But ... at the end of the day ... Motherwell will give him first team football; and Martin O'Neill only sees him as 'bit player'.
So, even though the Scottish Premier League is probably on par with the English League One (apart from Celtic) - can we blame McFadden for playing, rather than warming his arse on the Sunderland bench?
SUNDERLAND ECHO:- "Today we ask Echo readers if the Black Cats should have done more to keep the 29-year-old forward at the Stadium of Light in our first ‘Your Shout’ sports vote.
"We’ll be asking sports fans for their views on the day’s sports news with a daily poll, and the chance to expand on your views using our comments section.
"Cast your vote on the poll."