James McCarthy M Celtic b.1990

[boovidge]

a move to Celtic probably wouldn't be the greatest idea either especially when one considers the grief McGeady got for declaring for us instead of Scotland

yep. Bigotry and mediocre football is not a good mix. If he goes to Spain and hes a success some more Irish players may will follow him to continental Europe.

I wonder how much abuse he'll get this coming season? He's got alot of publicity recently so hes bound to get some of the McGeady treatment. I almost feel sorry for Scottish fans though. Two of the potentially brightest talents to come from Scotland for years and theyre both Irish

[stojkovic]

I'd like to see some of our players go to La Liga instead of the Prem. Think McGeady should and thought Duffer should have instead of going to Newcastle's retirement home.

I'd also like to see players not drop down to the Second Division (whatever its called) but to go to France or Holland or even Germany. Look at the likes of Croatia, Czech Rep., Sweden etc. They have one or two stars but the rest all play in these leagues. Better to get regular football at a decent level than none at all at a high level.

Brady, Aldridge, Johnny Byrne, Moran, McCarthy, Cascarino, Stapleton all sampled life on the continent.

[Pike B]

Were you being intentionally ironic when adding your last sentence?

PP

Good spot..
And yes.

[SilkCut]

I'm a Liverpool fan and if this kid is as good as is being made out then he should steer well clear of us. We have signed a s#*tload of young players only to see them shipped out within a year or two. Mark Gonzalez kicked arse in Spain got only one season with us, Leto looks to be on his way out, Diarra got a year now Everton are gonna pay 8m to Bordeaux for him, Hobbs is unsure of his future at 19!!, Insua wont be trusted with a starting spot, Plessis is gonna struggle with the midfield players ahead of him in the pecking order. The days of a top 4 club giving a youngster a chance are as good as gone. At least in Spain or Italy they give their kids a chance hence their teams are packed with young talent. James lad learn a language and get yourself off to the continent. If he is good enough some Russian or American will blow 30 odd million on him when he hits his mid 20's!!!!

[jmurphyc]

I'm a Liverpool fan and if this kid is as good as is being made out then he should steer well clear of us. We have signed a s#*tload of young players only to see them shipped out within a year or two. Mark Gonzalez kicked arse in Spain got only one season with us, Leto looks to be on his way out, Diarra got a year now Everton are gonna pay 8m to Bordeaux for him, Hobbs is unsure of his future at 19!!, Insua wont be trusted with a starting spot, Plessis is gonna struggle with the midfield players ahead of him in the pecking order. The days of a top 4 club giving a youngster a chance are as good as gone. At least in Spain or Italy they give their kids a chance hence their teams are packed with young talent. James lad learn a language and get yourself off to the continent. If he is good enough some Russian or American will blow 30 odd million on him when he hits his mid 20's!!!!

Whilst I do think it's too early for McCarthy to move, and that a move to one of the "big 4" may be counter-productive, the assessment of some of those players isn't fair. Leto has a work permit problem and is unable to play, and as for the rest currently not in the team, Benitez has only had a few years to overhaul the youth set up and his plans are only coming to fruition now. It takes time for them to get through and the sad fact is that most don't make it. There's the same problems at every other club. Besides, the reserve team at Liverpool is almost exclusively made up of under 20s, and both the reserves and the under 18 side has won the league this season, as well as the youth team winning the FA Cup in the two previous seasons.

That said, I understand your point and I would personally prefer it if he stayed at Hamilton for another year and then a move to the continent may well help him learn a lot of things that Irish youngsters don't get to learn in England.

[irishultra]

As Luka Modric said ''playing in the Bosnian league meant I could play in any other league in the world.''

This is what the SPL will do for McCarthy and will really test him as a player. This is a much better root for him. Better than Barcelona. Better than Liverpool. Better than Arsenal.

I would strongly suggest McCarthy(like Modric) takes small steps rather than big huge massive ones. The interest from big clubs shows he is highly sought after.

Modric will be just 23 by the time he lines out for Spurs next season. Now many would suggest Modric is too good for Spurs, but he knows what he's doing. From my understand if these clubs are so intent on getting McCarthy he at least should emulate Modric's ability.

This means that from the time Modric signed for Zagreb(a big move in some respects certainly for a young Croatian guy) it has taken 6 years for his talent to be actually invested in. From what I have seen of him the Croatian League hasn't been detrimnetle to his development, and in fact has probably helped him grow as a player. SPL or Croatian League? I'd say pretty much the same level.

The only move I would suggest for McCarthy in the next two years is Celtic.(or if Rangers signed him, which they won't) He should plan on leaving Scotland at about 21.

Does anyone see him making any of the Irish Squads in the next few years? If we qualify he will be 20(I think) would he be in the squad?

[tommy_c12000]

He certainly won't be up to international standard for another couple of years but I don't see any harm in introducing the youngster into the international set-up ASAP via training camps (ie Portugal)...for 2 reasons. -Firstly training with the likes of Keane, Duff, McGeady and co can only serve to improve you as a player
-Secondly I am still not fully convinced that he will be willing to represent our senior team. He has pulled out of numerous squads recently (including the current Malaysia tourament where he preferred to go on hols instead) which doesn't look that promising. My big fear is that if George Burley contacted him in the morning and offered him the chance to go straight into the Scotland senior squad, I have no doubt that he would give that serious consideration.

Not sure if he'll turn out to be the player everyone hopes he will be. He wasn't even Hamiltons best midfielder this season with supporters rating 21 yr old James McCarthur a lot higher.

[irishultra]

He certainly won't be up to international standard for another couple of years but I don't see any harm in introducing the youngster into the international set-up ASAP via training camps (ie Portugal)...for 2 reasons. -Firstly training with the likes of Keane, Duff, McGeady and co can only serve to improve you as a player
-Secondly I am still not fully convinced that he will be willing to represent our senior team. He has pulled out of numerous squads recently (including the current Malaysia tourament where he preferred to go on hols instead) which doesn't look that promising. My big fear is that if George Burley contacted him in the morning and offered him the chance to go straight into the Scotland senior squad, I have no doubt that he would give that serious consideration.

Not sure if he'll turn out to be the player everyone hopes he will be. He wasn't even Hamiltons best midfielder this season with supporters rating 21 yr old James McCarthur a lot higher.

Yeah but I don't think its his performances exactly that have the scouts flocking. They obviously see genius in him. He doesn't seem to have the flair of Messi or anything, but has that special something. Can anybody tell me what Scholes was doing at 18?

He scored twice against the Germans in a friendly at his age level, I know this is only minor, but it shows he is dominant when played with people of his own age even if they are the cream of a massive football nation.


I honestly don't believe there is a chance he will opt for Scotland. He doesn't seem like one to rush in for the sake of it. I doubt he would jump at the chance of playing for Scotland because he knows he's not ready.


Edit-Damn he's still only 17. Not 18 until November. He's also got a much better goal scoring rate than his McCarthur guy.

[tetsujin1979]

I honestly don't believe there is a chance he will opt for Scotland. He doesn't seem like one to rush in for the sake of it. I doubt he would jump at the chance of playing for Scotland because he knows he's not ready.

If the stories about why he declared for Ireland are true, there's no possible way I could see him changing allegiances

[Razors left peg]

He certainly won't be up to international standard for another couple of years but I don't see any harm in introducing the youngster into the international set-up ASAP via training camps (ie Portugal)...for 2 reasons. -Firstly training with the likes of Keane, Duff, McGeady and co can only serve to improve you as a player
-Secondly I am still not fully convinced that he will be willing to represent our senior team. He has pulled out of numerous squads recently (including the current Malaysia tourament where he preferred to go on hols instead) which doesn't look that promising. My big fear is that if George Burley contacted him in the morning and offered him the chance to go straight into the Scotland senior squad, I have no doubt that he would give that serious consideration.

Not sure if he'll turn out to be the player everyone hopes he will be. He wasn't even Hamiltons best midfielder this season with supporters rating 21 yr old James McCarthur a lot higher.

The lad has said on countless occasions that he is fully committed to playing for Ireland and will not be switching to Scotland.And as for not going to Malaysia, well as a 17 year old he has played a serious amount of football this season for club and country and maybe a break would be alot better for him than a meaningless tournament under a manager that few players seem to have alot of respect for(if their performances on the pitch are anything to go by anyway).

[tommy_c12000]

I believe he will play for Ireland at this stage but I'm just still a small bit worried considering his decision stems from the ignorance of the Scottish underage managers who didn't believe he was good enough to play the the Scottish youths at the time.
(not because of his it was the dying wish of his grandfather)

And yes I know hes just turning 18 in November but if Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and the premiership big 4 are chasing you and the Irish press regularly refer to you as "the Irish wonderkid"......you would expect that even at the tender age of 17 that you would be the main man in the Hamilton Accies midfield in the dizzy heights of the Scottish first division. And other youngsters like McArthur and McDonald (Dundee) wouldn't be rated higher than you by most 1st division observers

[jmurphyc]

I believe he will play for Ireland at this stage but I'm just still a small bit worried considering his decision stems from the ignorance of the Scottish underage managers who didn't believe he was good enough to play the the Scottish youths at the time.
(not because of his it was the dying wish of his grandfather)

It's been widely reported on this site that it was down to the dying wish of his grandfather. Do you know him or have any sources that suggest otherwise out of interest? I have yet to hear anything that suggests that it's not true.

[tommy_c12000]

His club manager Billy Reid gave out yards a 1yr and a half ago when McCarthy first burst on the scene because the Scottish under age manager wouldn't pick him. The manager in question (can't recall his name)went out of his way to iterate that he felt McCarthy wasnt good enough for the Scottish squad (he filled it with players from big clubs ie Rangers, Celtic, Hearts,etc).............then Ireland stepped in and invited him into their underage set-up.....an offer McCarthy gladly accepted. It caused war in the Scottish underage circles because they were still bitter at missing out on McGeady. Im sure he discussed playing with Ireland with his grandfather on occasion but I've read interviews with McCarthy where he has denied a "dying wish" was the motivation behind his decision to play for Ireland

[irishultra]

His club manager Billy Reid gave out yards a 1yr and a half ago when McCarthy first burst on the scene because the Scottish under age manager wouldn't pick him. The manager in question (can't recall his name)went out of his way to iterate that he felt McCarthy wasnt good enough for the Scottish squad (he filled it with players from big clubs ie Rangers, Celtic, Hearts,etc).............then Ireland stepped in and invited him into their underage set-up.....an offer McCarthy gladly accepted. It caused war in the Scottish underage circles because they were still bitter at missing out on McGeady. Im sure he discussed playing with Ireland with his grandfather on occasion but I've read interviews with McCarthy where he has denied a "dying wish" was the motivation behind his decision to play for Ireland

You seem to know what your on about, but there is nothing to suggest he would accept Scotlands call, or even if he did in the long term if he did want to play for Ireland.

Your saying that people have rated other players in Scottish League one, but I've equally heard people saying to go and check this McCarthy kid out. Also why have Liverpool for example called down McCarthy and not someone else off Hamilton? They see something in him. He might not take all the headlines at this time. Maby at this time in his development it would be like comparing Scholes to Ronaldo. Maby the footballing public is biased because he opted for Ireland.

[tommy_c12000]

To be honest Irishultra.........I think that he won't detract from Ireland at this stage.........but I wont be fully satisfied until hes lining up with the senior team.

Also I hope that all these scouts are right and there is sumting special about young McCarthy because we cud certainly do with sumone of his calibre.

I just don't want to be getting carried away with a 17yr old that has only played a season and a half in the Scottish 1st division

[Colbert Report]

Whatever became of young Gibson from Manchester United?

[Colbert Report]

According to the ever reliable wikipedia article on McCarthy, he signed a three year deal with Hamilton on May 17 2008. Can anyone confirm this? Surely this must be a mistake, Liverpool and Chelsea would be able to pay him more in a week than he'd get off Hamilton in a lifetime.

[Plastic Paddy]

He has definitely signed a new extended deal with Hamilton until 2011 according to the club's website.

PP

[portland]

The facts are that no club has made on offer to buy McCarthy, if he was really as good as people are claiming - he would not be playing for Hamilton - as celtic or rangers would have bought him by now like they do with any good young player playing outside the old firm - as for talk of barcelona well thats just tabloid talk.

[tetsujin1979]

Whatever became of young Gibson from Manchester United?

Spent last season on loan at Wolves.