Alex McCarthy No.1

[Handsome Man]

I think he's great: tall strong and commannding. He has already produced some amazing saves and doesn't look all at sea when crosses come over. Mad Germans will probably offer £7 million for him in the summer but for now, I am happy he is in the side.

[roadrunner]

I think he's great: tall strong and commannding.

Get a room...

[Ginger Ninjas]

Back in the U21 squad: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9424880.stm

[moo]

Jamie Ashdown was talked about in the same light. Where is he now? Hahnemann the guy be was gonna replace is still a Premiership keeper.. I'm excited about McCarthy, but let's keep calm. He might be gone in the summer

[roadrunner]

In the England U21 squad.


Edit: Mentioned

[Hoop Blah]

He definitely looks like he's growing in confidence with every game and he's putting in some very solid performances as he goes. I said after the first game or two that he was glued to his line and was struggling with his kicking but both of those seem to be improving as he settles in and gains confidence.

What I like most about him though is that he's making saves look easy and regulation through good positioning. That's the exact opposite of Federici who, perhaps because he's an Aussie, makes things look spectacular when they really shouldn't. Federici always looks a little bit 'by the seat of his pants' and playing on the edge. I don't like that in a keeper. He's also conceded goals you just feel he might've done better with (McCarthy has too to be fair).

I fully expect Federici to be off in the summer but this spell in the side will do McCarthy wonders. It might also answer a few questions in McDermotts mind as well. Having said that I fully expect Federici to come back into the side when he's fully fit unless we've blown the slim chance of sneaking 6th, in which case it might be with one eye on the future that McCarthy holds his place for a couple more games.

[Gav]

Gotta be in with a shout for the Olympics, no?

[loyalroyal4life]

Gotta be in with a shout for the Olympics, no?

Well being in the U21 squad is a good start, hope he just keeps his feet on the ground and continues going about his business in same manner which I am sure Derm will ensure!

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

I think he's great: tall strong and commannding.

Get a room...

Mags is who was being referred to i think

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

Jamie Ashdown was talked about in the same light. Where is he now? Hahnemann the guy be was gonna replace is still a Premiership keeper.. I'm excited about McCarthy, but let's keep calm. He might be gone in the summer

Ashdown is now 30, he has played an amazing 113 games at league level in his career spanning 14 seasons, not much really.

[Wimb]

Jamie Ashdown was talked about in the same light. Where is he now? Hahnemann the guy be was gonna replace is still a Premiership keeper.. I'm excited about McCarthy, but let's keep calm. He might be gone in the summer

Ashdown is now 30, he has played an amazing 113 games at league level in his career spanning 14 seasons, not much really.

Ashdown made the classic Cudicini mistake of being happy to rot on the bench at Pompy rather then move for first team football. If he'd stayed he was looking like pushing out Hahnemann but he missed out on crucial years of development.

All that being said, plenty of keepers can develop post 30 and he's arguably got 10 years left to establish himself.

[prostak]

I wouldn't say Cudicini's career was a mistake. I'd quite happily take that sort of money to sit on a bench for a few years. He's a role model for lazy people the world over.

[Wimb]

I wouldn't say Cudicini's career was a mistake. I'd quite happily take that sort of money to sit on a bench for a few years. He's a role model for lazy people the world over.

Dunno, he still had to train, keep in shape etc etc, yes he got well paid but after a certain point/amount of money wouldn't you rather play?

[Terminal Boardom]

I wouldn't say Cudicini's career was a mistake. I'd quite happily take that sort of money to sit on a bench for a few years. He's a role model for lazy people the world over.

Dunno, he still had to train, keep in shape etc etc, yes he got well paid but after a certain point/amount of money wouldn't you rather play?

I doubt if I could cope with training 2-3 hours a day. That would be really hard to do.

[Ian Royal]

I wouldn't say Cudicini's career was a mistake. I'd quite happily take that sort of money to sit on a bench for a few years. He's a role model for lazy people the world over.

Dunno, he still had to train, keep in shape etc etc, yes he got well paid but after a certain point/amount of money wouldn't you rather play?

I doubt if I could cope with training 2-3 hours a day. That would be really hard to do.

Yeah, I mean it's obviously just a couple of sit-ups, half a dozen press ups and 10 minutes on a treadmill. Then a bit of a kick around for the rest of the time.

[KDRF]

Just throwing this one out there, his kicking is shit. That is all.

[Ian Royal]

Just throwing this one out there, his kicking is shit. That is all.

According to our fans every keeper we've ever had has had shit kicking. Whitehead was replaced and Hahnemann was supposed to have better distribution iirc. Hahnemann was replaced by Federici who had much better kicking. Now Federici's kicking is poor and so is McCarthy's.

I'm more interested in how he prevents goals than how well he kicks a ball 70 yards

[Maguire]

Peter Schmeichel couldn't kick worth a damn, didn't seem to hinder his performances much.

He could throw the ball 90 yards though

[Tony Le Mesmer]

Just throwing this one out there, his kicking is shit. That is all.

According to our fans every keeper we've ever had has had shit kicking. Whitehead was replaced and Hahnemann was supposed to have better distribution iirc. Hahnemann was replaced by Federici who had much better kicking. Now Federici's kicking is poor and so is McCarthy's.

I'm more interested in how he prevents goals than how well he kicks a ball 70 yards

Always made me lol people going on about our keepers kicking. You wont find much better Goalkeeping kickers then hahnemann and federici.

[roadrunner]

There's a lot of grass to aim for tbf. If their kicking often led to goals scored then I'd agree, but they welly the ball, it stays in play and people say they are good at kicking a ball. More interested in a kepper that is a good shot stopper, commands his area with confidence and is reliable.

So McCarthy > Federici.