie in terms of their managerial careers/successes. Yet McCarthy, for some reason is seen by most fans as a class above the former two.
I do like him as a person, but I think it's time he went. The thing is, he did get them up - and keep them up, but there's been no progress, a lot of money spent and now things are getting worrying...again. As I say, a lot of money has been thrown at the club - but to little success. With that said however, it's always hard to replace a long-term manager, and there's a lot worse out there!