McCarthy to Arsenal apparently...

[Maguire]

Can't wait to see McCarthy coming off his line and getting beaten to the punch like the games against Millwall and Yeovil.

I meant Brighton. Whichever one where we went walkabout, they all kind of blend into one.

[Pants of Primus]

He's off to Swansea. Done deal apparently. Vorm to Liverpool.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Done deal according to who?

[genome]

Done deal according to who?

The pants of Primus.

[strap]

I can see us selling both McCarthy and Federici and ending up with Andersen as number one by the way things are sounding.

This won't be the worst thing to happen over the close season if it does transpire. We could easily get £7-8M for the pair, as well as getting a chunk off the wage bill. Andersen has been with us for years now, so knows the RFC way, can't be on too much of a wedge, and has amassed a fair bit of experience via loans.

If it means we get to keep McCleary for another year, then it gets my vote!

[maffff]

Surely we wouldn't get more than £400-500k for Federici in the current environment and after a year benchwarming.... and I can't see us getting more than about £4m for McCarthy.

May be that's just the pessimist in me.

[Ian Royal]

McCarthy to Swansea is faintly believable.

£5m across him and Fed seems doable for wheeler dealer Hammo. If Hammond can get anyone to pay for Feds I think he can get about £1m. The problem is whether anyone's willing to take him at all... he's not seemed to have many courting him. I'd rather we kept one (McCarthy ideally), but being left with Andersen and Henly isn't exactly a disaster.

[Royal Lady]

I've never seen Andersen or Henly play so I can't comment on their skills or lack thereof, but selling your number 1 and number 2 goalkeeper and replacing with your 4th choice keeper and some other lad is hardly going to instill confidence in the fans, let alone the players. If we have to let McCarthy go, then we MUST keep Feds imo.

[Ian Royal]

I've never seen Andersen or Henly play so I can't comment on their skills or lack thereof, but selling your number 1 and number 2 goalkeeper and replacing with your 4th choice keeper and some other lad is hardly going to instill confidence in the fans, let alone the players. If we have to let McCarthy go, then we MUST keep Feds imo.

Andersen was a better prospect and performed better than Hamer, who is an established Champ keeper with Charlton now. That's why Hamer left, because he was behind Federici, McCarthy and Andersen.

Our goalkeeping production line is superb. Ward is looking quality too. Not so sure on Lincoln though.

[Lovely hot donuts!]

I have faith that Andersen would be a competent no.1 but am somewhat concerned that our no.2 would be Jon Henly. I'm not saying he doesn't have potential but he spent the end of this season playing for my second team, Maidenhead United. He did very well and was very popular with their fan's who are desperate to have him back for the new season. But that is for Maidenhead in the Skrill South! Really not confident he could step in and be any good in the championship should Andersen get injured.

[JordCot]

I have faith that Andersen would be a competent no.1 but am somewhat concerned that our no.2 would be Jon Henly. I'm not saying he doesn't have potential but he spent the end of this season playing for my second team, Maidenhead United. He did very well and was very popular with their fan's who are desperate to have him back for the new season. But that is for Maidenhead in the Skrill South! Really not confident he could step in and be any good in the championship should Andersen get injured.

The reason he is playing that low down is because he doesn't have experience playing much higher up. That doesn't mean he isn't good enough, no championship side is going to loan our 4th choice keeper and play them. The opportunities to play are only going to come low down

[Lovely hot donuts!]

I have faith that Andersen would be a competent no.1 but am somewhat concerned that our no.2 would be Jon Henly. I'm not saying he doesn't have potential but he spent the end of this season playing for my second team, Maidenhead United. He did very well and was very popular with their fan's who are desperate to have him back for the new season. But that is for Maidenhead in the Skrill South! Really not confident he could step in and be any good in the championship should Andersen get injured.

The reason he is playing that low down is because he doesn't have experience playing much higher up. That doesn't mean he isn't good enough, no championship side is going to loan our 4th choice keeper and play them. The opportunities to play are only going to come low down

He spent two months at Oxford United from early January. He played zero times.

[JordCot]

I have faith that Andersen would be a competent no.1 but am somewhat concerned that our no.2 would be Jon Henly. I'm not saying he doesn't have potential but he spent the end of this season playing for my second team, Maidenhead United. He did very well and was very popular with their fan's who are desperate to have him back for the new season. But that is for Maidenhead in the Skrill South! Really not confident he could step in and be any good in the championship should Andersen get injured.

The reason he is playing that low down is because he doesn't have experience playing much higher up. That doesn't mean he isn't good enough, no championship side is going to loan our 4th choice keeper and play them. The opportunities to play are only going to come low down

He spent two months at Oxford United from early January. He played zero times.

He was brought in as cover, he knew what he was going for.

[Lovely hot donuts!]

The reason he is playing that low down is because he doesn't have experience playing much higher up. That doesn't mean he isn't good enough, no championship side is going to loan our 4th choice keeper and play them. The opportunities to play are only going to come low down

He spent two months at Oxford United from early January. He played zero times.

He was brought in as cover, he knew what he was going for.

Hmmm....
Perhaps you're right.

[Elmer Park]

Just reminding people Andersen can't get a game for his Danish team.

[Big Ern]

Just reminding people Andersen can't get a game for his Danish team.

But he would be a damn site cheaper than Feds and McCarthy

[SPARTA]

When we need to cut the wage bill drastically, selling both McCarthy and Feds makes a lot of sense. Whether Andersen is ready or not may be irrelevant. The same goes for a lot of these kids we may end up relying on. They may not be ready or suitable yet, but they could well play a big part next season. We need to make big changes. I just hope we can avoid a relegation scrap next season and at the very least maintain our Championship status until we come through this.

[Sanguine]

Believe it when I see it. He's nowhere near ready for Arsenal and he's got Taylor as an example of what happens when you go as backup.

This.

'Fantastic move' for him my arse.

If McCarthy wants to progress then it needs to be somewhere he is going to be first-choice. 24 isn't the age to be happy to collect a cheque on the bench for a couple of years. He's an immensely talented lad, I'd be glad for him to end up somewhere like Newcastle, as Krul's replacement (if he leaves) or at one of the promoted clubs next season as first-choice.

But Arsenal? What's the point? Szczesny is actually younger than McCarthy, he could be Arsenal keeper for the next decade.

[SPARTA]

Somewhere like Villa would be perfect for him. Hope he gets a decent club like that, and not a newly promoted club who could go back down.

[Hoop Blah]

Somewhere like Villa would be perfect for him. Hope he gets a decent club like that, and not a newly promoted club who could go back down.

I agree with the sentiment, but Villa are in turmoil at the moment and unless things change a lot with a new owner coming in I can see them struggling next year.

McCarthy really does need to play games for the next two or three seasons though. I hope he and his agent keep that in mind when thinking over their next move this summer as it would be such a shame for him to follow in the foot steps of Jamie Ashdown and see his career stall badly due to a bad decision on where to go.